Your Web Developer Abandon you?

Finding a good programmer is quite like the needle in the haystack. Losing one, which happens more often than you think, can mean months in delays and your project budget exploding. Knowledge is always the best defense, so let’s impart some onto you to help avert a disaster…

When you talk to prospective replacement developers, they’ll no doubt ask you to let them review your project’s existing source code. If they don’t, there’s something very dodgy about them and you should walk away! But here’s the thing: almost without fail they’ll tell you that your codebase is a pile of dung and your project has to be redone from the beginning. Wait, didn’t you spend $30,000 on this app, and now these clowns are telling you it was for naught? Wasn’t your previous programmer an MIT graduate?

(Note: you probably should NOT show them your entire codebase, just part of it, unless it’s a reputable firm)

You could show them code from a famous open source application written by some of the best coders on earth and they would say the same thing. The truth is, most developers hate dealing with other programmers’ code, so rather than sorting that out they’ll automatically say it’s crap. They might not even have so much as glanced at the source you provided. No honor among coders is there?!

The other obvious reason for saying your code is the bottom of the bird cage is that a completely new application will make them more money and hold less potential nasty surprises that could be buried in that code and which then becomes their responsibility. Another more distant explanation for their assessment is that they just can’t handle the complexities of your app. Just say it’s badly written and that it will cost more to fix than to start anew and voila!

As a veteran programmer myself who has reviewed countless lines of code written by others, I can tell you that in most cases, taking over a project isn’t that difficult. If it was built using a framework and it was faithful to it, it should be very easy to transition. If the prospective developer isn’t familiar with the programming language or framework of your app, then there’s no point in talking to them! But certainly most applications are workable and their deficiencies can be corrected and it’s highly improbable that the fixes would cost more than a new project. For a developer to tell a potential customer it’s worthless is probably a bald-faced lie!

How do you deal with this? Challenge their assumption, ask them why, and if it sounds like BS, it probably is, and move on to the next candidate. If in doubt, have an impartial professional code review done by a company that offers this service [like my firm, for one!;)]. It will cost you a small amount of money but give you a ton of ammunition the next time someone tells you it’s crap. The report could also point out areas of concern, which will also help you and your new developers going forward. Of course, if the report says it is crap, then your problem is unfortunately real!

If you had your original app done offshore, and I’m not judging you if you did, best not to mention that to your potential developers. At the mere mention of “India”, for instance, a great number of developers are prejudiced and the “crap” word will surface almost immediately. A great many orphaned offshore coded apps have been brought to my firm, and they’re not all that crappy! The main reason customers abandon offshore programmers (yep, it’s the customers that orphan their own apps!) is because of the difficulties communicating their wishes to them and perhaps the excessive time involved moving the project along. It’s often the customers themselves who call it crap, and obviously that doesn’t help their cause. Let the code speak for itself, no need to taint it!

Let’s not be naïve however! There are a lot of bad programmers out there, more bad than good (especially freelancers who are unsupervised), and therefore a lot of crap apps being produced! If you hired some dude somewhere just because he was cheap, you probably got what you paid for! Or if what you’re bringing to the developers is actually a cheap app you bought off the web, let’s be crystal clear that it’s less likely to be well structured. What did you expect for a $45 half-baked out-of-the-box “commercial” app created and maintained by a team of one? I’ve had the non-pleasure of reviewing such apps many times and I issue this warning to all: If it’s a commercial app and it isn’t maintained by a whole group of programmers, skip it!

Knowledge is power. In an upcoming article I will discuss what to look for, and watch out for, in finding the right developers.