Less Known Methods To Reduce Software Development Cost

By Author: Cameron McCaughey
Total Articles: 39
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In the field of Software development, any deviation from original plans leads to a sudden, surprising increase in development costs. The developers have to immediately put added efforts to materialise the entire plan. One can easily come across budget overruns whenever there is a slight deviation from the original procedure. Moreover, in custom software development everything is built from scratch.
Hence, compromising on the cost is usually never an option.  
 
Today, it is hard to imagine any organisation working without the support of advanced, modular software. It also requires maintenance from time to time to ensure smooth operation.  While there are many other variables which decide the costing factor, the prices never go down. Rather they continue to skyrocket until it supersedes the overall budget range of the company. This is why it is always suggested to prepare a robust plan from the very beginning.  
 
Poor project estimations, unplanned budgets, hasty timeline, irrational commitments, lack of competence and confidence as well as failure to meet deadlines often leads to catastrophic consequences for the software developer. Carefully analysing the situation and tracking all the variables regularly can help one avoid such a disaster. But at times, the monetary factor also acts up as a huge hindrance. It hampers the execution of standard project development, thus postponing the work for an unlimited amount of time.  
 
Below mentioned are some useful tips which every company should follow and consider to avoid an unnecessary rise in the development prices.  
 
1. Now or the Future? 
Oftentimes the developers only focus on the future and worry about their product will flare in the market. Without paying more attention to the industry structure, the behaviour of the users, the functioning and the features of the software, they overburden themselves with the future results. This is not an ideal thing to do. Immediately while incorporating and planning things out, the developer should focus on the required dynamics related to the development work. They should think about the design and layout, the architecture etc which will form the foundation of good software. Scalability and flexibility should also be in mind, without pressuring too much about the deadline. Only thorough and meticulous planning will enable one to build robust software that will satisfy the users without increasing the cost. This is also a huge budget saving option for the company. 
 
2. Estimating the cost
This should be the topmost priority for the company. After a proper assessment of the project and its requirements, one should allocate a budget to it. Even after fixing the price, one should keep in mind the chances of cost overruns due to any unfortunate incident. The rise in cost can often happen due to the following and mostly expectedly-  

The number of unaccounted activities performed  
Necessary but unexpected hiring of some non-technical workers
Delay in the project work 
Need for new requirements and lack tools in the reserves

 
3. Accurate planning of the schedule 
The developer that has been hired by the company should have a vision, scale and the required practising skill so that the software turns out to be remarkable in features and performance. One should choose the low-cost technical approach so that they can reach out to the customers faster and get validation for the idea of the software. It also helps one to understand the market better and reach out to the investors. This option is also beneficial if there is a scheduled pressure in work. Whatever choices one undertakes has a cost impact in software development, therefore conducting a proper schedule for work is necessary. The timeline of work will depend on many factors like coding, designing, documenting, testing, execution, functioning and management. If the software is feature intensive, a properly pre-determined schedule will enable the developers to work with expertise while paying attention to every aspect. Choosing this strategy also saves the company from unexpected cost rises, hence becoming one of the most cost-effective methods.  
 
4. Quality Control   
One should always follow a robust system for quality control to ensure that the codes are reviewed before implementation. This should be done to avoid faults and errors. Automated and manual testing determine whether the source code is error less and whether it is contributing to constructive programming decisions. This also helps curb standard violations, choosing bad boolean names, avoiding long functioning and ambiguous comments. Doing code analysis at the early stages saves a lot of extra/additional development cost too.  
The company must allocate enough resources for maintenance. This is one of the most inevitable stages of software building. To avoid unnecessary cost increment, one should allocate enough money for it since it consists of many factors like enhancement capabilities, removing obsolete elements, optimising the software etc. If required, one can extend the budget for relevant processes so as to avoid any last-minute surprises. 
 
Cameron McCaughey is a proficient developer in Sydney working with a reputed software development company named Vision & Solutions. Here the author has written this article to give insights on how to lower the software development costs.

Cameron McCaughey is a techie, software developer, App Developer at Vision & Solutions, a top-ranking company providing expertise entrepreneurial solutions, including ERP and CRM software solutions to businesses of all types and sizes.