Ruby is a backend scripting language that’s very popular among developers for its streamlined productivity, and also beloved for its speed and long-term scalability. If you have a web development project and you’re not sure what language to use, Ruby is one of the best languages to work with—especially for rapid prototyping on a tight timeline.
Its popularity means that plenty of developers are familiar with its syntax and architecture, and it’s flexible, which means you can start with a small web project and scale the Ruby backend code for a larger site as your company grows. So how can you write a description of your project that lures those top Ruby developers to help you build (and grow) your software successfully? Here’s a look at everything you need to know to craft a job post that attracts the right talent for the job.
What Does a Ruby Developer Do?
First, a quick refresher. Backend web development can be difficult to understand because it doesn’t quite have the spotlight front-end development does. A lot goes into the engineering required to create efficient code, but it can be easy to take for granted the amount of coding and effort that go into even a simple submission form. While both front-end and back-end developers spend countless hours ensuring that every part of a web project functions properly, back-end developers work in an “invisible” space that doesn’t display a visible response for end users.
This is the space in which Ruby developers work their magic. If you need code that runs on your web server and processes user input and Ruby is your script of choice, you’ll need a skilled Ruby developer to create a solid foundation for your project. They work with database developers to store and process data and write the scripts that dynamically pull that data into your site’s interface. If you need any type of processing of a database, you need a Ruby developer to collaborate closely with that aspect of your backend.
Defining Your Ruby Project
The first step before you post a project is to clearly define it (with the help of a developer, if you can). It can be difficult for clients to describe their project, even when it’s their own idea. However, it’s important to articulate your idea in a way that resonates with the developer. The developer must be able to visualize your project themselves, so they can then translate those ideas to Ruby code. That’s why it’s important to be concise yet detailed enough to attract the right kind of candidate, and allow prospective developers to submit proposals with fairly accurate cost and time estimates.
The best way to do this is to sit down and draw wireframes for your website. Wireframes are a brief, simple drawing of your app or site’s screens with some text next to it to describe each screen’s functionality.
This should give you a better idea of the level of expertise the project will require. Less experienced Ruby developers usually work on projects with the help of a senior-level developer, but depending on your project’s simplicity, they might be a good fit. Junior Ruby developers often help senior developers with documentation and small changes, but for any large project (especially ones that are new, ground-up site development), you’ll probably want a more senior-level developer to properly engineer or code for you.
For most new website designs, you need a senior-level developer who can take your ideas and turn them into an engineered project. This takes several years of experience working with other Ruby projects to understand potential pitfalls to avoid in the future.
With web projects, you usually need a front-end coder as well. Some Ruby developers are full-stack, meaning they have the skills to do both—something you could specify in your description if you’ve got the budget for that level of developer.
Some other aspects of your project to include in your project description may be:
- Wireframe drawings
- Any front-end design required (or, if you have a separate designer to handle this)
- Site architecture
- Back-end code and its integration
- Testing
- Publishing the code to production
For some of these aspects, you may hire separate programmers and designers, or you can find a full-stack Ruby developer to help you with all of them.
Writing a Project Description
Once you have your idea and requirements, it’s time to write a project description. You can write your project description before you have the design ironed out, or after. If you wait until after the design, the Ruby coder might ask you for the design elements before beginning the project. It can sometimes help the coder understand your idea if they can see the design prior to the coding phase, but it’s not absolutely necessary.
When you formulate your job post, be succinct but convey your idea clearly. A good project post will attract the right developer who can help you with all of the components of your site or app—even those that you haven’t considered yet.
Below is a sample of how a project description may look. Keep in mind that many people use the term “job description” but a full job description is only needed for employees. When engaging a freelancer as an independent contractor, you typically just need a statement of work, job post, or any other document that describes the work to be done.
Title: Ruby Developer Needed for a New Ecommerce Web Project
Description: We have documentation and business requirements that explain a new web concept we want to build. We would like to have the project built with Ruby, so we need a Ruby developer that is experienced with building new sites from the ground up. The site is an ecommerce website, so experience with ecommerce and product sales is a plus.
We can show you the business documentation during the initial interview discussion.
To complete this project, a developer will need the following skills:
- Translation of designer mock-ups and wireframes into a Ruby back-end
- Sinatra framework
- Unit testing with Karma
- GitHub
- MySQL
- Some front-end design JavaScript, preferably Angular
Project Scope & Deliverables
This project requires ground-up development to create a scalable site, and we’re looking to meet our launch deadline in 3 months (mm/dd/yyyy). We will need the following three deliverables:
- Deliverable #1 by (date)
- Deliverable #2 by (date)
- Deliverable #3 by (date)
This is just an example, but you can use this as a template to create your own project post. If you don’t know what skills are required, you can omit that section and leave it to the developer to determine if they have the right skills. You may want to spend more time in the interview phase in that case.
After you shortlist several freelance Ruby developers, you can discuss more specifics and give them any documentation you’ve created to give them a better understanding of your idea and help them refine their cost estimate. Make sure you thoroughly interview each developer to decide if they are right for your project.
Source: B2C
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