Don't forget to get a copy of the source code in your digital projects

The challenge: Without the final source code you are locked in

Today many online professionals simply leave it to their digital agency or system integrator to implement solutions based on their requirements, perhaps with some level of documentation, but without a final copy of the source code.

To quote Tomas:

"Without source code access, you are effectively locked in with your agency. If you have to migrate, e.g.  from SharePoint 2007 to SharePoint 2010,  but don't have the source code, you are forced to use the same digital agency. If the agency is too busy or is no longer around, you are unable to leverage the source code and have to start over"

There are several reasons why agencies may argue that you don't really need the source code. Some will consider the source code proprietary and their intellectual property, while others will be concerned that the trained developer will reveal simple human errors and real programming mistakes.

The solution: Put source code access into the contract

Even if you honestly wouldn't know what to do with thousands of lines of source code, it is still a good idea to demand source code access in your contracts. As Tomas says:

"If, for some reason, the agency refuses to give you the final source code together with the final deliverables, your only option to force them is to take legal action. This takes years and usually longer than the lifespan of most web projects. Your only real alternative - and it's an expensive one - is to start from scratch. And agencies fully realize this"

An additional advantage with having access to the source code, is that an experienced developer will be able to implement fixes without the agency. If you also have a support contract, this may take some additional negotiation to iron out, but as Tomas says, the real problems are typically about human communication:

The customer tries to say A1, the project manager hears A2, and the programmers programmes A3. Sometimes the programmer is not focusing while programming, and his work is subsequently of poor standard. There are things you can do to prevent this.

Next steps

GI is a member of one of our network groups for online professionals, and shared the source code tip at a recent group meeting, where they also received constructive criticism from other group members for moving their projects forward.

If you’d like the chance to network with and learn from experienced online professionals, I’d encourage you to:

• Join one of our groups for online professionals in the UK, US or mainland Europe.
• sign up for the J. Boye Conference Philadelphia 2011, the premier conference for online professionals on May 3 – 5

What about your source code? Have you managed to get it from your agency? Did you ask?

Janus Boye in 2000 with some skilled developers

If you don't work with great developers and know how to manage them, you can forget digital strategy, good project management, quality content or user experience design: your project will fail.

During the past months I've come to realize the importance of developers and how they are managed. In the few web projects that actually succeed, a common characteristic seems to be a combination of experienced developers and a manager that often has a technical background.

As a customer you don't necessarily need to employ great web developers, but you need to employ somebody who can manage them. The developers can be working at a system integrator or at your vendor of choice. Either way the developers need to be directly involved on your projects. If they are not employees of your organisation, you need stronger project management skills than if they are on the inside, so that you can ensure that other clients and priorities are not taking over.

Some vendors are really good with developers. Take Microsoft with their Microsoft Developer Network, which has helped spark the romance with a product like SharePoint found in IT department around the world. Among the big vendors, IBM and Oracle also both has extensive developer communities with user groups and events geared at the technically savvy. Among the smaller vendors, this is more the exception than the rule. Alterian and FatWire are examples of vendors that don't really offer much in terms of connecting with developers and a developer community, while Ektron and Sitecore are smaller vendors that have done more than most in their league.

For you as a customer this is important to take into account. It means that it is difficult to find great web developers experienced with Alterian or FatWire. It is also more difficult to convince great developers to take on an Alterian or FatWire project and learn the products, since it is far from as attractive to write on the CV compared to those vendors that treat developers with more interest.

If you have managed to pull off a success without great developers, I would love to hear from you!