What should a developer hand over when the project ends or they leave?
A developer should hand over the working software together with a written pack: where the code lives, who owns each account, how to run it and restore it from a backup, which outside services it relies on and when they renew, how changes were tested, and who to contact. Add a hand-over meeting, and ask a second person to follow the notes alone before the developer is gone.
What the pack should hold
This is general advice, in plain words. Ask for the pack in the agreement, before the work ends. The related answer on who owns software built for your business covers asking for the code and the accounts; the pack is the working record that goes with them.
- A start-here note: what the software does and what it is made of, in a few plain lines.
- Where the code is kept, which account it sits in, and who the account owners are.
- How to run a copy on another computer, and the names of the settings it needs. The values, such as passwords and keys, belong in a place the business controls, not in the notes.
- How to put a change live and how to undo it.
- How to restore from a backup, where backups are kept and when a restore was last tested.
- The outside services and parts it relies on, with renewal dates and who pays. The ownership answer covers asking for this list in the agreement.
- How changes were tested: what was checked, how to repeat it, and any known problems or unfinished work.
- Who to ask: the developer, anyone else who worked on it, and the support route for each outside service.
Hold a hand-over meeting
Set aside time with the developer and the person who will look after the software, whether that is you, a team member or a support provider. Ask the developer to run the software, make one small change and restore a backup on a copy, while the other person watches or follows along. Ask what worries them about it and what they would do next if the project continued. Write down the answers.
Test it with a second person
Give the pack to someone who did not build the software and ask them to work alone: run a copy, restore a backup and find the next renewal date. Every place they get stuck is a gap in the notes. Ask the developer to fix those while they are still available, then date the pack. The related answer on keeping custom software running lists documentation as one of seven parts of its care.
If the developer has gone quiet
- Check what you can already reach. Accounts in your name are usually yours to open, and an account that is not yours is a reason to ask.
- Send one written request that lists exactly what you need, with a date.
- Read the agreement for what it says about hand-over and ending the work, and check it before you decide anything about payment. Have a lawyer read it if it is unclear.
- Ask someone else to review what you do have. A second developer can often tell how much of the pack can be rebuilt from the code, though it may take time.
Related answers
- 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.