Client Perspective: Managing Software Development Project
A software development project, be it a standalone application or an ecommerce solutions
, is a complex process which can be rather confusing for you as a customer. Especially if its the first time you are contracting a company to deliver one or/and when outsourcing software development abroad. Although even when working with
UK software companies the work doesnt end after signing the contract and agreeing on payment terms, on the contrary, you will find yourself taking on another full time job of staying on top of the development process and making sure you really are getting a software product youre paying for.
To be effective at managing a
UK software development project it is important to understand the process itself, its phases, stages (or iterations) and deliverables at the end of each phase and stage. This knowledge will allow you to manage your demands and expectations more effectively and help with work planning.
First thing to remember is that a
software development company in the UK and abroad has its own processes and best practices that they follow, therefore there might be some differences, however you will find that most companies use the same iterations approach as described below. Second thing to remember is software development is a nonlinear process with phases and stages interchanging, repeating , running in parallel or being performed throughout the entire length of the project (such as quality assurance). As a rule
software development companies UK will be responsible for creating an optimal work plan, identifying stages, deliverables and dates of each stage, but it is important that you know about all this as well in order to ensure that the most appropriate work schedule is created to ensure you receive your solution on time and on budget.
Typically each software development project starts with a consulting or RFP processing phase and finishes with a support phase. There are usually 10 phases in a software development project all of which have their further deliverables:
1.Consulting: client receives a Project Vision document, which typically includes outline of the problem, company background and proposed solution overview.
2.RFP Processing: client receives a detailed proposal documents, including cost structure, project plan, development schedule as well as detailed development process overview.
3.Business Analysis: after consultations with the client the development company will put together a detailed Business Processes and Requirements Specification (including functional and non-functional requirements), Use Case Specifications, as well as refine the initial cost estimation.
4.Design: all design models are detailed during this phase; the customer should receive Information Governance Design, Software Architecture Document, Security Hardening Plan, UI mock-ups and a detailed Project Plan
5.Development: during this phase systems functional and non-functional requirements will be implemented and the client should receive source code for all of the developed functionality, as well as site and page templates and the Deployment Guide.
6.System Build: the solution is deployed at clients premises.
7.Migration: all necessary data is migrated to the new solution/platform.
8.Quality Assurance: client receives frequent Quality Reports ensuring the solution is big-free.
9.Training: for complex software project special user guide and admin guides should be delivered to the client.
10.Support: disaster recovery plan.
It is always a good idea to break down each phase into a number of iterations, which are no more than well-defined time periods with agreed goals and deliverables, in order to have complete control over the development process. Iterations let you decrease the risk of going over budget and out of time and clearly show the progress as all functionally can be examined and signed off after iteration. This way you will also get an opportunity to easily modify functionality requirements without having to re-design the whole system.
Remember that the success of your software development project to a large extent depends on your involvement in the work planning and the iterative approach as well as knowledge of the deliverables is important instruments for arriving at the intended result a functional bug-free cost-effective
UK software development .
by: Darren Bowden
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