Looking for recommendations to outsource GUI development (Adobe Flex, Illustrator, PHP, C, etc.)

Question

I'm new to this website and don't know if the following question is acceptable or frowned upon.

I'm coming from a start-up in the scientific/engineering community, and I need to outsource the development of a GUI. As I don't have much experience with the software community, my main technique in trying to find companies to outsource has been to simply use Google to research various companies.

However, I'd prefer to have some insider knowledge of companies that people, particularly software folks, have had good experience with. As to not make this an open-ended question, I'm specifically looking for recommendations to companies meeting my criteria below, plus any pros and cons about them.

I need to hire 3 different types of developers (not necessarily all in one company) on a limited budget, so I need to get the most bang for the buck, so to speak:

• GUI designer (I've already laid everything out and documented the GUI. However, it needs some personality; Adobe Illustrator is preferred tool)

• GUI developer (someone to take the design and code it; I'm leaning towards Adobe Flex)

• Back-end developer (someone to connect the GUI to the database and C-program routines that crunch the math; any inexpensive coding language is fine, e.g. PHP, etc.)

Some characteristics of my GUI include:

• consistent look and feel regardless of platform

• professional scientific plots (interactive)

• accessed from internet (e.g. not a standalone desktop application)

• connects to Oracle database

• connects to C program scripts to compute complex math

The key criteria I'll use in evaluating companies includes:

• high quality, honest and ethical, without charging an arm and a leg

• intend on being around for many years, as I'll need to expand the GUI over time

• good communication and direct access to the people doing the work so I can quickly answer their questions. I'm very hands on.

Answer 1

I was about to reply on UX SE :-)

[Before I comment: The following is my own opinion, and there are always exceptions. I make some generalizations. Your mileage may vary. Share prices can go down as well as up. Disclaimers are not limited to those listed here.]

You might want to consider not looking to find each of the three people yourself otherwise you might triple your task and create problems. By finding one suitable person, they may well be able to recommend suitable preferred and trusted people that they have worked with before and can thus better identify their suitability for the role. People in the roles you describe (back end developer, GUI developer and GUI designer - for want of any other role-names) are very likely to have worked together. By finding them independently and geographically dispersed, you run the risk of not creating a cohesive team.

Finding them all in one organisation means that company is more likely to be larger and more established - thus more expensive. An outsourced development company might well do the same thing - i.e. call on contractor resources, but they will be charging rates that allow them to do this - or they will try and 'make do' with the resources they have.

But really the independent professionals are not to be ignored - they can call on flexible resources in a project dependent manner, plus they don't have the overheads of a larger company.

But how to find them? I've always believed that it's a good thing to meet people face to face and if you are concerned about the security, honesty and protection of intellectual property (as your question on Programmers SE suggest) then I would consider a reasonably local resource if at all possible.

In the tech community there are numerous groups of creative professionals who share knowledge, skills and resources, some of them are found in online communities and places like this very website, others are centralized geographically and share via mailing lists. Depending on where in the world you are, you may be able to find such a group not far from you.

On another note, frequently I see specifications include the tools that a designer/developer should use - for example in your case, Adobe Illustrator preferred. This may turn away some good designers who happen to work much more efficiently using other tools. Designers/developers tend to be very attached to their favourite tools :-). So only specify the tools if you know it's critical to the product pipeline.

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And now the full disclosure: I hesitated to answer due to conflict of interests. I worked for an outsourced development company for 12 years and now run my own UI development and consultancy business. Maybe I shouldn't have hesitated, Stack Exchange is all about sharing professional knowledge and expertise, so if here's not a good place, where is?.

Answer 2

You'll want to hire a web application development company. There's thousands upon thousands of them out there. If you mention your location folks might be able to steer you towards some local talent.

In general, I'd suggest looking for a firm that's strong on User Experience. I also wouldn't put in arbitrary requirements at this point (such as that it has to be identical across platforms, it should use Adobe Flex, and it should be web based as those tend to be somewhat contradictory). Ideally technology decisions are based on the design of the product and the user's needs.