How to choose a software developer or studio in Malta.

A word on my own bias

I build custom business systems for SMEs from Malta, alone. If you read this and decide that a larger agency, an in-house hire or an off-the-shelf product suits you better, that is a fine outcome. The custom versus off-the-shelf comparison is written in the same spirit. Everything below applies to whoever you talk to, me included.

Freelancer, small studio or agency

These are tendencies, not rules, and the person matters more than the label.

• A freelancer or one-person studio: you talk to the person who builds. Decisions are quick and there is little overhead. The risk is dependence: holidays, illness or a full diary. Ask about backups of the work, documentation and what happens if they are unavailable.
• A small studio: several people, so more capacity and a second pair of eyes. Ask who actually does the building, because the person who sells is not always the person who builds.
• A larger agency: more process, project managers and specialists. That can suit a big, complicated project. For a small one, check that you will not be paying mainly for coordination, and that you will get senior attention.

Fixed quote or time and materials

A fixed quote gives you a number up front. It works when the scope is clear and written down, and it only stays fair if the quote says what is in and what is out. Anything outside the scope becomes a change request, so ask how those are priced.

Time and materials means you pay for hours as they are used, usually with an estimate. It suits work where the answer is not known yet, but it needs trust and regular reporting. Ask for a cap or a review point.

A middle route is a fixed quote per phase: the must-haves first, then re-quote the next phase with what you have learned. That is how I work: a fixed quote with a phase plan, so you are using the first release while the rest is built.

Questions worth asking

Ask every candidate the same list, in writing if you can. You will learn as much from the quality of the answers as from the content.

• Can I see a system like mine in daily use, and can I speak to someone who uses it?
• Who will actually build it, and who will I talk to week to week?
• What exactly is in the quote, and what is not? How are changes priced?
• Will I see the real system as it is built, or only at the end?
• Who owns the code, the data and the hosting account, and can I get an export of my data at any time?
• How will my existing spreadsheets or system be moved across, and how will you check nothing was lost?
• What do you need from me, and what happens to the schedule if I am slow to answer?
• What does support look like after launch, and how is it priced?
• What happens if you are unavailable for a few weeks?

Red flags

None of these proves a problem. Several together should make you pause:

• A price with no scope, no hours and no list of exclusions.
• Nobody asked how your business works before quoting.
• No live work to look at, or no willingness to let you speak to a client.
• Pressure to sign quickly, or a discount that expires tomorrow.
• No mention of backups, hosting, security or migrating your data.
• A promise of an exact date before they have seen your data.
• The developer holds the only logins to your hosting or domain.
• Technology talk instead of business talk.
• A quote far below the others with no explanation. Ask where the hours went.

Checking the proof

Portfolios are easy to polish. Look for systems that are in daily use, ask what is live and what is still in development, and notice whether the studio says plainly when it has not built your type of system before. My case studies describe only what each project says, and where I have not built your exact system I say so on the page.

In Malta you can often ask for a name you can phone, and a meeting in person is easy to arrange, which is a real advantage. If you plan to apply for Digitalise Your SME funding, you will need quotes from three unrelated suppliers anyway, so use that to compare: the quotations guide explains the rule, and the brief guide helps you send each of them the same thing.

Compare like with like

When the quotes come in, put the hours, the phases, what is excluded and what support costs side by side. The pricing page covers how I price, and the quote builder gives you a scoped brief and a rough build time in about five minutes, whoever you end up choosing.