Agree on ownership before development starts
Discuss source code, design, content and third-party components, since ownership and licensing may differ. Domains, hosting and essential services need clear owner control rather than accidental placement in a developer’s personal account. Understand the terms of packaged software and paid modules. This is practical, not ceremonial: these arrangements determine whether you can update the project, change providers or migrate without unexpectedly losing access to essential parts of the system.
Your data needs a practical way out
Know what can be exported, in which format and how relationships between records can be reconstructed. Include user uploads, event history and configuration where needed. An unexplained database archive may be of little use to the next team. Agree on instructions and verify a sample export. Avoid unnecessary copies of sensitive information in test environments; anonymised examples help development, while production-data access should be scoped to a task and controlled by the owner.
Verify handover through a practical exercise
Open the repository from your own account, review the service inventory and locate the startup instructions. Check that the system can be built and restored away from the developer’s computer and that backups contain the required data. Record known limitations and open work for the next team. Handover does not require exposing secrets publicly: transfer access and configuration securely, then remove temporary permissions once the owner’s control has been confirmed.
Two useful questions
Can another team take over after completion?
Make that possible through the agreement and a proper handover: rights, source code, documentation and access should support continuity. Define the exact deliverables in advance.
Does handing over code mean putting passwords in the archive?
No. Code and secrets use separate, secure transfer methods. Documentation can describe required settings and setup steps without publishing real credentials.