Best Practices for IT Project Development and Takeover

What Does a Well-Managed Software Project Look Like?

A common scenario – a chosen software development company builds a project from scratch. The project is successfully launched and generates value for your business, but there is still room for improvement: you have ideas, you have a budget, the only thing missing is execution.

However, real life happens – developers either refuse to continue working on the system or deliver changes so slowly that it would take years to implement your vision.

A natural next step is to look for another company. But after you find one and hand over the project, it turns out that implementation of new changes will take much longer than expected. On top of that, you face additional costs just to get the project up and running in the new environment. The most common issues encountered during project takeover:

1. The client does not have access to the source code. Depending on the technologies used, the code might be stored directly on the server (e.g., PHP) or only available in compiled form (e.g., Java, .NET). Extracting or decompiling the code takes time, and the result is less readable.
2. No version control system (GIT) was used. This is an essential component of every software development project. Without it, it is impossible to clearly track what was changed and when. Simply uploading a project into GIT is not enough – it must be properly configured to separate versioned files from automatically generated ones.
3. No project management system was used. A best practice in IT projects is to register all tasks in a project management tool and reference task numbers and short descriptions in GIT commit messages. This makes it clear what context each change belongs to and significantly speeds up decision-making.
4. No automated deployment processes. Modern GIT platforms (Github.com, Gitlab.com, Bitbucket.org) allow automating deployment with minimal effort. This saves a significant amount of time and ensures that even when team members change, the process of launching the project remains clear. It is a one-time investment that pays off many times.
5. No relational structure defined in the database. When database relationships are not properly defined, understanding how data is connected requires diving into the code instead of seeing it directly in the database. This slows down development and maintenance.

Key Elements to Ensure Your Project Is Managed Sustainably and Without Vendor Lock-In

1. Make sure the source code is stored in a GIT version control system. You can ask the vendor to add you to their repository, but ideally the code should be hosted under your own account.
2. Use a project management system. For smaller projects, Trello.com is sufficient; for more complex needs, Jira.com is recommended. Most platforms offer a free tier for small teams.
3. Ensure that developers reference task IDs from the project management system in their GIT commit messages. Most modern systems integrate automatically, so commit references appear directly in the task view.
4. Invest time into automated deployment. Although it may take a few dozen hours to set up, it will save far more time in the long run and reduce human error.
5. Periodically conduct a database audit to ensure relationships and data structure are properly maintained.

We hope these guidelines help your organization manage IT projects more efficiently and reduce risks when switching suppliers.