Custom Software Development: Top 5 Key Steps to Follow For On-Time Projects Delivery
Today, many business organizations are taking advantage of the offshore software outsourcing industry and outsource their custom software development requirements to software companies overseas.
This help organizations to have access to advanced technologies and reduce development costs and meet their budget requirement. To guarantee the success of a software development project, such a project must be delivered on time and on budget. But how do you make sure that both requirements can be met?
In this article, we examine the key steps that outsourcing vendors should adhere to, in order to ensure the software development projects are delivered on time and meet budget:
1. Identify the Project Scope – And Stick with It
First and foremost, it’s critical that business organizations work with outsourcing vendors to clearly identify the development project scope and stick with it. Every project has a different scope and once a project starts moving, the list of “extra requests” might also grow together as well. Many of the time, some of the extra requirements are not exactly necessary or required.
So, it’s important to keep the scope in check to ensure the project is not over budget which would severely affect the overall finance as well as project deadlines.
2. Divide the Project Plan
One of the most effective methods to reduce the risk of project delays and the missed deadline is to dividing the project into smaller parts and stages for the team to work on. This helps the development team to view the project as a number of stages to be completed in a clearly defined timeline. Here, the project manager can easily manage and ensure all the deadlines of those various smaller stages are met according to the targets established beforehand.
3. Outline Project Deliverables
Clearly outlines the deliverables will keep the project moving forward in the right direction. Also, this will help outsourcing companies to provide more accurate estimates on development costs, time, and resources. It’s worth noting that the deliverables should be defined in as many details as possible, and then discussed and approved for signed off by clients.
4. Offshore Team Commitment
Frankly, the quality of the work provided by offshore development team members would make or break and determine the project outcome. A well-managed, motivated, and passionate team will be able to achieve results that exceed clients’ expectations. In order to accomplish that, the project manager needs to set reasonable expectations and effectively identify and assign tasks to the appropriate team members.
The success of a software project is clearly the result of teamwork. Thus, it’s important that team members fully understand their duties and put in the effort required to complete the assigned tasks. The manager should also help provide support to enable his/her team to achieve the objectives as established beforehand.
5. Testing and QA
It’s crucial that the software outsourcing company performs testing and QA early and often. Waiting until the final stages of projects to test might already be too late. Software testing and QA help identify bugs and errors as well as allow developers to correct them and prevent minor issues from growing into bigger ones. Testing and QA also enable development team members to realize their contributions to the project, which in turn can boost their confidence and increase team productivity.
In particular, the project managers should frequently provide feedback to help every team member understand the project goals and stay on track with a clear focus and clarity.
Other than that, the outsourcing partner also needs to be flexible by allowing the incorporation of changes in the later stages of the project while still striving to deliver the project on time and meeting the budget. The important point here is to operate and manage projects efficiently to help clients reduce costs and increase revenue while creating a great customer experience.
End-note:
TP&P Technology is a top-ranked software outsourcing company based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
We work with our clients to thoroughly understand their project requirements and goals, and keep in frequent communication through every stage of the project so that our final product exceeds client expectations. Contact us today to know more about our custom software development service.
