Software products have become an integral part of our everyday lives. We don’t even realize this, but software use has become ubiquitous in this era; it is constantly impacting us in some way.
However, developing a good software product is no mean feat. It requires a lot of painstaking effort to make a successful software solution. This article briefly explains software product development and its various stages.
What is Software Product Development?
Software product development is the practice of deploying a set of features in the software to satisfy customer needs. Essentially, it is a repetitive logical process intended to meet business goals and objectives. Web App Development or software development comprises various stages of the planned strategy ensuring the outcome of operational software.
Let’s look at the four common software use cases:
- System Software Products – These products handle the resources of a computer system and ensure simple application programming. Database management systems, operating systems, and networking software fall under this category.
- Programming Software Products – These products are development tools serving the needs of software developers in building, debugging, and maintaining applications.
- Application Software Products – This is the most common software product widely used by all desktop and mobile users. It enables the user to perform specific tasks, e.g., play songs on a media player.
- Embedded Software Products – These products manage machines and smart devices through industrial robots, telecommunication networks, cars, etc.
Steps in Software Product Development
A software product development process refers to the strategy employed by a group of developers and designers to work together on building software. It comprises the following seven steps:
1. Ideation
The first step in software development relates to generating software ideas. A development team brainstorms ideas for building good software. It includes planning the project’s scope and explaining how the product will help meet organizational goals. It also involves setting timelines, discussing cost management, and arranging resource access.
2. Feasibility Analysis
This stage of the development process is focused on carrying out a detailed feasibility analysis of the software product. Good software requires more than just an interactive interface and clean code. It requires an in-depth understanding by developers of how the software will achieve organizational goals.
Thus, this stage encapsulates the new software’s technical and economic aspects. It also enables you to implement mitigation strategies that proactively deal with risks rather than reactively responding to problems later.
3. Design
The design stage of the software development process is critical, for this is where the actual software conceptualization takes place. Developers customize software design to incorporate workflows and standards. This stage also often involves prototyping.
4. Development and Coding
After the design stage is completed, the development process moves to the coding stage. It involves writing code to turn the preceding three steps into actual software. Therefore, this stage is the most lengthy and cumbersome in the entire native app development process.
5. Integration and Testing
Once the software is developed in the coding stage, the next step involves integration and testing. A team runs a string of tests like functionality testing, systems integration, and interoperability testing to ensure that the code is clean and the software meets the set requirements.
6. Implementation and Deployment
As the name suggests, the deployment stage is where the software is installed using a step-by-step implementation process. It also goes into production at this stage.
7. Maintenance
The last stage in the software development process includes updates and maintenance. It is a crucial stage as it enables you to enhance your software’s performance by incorporating user feedback.
Conclusion
Software product development is a vital pillar of the IT-enabled world we currently inhabit. This article sums up a vast topic in a few hundred words. We hope you now know the ABC of developing good software products that address user needs.