Bessiew96948

Open with the problem you are solving, not a list of screens. What kind of user will use this, with what frequency, and what does the process look like without it?

Insist on the source repository from the start. A partner that hands over code only at milestones expects you to trust a black box. Daily commits show you who is really on the project far better than a slide deck.

How the work is run matters as much as the number of developers. Establish what happens when the scope changes, who signs off on a feature and how quality assurance works.

Write down the hard constraints. This means the platforms and services involved, the data you have and where it lives, regulatory obligations, user volumes, target platforms and stacks you cannot change.

Look out for a mismatch between the people you meet and the people who will code. Ask for named engineers in the contract, with wording that requires notice before anyone is swapped.

Start with proven experience, not the length of the client list. Request two or three case studies that match your domain and your stack, and then ask specifically which engineers actually built it.

Describe the scope as concrete flows: a walk through each important path. Just as important, state explicitly what the first release deliberately excludes.

One last thing, ask for a specific format. Request an itemised estimate, the assumptions used, the risks the team sees and an optimistic and a pessimistic figure.