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Consider not only freelance developers but a freelance "scrum" type team with a PM or PO. Vet these carefully as a bad PO will sink the project. A good PO will

Consider not only freelance developers but a freelance "scrum" type team with a PM or PO. Vet these carefully as a bad PO will sink the project. A good PO will gather requirements, keep the team on track, report back progress etc. Since this is an outsourced solution you must be "waterfall" as in be crystal clear on how the app will work, what is the business logic (the devil in the details) etc. Freelancers will not stop to ask questions or clarifications. They will do exactly as asked no more or no less. While I do agree if software is not your core competency you should not bring it in house it is worth mentioning most software starts as an in house solution that is then upgraded to a commercial offering in the B2B space you operate in. Its a long shot but if you stop thinking of your software as a cost center but as your actual core competency its possible to turn it into a revenue stream that is some cases outstrips the original company. I would say at least 95% of the attempts to do this fail though so don't take it as granted.

kenoyer130 2y ago
Also DO NOT CHEAP OUT ON THE FREELANCERS. A good team of freelancers is going to cost MORE then in house developers. The plus side is they are relatively temporary so not a long term financial burden. The projects I see that fail with freelancers are the company gets greedy and pays the bare minimum but as always you get what you pay for. In most cases the work just ends up being thrown away as a CRUD app that does no have your business logic and work flows is actually harmful.
marcosdumay 2y ago
Do not; absolutely DO NOT hire a specialized PO for a project like this. One of the developers should be senior enough to wear that hat, and do it part time. Optimally, the entire team will do that task part time. The most effective way to add risk into an inherently risky project is to put somebody on the way between the developer and the software users. This project has the best possible configuration where both the developers and the users answer to the same boss. If you need somebody to filter their interaction, the management has failed big time.

kenoyer130 2y ago

Also DO NOT CHEAP OUT ON THE FREELANCERS. A good team of freelancers is going to cost MORE then in house developers. The plus side is they are relatively temporary so not a long term financial burden. The projects I see that fail with freelancers are the company gets greedy and pays the bare minimum but as always you get what you pay for. In most cases the work just ends up being thrown away as a CRUD app that does no have your business logic and work flows is actually harmful.

marcosdumay 2y ago

Do not; absolutely DO NOT hire a specialized PO for a project like this. One of the developers should be senior enough to wear that hat, and do it part time. Optimally, the entire team will do that task part time. The most effective way to add risk into an inherently risky project is to put somebody on the way between the developer and the software users. This project has the best possible configuration where both the developers and the users answer to the same boss. If you need somebody to filter their interaction, the management has failed big time.