Blog > Understanding Custom Software Development Process
The pace of technological development has advanced to a level where every human activity is dependent on it for survival. Today, custom software development process has become an important part of societal endeavors.
Everywhere in the world today, there is a growing demand for custom software. This is why there is a need to understand the processes custom software development goes through. According to Cyrus Akbarpour, CEO of Silicon Valley Cloud IT, while there are hundreds of books on understanding the custom software development process. However, there are other important factors not always captured in literature.
These areas concern leadership, managerial experience, expectations, strategies, and resources available. It’s not enough to choose a rigid process, let’s say Agile or Waterfall approach to custom software development. For instance, at SVCIT, there is a customized process for every client. The needs of every client will always be different; adopting a single approach to custom software development will create other bottlenecks.
What Determines the Custom Software Development Process
An ideal custom software development process will be a combination of several methods. There will be a need to bring together the principles of Agile, Iterative, and evolutionary. A touch of the waterfall for the documentation processes will also aid the process. To narrow it down, a custom software development process is a factor of customer timing, budget, available resources, and the prototype requested.
Besides, these factors, there is also customer development, which is the final deal-breaker on the perfect custom software development process. This is why all of the following matters to the process
Budget:
In addition, this depends on the requirements of the customer and the availability of resources to implement each of the requirements. There is always a need to clarify in advance the estimated cost of the project or in the SVCIT model, how long a resource will be occupied, and being able to estimate resource utilization.
Turn Around Time
A customer may have available a considerable budget but with a shorter delivery timeline. The process will have to factor in the time needed to put in place all of the expected features of the custom software
Test Automation
Developing custom software comes with a considerable level of uncertainty. Moreover, during the process of development, there is a need to constantly carry out testing. This is to avoid disabling certain features of the software in the bid to incorporate new features.
Managing and Minimizing Complexities
There’s no straightforward approach to custom software development; any of the approaches adopted will bring its unique complexities. To handle these complexities, there is a need to break down the requirements of the customer. This is broken down into functional and non-functional requirements. So, more importantly, identify critical components with maximum complexities to be detailed out and monitored a lot more frequently.
More importantly, there is a need to set the process in motion for the achievement of certain goals. The ranges called quality attributes in software development such as maintainability, availability, scalability, and many more. On the other hand other factors such as budget, and time constraints. Other ways of managing complexities include consideration of requirements, test automation, and proper education of all parties involved. This is to ensure the result obtainable is sustainable.
Strategies For Successful Software Development Process
As a start, we strive to build a relationship with the clients. This also involves the proper education of the clients on the expected results, bringing everyone to the same page. Then, consideration is given to ensuring that both budget and timing are fair to both parties. This will lead to ensuring that there is a fair agreement on the expectation, requirements, budget, and delivery of the custom software.
At SVCIT, we have a culture that has helped in creating excellent results as we rely on and invest in quality engineering experience. Not to forget that numerous checkpoints are put in place right from the elicitation to the release stage. This helps to control and refer to the intended quality.
Author: SVCIT Editorial
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