Software development is no easy feat, but having an effective software development strategy can make the process smoother. If you’re looking to understand the basics of creating a software development strategy, you’re in the right place. Keep reading to learn more.
What Is a Software Development Strategy?
A software development strategy is a procedure that outlines the steps involved in your software development process. It denotes how you plan to build an application, as well as managerial processes for completing work on a deadline. Any high-quality software development agency should have a clearly defined software development strategy.
Related Page: Our Development Procedure
Benefits of Having a Clearly Defined Development Strategy
It should come as no surprise that having a clearly defined development strategy comes with several benefits; here are just a few:
Improved Teamwork
Following a well-outlined workflow procedure means that team members have a clear idea of where they and their colleagues should be in the development process and each other’s goals. As a result, team members can effectively hold each other and themselves accountable for their work, understanding their roles and responsibilities. This leads to a smooth and streamlined development process.
Better Time Management
A clearly defined development strategy makes it easier for project managers to manage project timelines and push their team to achieve its goals. This is not only thanks to the team’s common goals, but also to an understanding of how the workload should flow. After all, with a clear development strategy, it’s easy to spot mistakes and inefficiencies when the development team goes astray.
Increased Transparency With Clients
Another benefit of having a clearly defined development process is increased transparency between your development team and the client. This is because it’s simpler for you to explain where you are in the development process by referring to your strategy. This can ultimately help to build more trust between you and your client.
Improve Risk Management
A clearly defined development process can also help identify potential risks early on in the project lifecycle. This enables project managers to plan for contingencies and mitigate risks, resulting in a more successful project outcome.
6 Steps to Create an Effective Software Development Strategy
Now that you understand the importance of a software development strategy, let’s explore how you can create an effective one of your own.
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Define Your Goals and Objectives
As with any project, starting by defining your goals and objectives is important. What do you want to achieve with your software development strategy? Answering this question will help you to determine your workflow later.
For example, if your goal is to take a holistic approach to website development, your strategy will appear differently than if you wanted to take an iterative approach to software development.
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Choose the Development Methodology
The next step is to choose a development methodology – or how you actually plan to approach development itself. There are several models available, such as agile, Kanban, and waterfall. Each model comes with its own benefits and drawbacks.
Related Article: 4 Software Development Models
The above-linked article will provide detailed information about development methodologies, but as a brief overview, agile is best for projects with changing requirements; Kanban is best for projects without clear deadlines; and the waterfall model is suited for more linear projects.
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Create a Project Plan
Once you’ve selected a development methodology, you need to create a project plan that outlines how you get from the start to the finish of the project. What tasks need to be completed, and who’s best suited to each job role? Carefully considering the answers to these questions makes for a smooth development process.
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Establish Communication Channels
Now that you have a better idea as to how the development process will look, you’ll need to set up clear communication channels between you, your team, and your client (if applicable). Establishing communication channels means choosing a designated client liaison and how you will communicate project updates with your team.
You can keep communication simple using a business messaging app like Slack. Otherwise, you could opt for a project management tool like ClickUp, which allows you to create and assign tasks to your team with different task statuses.
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Set up Quality Assurance Processes
In order to ensure you deliver a high-quality product to your customers, you’ll need to integrate a quality assurance process into your strategy. How this looks will depend on your chosen development methodology. For example, if you’ve opted for an iterative approach like agile, you’ll want to conduct QA as each iteration is deployed.
Otherwise, you can choose to leave QA until project completion, opting for a beta-testing approach to development. This saves time during development but may lead to an extended editing and update process.
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Monitor and Evaluate Progress
Finally, you’ll need to determine how to monitor and evaluate the progress of your development. What statistics will indicate progress, and how will you track them throughout the development? This is a crucial step, as it will allow you to understand where adjustments are needed during the process.
Refined Development Strategies From Idea Maker
At Idea Maker, we’ve worked hard to refine our own development strategy since our inception in 2016. Now, we want to pass our expertise on to your business. Our team can help you create a streamlined development process, or we can handle your development project ourselves. Schedule a call today for more information.
