To those unfamiliar with software development, it might seem like a process that could risk being long and labored. Numerous big ideas need to flourish here, and the workers who have them need to be suitably managed.
As software becomes more involved, ambitious, and complicated, the prospect of speeding up development may seem outlandish. Perhaps mistakes will be made? Could oversights be more prominent in the creation process? Can testing possibly be thorough if anything is more hurried? The odds might seem to be stacked against you somewhat here.
However, so long as all parties concerned have the right attitude, anything can be possible. No successful business or entrepreneur ever shied away from an honest challenge. Here are some reasons why speeding up a software development cycle is more doable than ever before.
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Assembling the Right Team
Many parts of a businesses operations can be sped up if skilled workers oversee them. Therefore, it is worth revisiting the hiring process.
Build a team of developers and testers that can work in perfect harmony with each other. They need to be effective communicators and passionate about every aspect of creating and maintaining software. Remember, software development is a process, and each person you recruit needs to have the stamina to run that race. It is a marathon, not a sprint.
The professionals you hire need to stick around too. The more experience your team collectively accumulates, the faster they may perform in software development. Keep in mind that millions of workers in the U.S. have resigned from their roles recently, so do everything you can to retain your staff. Organize a comfortable working environment, offer staff benefits, work from home flexibility, and create a warm and inclusive company culture.
It may also be worth fielding recommendations from trusted parties. Ask your most talented developers and testers whether they could suggest a skilled friend or family member for a position at your firm. It will establish stronger ties between you and the worker and possibly streamline the hiring process if the recommendation is a good fit. Expand your team, and let the more experienced personnel lead smaller teams for faster software development.
Planning Well
Software development can involve projects big and small. Some programs can be seismic labors of love across multiple teams, while others may simply be a smaller experiment for something bigger down the road.
Your development team needs a robust plan to move forward confidently and with tact. Strategizing on hopes and guesswork will not suffice and undoubtedly lead to a few wrong turns. It may be worth reshuffling your business temporarily, diverting resources to cover forecasted costs. Equipment, facilities, office opening hours may all be affected depending on your needs too. Conduct an audit to ensure you can fund everything comfortably.
Assemble your team of developers for a meeting. Try to use this time to engage them fully, compelling them into action. However, invite their thoughts and listen to their concerns too. Within reason, allow them to set the parameters and time frames of project completion. That way, you can minimize stress in their working lives and enable them to have a say in their workflow. All of this can increase productivity too.
Depending on the scale of the software development project, many moving parts could affect any member of your workforce. Everyone in the company should be notified of any changes caused by the project, even if they are not directly involved. Mutual understanding is essential here and will minimize the chances of future disruption and internal pushbacks and improve staff satisfaction.
Pacing Coding
When developing software, much time is spent on the creation of the code. Setting appropriate parameters is crucial when it comes to coding.
If developers rush coding software, many errors and faults will be created. Instead of having a program with a quality finish, you will have created a series of headaches, errors, and bugs for the team to solve later. Numerous setbacks can follow on from this, and your precious time and resources will need to be used in rectifying each of them.
Quality is king in coding, and it must always come first. Avoid bombarding your developers with tight and unrealistic deadlines. Give them plenty of room to problem solve and even innovate within their roles. Scheduling things generously in coding might seem like a strange way to save time, but as you avoid numerous pitfalls along the way, things will ultimately work out better and faster.
Remember, coding is the core framework of all software. Get things right, and you have a stronger foundation to build from with your software. It is not something you can plan for too precisely, as it will take as long as it takes to get it right. Get things right the first time, and avoid spending time putting out multiple fires of your own making.
Looking into Automation
Any business that hopes to speed up its processes cannot hope to succeed by manual means alone. The capacity for human error is too great, and there are always limitations regarding worker attention spans and stamina.
Automation does not get tired, need breaks, or often make mistakes outside of its intended programming. ForAllSecure explains how automation can be used in continuous software and security testing. Read their piece on DevSecOps, and how it is a method for folding security throughout the software development lifecycle. Many risk factors can be mitigated here, ensuring a smooth development period.
The earlier you catch bugs, the less damage they can do to your software. Automation can help you quickly root out vulnerabilities in your programming and avert more severe disasters in your software later down the line.
Of course, automation technologies may be able to alleviate many stresses and burdens for your development team too. A more manageable workload means they can take more excellent care in their work, producing quality results over a short period. Other tasks can be automated for developers and testers, so do some independent research to see which apps and programs help most. From the admin jobs to significant testing, automation makes a big difference in time-saving.
Source Feedback Dilgitently
If your software is being used by customers, clients, or business partners, you need to maintain open communication channels with them. Invite criticisms and respectfully address each one of them.
Despite all of your preparation and automation usage, there is always the chance of the odd hiccup with technology—iron out these creases with the fastest response times possible by sourcing feedback from your software’s users.
Remember, you do not need to wait until your software development is completed to do this. You can share design blueprints or develop prototypes for the impressions of others. That way, any feedback can be incorporated into your final version without issue.
Instruct developers and testers to learn from the comments you receive as well. Work hard to ensure that the same complaints do not surface time and again. Feedback is also a chance to upskill your workforce and develop your own understanding, so make the most of those opportunities.
Conclusion
There are many ways to speed up software development. However, none of the methods outlined here translate to ‘rushing’ any part of a tech project. Here, slow and steady businesses ultimately win the race, so focus on reducing errors and stamping out bugs. Polish your analytical problem-solving skills, motivate a passionate and qualified workforce and enjoy a faster software development experience.
About Carson Derrow
