04 Are we really capable of maintaining this product after the agency leaves, or are we setting ourselves up for long-term dependency?
You want to be able to fire your agency? You’ll have to be ready for what comes after, whether they depart on schedule or not.
Experienced product owners scoff at the idea that after delivery a digital product will simply … run. In the real world, development continues until you sunset your app or service, whether it’s bug fixes, maintenance, or feature development.
Wait, so it's not the end?
But many projects aren’t actually classified as ‘products’. Whether it’s internal tools or frameworks, companies tend to spend a large chunk of their budgets on stuff that is never meant to be sold to clients. And while some of these activities likely should be treated like products (ahem … Design Systems), with product owners, dedicated budgets, rollout and maintenance plans etc., many simply are not.
Whether it’s officially part of your portfolio or not, digital products and services always require ongoing maintenance, updates, and often continued development to remain relevant and functional. Failing to plan for this can lead to:
- degraded user experience over time
- security vulnerabilities
- compatibility issues as technology evolves
- missed opportunities for improvement and growth
- non-compliance with new regulations or laws
How well you are able to take over when your agency leaves depends on what kind of work you have outsourced to them.
Often agencies are brought in to augment existing teams rather than take over an entire project. But even in these cases it’s worth evaluating the level of dependency through the project and adjusting as necessary.
To better understand just how dependent you are on your agency partner, ask yourself:
- Does your team lack the technical skills to understand the product’s architecture?
- Do you have a clear plan for knowledge transfer from the agency?
- Do you have a clear and well-documented roadmap for your product?
- Do you have any internal resources allocated for ongoing maintenance of your product or service?
- Have you outsourced the product ownership?
- Does your product rely on proprietary tools or frameworks that only the agency fully understands?
- Do you find yourself calling the agency for every small change or update?
A good partner will help you continue to succeed when the contract ends, but you will have to plan for the transition and put the necessary effort in from the get-go.
It's better to prepare before it's too late
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01
Plan for knowledge transfer from day one
If your partner isn’t proactively suggesting an approach, make sure knowledge transfer is a key deliverable in your agency contract.
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02
Embed your team members
Have your staff work closely with the agency throughout the project and press your partner to share what they know.
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03
Invest in training
Use the project as an opportunity to upskill your team. Your team will bring all the domain knowledge, but your agency partner can support you with experience across a wide range of customers and projects. Use the opportunity to learn from them wherever you can. A good partner will be happy to share what they know.
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04
Hire strategically
Identify key roles you’ll need to maintain the product and start recruiting. Use your partner to craft job descriptions and maybe even interview candidates.
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05
Document everything
Ensure comprehensive documentation is part of the project scope and part of the agency’s deliverables from day one.
Example
Sector Alarm is one the largest providers of alarm and security systems in Europe. After taking on a substantial investment by one of the largest private equity companies in the world, the organization was looking for ways to bring their digital product portfolio up to par with the rest of their offering. Traditionally a services and hardware company, Sector Alarm didn’t really have much expertise in terms of digital user experience and product design in-house when they engaged us.
From the start of our collaboration it was clear that our goal was not just to deliver a well-tested, best-in-class mobile with all assets and documentation but also the ability to fire us and take over with ease. Over the course of a year we established modern, design-lead ways of working, heavily supported by the company's product team, eventually enabling Sector Alarm to hire their first Head of Design and subsequently a small design team. When the customer did finally take over, almost three years into the collaboration, the team had already won several prestigious awards for UX and was well prepared to take the product development further.
Info
The technologies chosen for your product — whether by you or your agency — can significantly impact your team’s ability to maintain it long-term. Consider:
Open source vs. proprietary solutions
Open source technologies often have larger talent pools and community support, but licenses might not always be compatible with what your company needs and is able to support.
Popular vs. niche frameworks
Widely-used technologies are usually easier to hire for. Check with your agency whether their choices might leave you scouring for talent later on.
Scalability
Choose solutions that can grow with your needs without requiring a complete overhaul. A good partner will have experience in building products for a number of different sized companies. Ask for their recommendation.
A good partner should be actively working to make themselves unnecessary over time. They should be empowering your team, transferring what they know, and setting you up for long-term success – not creating a relationship of dependency.
By asking the right questions, investing in your team, by creating a sense of product ownership early enough, and thinking strategically about the future, you can create a digital product that you’re capable of developing and growing independently.
Our take
We put strong emphasis on sharing what we know with our customers. And we are not selfless in doing so either. One might assume that by being easier to fire one will get fired more often, but that’s not actually the case. Many of our longest running customers stayed with us not despite us sharing everything, but because of it.
The quality of our work matters a great deal, but many of our customers value the kind of transparency that comes with an open approach more than having to shop for a new partner every so often.
