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Software development requires a lot of effort, and errors are pretty much inevitable. This guide describes the usual mistakes in software products development projects and considers steps to resolve them.
There are 2 main sources of errors in software development: the product owner and the developer. With software (independent, web, or mobile) becoming an asset for startup owners and most businesses, they want to create their own apps to attain productivity metrics. However, they sometimes tend to muddle the development process with conflicting goals and ambitious ideas. These ideas may be bad or good, but they will ultimately affect decision-making.
Mistakes To Avoid When Creating Software Product
Unfortunately, wrong decisions can lead to errors, which affect the desired result. Despite the developers’ experience and the clients’ continuous feedback, some of the common mistakes are still repeated.
Inadequate Market Research
Market research should always be the starting point of any software development project. A good example of the wrong timing of new technology’s launch is the 2000 failure to introduce new tablet PCs. The company launched its innovative tablets in the 2000s, but they were not widely accepted until the revolutionary launch of iPads by Steve Jobs. This case shows that Microsoft tried to disrupt the tech market when the users were still not ready for it, while Apple chose the timing much wiser based on the market research findings.
Lack Of Feasibility Studies
Entrepreneurship may make adrenaline soar, with startup owners often initiating software and application development without testing their ideas for marketability. Such thoughtless steps often undermine the startup’s survival by causing a waste of scarce funds on unnecessary products or services.
Feasibility studies include market adoption, target market penetration, cost analysis, etc. By conducting such research, you can find a unique niche for your product, even if the niche is already saturated or dominated by somebody else. For instance, in terms of presentation software, Microsoft PowerPoint dominates the market. Slidebean still wants to share a percentage of the market. Slidebean has a unique and good business strategy and focuses on providing a presentation platform for small businesses and startups.
Personalize Instead Of Creating Software From Scratch
Before embarking on a software development project, you should ask yourself (or authoritative specialists): how much money do you need to spend to build a software application? The answer is: it depends on whether you develop software from scratch or use a ready-made template.
When choosing between these 2 options, you need to measure everything carefully. Follow these examples:
- Difficulty removing built-in or adding functions.
- Compatibility issues with various software APIs.
- Extensions to various cloud technology and data partners.
Therefore, it is cheaper to create the software from scratch in most cases than to adapt ready-made templates to your unique business needs and requirements.
Lack Of Coordination Between Team Members
The software stakeholders include owners (startup company owners), developers, and the targeted users. It is essential to ensure that the result is an accurate model of the product you want. Therefore, coordination is essential.
Clients often set the software development tasks based on their vision of the product and its features. Yet, a large portion of the development process should be guided by what the end-users want, which may be discovered only through field testing or MVP launch. Thus, the development team must establish clear-cut communication protocols and derive data informing the development process from numerous sources, coordinating between client expectations and user needs.
Hiring New/Inexperienced Developers
Developing superior quality software products is a talent that everyone doesn’t have. So, finding the right developer is key for a successful development outcome.
Still, experts are difficult to find and expensive, and the high cost is the main reason startup owners/small businessmen hire new or inexperienced programmers. As a result of scarcity of funds and the inability to afford a competent coder, many startup owners end up with mediocre, ill-functioning software with numerous bugs and a huge number of vulnerabilities, putting the clients’ security at risk.
Develop And Build Software Applications Through The Help Of Experts
In the modern technology-driven world, online presence is the key to business survival and growth. Thus, all business owners, from startup entrepreneurs to the heads of well-developed and prospering companies, consider software development as a critical aspect of their business strategy. Whatever path they choose to advance their business position online, it’s essential to find the appropriate experts for software development project completion, conduct preliminary research, and negotiate the client vision with end-user needs. The latter requirement is strategically important to make sure that the created software products are demanded by end-users and enjoys popularity on the market, thus delivering a positive ROI to a business.
