You have three quotes on the table. All three promise agile methodology, a senior team and on-time delivery. Prices differ by 40%, and none of them explains what happens to the code if the project goes wrong. You sign with the middle one because it "seemed reasonable." Six months later you find out the repository lives in the vendor's account.
Choosing a software factory in Chile rarely fails because the vendor lacks technical talent. It fails because the questions that matter weren't asked before signing. Commercial proposals look very much alike; the real differences show up in the contract, in how the team is organized and in what happens after delivery.
This article is a practical checklist: ten questions to evaluate any software factory in Chile or software development company, grouped into four areas. You don't need to be technical to ask them, but you do need to insist on concrete answers.
Before evaluating: what are you hiring?
There's a prior decision worth settling first. A software factory can sell you capacity (development hours under your direction) or take on the whole project (design, architecture and outcome). These models carry different risks, and we explain them in detail in Software factory vs. custom software development in Chile.
The ten questions apply to both cases, but the weight of each one changes. If you lead technically, the team and methodology questions matter more. If you're delegating the whole problem, the warranty and ownership questions are critical.
Team and methodology
1. Who will work on my project, by name and role?
The proposal features the architect with twenty years of experience; the project is delivered by two people who weren't in the meeting. Ask for the profiles of the assigned team, what share of their time goes to your project and what happens if someone leaves. A serious vendor can answer this before signing.
2. What does a normal week of the project look like?
"We use Scrum" says nothing. Ask how often you'll see working software (not slide decks), who on your side must sign off, how changes are prioritized and what happens when a new requirement shows up midway. If the answer is vague, the project will be too.
3. How do you use AI in development, and who reviews what it generates?
Almost every team uses coding assistants today. That can speed up the work considerably, as we described in AI-powered agile software factory. The question isn't whether they use AI, but how: which tools, whether your code or data is sent to external services, and what human review and automated testing that code goes through before reaching production. A vendor without a policy on this isn't applying one.
Code and data ownership
4. Who owns the source code, and where does the repository live?
In Chile, Article 8 of Intellectual Property Law 17.336 states that the rights to computer programs produced on commission for a third party are deemed assigned to the party that commissioned them, unless otherwise stipulated in writing. That last clause is what matters: make sure the contract doesn't say otherwise and doesn't reserve "proprietary" components to the vendor without which the system won't run. In practice, ask for the repository to sit in your company's account from day one.
5. What third-party components and licenses does the solution include?
Libraries, frameworks, cloud services, per-user licenses. All of these carry costs and terms you'll inherit. Ask for a list and find out which ones involve recurring payments.
6. How will you handle my company's personal data?
If the vendor accesses databases with customer or employee data, it acts as a data processor. With Law 21.719 weeks away from full effect (December 1, 2026, under the date currently in force), that relationship must be set out in writing: what the data may be used for, under what security measures and what happens to it when the engagement ends. Also ask whether they work with production copies in their test environments; we explained why that's a risk in Real data in test environments and Law 21.719.
Quality and warranties
7. What does "done" mean to you?
Ask for the definition in writing: automated tests, code review, technical documentation, deployment to your environment. If "done" means "it works on the developer's machine," you'll pay for it later.
8. What warranty do you offer, and what exactly does it cover?
Warranty period, what counts as a defect (and what counts as a scope change), response times and whether the warranty still holds if another team touches the code. Ambiguous warranties lead to the longest disputes.
After delivery
9. What does post-delivery support look like, and what does it cost?
Software doesn't end when it goes live. Ask about service levels, hours, channels, whether support comes from the same team that built it and how it's billed: a bank of hours, a fixed monthly fee or per request.
10. If I decide to switch vendors tomorrow, what do you hand over?
It's the most uncomfortable question and the most revealing one. The right answer includes up-to-date source code, architecture documentation, credentials and access, deployment scripts and an agreed handover period. A vendor that trusts its work has no problem answering it.
Summary: what to look for in each answer
| Question | Red flag | Good sign |
|---|---|---|
| Assigned team | "We'll define it at kickoff" | Named profiles and allocation |
| Methodology | Agile jargon only | Working releases every 2–3 weeks |
| AI usage | No policy or no review | Declared tools and human review |
| Code ownership | Vendor's repository | Repository in client's account from the start |
| Licenses | "We'll see later" | List of components and recurring costs |
| Personal data | Production copies in development | Processing agreement and anonymized data |
| Definition of done | Verbal | Written, with tests and documentation |
| Warranty | Generic | Defined period, scope and response times |
| Support | No service levels | SLA and clear billing model |
| Exit | Evasive | Documented handover plan |
A vendor doesn't need a perfect score on everything. But if it piles up three or more red flags, the price gap with the next quote will probably be paid anyway, just later.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire a software factory in Chile?
It depends on the model (hours versus fixed-scope project), team size and complexity. Rather than comparing total price, it's more useful to compare what each proposal includes using the ten questions in this article.
Do I own the code if I paid for the development?
Under Article 8 of Law 17.336, rights to commissioned software are deemed assigned to the party that commissioned it, unless otherwise stipulated in writing. Check that the contract doesn't include that exception and that the repository is in your name.
Is it risky for the software factory to use AI to write code?
Not in itself. The risk lies in using it without rules: sending code or sensitive data to unauthorized services, or shipping generated code without review. Ask for the vendor's policy in writing.
Let's run the evaluation together
At Disrupsoft we build custom software for Chilean companies, integrated with what you already use, with code ownership, AI usage and support discussed before we start. If you're comparing vendors, we'll answer these ten questions in writing for your project, so you can compare everyone on the same terms.
