iWhy this matters more in 2026 than it did in 2014
The Hong Kong SME software market is bigger and stranger than it has ever been. There are more vendors, more frameworks, more cheap offshore subcontracting chains — and considerably more bad outcomes. Picking the wrong partner now costs more because the work has compounded: you have a payment integration that breaks, a legacy mobile app that won't open on iOS 18, an internal tool no one alive understands.
We have walked into a startling number of those rooms, opened the laptop, and read the previous developer's source code. We have seen what good looks like, and what bad looks like. The pattern is always the same: the wrong vendor was chosen at the wrong moment for the wrong reason.
So here are the ten questions that, asked seriously at the start, almost always sort the field.
iiThe ten questions
1. Who will write the code — by name?
Not "our team" — names. The same names that will be on the project the day it ships. If the names change between the sales call and the kickoff, leave.
2. Where will the source code live?
It should live in your GitHub or GitLab organisation from day one, not theirs. If they push back, that is the answer. The code is the deliverable; you should own it as it is written, not when the project is "done".
3. Where will my data live?
If you are in finance, healthcare, education or government work, data residency is a hard requirement. Get an answer in writing about which region the database and storage are in, and what happens if you ask them to migrate.
4. What happens when something breaks at 2am on Chinese New Year?
Every good vendor has an on-call story. Bad vendors say "we monitor closely". Press for: who picks up the phone, what their target response time is in writing, and what an SLA breach actually costs them.
If they cannot tell you the name of the person who will be paged when production goes down, they do not have an on-call rotation. They have a hope.— A.K., recovered from a bad outsourcing engagement, 2024
5. How do you handle scope changes?
Software projects always change. The honest answer is "we re-plan together, and we tell you what it costs in time and money before we do it". The dishonest answer is "we absorb small changes" — meaning the inevitable big change will be silently descoped.
6. Who owns the intellectual property?
You should, on the moment of payment. Get the IP clause in the contract before you sign. Some vendors keep IP "for future support" — this is a trap, designed to lock you in.
7. What is your typical engagement length?
If the answer is 3–6 weeks, you are buying a sprint. If the answer is 9–14 weeks, you are buying a project. If the answer is "years", you are buying a relationship. Decide which one you actually want before you start.
8. Can I talk to two of your previous clients — without you in the room?
A vendor who will not introduce you to a previous client without supervision has something to hide. We always make the introduction and step out.
9. How will I know the project is on track?
The right answer is "weekly demos, in your hands". The wrong answer is "monthly status reports". Status reports are the slowest, most fragile mechanism in software project management; demos are the only one that doesn't lie.
10. What is the smallest version that could ship?
If they cannot answer this in one sentence, they are going to over-build the project. Ask it again on the kickoff call. Ask it again at the halfway point. The discipline of always knowing what the next ship looks like is what separates studios from agencies.
iiiWhat this looks like, in practice
We use a version of this list ourselves when we evaluate our partners — the financial controller, the cloud provider, the accountancy. The questions translate cleanly across industries. The answers tell you who you are actually dealing with.
The right vendor answers all ten quickly, with names, dates, and a paper trail. The wrong vendor answers with reassurances.
If you are in the middle of a vendor selection right now and you would like an outside read, we are happy to spend 30 minutes on the phone — no commitment, no pitch. That offer is real; we have made it for years and most calls end with us recommending someone else.