Choosing an IT partner: the right questions
A demo shows what works. These questions show what happens when it does not.
What happens if we stop?
Do I have access to the code, the servers and the accounts? The answer decides whether you have a partner or a dependency.
Who actually does the work?
The person selling is not always the person building. Ask to speak to whoever will do the work.
How do you handle emergencies?
What are the response times, and who is reachable outside office hours? Ask for a concrete recent example.
What happens after delivery?
Who maintains it, at what cost, and what is included? A project without an answer to that is half finished.
Tell me about a project that went wrong
The most revealing question of all. Somebody with only successes to tell either lacks experience or is not being honest.
