Guide · Anyone evaluating proposals · 6 min read
Questions to ask any software vendor
Proposals tend to look alike. The differences show up in how a vendor answers questions about ownership, operations and what happens when things go wrong. Ask these of everyone, including us.
Ownership and exit
Our answers: the client owns code and data; systems run in accounts the client controls; handover includes runbooks and a recorded walkthrough; escrow is available on enterprise terms. See the technology page, ownership section.
- Who owns the code, the data and the accounts the system runs in?
- If we end the relationship, what do we keep, and in what form?
- Can another team take over the system with the documentation you hand over?
- Is source-code escrow available for critical systems?
Delivery
Our answers: weekly written updates and a staging demo you can open on your phone; acceptance checklists agreed in advance; scope changes re-quoted in writing before work starts; you talk to the engineers. See how we work.
- How will we see progress before the end: demos, a staging environment, written updates?
- What is the acceptance process for each milestone, and who signs?
- What happens when we change our minds about scope?
- Who exactly will work on this, and will we talk to them directly?
Operations and support
Our answers: hosting in your accounts or in-country where required; backups with tested restores; monitoring and alerting; support agreements with response times by severity. See the how-we-work page for the practices and the pricing page for support models.
- Where will the system be hosted, and who holds the keys?
- How are backups taken, and when was a restore last tested?
- What is monitored, and who is alerted when something breaks?
- What are the support hours and response times by severity after launch?
Security and data
Our answers: role-based access with per-action audit logs; secrets never in the browser or the repository; a security page that states what is live, what is designed and what we got wrong once; GDPR-style practice aligned with the Personal Data Protection Proclamation. See the security page.
- Who can see and change our data, and is every change logged?
- How are passwords, tokens and payment credentials stored?
- What security claims can you actually evidence, and what do you not claim?
- How do you handle personal data under Ethiopian data-protection rules?
Money
Our answers: fixed price per scope with milestone payments, no hourly billing; provider fees passed through at cost; support and hosting priced separately and in writing. See pricing.
- Is the price fixed per scope, hourly, or something else?
- What is included, and what is extra: hosting, licences, third-party fees, training?
- What will year two cost?
- Who pays payment-provider and SMS fees?
Evidence
Our answers: three products we build and operate ourselves, with screenshots taken from the live systems, and every service page marked as proven in production or offered as a prospective service. See our work.
- What have you built that is running today, with real users and real transactions?
- Can we see it, or talk to someone who uses it?
- Which of your claims on this proposal are proven, and which are new for you?
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