From idea to execution: uncover the steps to creating customized software solutions. Discover how custom technology can elevate your business operations!
Companies often come up with great ideas for new software or programs that would help them in their business sectors. However, they don't know how to turn this idea into reality or where to start the process of developing these custom software development solutions.
Although they have good ideas for new programs, many companies dread the idea of taking on a custom software development project. There are many requirements, steps, moving parts, and responsibilities that accompany each development process – and no two processes are the same.
Custom software development may seem a little complicated at first, but it's much easier to handle when broken down into specific steps. Businesses also have the option of working with third-party development companies like outsourcing providers to handle their projects without the extra worry or stress associated with hiring an in-house team.
What is custom software?
Large software companies develop generic software, often referred to as off-the-shelf solutions, to help complete certain tasks that typically relate to a broad audience. This could mean a certain business vertical, a process within most companies, and so on. Purchasing this type of software means that companies accept its functionality and terms of use from the company's supplier and there is usually not much room for customization.
Generic software satisfies the needs of the masses rather than focusing on the requirements of a single company or vertical. Companies often create custom software to meet their specific needs and business niches that these off-the-shelf solutions simply cannot meet. This allows programs to provide specific functionality that meets business requirements with pinpoint precision, while also integrating with any existing systems and offering other benefits. This creates software that is easy to learn and that “speaks” the language of the specific company.
The Development Process
Although the software development process and software development services often appear similar between development companies, they typically vary when comparing teams and organizations.
The Software Development Lifecycle that most companies follow helps make projects run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. There are different methodologies also applied to the Software Development Life Cycle, such as Agile, Waterfall and DevOps.
Below is an example of the general process for building custom software:
Requirements Gathering and Planning
The first phase of the Software Development Life Cycle acts as the foundation of the entire process. At this stage, the entire development team must dedicate time to getting to know the company that will use the software.
They take into consideration your niche market, business values, and overall plan for the future to make the product as effective as possible. The development team will also learn about any systems and products currently in place within the organization to discover any strengths or weaknesses, as improvement is always the goal.
The development team will then use this information to begin planning the product, including defining the technology stack and overall software capabilities. This phase also serves to make decisions regarding additional technologies, the Software Development Life Cycle methodology and other important factors. The development team and client should work together to create a budget and project schedule that works for both parties, but also leaves room in case any issues arise during development.
Design and Prototyping
Once everyone signs off on a plan, the design team, software architects, and developers work together to translate these user requirements and specifications into designs for a product. Design and user experience are a big part of any type of development project, as the look, feel, and UX/UI determine exactly how much people like and use the product.
After this planning and design, developers create a prototype as an incomplete version of the software to show to the customer for approval and feedback. This helps ensure everyone is on the same page and understands what the final product will look like. This may seem like a waste of time, but it saves time and money in the long run if the hiring company wants to make big changes or doesn't like the functionality. Showing it to them later with these issues would mean extended deadlines and budgets for redesigns and rebuilds.
Development
The development phase translates product design into reality through backend and frontend development. Back-end developers work on the functionality and inner workings of the software program. These are the invisible internal mechanisms that end users will never see, but make every interaction in the system work. As server-side developers, back-end developers also focus on database connection and the functionality of the program itself.
Front-end developers are responsible for building everything the user sees and interacts with. They translate the program vision and designs into written code and create the user experience for all things client-side.
Quality Assurance and Testing
Software testing is the process of inspecting the program for errors and bugs to help prevent end users from experiencing problems. While it is impossible to detect 100% of bugs in any software, this phase helps ensure that end users receive a product that is as bug-free as possible.
Quality assurance ensures that software products produced during development meet all specifications set by the customer, as well as any industry requirements. It is the process of ensuring that the product achieves the intended result.
Depending on the software methodology implemented at the beginning of the development processes, quality assurance and testing are either separate steps or conducted throughout the development process.
Production and Maintenance
After the program passes the quality assurance and testing phases, it is sent to production and released to end users. Sometimes bugs arise after launch and require some tweaks or fixes. To do this, developers deploy patches and updates to improve overall functionality, as well as to update security and compatibility.
Ready to start a project?
Taking on a custom software development project can seem like a difficult task for companies. In fact, it's a great way for companies to solve problems within their organization, automate processes and ensure everything runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
