5 Things to know about building software

You’ve already done the research and determined that off-the-shelf software is not going to work for your business. Now what do you do? You have a business issue that costs your company thousands of dollars per month in inefficiency. Or you have an opportunity that could generate millions in sales. Your current IT teams are not geared for developing software – their focus is to keep everything working: computers, networks, email, etc. You need to find a partner that understands your business, your challenges, and your opportunities. Most importantly, they need to know HOW to build software that’s unique to your business, leveraging years of experience in the software development process.

Here are 5 things you need to know about building software:

1. Have an idea of what you want, but realise it will change

When you start on a software project, you will have great ideas on what you want the system to do. It’s extremely important to document and elaborate on everything that you want to achieve. Inevitably, the ideas you will have tomorrow will be better than the ideas you had today – simply because you know more tomorrow than you did today. It’s important to have a good change control process, so that you can make an informed decision whether it makes sense to implement a change today, or wait until the next release.

2. It’s not about coding

Building software is a lot like building a house – without a good blueprint and plan, you’ll never know when it will be finished. You need to involve a lot of different people and trades to build a house – same as building software. In software there are Project Managers, Architects, Business and Systems Analysts, Graphic Designers, User Experience Specialists, Programmers, Testers, and a variety of other people that get it all done. Building software with only Programmers is like building a house with only Carpenters. You need a team to get it done right.

3. Have a realistic budget.

It’s funny how many people come to us thinking they can build the next Facebook or eBay for a few thousand dollars. Remember – there’s a reason that what you want to build hasn’t been built yet. It requires an investment of time and money, and quality comes at a cost.

4. The more you are involved in the project, the better the outcome will be

This is critical. You – as the idea owner – need to be directly involved with your development team throughout the project. Whether it’s clarifying requirements, agreeing on changes to the original scope, or providing insight to the ‘look’ and ‘feel’, nobody is going to deliver you what you want if you are not closely involved. 

5. It’s all about minimising risk. 

You are going to invest tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars with a company that will build your vision into reality. You need to have trust that the partner you choose is genuinely interested in making you successful, and has a track record of making others successful. You need a company that is stable and will be able to support and maintain your software so you can focus on growing your business.

Keeping these 5 things in mind will guide you to success in building your software.

Hicaliber is a focused Information Technology consulting firm that provides an unmatched level of personalised service and efficiency. Our mission is simple, to build value-creating applications that eliminate the manual business processes in your organisation, enabling your team to achieve and exceed business goals and objectives. Our company is focused on your company’s ROI.