Buying & Reviewing Tech Work
Buying technology services is one of the riskiest activities for a non-technical leader. This playbook gives you the vetting tools and communication frameworks to hire the right talent and manage them successfully.
Vetting & Hiring Talent
How to spot a "great" developer or agency even if you can't read their code.
Don't just look at screenshots. Ask for a "technical walkthrough" of a previous project. Why did they choose that database? How do they handle backups?
Does the agency ask about your business goals? Or do they just talk about "React" and "Node"? Hire for business outcomes, not just languages.
Before a $50k contract, give a $500 task. Fix a bug, build a small report. Observe their communication, timeliness, and code quality (have a 3rd party review it).
Pro Tip
Ask for references and specifically ask: "Tell me about a time something went wrong. How did they communicate and fix it?"
Reviewing Proposals & SOWs
A vague Statement of Work (SOW) is an expensive mistake. Clarity is your best defense.
Define "Done." Instead of "Build a dashboard," use "A dashboard that shows real-time sales from Stripe and filters by date range."
Ask about: Hosting fees, API costs, maintenance retainers, and "Change Request" pricing.
Ensure the contract explicitly states that YOU own the code, the domain, the assets, and the accounts—not the agency.
Managing Technical Debt
Building software is like building a house; you have to maintain it or it will collapse.
Allocate 20% of every project to "Technical Debt"—fixing old code, updating libraries, and cleaning up the database.
Require a "README" file and an "Admin Guide." If your developer disappears tomorrow, can someone else take over in 2 hours?
Expert Takeaways
- •Milestones should be tied to "Demonstrable Work," not just "Hours Spent." Don't pay for "research" without a summary document.
- •Use a professional project management tool (like Linear or Trello) to track progress. If you don't see tickets moving, the project is stalled.
- •Trust, but verify. Have a neutral third-party "Technical Advisor" perform a code review once a quarter.
The Bottom Line
You are the "Client," but you must also be the "Steward." Clarity in the contract, vetting in the hiring, and discipline in the maintenance are the keys to technical success.