Complex and challenging - words that probably best describe the process of creating a new software product. When developing a software solution, the common goal is to create one within a set budget and a time frame. Therefore, in order to achieve that, using software development best practices is important. They help to reduce unnecessary costs and accelerate the process.
1. Continuous customer involvement
Customer satisfaction is our priority. This is why we continuously involve our customers in the development process and provide insights into the current state of development.
Each software development process should start with properly defined goals. All of our customers have a clear goal in mind. We are happy to support them with our technical competence to fully realize their project ideas. Apart from goals, potential challenges and risks that might come up should also be discussed with customers and stakeholders.
By continuously involving the customer into the development process, we guarantee the development of a customer-oriented individual solution. In other words, this way the customer gets exactly what he envisioned.
2. Iterative approach with fixed delivery dates
When starting a new project, it often appears difficult to keep track of all the work that needs to be done. Therefore, it is necessary to create subtasks and prioritize them to determine which subtasks have the highest priority and which ones can be completed later during the project.
How do we do it? We structure the development tasks into individual work packages, and prioritize them together with the customer. Each developer then receives work packages appropriate to his or her expertise and is in charge of those. These work packages are set to be completed by a certain delivery date. Fixed delivery dates help clarify the mutual expectations for all parties involved, so it is always known exactly when certain functionalities will be available.
At the end of an iteration, we review the defined work packages. Here we give our customers the opportunity to test and evaluate the latest development results. Change requests resulting from the review are recorded, divided back into work packages and prioritized. After that, a new development cycle begins with a fixed delivery date and a review at the end.
3. Target group-oriented language
Each software development project is characterized by different stakeholders with different professional backgrounds. For example, while a marketing manager knows how to market products successfully, he or she will be able to provide little input on the technical architecture of an application. On the other hand, a developer will be able to deal with the architecture issue properly.
Having an interdisciplinary team of professionals is one of our greatest strengths because that way we speak both the professional, as well as the technical "language". Also, being able to communicate openly ensures that all difficulties are addressed properly and the number of errors is reduced to a minimum.
4. Verifying software quality
In order to be sure that a product meets the agreed requirements or objectives, it is necessary for the software to undergo testing. Did you know that software problems are 100 to 1000 times more costly to find and repair after deployment?
That’s why we take testing seriously and test our solutions thoroughly. It is advised to develop test suites for each iteration and test performance, as well as functionality and reliability.
Evaluation at the end of the project
At the end of each project, we conduct an internal and external evaluation workshop in order to further develop ourselves.
The focus of the internal assessment workshop is to evaluate the quality of the solution methods, frameworks, and tools used, but also to asses the way we work together as a team. The conclusions we derive from this assessment are then used for future projects.
The external evaluation workshop is done together with our client. Here we review the entire project once again in order to evaluate the quality of results, communication, and project management from the customer's perspective. This feedback enables us to further improve the quality of results and customer care as service providers.
Summary
There you have it - the best software development practices and how we implement them in our development process.
The subdivision of requirements into work packages with fixed delivery dates, the close involvement of our customers in the development process, the ability to use interdisciplinary language, thorough testing, and a final evaluation of the project all ensure that our customers get the results they expected.
We would be happy to show you how we successfully apply these best practices in a joint project. Contact our experts or subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don't miss a blog article.
30 June 2020