A short time-to-market is critical to capitalize on the opportunities in the evolving market dynamics. Given software development is a lot of work, teams always find themselves in a lot of pressure to deliver effective software products within short timelines. However, with offshore software development, it is possible to shorten software development for fast deployment while maintaining the quality and integrity of the software product.
In this post, we will share some practical ways software developers can speed up software development.
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Key Factors That Influence The Speed Of Software Development
The scale and technical requirements of the project
Custom software development Singapore highly experienced technical aspects of the projects like the complexity of the architecture employed, the innovations and third-party integrations, among others, the scope of the objectives, structural mismatches, etc. If the complexities and technicalities of a project are broad, they may slow down the development process.
Quality of code
While there exist frameworks that allow developers to write shorter codes and of high quality, it still takes a lot of time to write high-quality codes. Even with tight deadlines, a software developer should never compromise the quality of code they write, as that affects the overall output. It also will end up stretching the development time and cost further as the errors will still need to be fixed.
Size of your team
Modalities of working with a team can be complex. For instance, while working with one or two people makes it easier to communicate and deliver the desired output, it stretches the development time. On the other hand, a larger team is harder to coordinate.
Tips to speed up your software development process
With the factors influencing development time in mind, here are ways you can help shorten the development process and speed up deployment.
#1. Have clear development goals and standards
Any development process begins with a goal in mind. It is around these goals and objectives that development teams identify and build the components that will guide the implementation of the project. As such, the goal needs to be clear to every member of the team. Further, the team needs to adopt minimum standards they will abide by as they implement the project. These include how the coding and documentation will be done, frequency of reporting and the quality standards.
Without these goals and standards, it can be challenging to coordinate a team and work towards achieving success in the project.
#2 Expand your team
Expanding your team helps spread out the tasks, thus achieving shorter development time. This can be particularly useful for projects with a vast scope.
While expanding your team, be keen to ensure the developers have suitable skills – both soft and hard skills – that match the requirements of the project.
#3. Work with small components
One of the most effective ways of handling big tasks is breaking them down into smaller, manageable components. The various components can then be developed independently and brought together to form one complete product.
It is even better if you have an expanded team. Different teams can handle specific components of the overall project from the development to the testing phase. Thereon, the different teams can bring the components together for integration. This model has been tried and proven effective.
However, keep in mind that as the small independent teams handle different components of the overall product, they should be guided by the objectives of the overall project
#4. Continuous integration
Today, you do not have to wait for a product to be fully complete before you put it to use. Once the core components are tested and proven to work, they can be deployed as the other elements are still under development. They can then be integrated into continually as they are completed.
Agile entails continuous planning, testing and integration. It allows you to leverage the benefits of a software product without the need to wait for completion. Continuous integration is built on the concept of continuous development, integration, testing and deployment.
#5. Limit “Work in progress”
Another important and highly effective way of speeding up the development process is having fewer items in the “work in progress” list. Essentially, limiting the items in this list means being strict with the key performance indicators and ticking boxes when they are set to be ticked. The benefit of doing this is it reduces the spreads workload evenly, maximizing the effectiveness of the project.
There are many tools and features online developers can use to keep track of your key performance indicators.
#6. Avoid technical debt
Technical debt is consciously choosing a less effective but faster option/solution over a more effective one. While this will help you complete tasks within a shorter time frame, it is not done strategically, it compromises the overall effectiveness and quality of your project. It leads to system complexities and errors that have to be fixed. The error-fixing then translates to longer development time and increased costs.
Therefore, developers should strive to employ the most effective tools and options – including writing high-quality codes – through every stage of software development.
#7. Workflow automation
Employing tools for automated task management, workflow discussions and project meetings can help save time and improve team coordination throughout the project. Automation tools come in handy, especially for repetitive tasks.
Conclusion
It is possible to speed up software development. However, the strategies for doing the same should not come at the expense of the quality of your software product. Your goal should be to get it right from the beginning. These tips have been proven to help you achieve that.
