Why not owning the source code to your app is a dumb move
What is source code and why the big deal?
Unless you’re a software developer or has dabbled in programming, you’ll probably be confused about source code and why it matters.
Let’s start from the very beginning:
Every app or computer software has a source code.
Simply put, “source code is the human-readable programming language.”
It’s a set of instructions written and developed by a programmer using computer programming language. In other words, it’s what makes your product app, website or any software you’ve developed function the way it does, capisce?
Who owns the source code?
If you don’t know who owns the source code to your newly developed app, well, chances are, it’s probably not you. Is that a problem, you ask?
YES.
Say, you outsource your app development project to an agency or a tech vendor. However, you do not own your product’s source code; that means the app can’t be updated or modified without having to go through the same tech vendor.
Or worse, the agency or tech vendor may even hold you hostage for a royalty fee when you ask to have back your source code!
To avoid a tussle over source code ownership with your tech vendor, here are four tell tale signs you should look out for:
1. Hidden source code fee
Nobody wants to outsource their home renovation only to have the contractor bill them an invoice for hidden costs like service charge and man-hour fees when they request for a touchup of paint, right?
Likewise with outsourced projects, some agencies are likely to spring a surprise invoice when the client requests for the source code.
This happens because A) loss of income for the agency as the client is now free to run with their source code to a new developer or agency for future modifications to the app; and
B) the agency could have outsourced the said work to another independent developer, who, in turn, is charging the agency source code fee too.
2. Agency not sharing source code from the get-go
Humans, well, most of us, are a selfish bunch. The agency peeps wouldn’t want to show their clients how good or bad* their coding skills are for fear of them “stealing” or “running away’ midway of their projects without paying up in full.
In a way, clients have no choice but are stuck with the developers to the end of project term or run the risk of paying termination fees.
*At MomoCentral, we have had experiences of horror stories where tutorial code was found in a project source code. In essence, the newbie coder was learning on the job but of course the client didn’t know!
3. Fake source code
You’d think this is impossible but at MomoCentral, we’ve seen it happened. A client was given a source code by her former tech vendor, which turned out to be a blank skeleton app — oh, the horrors! The question is, why would anyone resort to giving out a fake source code? Either the tech vendor didn’t do the job at all or he/she thought the client was probably too much of a tech noob to notice at all. Either way, BOO.
4. Agency offers to host source codes on their servers
How’s this for convenience? Sounds like a plan, you think. THINK again.
Having your software hosted on the agency’s servers is the complete opposite of convenience. For one, you will never have full access to your own source code. Plus, you can’t possibly have your developers go into the agency’s server and make modifications whenever they want, can you?
Conclusion: unless the tech vendor has a corporate policy on providing clients with full ownership of source codes and design files from day one (like, MomoCentral!), it’s important to have an official source code ownership agreement signed prior to commencement of work.
