Custom Software Development Service

With a large accent on business goals, process optimization and customers, companies these days often choose to build custom-developed software as opposed to an off-the-shelf solution. Custom applications development allows businesses to create a solution that will perfectly suit their business needs, provide scalability, a higher grade of security, as well as attract their target audience. An external, eCommerce tailored solution will improve user experience, whereas an internal tool will streamline business processes and provide automation. Bespoke software development enables you to deliver an application that fits your industry, advantages your business goals and meets your users’ needs. But are there any risks when it comes to custom software application development? How to avoid or mitigate them and why is custom software development important to your business?

Unlike an off-the-shelf solution, custom software development refers to designing an application with specific requirements in mind. Commercial off-the-shelf products try to appeal to a wide range of potential users, whereas custom software applications are focused on suiting the exact needs of one specific business. Apart from being custom-made, it follows a common software development process and entails steps like requirements setting, code writing, testing, deploying, etc. It is also a good practice to implement agile methodologies, Continuous Integration and Delivery, and others.

We have covered some of the most common pros and cons of custom software development. Although custom development does take longer and costs more money, it usually pays off due to the competitive advantage of the software perfectly matching your requirements. Moreover, if you find a trustworthy software development firm, you will not be at risk of having issues with a legacy system. Reliable and reputable software product development companies do not abandon their clients and software, and continue to provide technical support even after the implementation.

Building a custom-developed application from scratch can open many doors for you and bring your business to a new level. However, nothing comes without its risks and beginner mistakes. Here is a compilation of the most common mistakes that custom software developers make when working on a tailored solution.

Thinking too ambitiously

Very often managers come up with an exciting and innovative idea that in their heads will appeal to the customers and make their business bloom. In reality, it turns out that it is not what their users need at all, and after spending time and money working on custom application development, managers realize that their idea will not pay off.

Solution: instead of jumping into the development process right away, create an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that will allow you to test out your idea without spending too many resources. A functional MVP will help you to modify your concept, make it more appealing to the customers, and most importantly, visualize it. This way, when you begin the actual custom application development, you have more information about what works and what doesn’t.

Setting unrealistic goals

If you think that the first version of the application will generate good income, bring in a lot of leads and new clients, and boost brand awareness, you are not being realistic. The market is saturated, which means that you will probably require several releases to get somewhere near this idealistic goal. When it comes to building a program for internal use, unrealistic goals will slow down the development and frustrate everyone involved as your project will be bound to fail.

Solution: For the first version, strive to cover the main goals and develop essential features. After having built and launched the first version of the software, establish new realistic scenarios for the second round of releases. Tackle different objectives during these iterations, for example, attracting users for version number one, monetization for the second round, improving operational efficiency at the next release, etc.

Failing to develop a product strategy

You cannot expect to generate income without researching market conditions, target audience, and your primary competition. Before you start writing code or hiring a bespoke software development company to create an app for you, you need to develop a comprehensive product roadmap.

Solution: a well-developed product strategy will help you identify the framework for the development process, deployment as well as post-release follow-up. As a part of the product strategy, you need to define your target market, long-term goals, features prioritization, research on your competition, current market conditions, marketing plan, as well as software maintenance.

Failing to solve a particular problem

In the current abundance of applications, your solution needs to solve a concrete problem that your potential users have. In the beginning, it would suffice if your application solves one particular issue, however, you can expand the functionalities later.

Solution: try to pinpoint what exactly your software will focus on solving. Later, when the issue has been established, identify at which point the problem is considered to be solved. You may include additional features later on, but in the beginning, try to concentrate on the most urgent problem, such as getting a ride using Uber, or making online payments using PayPal.

Miscommunication in the development team

Communication is of course important for any company and any business, but it becomes vital for custom software development companies. The lack of clear communication inevitably leads to building unnecessary features that will drain the budget.

Solution: adopt the agile methodology and have regular meet-ups or calls. Make sure everyone who is involved in the development process takes part in the meetings: developers, operations specialists, QA workers, UX designers, and other stakeholders.

