Any software development project, even the smallest one, is a challenge. Sometimes it happens that after hiring a developer or even a team, you come up to the point when they can’t finish it up. It can be a lack of skills or, in the worst scenario, vanish and stop answering your calls. You have a bunch of code, half of your initial budget and severe issue for yourself and your business.
You start searching for other developers, but most of them decline your project offer. So, you start wondering if it’s possible to move your unfinished project to another team, or it’s time to re-think your scope and start from scratch.
Here are some working solutions you can use if you have such a problem.
When developers can work on a third-party code?
There is nothing impossible for a skillful programmer (of course, if the previous code was good). Yet, when the company welcomes a new developer on-board, he or she needs some time working on legacy code, and you need to take in into account.
Most qualified developers can deal with this situation. They can edit previously written code, and it’s a regular practice in software and web development.
But there are a lot of cases when editing other developer’s code can be troublesome. The primary reason is that a previous person didn’t have needed knowledge of software design and scalability. As a result, this code needs to be rewritten – which in many cases takes more time than writing from scratch.
Of course, if you are bringing a good developer into your team, it might speed up the process. But if you lost the connection with your engineers, you should be aware of the cases when it’s not possible to continue work.
When it’s not possible to edit and continue other’s code?
Sometimes, the code change can be almost impossible even for the most skillful developer. The source code you have might not be flexible or structured, and it should be rewritten. This issue might appear when the developer writes the code from his head without any documentation. As a result, someone else can’t take care of it.
Moreover, there are cases it’s not worth fixing broken code since it might be more expensive rather than writing from scratch.
Usually, these issues happen when the company outsources software development to low-cost development agencies from the Philippines or India. Of course, these two countries have a lot of excellent developers, but during the last years, they became infamous for “quick and dirty” tactics on the projects. It happens because some agencies are assigning tasks to juniors, where senior knowledge is a must. Unfortunately, a lot of qualified and proficient developers from these locations should work hard to overcome this kind of reputation.
But how it comes that companies are facing low-quality code issues? The primary reason for this problem is considering the price only, rather than expertise or reputation.
Besides, it would be best if you looked at communication and turnaround time since cultural and time differences, in most cases, are playing a lot.
When you are hiring a new company when the previous one failed is time-consuming, and the new team will need to learn what their foregoers did and familiarize themselves with specifications.
Tips to avoid or reduce the need for code change
Here are some practices you should put in place to make sure that the code your developers produce meets the company and the brand standard.
• Incorporate coding standards.
Standards are the guidelines set by the company. They outline styles, and the best practices each developer working on your software project should follow.
• Code review.
A review is a scheduled event for the developers to inspect a part of the code. Code reviews are aimed to ensure that all coding standards and best practices are being followed. These actions are intended to minimize errors, risks, and vulnerabilities, as well as to detect malware.
• Comments and documentation
Developers say that documentation wastes their time. However, informative explanations will make the simultaneous work of the team easier. Additionally, documentation and comments will make the transfer of your code smoother and more straightforward.
Also, you should make sure that from the stage of planning to development and testing – all documents and wireframes should be at the place.
What can I do if I got a half build software?
If you are dealing with such a situation right now and looking for the solution, contact Efisco, and we’ll see how we can help you. Depending on the scope, we may either suggest you build your dedicated team with us, or we will help you to find an outsourcing company that has the expertise you are looking for.