Choosing a developer
In-house or outside development?
How much of the web development can or should be conducted in-house and how much should be out-sourced?
Building a website, even a small simple one, is a time-consuming business. While it is true that simple sites can be built without a lot of technical knowledge, they rarely look professional and there are lots of pitfalls.
If you are tempted due to funding constraints to use in-house staff or volunteers because they have some IT knowledge or interest or because a particular person has a greater interest in getting the site up and running, then think instead about using them as the in-house manager of the project to select and work with an outside developer.
Keep your staff for the things that are best done in-house such as developing and maintaining content. You will find there is plenty of work in this area.
True story
Make sure your have professional support
We have a large international presence and reputation, and people who are interested in our charity tend to be younger and web savvy. So a website is important for us. We had been using a volunteer web designer for a number of years who had done a great job – but the site had started to get very out-of-date and he wasn't really available for us as often as we needed. Then the web designer's employer was taken over by a group who were happy to keep us as their charity client.
They started by implementing a free content management system. It was a quite extensive job but they convinced us it would save time in the long run. We then needed a large number of changes to update our publications, the fundraising cookbook, the online donation process, put the song on the website, and add a couple of new pages for programs. So we hired the volunteer web designer for a couple of days to ensure timely changes and his undivided attention. The website works very well for us now.
While voluntary web designers are fantastic – if you need changes done quickly it is best to employ someone. Also a content management system is a great resource as it allows very easy changes to be done by staff with no web designing skills or experience.
Sonya Tufnell, Development Manager, Child Wise (ECPAT in Australia)
Asking for expressions of interest
If you know a handful of web developers that you believe have the capacity to build the site you want, then you may decide to send the development brief and draft contract to those developers only.
However, if you are unsure who is out there that could do the work, you may need to search for qualified developers. A number of high-profile development and web design companies take on pro bono or heavily discounted nonprofit clients so it’s worth asking around. You can ask your peers in related organisations (check relevant registers held by the relevant government ICT agencies in your state for lists of accredited providers) or you might want to go through an ‘Expression of Interest’ (EOI) exercise.
While the EOI exercise introduces yet another step in the process of developing your website, it can uncover a group of which you were unaware. This process is also transparent and fair to all.
An EOI is generally advertised in newspapers and in other appropriate media to give you the maximum chance of uncovering that ‘unknown to you’ talent.
What to look for in a developer
The ideal web developer to build your website would rate ‘yes’ to as many as possible of the questions posed in the checklist below.
Checklist
- Do the web developers have the skills and experience to develop the type of site you have specified? (e.g. highly dependent on graphic design or e-commerce skills)
- Have they built websites for your type of organisation before?
- Is what they propose to do for you able to be viewed on a live website that you can see and explore?
- Was their written submission easy to understand?
- How much experience do they have in developing websites similar to the one you’re planning to develop?
- Are they financially sound?
- Is their solution value for money?
- Does their proposal indicate that they will add value to the project beyond merely providing what you asked for?
- Do they seem to be good listeners?
- Do they appear to be honest and professional?
- Do they understand the project – especially its contents?
- Have you met all the key people from the web development team who will be working on the project?
- Have they agreed to sign the contract without alteration to any of the terms and conditions you deem to be non-negotiable (e.g. copyright) and without wishing to introduce new terms and conditions that are unacceptable to you?
- Will their approach allow you to maintain the site easily and cost-effectively yourself after it has been launched – should you wish to?
- Have you spoken to previous clients and heard good things about them?
True story
Shop around
Shop around to find someone you can work with and who is prepared to work in partnership with you. Avoid anyone who makes ICT mysterious and is reluctant to share what they know. Above all, you need a good communicator and someone who will take you and your organisation seriously. Once you think you've got someone, then build the relationship, both personally by demonstrating that you value the contractor, and professionally by making sure they really understand what your organisation is all about.
Linda McLelland, Women’s Health Queensland Wide Inc.
Evaluating the developers
It is useful to develop a score-sheet for use when evaluating responses by web developers to a call for Expressions of Interest or a Request for Proposal. Using a score-sheet means you will have an overall score for each respondent for ranking purposes and the discipline of using a score-sheet helps your objectivity and helps ensure you compare all responses in the same way.
It will also be a record of the reasons for selecting the short-listed or the successful tenderer, if you want to provide feedback to the unsuccessful respondents.
There are two sample score-sheets below in word processor format that you can download and alter to suit your circumstances.
Template – Sample Expression of Interest Evaluation Sheet.
Template – Sample Request for Proposal (RFP) Response Evaluation Sheet.
True story
Choose carefully
Select your web and database consultants carefully. Consultants need a good understanding of the organisation’s needs and to establish good working relationships with the staff. Although our consultants had no previous experience with library systems, they understood the needs of nonprofit organisations and was able to provide solid IT skills and support. They also had experience in working on projects that used open source software.
Philanthropy Australia. See full case study The contract
If you are engaging an outside web development team you should have a written contract.
The well-written contract:
- is a useful risk-management tool
- provides maximum protection for your organisation against legal action from third parties
- protection against damage or loss arising from a negligent or rogue developer
- should make the development process more efficient by providing a framework for decision-making and dispute resolution.
As with any contract it is worth getting it reviewed by a lawyer. This should include the issue of jurisdiction. A developer may be from another state (and this is not uncommon) and there may be doubts about how binding the contract is in your state. In addition, content that is perfectly lawful in one state or country may be unlawful in other. The jurisdiction issues should be raised with a lawyer.
True story
A tighter contract
What would we do differently? We would have a tighter contract. We probably paid more than we agreed to because it wasn’t really clear what we agreed to. So we would make the contract very clear and overcome different understandings of what was meant to happen.
Bible college from Australian Government booklet: ‘Achieving value from ICT: key management strategies’
In general it is best not to accept the developer's contract. The contract should be one that your organisation has drawn up with legal assistance if possible. However, also avoid terms and conditions that are grossly in your favour and punitive towards the developer. Being balanced, reasonable and fair is difficult, but a contract that recognises both parties' rights will be more constructive to your relationship with the developer and of greater assistance in the day-to-day management of the project.
What is in the contract?
The following issues should be addressed in the contract:
- a description of the project and what is to be delivered
- project management procedures – who is responsible, regularity of meetings, agenda, location and minute taking
- stages of the project, deliverables and exit clauses – 1) technical specifications (provide the opportunity to terminate the agreement if the developer has proven to be disappointing or worse) 2) development and testing 3) launch
- payment schedule, terms and conditions and what constitutes acceptance – when and how much at each stage, what constitutes failure to perform and what rights you will have to withhold payment in part or in whole if the deliverables at any milestone are unsatisfactory
- variations to the agreement – procedures for raising, negotiating and amending the agreement
- intellectual property – ensure there is an assignment of copyright to your organisation, or at least the granting by the developer of a perpetual, world-wide, non-exclusive royalty-free licence over the copyright
- warranties – that the website will be error and virus-free (and for what period), that the web developers have not infringed anyone's rights in supplying the solution
- insurance – professional indemnity, public liability and others if required
- dispute resolution – procedure and who will be the mediator
- termination – terms and conditions under which the organisation can terminate the agreement – make it general enough to allow you to terminate the project whenever the need arises, and, of course, to pay outstanding fees to that point.