# Advice on finding a Ruby on Rails developer and/or an outsourced company

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/advice-on-finding-a-ruby-on-rails-developer-and-or-an-outsourced-company/178852>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [November 12, 2009, 11:03am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/advice-on-finding-a-ruby-on-rails-developer-and-or-an-outsourced-company/178852 "2009-11-12T11:03:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![damien](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@damien](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/damien)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 11:03am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/advice-on-finding-a-ruby-on-rails-developer-and-or-an-outsourced-company/178852/1 "2009-11-12T11:03:26Z")

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To all,

Looking for advice on how to find a developer or outsourced company  
that is experienced in Ruby on Rails to take a current software  
program built on Access/visual basic and Crystal Reports to the web  
using the RoR framework.

I am a business person and have no idea on how to find the right  
person/people to work with, what questions to ask so that I know they  
have the right experience and what should be paid (this product is  
currently being boot-strapped - but I fully understand the  
consequences of cheap, inexperienced development).

Lastly, is it possible to find a good programmer and designer in one  
or is always better to use two different people?

Your advice is appreciated!  
Damien.

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**Author:** ![damien](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@damien](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/damien)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/advice-on-finding-a-ruby-on-rails-developer-and-or-an-outsourced-company/178852/2 "2009-11-12T15:13:46Z")

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Damien wrote:

> To all,
> 
> Looking for advice on how to find a developer or outsourced company  
> that is experienced in Ruby on Rails to take a current software  
> program built on Access/visual basic and Crystal Reports to the web  
> using the RoR framework.

Why have you decided on Rails before finding a developer? In general,  
it is best to let the developer make the technical decisions.

> I am a business person and have no idea on how to find the right  
> person/people to work with, what questions to ask so that I know they  
> have the right experience and what should be paid (this product is  
> currently being boot-strapped - but I fully understand the  
> consequences of cheap, inexperienced development).

That’s tough. You could start with the Joel Test, although that’s  
really meant to qualify possible places to work. But if you’re hiring  
developers, you are either going to have to become knowledgeable enough  
to ask the right questions, or you’ll have to hire a lead developer to  
ask the questions for you.

> Lastly, is it possible to find a good programmer and designer in one  
> or is always better to use two different people?

It depends on the people and the project. Don’t expect to find both in  
one person, but know that lightning might strike.

> Your advice is appreciated!  
> Damien.

## Best,

Marnen Laibow-Koser  
[http://www.marnen.org](http://www.marnen.org)  
removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid

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**Author:** ![damien](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@damien](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/damien)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/advice-on-finding-a-ruby-on-rails-developer-and-or-an-outsourced-company/178852/3 "2009-11-13T01:51:29Z")

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You might want to check out the freelancers listed on  
[http://www.workingwithrails.com/](http://www.workingwithrails.com/). For companies, try  
[http://www.railsdevelopment.com/](http://www.railsdevelopment.com/).

I’m biased, as the company I employed by works on several open source  
projects, but looking at the reputation of a developer or companies  
OSS work is one way to get a feeling of their work.

Cheers,  
Walter  
Katipo Communications, Ltd. ([http://katipo.co.nz](http://katipo.co.nz))  
Kete Project Lead ([http://kete.net.nz](http://kete.net.nz))  
[http://twitter.com/wtem](http://twitter.com/wtem)

P.S. - contact me offlist if you want to talk to me about your project.