Changing developer is a tough choice - here’s our guide to success

Have you fallen out of love with your software development partner? Like any relationship, things can become tough, particularly when communication breaks down or there’s a mismatch between each other’s needs and expectations. Here’s our guide to the ins and outs of swapping your tech supplier.

Why change?

There are lots of reasons why changing your development partner may seem like an option:

• Projects are taking too long to deliver or arrive late
• Budgets are running away from you
• Communication is poor, updates are infrequent or unreliable
• There is no clarity of the end point
• The software is not performing well
• The developer says no more often than yes
• The requirements have been misunderstood

Some of these problems are down to poor communication and it’s worth addressing this on both sides before making a drastic change to your business operations. However if trust has broken down in the relationship then here’s how to ensure a smooth transition.

Secure your intellectual property

• Make sure you know exactly where your source code is hosted, and who has access.
• Ensure the source code is stored in a secure, version-controlled repository such as GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket.
• Confirm you have full access and ownership of all repositories, code, and related assets.
• Review architecture documentation and system diagrams - if they don’t exist, this is a good time to request them.
• Collect all infrastructure credentials, including access to cloud platforms, APIs, databases, and deployment pipelines.
• Consider whether you need to establish an escrow agreement to safeguard your business continuity in future.

Check your existing contracts

• Before making any moves, it’s essential to understand your legal position.
• Review the notice period required to terminate your existing agreement and whether any exit fees apply.
• Confirm that your business owns the intellectual property of the software developed - this can include code, designs, documentation and branding.
• Look for clauses relating to transition support - your current partner may be contractually obliged to help onboard the next supplier.
• If the terms are unclear or ambiguous, it may be worth seeking legal advice to clarify your rights and obligations.

Talk to new suppliers

• Finding the right partner starts with open and honest conversations.
• Put a mutual NDA in place early to allow open discussion without risk.
• Check whether the new partner is familiar with your existing tech stack - alignment here reduces transition time and risk.
• Be candid about what went wrong before - and listen to their response. A good partner will want to understand how to avoid repeating past mistakes.
• Set out your expectations, success metrics, and how you prefer to work. In some cases, preparing an RFP can help structure the conversation.
• Ask for references or case studies from similar projects - a confident supplier should be happy to provide them.
• Don’t be surprised if a new developer validates some of the decisions of your previous team - context matters.

Plan a transition period

• Successful handovers require coordination, clarity and a bit of patience.
• Schedule a structured handover period including access to key personnel from the outgoing team, if possible.
• Define ownership and responsibilities clearly to avoid overlap or confusion.
• Allow for an onboarding period where the new team gets familiar with your product, business and technical context.
• Don’t expect miracles immediately - even the best developers need time to build domain knowledge.
• Start small with a manageable first project to build trust and prove capability before committing to larger changes.