Top 6 Ways of Reducing Cost with Custom Software Development Company

Posted by Sandesh Tallera on May 26th, 2021

Having bespoke software solutions for your business and operations is crucial today. Especially, after the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a rapid digital transformation going in all sectors. However, digital product development is a costly affair, and if you do not know the right way of doing it, you may find yourself spending more than required. One of the best ways to reduce the cost is to hire a software development company that has the expertise and experience in making successful custom digital solutions. Apart from that, you can follow the 6 crucial cost-reduction tips that you will read in this article.

Planning Saves Money

Begin your project with a solid plan. From the start, focus mostly on the design and scoping of the project. In your planning, use a divergent-convergent approach. It means you can try out as many different options as you want, but you must converge on the one that has the most benefit.

When working with a new software development company, it is crucial to probe how they will go about software development, testing, and maintenance.

In the planning stage, a business needs to:

1. Define the project's goals and priorities.

2. Determine what resources and funds are available.

3. Compare and contrast different options to ensure that an appropriate proposal is made.

Making a roadmap allows you to break down the work and forecast more accurately, as well as illustrate the project's objectives. But be careful not to over plan. You don't need to get through the nitty-gritty of the project's requirements because it will take too much time. It also limits the project's ability to adapt as it progresses.

By not doing overplanning, you give the production team some required space to be flexible with changing product backlog requirements or amending the solution slightly, based on the user reviews. It is a tightrope-walk between planning and over-planning.



Go Agile, in the Correct Way!

More than likely you will choose to use some type of Agile methodology for software development. Each iteration is focused on producing a working product and getting constant feedback from end-users in Agile methodology. Instituting smaller changes as needed reduces the likelihood of needing bigger, more costly, ones later on. This reduces redundant functionality or code rots.

 

However, building robust processes is not just about executing Agile. It is about how these processes are set in place around people and technology. Ron Jeffries, one of the founders of the Agile methodology, said that developers should detach their thinking from any particular named “Agile” method. Instead, they should turn their attention and learn the ways of doing software development that will work within any of those “Agile” methods.

Agile, when applied correctly, makes for a more focused discipline, and also a significant reduction in software development costs. Its main benefit is that it allows you to collaborate with a close-knit group, focused on achieving their goals, with cross-communication and cross-collaboration as critical factors.

The project team is a key stakeholder in determining how long a feature will take to create. With continuous sprints, the team constantly grooms the product backlog for more transparency and consistency in bringing on new features for development. The momentum begins to build and the product improves.

Focus On the Minimum Viable Product

All of today's most popular applications/software started as a simpler version of what they are now. MVP enables you to enter the market quicker, receive useful input from consumers, and develop and add new functionality in response to market demand. In other words, it helps you to avoid spending on features that customers may not need or want.

You should change the emphasis from "good to have" to "must-have" functionality. Not every feature will grant the product an advantage over the competition. You may have to abandon some very ambitious features in favor of focusing on a core range of features that are usable, tested, and ensures flawless user experience. A software product with many needless features significantly raises development and maintenance costs.

User Research Ensures You Don’t Go Wrong

Developing a solution before correctly finding, recognizing, and determining the problem will result in a loss of money and effort. User research is a crucial part of the design stage, where you truly understand the problem. User research is critical not only to the user experience design process but also to the ultimate performance of the project. It's crucial for increasing profit margins while lowering production costs.

Allow regular testing and input from your target users during the development process. This will encourage you to test any issues with any functionality at an early stage. As a result, you'll be able to modify the software development strategy and save efforts and money in discovering issues and solving them on a finished software.

You also need to pay attention to the subtle signals of hesitation and struggle when you do user interviews and user research. Furthermore, analyze the users based on what they do, how they function, what they'd want from a solution. And, if the users are the company's internal employees, see what they'd like to do to make their jobs easier. If the time and money are spent in the right way during the design phase, then your product’s chances of success become better. 

Automation Reduces Cost in Long-Run

Automation reduces production time, resulting in fewer individual hours and, as a result, lower costs. Despite this, automation is about making the operations more effective, not about replacing people with machines. When the staff is relieved of time-consuming tasks as a result of automation, they will focus on other facets of the project.

Automate testing is a simple place to start for the automation of software projects. A software development company employs automation to ensure consistency and speed. Despite the higher initial investment compared to manual testing, testing automation has a positive effect on software development over time. Although writing code for automatic tests takes longer than manual testing at first, the testing team will rerun the written code as many times as required, thereby saving time and money.

In justification of the initial cost in test automation, to save the overall cost of development, look at the risk of failure for the device you're evaluating, not the test budget. When errors make it into software production, how much does it cost the business or its consumers in terms of time, resources, and money? And most importantly, what is the worth of developing a high-quality software application on time?

Partner with an Offshore Software Development Company

Partnering with offshore software development teams can be a great cost-cutting strategy. Because of lower wages and a surplus of skilled specialists, these offshore teams can be very competitive in terms of pricing, particularly in countries like India and the Philippines.

Although time zone differences can seem like a challenge, the offshore companies in India are very flexible with their working hours. Furthermore, video calling and other interactive digital mediums, at practically no cost, are also helping in real-time collaboration and communication between partners from different ends of the world.

How do you go about finding the best offshore software development company? Check their services, portfolio, testimonials, and clientele on their website. Often, make an appointment for a free consultation. This is also the perfect way to ensure that you and that organization will communicate effectively.

Conclusion


Surviving in a highly competitive market environment is not easy for newly founded businesses or businesses that are experiencing difficulties. As a result, lowering the cost of developing software solutions becomes a top priority for any company owner. And, since a company cannot operate without software, a good, dependable offshore software company will be an effective cost-cutting solution.

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Sandesh Tallera

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Sandesh Tallera
Joined: March 18th, 2021
Articles Posted: 5

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