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How SimplyPHP Can Support Organizations Abandoned by Their Developer

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SimplyPHP support organizations abandoned by their developer

There are many reasons why developers and project owners have to part ways. Sometimes, it’s a matter of a bad cultural fit – the developer simply isn’t on the same page as other key stakeholders. Other times, developers take on too much responsibility and need to step away. In rare situations, accidents or injuries can happen that take developers away from their critical work.

Regardless of the cause, a developer leaving a project suddenly or without warning can be extremely damaging. It can put projects behind schedule and leave the existing team with knowledge gaps that can be difficult to fill.

In some situations, developers who are unscrupulous or disorganized can leave companies completely locked out of their own code base, unable to work or continue the project until the credentials or password are secured.

Protect Yourself from Dev Abandonment

One of the best things that companies can do to minimize the chances of their project being disrupted is ensure they own their own code base (https://simplyphp.com/articles/how-to-avoid-scenarios-that-lead-to-developer-abandonment). This means that not only does your organization have the credentials, but also that they cannot be removed by any other account.

If you control your own code base, it’s possible to bring on new developers to finish out your project. If you do not, it’s entirely out of your hands. If your previous developer wants to cause an issue, all they have to do is lock you out.

How SimplyPHP Can Help

SimplyPHP gets calls from new clients who have been abandoned by their developers fairly often. In these situations, we’re eager to help. We know how frustrating it is to get halfway through a project only to get stalled.

We’re firm believers in structuring our company so we have the resources to help others. For this reason, we keep one to two developers available at all times, so we can be prepared for incoming clients who need immediate assistance.

When we get a call from an organization that was abandoned by their developer, here’s how we step in to help out.

Credentials check

The most important thing we do when we first get a call from an organization that needs development help is ask if they own their code base. If they’re locked out or unable to access it for any reason, unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do.

Study the code base

Once we can access your code base, we look under the hood and see what we’re working with. Unfortunately, only about 60% of the code we see meets our standards. We’re only able to take on projects that follow current best practices.

Evaluate our resources

Once we’ve determined that your code base is 100% accessible, we take a look at who we have on staff that can step in. We work hard to ensure we always have staff available, but if your project looks like a longer-term engagement, we want to ensure we have the staff to commit to the project for its duration.

Develop a plan of action

Once we’ve looked at your code base, ensured it’s accessible to our team, and evaluated how far the project has come, we can offer an estimate of the project scope. We strive to communicate this openly, so you’ll have a good sense of the time and cost associated with completing your project.

Being abandoned by your developer feels awful, but it doesn’t need to mean the end of your project. SimplyPHP has extensive experience stepping in to finish the job.

Want to know how our approach to development makes this possible? Read on to learn more about the SimplyPHP philosophy.

Have questions? Don’t be shy. We love speaking to new people!