Lack of post-launch plan

Custom software development is not only about writing the app, testing, and launching it. You need a post-launch plan to make sure it generates income. Without an explicit plan for the post-release, your application will get lost in the plethora of tools that are currently on the market.

Solution: post-launch plan entails supporting workflows for sales, marketing, customer service, etc. It should include ongoing app performance monitoring, sales and marketing plan, collecting and utilizing feedback, adding new features to the application, and so on.

Choosing the wrong IT development company

There are a myriad of custom software development companies on the market which makes it difficult to make the right choice. Choosing a custom software development services company that is too small for you will hinder you from expanding and meeting new goals. On the other hand, going for a large provider might feel too impersonal. Moreover, big companies tend to forget how it is for small businesses and overlook some of their needs.

Solution: do thorough research before signing anything with a company. Go through the company’s portfolio, ask them questions about previous projects related to your development, inquire about security issues. The best software companies to work with are always ready to answer your questions, tell you about their cases, and share their expertise on technologies. Additional options to consider are services like staff augmentation or dedicated development team service that extend your in-house personnel with one or several tech specialists to fill in the knowledge gap on your team.

How can you make the custom software development process more efficient and avoid beginner mistakes? Luckily, many people and many companies have gone through the mobile and web application development steps, and know first hand how to optimize the process and make it smoother. Let’s look at seven basic steps that will accelerate and simplify your custom development.

Define your current process and future needs

Before hiring the best software development company to build your solution, define the current process and what you need in the future. Without concrete goals and success measurements, the end result will not be easy to assess. You may want to discuss it with the stakeholders and managers at the company to put together a list of the particular processes that the future solution will execute and support.

Choose the right people/partner to work with

What is custom application development without a team? Firstly, evaluate your budget, goals, and preferences when it comes to the software development model. You can build an in-house team at your company or outsource the entire project or its parts to a third-party IT firm.

Hiring in-house workers is a great decision, however, it comes with a high upfront cost as well as ongoing extra costs like office space and supplies, taxes, etc. Outsourcing is a more affordable option, however, you will have less control over the development process. There is also a compromise between the two called staff augmentation. It encompasses the best advantages of both outsourcing and in-house hiring as it provides you with a qualified worker for the duration of the project, and at the same time does not cost as much as actual in-house hiring.

Make a realistic plan with milestones

After setting up your team, together you can create a comprehensive, detailed plan with clear milestones to keep track of your progress. Make sure that everyone involved in the new software development process can contribute to the plan: developers, designers, testers, project managers, and others.

Conduct the appropriate testing

Testing is one of the most important parts of the bespoke software development process. It is so vital that more and more companies include it into their regular workflow instead of leaving it till the end of the development cycle. Testing usually consists of two parts:

Time and Budget Estimation

As mentioned before, custom software application development requires a higher investment that needs to be thoroughly measured and planned out. A detailed time and budget estimate covers the scope and features of the software, IU/UX design, infrastructure costs, licenses and cloud fees, and developers’ compensation. These are just a few things that need to be considered when making an estimate. Additional costs may occur, depending on the size and complexity of the application.

Code Reviews and refactoring

It is recommended to conduct code reviews and refactoring every third or forth sprint to make sure the code is clear and correct. An abundance of unnecessary code lines makes the code harder to read and understand, as well as slowing down the performance.

Document the entire process

Custom software development presents a variety of benefits for enterprises, SMEs, and startups. Regardless of the industry, building an app that perfectly fits the business goals and processes, target users, and the existing infrastructure, is a huge win for any company. Custom built software will streamline your processes, optimize the workflow, and automate daily tasks. With custom developed software, your company will achieve new goals and attract new users. As stated before, custom software development is not necessarily expensive, as you can add only the features that you need and seamlessly integrate the app into your current environment.

If you have decided that custom software development is something that could benefit your business, contact DOIT Software. DOIT Software offers software application development services, as well as a staff augmentation model that lends you one or several workers to fill in the skill gap for a certain project. We have years of expertise in business software development and are ready to share it with you. We know first hand how to develop software that meets the specific needs of your company and industry.