Software Development

Nowadays most companies, from startups to large enterprises, use the IT-sphere to develop their business online. Some prefer to rely on their websites, others have personal apps. Are you considering how to put a business project into practice? Let’s see how developing special software can help you, how it works, and what features it offers. 

What Is Software Development?

Software development means the creation, design, and support of software, or, simply put,  codes that tell the device what to do. There are many examples that we see and use every day. All devices have certain software installed, which works in the background. It helps us make any operations, from calculations to moving a cursor on a screen. Every little action is performed by a bunch of codes. The whole software can consist of millions of code lines.

There are four types of software development:

1. System software. It is responsible for main functions such as disk management, hardware management, operating systems, utilities.
2. Programming software. It is a tool for developers that helps them to write codes. It includes compilers, debuggers, text editors, linkers.
3. Application software. The apps we use every day, from simple games to huge social networks. Their main role is to help users accomplish tasks.
4. Embedded software. It is used for machine control (robots, cars) but is less demanded.

Software development is a complicated process that can be hard to understand for the average user. That’s why it is better to refer to professionals for good quality service. 

Steps in The Software Development Process

During software development, engineers follow several steps.  These stages are necessary regardless of the project’s size or complexity. Competent implementation of the process stages leads to good results and clients’ satisfaction.  

Analysis of requirements

At first, programmers study the client’s requirements and analyze their wishes. Then it is time to determine the main aims and tasks of the future product. At this stage, the team establishes communication with the customer and finds out all nuances of the project. It is important to correctly understand the idea, clarify all the details, and make sure that both sides expect to see the same result. 

After the discussion, the developers make up a list of requirements and tasks, which they will follow in future programming. This list should be as detailed as possible to comprehensively describe the ultimate goal of the project.

Design

The next stage is the design of the software or base modeling of the future product. Modern programming tools help to partly unite the design and the coding, but the project still needs scrupulous modeling. To get the software functioning stably, the developers should analyze the prospects and opportunities of the project. Other tasks of this step are the selection of tools and an operating system. The choice is wide, and if you prefer particular programming languages, warn the engineers in advance.

At this stage, the team will provide:

• An estimate of the previous analyses’ results; 
• Identification of the limitations;
• Identification of the critical and weak parts of the project;
• Formation of the system’s final architecture; 
• Analysis of the probable efficiency of the software modules’ use;
• Projection of the main elements of the product (database, codes);
• Choice of the programming environment and tools;
• Approval of the interface, including graphical elements;
• A check of the basic safety requirements.

Coding

After the stages of communication with the customers, analysis, and the selection of the programming language, it is time to start coding. It is the most laborious, complex, and time-consuming stage. If you want to ease the work of the developers, think over all the requirements beforehand, so that no surprises occur during the programming stage. 

The profit of your company will depend on competent coding, especially if you want to perform highly specialized tasks. 

If you want to speed up the process, it is better to hire a big team of professionals. In this case, while one of the developers is working on the code, another will start the testing stage. Besides, with the parallel work, engineers will be able to fix bugs and make changes while programming.

Testing and debugging

As previously mentioned, at this stage the developers check the correctness of the work and try to find any bugs or weak spots. Testing helps to simulate situations when the project can stop functioning. The aim is to achieve the fully-functional processing of the developed software by improving it. By debugging the code, developers try to achieve a perfect result. This step is not as time-consuming as the coding, but it is very important. 

If you want the product to be of high quality and work without a hitch, carefully choose the developers you work with. Hire a team of professionals who know how to assign all the responsibilities among each other and effectively find bugs. 

Implementation

The implementation of the software is the final stage before the project is handed to the customer. To detect errors and code defects, developers follow three steps: 

• Initial loading of the data; 
• Accumulation of information;
• Maintenance process

This means the software will be fully checked and there will be very little chance to encounter bugs. At this stage, you can see the final result and the user’s interaction with the app. Approaching the product as a beta-version, you can determine the customers’ loyalty to the interface. 

Even the creation of small and technically simple software depends on the thorough implementation of each stage. It helps to achieve the desired result and develop a truly high-quality and competitive product. That’s why you should choose an experienced team that can excel at all the steps. It is better to hire a company that can provide several specialists to work on the software together.  Due to task distribution, the work will be rapid and reliable. Besides, a professional team can offer you future support for the project. 

Why Is Software Development Important?

The frequency of the usage of custom apps grows every day. The world continues striving for absolute optimization in every area to make peoples’ lives easier. That’s why well-integrated software can guide your business to leadership and increase your customers’ loyalty. Integration into a device takes your business to the next level since it makes your service, product, or project accessible from any place at any time. 

If you are still wondering why having your own website or app is that important, just think about the fact that it can change the user’s opinions on your project. How do your customers perceive your business? With an online platform, the clients will get easier access to your services. Thus, you can increase both profit and customer engagement. Seeing the reviews, you can understand the users’ wishes and analyze their satisfaction.

Key Features of Effective Software Development

The main aspects that define the software are quality, reliability, cost, and complexity. And if the latter depends on the customer’s idea, the former three depend on the developer. That’s why one of the most important features for creating effective software is the experienced team of engineers. They should know exactly what they are doing and be able to convey the information to the client. 

Another key feature is the correct understanding of requirements. Since not every business owner is well versed in tech speak, it is important to make sure you and the developer understand each other. Make sure that the developer takes into account your vision and requests. A good company will prioritize establishing communication. It is especially important if you work with outsourcing developers. 

Resources for Software Developers

Since we all live in the XXI century, books and magazines are not that popular anymore. Here are some ideas for the most effective resources for software developers to learn from:

1. Online sources. There are many blogs, podcasts, and even online magazines where developers can find regularly updated information, share their experience, see public news about new technologies and frameworks. 
2. Social networks. You can find leading specialists on Twitter, where they share their opinion. Facebook has another approach. There are many groups with information about the latest innovations in the development field.
3. Live communication. The first form of such communication are meetups. They are held for small groups of developers in certain areas. Between speeches, developers can communicate with each other, establish useful contacts, and learn something new about the IT world. 

On the other hand there are hackathons. During these, developers usually need to learn a language or a framework and finish a project in a short period of time. It helps engineers to learn how their colleagues solve particular problems with various technologies. There are also conferences usually held by large companies that are dedicated to a specific technology (features, advantages, innovations, complexity). 

What to Do with an Idea?

If you have an idea and need IT help, it is better to refer to professionals. Sirin Software provides not only software development but also many other services such as mechanical engineering, cloud solutions, IoT, backend development, and many more options. We will gladly help you to improve already existing projects or create a new one from scratch. Our developers (middle and senior-level) never stop perfecting their skills. To make sure of our capabilities, just contact us, and we will answer all your questions in detail.