Pre-Development Essentials — Accounts, Servers, Domains & Permissions
A checklist of accounts, servers, domains, API keys, and other essentials the client must prepare before outsourced software development begins.
- •Delays of 1–2 weeks due to missing pre-development prerequisites are extremely common.
- •AWS accounts, domains, PG merchant registration, and social-login API keys take 1–7 days to issue.
- •Create all accounts under the client's name and grant the vendor only limited permissions for safety.
Why Missing Prerequisites Delay Your Schedule
Post-kickoff delays that start with "You haven't set that up yet?" happen far more often than you would expect.
TOP 5 Delay Scenarios:
1. AWS account not created: Server setup cannot begin — 1–3 day delay
2. Domain not purchased: No domain available at deployment time; testing is limited to a staging environment
3. PG (payment) merchant registration incomplete: Payment integration testing is blocked — 1–2 week delay (merchant review period)
4. Social-login API keys not issued: Kakao/Google developer account approval takes 1–3 days
5. Access to existing systems not provided: Migration or integration development cannot start
All of these delays are entirely preventable if the client prepares in advance. The vendor should provide guidance before kickoff, but the client should also proactively confirm.
Tip: Request a prerequisites list at contract signing and complete everything by the development start date. Most items can be prepared during the 1–2 weeks between contract signing and kickoff.
Essential Prerequisites Checklist
Infrastructure/Servers
Domain/SSL
Payment Integration (PG)
Social Login
Email/SMS
Additional Prerequisites for Existing Systems
If this is a renewal or migration project, the following items are also needed.
Important note:
If the relationship with the previous vendor is strained, you may not be able to obtain source code or server access. In that case, use the ownership clause in the contract as grounds for your request, or — in the worst case — consider a complete rebuild.
If a proper handover is possible, request a technical handover document from the previous vendor. It should include the system architecture, deployment procedures, and key configuration values.
Prerequisites Timeline Guide
| Prerequisite | Estimated Time | When to Start |
|---|---|---|
| AWS account creation | 30 minutes | Day of contract signing |
| Domain purchase | 10 minutes | Day of contract signing |
| IAM account creation | 1 hour | Day of contract signing |
| PG merchant application | 1–7 business days | Immediately after signing |
| Social-login app registration | 1–3 business days | Immediately after signing |
| SMS sender number registration | 1–3 business days | Immediately after signing |
| Email domain verification | 1–2 business days | After domain purchase |
| Access to existing systems | 1–2 weeks | Before or immediately after signing |
Key takeaway: PG merchant registration and securing access to existing systems take the longest, so start them immediately after signing. Everything else can be completed in 1–2 days.
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