In today’s digitally transforming world building an extraordinary product highly depends on the design feature. We are at that stage where product design dominates the other features. This is what differentiates the organization from others by setting it apart and giving it a competitive edge in the market.

At some point in your software product development idea, you would require the right team to turn that idea into reality. Bringing an idea into reality can be challenging, scary, and exciting at the same time. There are times when many organizations lack the development skills like user experience web designing and other designing-related skills. In such a situation, you inevitably require a software development team who would think from the aspect of your user experience design thinking. Taking your carefully nurtured idea and then giving it into the hands of others is like taking a big step. But, on the other hand, it is essentially important also to do so if you want your product’s design to be cut above. In this blog, we will focus on the aspects to consider while onboarding an experienced design company for your software product development.

Things to consider while choosing the design partner

• About the company: You must do proper research before related to the company’s profile like its history and track record. Look for the company’s strength if in case a team member is absent, there is someone to fill his/her position so that the project doesn’t go on hold
• Company’s repeat business: When a customer gets the desirable results, they always come back. Ask your design partner the percentage of their customers who selected them again and then cross-check it
• Company’s potential to cater to larger clients: This shows that the design company or the design partner can attract, engage, and deliver to a company big in size, highly experienced, and a little tough to attract
• Company’s available references: Check the client’s references listed by the company on their website and their feedbacks also
• Company’s product development and delivery history: This is an important aspect to check for the design company’s total number of successful market-ready products delivered in the past. Before onboarding, the design partner, be assured that they have the right expertise and experience to cater to your requirements

The next thing to do is to check whether the design company has the right set of skill sets based on your requirements to deliver your tech product end-to-end. To have clarity on the skill sets, critically look for the following areas:

• User Experience: A modern term comprising of user interface design that includes the actual drawing and graphic designing. Always look for the previous projects delivered by the design company to check the user flow and whether the design looks clean and modern. Involve the people who know the designs in your company while selecting an experienced design partner
• Graphic Designing: If the design company has options to cater graphic designing services apart from the products and UX, do not miss out on the chance of exploring the other materials as well. Suppose you require an eCommerce website UI design, check whether they develop the graphics themselves or have external designers
• Development: Look for the company’s ability to leverage technologies that would be beneficial for your project. Not only this, check for their programmer’s skills by depending on their experience level and projects they have undertaken in the past
• Testing: Ask them their testing methods and about the team who does the testing. If the team is a specialist one, ISEB or equivalently team of qualified testers. Check for their testing approach, whether they go for automated testing or a manual one. During testing, what do they consider as passing and the failing bugs?
• Early live support: Do not forget to check for the warranty and its validity period. Cross-check with their past clients to have a clearer understanding of support hours

Thus, before selecting an experienced design partner to develop your product and take it to a next level it is advisable to check for the points mentioned above. There are times when once the product is completely built, deployed, and in use, the relationship with your design partner tends to fade away. To avoid this, give a thought to how you will continue with them and try to specify those terms in the contract. To avoid any confusion in the future, have a good relation with your design partner and keep all the terms and conditions properly listed once the product development is finished.