Whenever you do shopping and find out that the beer you keep in your hand was taken in a small brewery in a nearby village. It makes you feel that it is a good product that was created with passion and respect.
Bread, which invariably bakes these few bakers in a nearby bakery, makes you trust these people. So you do not want to buy artificial, chemo-stuffed bread which you can buy in every supermarket in the country. This gives a good impression about YOU and that you put on quality, not quantity or price.
The aforementioned situations are the most ordinary life matters that we deal with every day. They do not have as much importance to us as the selection of a business partner.
Would it be for sure? The Choice Between a Corporation And a Smaller Software House is a situation that is quite similar.
Can you even compare the choice of software house to everyday shopping?
Yes, you can because in both of these situations you satisfy your needs.
The specificity of creating your project by large corporations is governed by completely different rules. Where a small software house is able to approach your needs nimbly and adapt to changing requirements in real-time. The corporation will not cope.
Software house usually does not have a lot of rules or procedures, it is simply associated with a agile methodology. Which helps to create top-notch web apps. A team of people who is able to respond to your needs overnight is worth its weight in gold. The importance of flexibility and time varies depending on the industry.
In an industry such as Fintech there is often a need to change the code. It is worth having the right software house selected that will be able to quickly intervene. The next important point will be visibility.
Is smaller better?
It is easier to appreciate an employee in a smaller team, because his work has a much greater impact and is much more visible than in a large corporation. In a corporation where statistics and effects play a more important role, the human factor is often lost. Also an employee who participates in daily/weekly meetings must presents his/her work.
Our blog already has an entry about expanding your project with additional developers. The cooperation thread on the level has been touched there: programmers and you.
In addition to creating the code and its quality, it is simply important to use the spirit at work. It’s easier for the atmosphere in a smaller team than in a huge open-space office.
Sixty years of publications has been summarized by University of Chicago. Director of the Knowledge Lab James Evans said that
“Big teams are almost always more conservative. The work they produce is like blockbuster sequels; very reactive and low risk”.
In fact, these studies do not reveal new cards. It only makes us believe in our beliefs about working standards in corporations.
The difference of opinion creates progress
Effective communication is extremely important when creating a project. Developers who are in good relationships on a daily basis will create a better code than programmers who rarely see each other. It’s caused by closer, more personal relationships.
Small team collaboration leads to better communication, this means only one thing – more courage to present different opinions.
Different opinions and willingness to develop are probably the best definition of innovation.
Standards and rules
There are big differences in the methods of software house and corporation work. Many things are similar but ultimately the most important is the need for the client and the adaptation of developers to his requirements.
Large corporations have a long-established brand and strong client base but they’re not as innovative as smaller software houses. Following rules and ensuring proper protection of all processes and documentation can prove to be time-consuming and tiring for both sides.
Software house will definitely be a place that will break the rules. Despite this software house will look for new paths that can not be allowed by corporations.
Corporations often want to adapt to an individual client, but often they are doing it rather ineptly. They are not able to adapt and break rules as well as software house. Which is smaller and does not have many procedures.
The issue of priorities
The mission and goal for software house will be a key value, the corporation will put the shareholders first. The question of how important your project is to you and whether you want it to be created with the right involvement.
By creating your project with a smaller software house, you have the conviction that you are not a hundredth customer this month. The processing capacity of a 50-person team is not as big as a corporation that employs 10 times more people.
So it is very likely that you will become a key customer. In the future you will become a priority in long-term cooperation!
Andrzej Kopera • Sep 05
