A Complete Guide On Software Product Development Stages And Life Cycle

Planning a software development project for your business? Here’s a detailed guide on the various stages and life-cycle of Software Product Development!

Introduction
What Is Software Product Development?
How To Gauge When Your Business Needs Software Product Development?
How To Prepare For Software Product Development
5 Essential Stages Of Software Product Development
Tips To Select The Right Partners For Software Product Development
Healthier, Better Business With Software Product Development

Introduction

Behind all the conveniences that we use in our everyday life, there is complex software. Such ease of life is possible when complex software is implemented in various stages in definitive order. These models address the diverse circumstances of product owners and development vendors.

However, such a rich choice can be confusing. To fully benefit from the development process and successfully communicate with the development team, you must realize your needs and expectations from the product.

Here is a complete guide to help you understand and organize the complex process of Software Product Development – what each stage means and how you can drive a successful Software Product Development project.

What Is Software Product Development?

Software Product Development is a combination of steps, tools, methodologies, and management techniques that bring the concept of a product from the ideation stage to implementation and eventually to the market.

The primary goal of Software Product Development is to provide high-level products within the set budget and timeline. Typically, the software development lifecycle includes product discovery, software development, testing, deployment, and so on.

How To Gauge When Your Business Needs Software Product Development?

Every business in today’s fast-paced and volatile world needs Software Products. Software Products help your business gain momentum and a competitive advantage for your business. Here are some scenarios that indicate when your business needs Software Product Development.

1. When your company starts experiencing low efficiency and miscommunication-related issues.

Are your current methods of collecting data complicating the effective management of your company? Have you noticed miscommunication between your employees and managers resulting in missed deadlines? If these are restricting your business from reaching its potential growth, you need software development.

2. When your supply chain has many bottlenecks

A dissatisfied customer will quickly hop over to your competition. Bottlenecks created by miscommunication lead to loss of opportunities. When your company is dealing with a higher volume of complaints and low satisfaction rates, you need software development. It can optimize your supply chain management and guide all your decisions.

3. When your business is growing

Despite exponential business growth, the quality of your products and services should continue to be of the highest standard. Product development can help you comply with government regulations, evaluate the quality of the suppliers and the quality of your product.

4. When your customer base increases

When your customers increase, data increases. And that data has to be organized and maintained to help you make better understand your finances and use it to make strategic decisions. Product development can provide you visibility into all transactions contributing to the financial health of your company.

5. When your company is expanding to other locations

When your organization expands to other locations, you will need a fully visible information system that records all that happens at that exact location. Software Product Development equips you with the possibility to record all inventory movements in real-time.

How To Prepare For Software Product Development

All Software Product Development needs detailed documentation. This documentation must cover the business requirements and clarify product functionality. It can also serve as the basis to discuss essential issues between business owners and developers. Here is how you can prepare to start a successful Software Product Development:

Do your homework: Even before searching for a vendor for Software Product Development, you need to conduct marketing research. Qualified marketing research will help you achieve your sales growth now and in the future.

Develop precise product vision: Work out the “whys” in projects that are focused on the main product. You can eliminate mistakes by answering questions such as, “who is the product for?” and “why do they need the product?”

Plan: Have a clear vision and communicate that vision to the development team. This will help them to create a software product that is aligned with your requirements.

Timely execution: Have a written communication with designers and engineers to nudge them in the right direction. This will contribute to well-articulated timely execution.

Make team members accountable: From day one, help your team members see their share of tasks that contribute to the development of the software product.

Document everything: Keeping a record of everything from ideation to execution can help your team to access all the features that must be included in the product and the functions each of those features must perform.

5 Essential Stages Of Software Product Development

Stage 1: Product Discovery

The first stage in the Software Product Development lifecycle is where new ideas or concepts originate. A team is organized to study the idea, perform market analysis, and identify technical and market risks. This will help organizations to determine the need for Software Product Development.

Stage 2: Product definition

In this stage, the team creates the first comprehensive evaluation of the technology. Developers and managers evaluate the important points of differentiation of the new product. This will avoid misinterpretation of the needs of the market.

Stage 3: Product development

This is the most time-consuming stage. Software developers use the design document to write code for the components. The task is divided between team members according to their area of expertise. This includes front-end developers, database administrators, and software developers.

Stage 4: Product testing

Quality assurance team steps in this stage to ensure the software meets all the requirements for which it was built. It involves functional testing, performance testing, unit testing, security testing, and usability testing.

During this stage, software developers fix any bugs and retest as many times as required. This stage continues until the software is free of bugs and measures up to the potential capability.

Stage 5: Product deployment

Now, the software is sent into the market for user acceptance testing. Once again, the software team fixes any bugs based on the feedback from its first users. Then the final version is launched into the market. This stage also includes maintenance and strengthening of the software.

Perhaps now you feel you are ready to start Software Product Development. But, hold on! Selecting the right partner for Software Product Development will impact your company in the long term. So, read on to find a few tips that can help you define the right partner.

Tips To Select The Right Partners For Software Product Development

Selecting the right partners is an important decision that should not be treated lightly. So, here are few tips:

1. Conduct a background check on the company

To validate the company’s experience and professional trajectory, contact some organizations that have worked with the vendor. This will help you know their experience and the final outcome of the product.

2. Check their ability

For your product to be of excellent quality, the vendor should have abilities and excellence in software development. To guarantee their excellence, find out if they have QAG (Quality Assurance Group) or GMO (Organizational Improvement Group).

3. Knowledge of different methodologies

Solid methodological training and experience in using various technologies are vital for product development.

4. Ability to support throughout the cycle

Ensure that the vendor does not abandon the project at any of the stages.

5. Ability to understand your business

All in the team should be able to understand your unique business requirements and help you find the best solution aligned with your objectives.

6. Capable testers

Ensure the vendor in consideration has qualified testers who can guide you on how to perform your own tests.

Healthier, Better Business With Software Product Development

It may be time for you to start thinking about Software Product Development that helps you run a healthier business. True, it requires an investment of time and money. However, in the long run, you will realize that you have saved time and money by enhancing customer satisfaction and improving employee retention. We at Fingent ensure a streamlined product development process that simplifies both deployment and transition. Call us to see how you can get this started for you right away.

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About the Author

Sreejith

I have been programming since 2000, and professionally since 2007. I currently lead the Open Source team at Fingent as we work on different technology stacks, ranging from the "boring"(read tried and trusted) to the bleeding edge. I like building, tinkering with and breaking things, not necessarily in that order.