How do you check a developer's work before paying for more?
Split the project into stages and approve each one before moving on. Before work starts, write plain-words checks for each stage, such as "a customer can book a slot and I get an email". At every stage, watch it working with your real examples, keep access to the code and accounts as you go, and agree in advance what happens when a stage fails its check.
Staged releases
Ask for the work in stages, where each stage ends with something you can use or try, not a report of progress. A good first stage is the simplest version of the main job working from start to finish. Later stages add the extras. If the project stops partway, you are more likely to have something that works than a pile of parts.
Checks written before work starts
For each stage, write checks in plain words, in the form "when I do this, that happens". Both sides agree to them first, so a pass or a fail is less a matter of opinion.
Include the awkward cases from your real examples, such as a booking that is changed twice or a form left half empty.
- When a customer submits the form without a phone number, they see a message asking for it.
- When I cancel a booking, the customer gets an email and the time slot opens again.
- When two people book the same time, only one succeeds.
The demo habit
At the end of each stage, see it working yourself, using your real examples with private customer details removed. Click through it on your own phone or computer. Ask to try something that was not in the plan. Then write down what you saw and whether each check passed. The related answer on what to have ready before hiring a software developer helps you gather those examples.
Access as you go
Ask for the code storage account, the hosting and any test version to be in your name from the start, so that you can see the work is real and saved. This also lowers the risk of being locked out. The related answer on who owns software built for your business covers ownership in the agreement.
When a stage fails a check
- Write down which check failed and what you saw, with a screenshot if you can, and send it in writing the same day.
- Ask for a fix and a new demo of that check.
- Check what your agreement says about payment for that stage before you decide anything. A lawyer can read the payment terms before you sign.
- Decide whether the check was unclear or the work was wrong. If the wording was the problem, fix it together and note the change.
- If a stage fails more than once, pause before starting the next one and ask whether the agreement lets you have the code and accounts handed over up to that point.
Related answers
- What should you have ready before hiring a software developer?
- Who owns software that was built for your business?
- What does it take to keep custom software running after launch?
Custom software and apps
Off-the-shelf tools get you most of the way. When the last stretch is where the time goes, we build the part that fits: the dashboard, the portal, the internal tool or the app.