Software developers spend money like it’s not they’re money they are spending.
I’ve never met a bunch of professionals who so vehemently believe that cash is invisible and budgets are but wishes.
As a non-technology person who’s looking at commissioning some people to build some software for them, this is something you need be keenly aware of, because I assure you every single decision a software team will make will come with a cost.
I’m not just talking about the time spent to build it – for which you’ll pay for every minute spent – but the other decisions they make about hosting, components, and any services they want to plumb into your solution.
I’m not saying that these aren’t legitimate costs, what I’m trying to tune you into is that developers don’t operate from a place of considered spending – i.e. they won’t spend the time to find the absolute most effective solution for any problem they will encounter. They will tend to recommend the first thing.
So if you are commissioning a software team, when they are coming to you about money, make sure they have sharpened their pencils.