Want to speed up software development? Try these 9 strategies

The software development process is never truly complete. Even after a project is declared market-ready, it is closely monitored and improved, with new fixes and frequent releases.

But the fact remains: development teams must deliver software quickly , despite it being to some extent unfinished. Given the changing nature of software, technology can become outdated – even obsolete – extremely quickly. Furthermore, companies must stay ahead of the competition, reaching the market ahead of their peers.

So how do you scale the software development process without sacrificing quality? This is possible – as long as you follow these guidelines.

1. Establish clear requirements from the beginning

This is a fairly simple question, but it's important to mention nonetheless: establishing clear requirements at the beginning is critical to running the project successfully. Without these goals and requirements, you will have no guidance, which can lead to confusion and detours. All of this will undoubtedly delay your project even further. By clarifying goals and resolving errors later you will be saving time.

In addition to defining requirements, make sure all team members involved are aware of and understand each objective. Again, this will avoid delays due to confusion.

2. Define your strategy and roadmap

Requirements do not exist in a vacuum. You must also determine how you and your team plan to successfully resolve them. In other words, what is your strategy?

A roadmap detailing each step of the project and the benchmarks you plan to achieve along the way to final delivery will serve as a guide for you, allowing you to achieve your goals in a timely manner.

3. Set standards

While there are, of course, industry best practices to follow, having your own internal standards in place will also serve as a guide, setting other goals to meet.

To ensure everyone is on the same page and understands the standards you've established, write them down and post them in accessible locations, such as an internal server or intranet. Ask employees to confirm that they have read and understood them. Projects should always conform to your company's standards as much as possible, although there should also be a degree of flexibility.

4. Break the Project into Components

Any project can seem complicated when you look at it as a whole entity. But breaking it down into smaller chunks will make it more manageable. Think of it as a collection of smaller pieces and assign individual tasks to small teams.

This will make the process more accessible to each team and team member, who will likely have greater success in achieving smaller goals more quickly than they would trying to tackle a large project as a whole all at once. This will also lead to better quality, as teams will be focused on achieving solid results for “mini” projects.

5. Properly manage technical debt

Technical debt refers to opting for a solution or approach that is easier and less time-consuming, but is ultimately a weaker solution than one that may take longer but leads to higher quality work . While this may seem like the best way to reduce the hours spent on your project, it will end up hurting you later. Think of it as a Band-Aid approach: it masks the obvious, current problem but doesn't address the underlying, root causes.

In fact, technical debt will often result in longer project deadlines because you will most likely have to go back and resolve issues later. It can also cause these problems to escalate further. Unfortunately, you can't get rid of technical debt entirely. So you need to manage it well, only resorting to it when absolutely necessary and always returning to pay it at the first opportunity.

6. Keep work in progress to a minimum

Of course, it's impossible to reduce work in progress (WIP) to nothing. But it's helpful for your schedule to limit it as much as possible. With many components and tasks currently at play, things can easily become disorganized and team members will feel stressed and overwhelmed.

One way to better manage WIP and the project as a whole is to use a project management tool, which will allow you to track progress and keep tasks moving through the pipeline efficiently, as well as notice when there are too many pieces on the table at a project level. just once. time.

7. Keep it lean

Ultimately, your project needs a clear focus, so to fulfill your mission you must keep it as lean as possible. This means cutting through the clutter and staying motivated and focused on your goals and meeting project requirements. Instead of spending time – or wasting time – on unnecessary tasks that take up time but don't actually lead to real results, focus your energy on the tasks and pieces that actually contribute to the bigger picture.

Using Agile methodologies can also help keep your operations lean and manageable. Avoid repetitions that are not completely necessary. Repeat testing frequently is necessary, for example, but dozens of face-to-face contact meetings probably won't be.

8. Automate whenever possible

While not every task or process should be automated, automation is a critical tool you can have at your disposal when you want to speed up development. For example, it is often used in testing, accompanying manual testing efforts.

Remember that automation requires skilled professionals to script processes such as tests and that it is not just a tool to deploy for convenience. It should be used strategically where and when it makes sense for your project and team.

9. Expand your team

There may come a time when your existing team simply cannot accommodate a project of a particular scale. In this case, consider increasing your current capabilities by adding more developers or other staff. Outsourcing is often a good option, especially if you have certain projects that require additional staff or are looking for special skill sets that don't exist within your current team.

This will lead to a faster turnaround as you will be better equipped to handle your workflow and have the skills needed to deliver your product quickly.

Using a combination of these strategies, you can improve your efforts to accelerate the development process while maintaining a high standard of product and work — and help you get to market faster while staying ahead of the curve. curve.