Planning a software development project isn’t an easy job. Whether you want to develop a project on the idea that you have or you are doing it for a client, it is important to map everything out beforehand so that software development goes smoothly and you get the product that you were aiming for. To help you with software development project planning, we have mentioned some of the essential steps of planning a software development project below:
Defining Goals Of The Project
The first step is to define the goals of your software development project. Defining the goals and scope of your project helps to find the start and end points. It also helps to clarify the intentions for the project. Defining the goals of the project in a proper and clear manner is important to outline the goals which make it easier to achieve them.
If you are doing the planning for a client then ask the client to clearly define the goals and outcomes that he wants beforehand so that it will be easier for you to plan accordingly.
Mapping Out The Requirements
After you clearly define your goals, you will have to figure out what you need to achieve those objectives. The requirements of your projects include the team, equipment, time, skills, and budget required. Depending on the size of the project, these requirements will change. Working out the requirements of the projects requires expertise and skills to determine the needs. It is better to consult with a project manager who can give expert advice to map out the requirements of the project.
Budget Estimation
The next step is to plan the costs as budget is a significant thing when planning a software development project. If you have correctly mapped out the list of requirements that you will need during the project then it will help you determine a rough estimate of costs. Planning out the costs of the project is very important and if the cost estimate is incorrect then it can cause significant problems later on.
Most companies try to choose nearshore software developers for their software development projects to avoid spending too much without compromising on the quality. The software Word Unscrambler is a great example of nearshore software development.
Creating A Timeline
After outlining the basic elements of your software development project and estimating the budget, you will need to create a timeline of all the different aspects of the project. You will have to break down the whole project into different tasks and depending on the resources that you have available i.e team and budget, you can create a timeline for the whole project.
Since a software development project has a lot of tasks and there is a high level of uncertainty in these tasks, it is better to give a few more days extra to complete all the tasks so that there is no compromise on the quality and everything is done smoothly. Developing a rough time estimate and then giving a few days extra is what most software companies do.
Building A Team
Now that you have got a time estimate and a budget estimate, it is time that you build a team according to the requirements of the projects. If you are developing a simple software like Scrabble Word Finder then you may not need more than 2-3 expert developers who can get the job done but for complex projects, building a team isn’t an easy time. It can take a lot of time to find the right developers for complex projects.
You have two choices here, either to do everything yourself which includes searching, interviewing, and hiring the right people for the right job, or outsource the project to a software development company that will do everything, from assembling the team to getting the job done. Outsourcing is better if you don’t want to get into hurdles of assembling a team but some people who don’t want to compromise on the quality, they do everything themselves.
Progress Checks And Quality Testing
Once the project is planned out and you have assembled a team, it is important to include quality testing and progress checks after certain time intervals. These two things are usually neglected, however, these should be an important part of your software development project.
Progress checks should be done whether you have assembled a team yourself or outsourced it to someone else to find out how the development is going and quality testing should be included as a final step of software development.
Planning a software development project requires high skills and experience. It is no easy task but with time as you plan more and more projects, you get better at it. Starting out with simple projects and then moving on to complex projects is recommended to become a better planner.
