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Software Development Best Practices to Follow for Quality Projects in 2024
You need to maintain development standards when developing a software application. There are certain principles and software development best practices that you need to keep in mind.
Every traditional to modern business needs custom software, and they are already exploring the potential of software development. And if you are targeting those clients, you must follow certain principles and implement the best software development practices. This article helps you explore the best practices and guidelines to build quality projects. Let’s explore;
Software development is the complex process of designing, coding, commands, testing, deployment and maintenance. But everything goes smoothly if the app is programmed well based on clean coding standards. Quality coding for software development is the need of the hour.
Codzgarage is the leading custom software development company in the USAand India with core expertise in custom software development. Contact us today with project scope and let our vetted developers help you execute your plan.
Every software development company and engineer wants to deliver the best products that satisfy clients. But, the first step to achieving client satisfaction is to write code that is easy to understand. In this guide, we will discuss software development best practices that help you understand the coding standards that you need to follow while developing software for your clients.
Here are the points which you need to explore;
Estimate cost in advance
Cost is a crucial factor in software development. You need to estimate the cost of software development in advance. It will help you build better products while being cost-effective. If you are aware of all the nitty-gritty of software development, you can do this on your own, or you can take the help of a software development company. The experts will help you estimate the cost correctly. Besides, you can keep these points in mind while estimating costs. For example;
- What are the objectives that you want to achieve with the project?
- What is your project scope?
- What is the size of the projects?
- Is it standard software development or advanced with custom features?
- What is the level of complexity?
- How many developers or development teams do you need to complete the project?
- Do you need to hire an in-house development team or outsource?
These are the basic parameters of estimating costs. Even if you have hired experts to help you with the cost estimation, you can keep these points in mind.
Define time frame
Take stock of time, whether it is going to take 3 months, 6 months, 9 months or 12 months or more. Time estimation is essential as it will help you keep your team on the same page. Work distribution is an integral part of smooth software development. You can keep the following factors in defining time frames.
- Project size, complexities
- Build project scope so you can decide the time frame
- Make an initial timeline and try to match it with the scope of the project
- Consider productivity drops and communication gaps
- Add 20% more time to your total software development time
Follow DRY Principle
It’s a widely accepted principle that helps developers lower technical debt. DRY stands for “Don’t Repeat Yourself”, and it is with reference to writing duplicate code, repetition of information and more. In DRY principles, software engineers take it as a recommendation to do something once, and it should not be repeated and eliminate redundancies in process and logic.
Define MVP
If you have a long-term project, think about going with MVP. It stands for “Minimum Viable Product (MVP), which means building an initial product with only must-have features. It will help you get user’s reactions and feedback. Your software development team can get maximum benefits from the feedback and build products accordingly.
Think if prototyping everything necessary
If you are dependent on investment or angel investors or if you have animation as a core component in your project, then prototyping is a good option, or else you can avoid or go with only the required prototyping model. If you are following markt and software development trends, you can easily avoid prototyping. Not every part of the project needs to be explained in the prototype. It may consume a lot of time.
Test among correct & actual users
If you are going with MVP, do not forget to test among actual users. You distribute the software among certain users and let them use the products. Work on the feedback you receive from the users. It will help you refine the software and get a better outcome. Besides, you must ensure your development team has a qualified QA engineer to initiate professional testing for each module, feature and functionality.
Design before coding
Do not overlook design. Many business leaders are now working to redesign their existing website. We have received many requests for website redesign cost and have around 20 website redesign projects only. Design does magic. It helps you make your business a brand. Design sells while it ensures how effectively your users engage with your product. UI/UX is more significant in keeping your software popular and worth exploring for users. Make sure you have experienced UI/UX working on your project. If you have partnered with a technology partner, you must confirm if they offer UI/UX design services.
Maintain staging and production environments
It’s crucial to maintain staging to ensure the application behaves as decided among users. You need to maintain it. The staging requires continuous work on features and functionalities of the application to ensure the product is quality tested before it reaches production.
Review codes
Peer reviews or code reviews are part of quality assurance. It is done to improve quality code, identify bugs, and even help developers understand source code. Before you make any move, ensure an experienced QA or developer does code reviews.
Deployment
Once you are done with reviews, you need to initiate the deployment process. For example, you can start by separating clusters for production and non-production. Besides, you can also think of collecting deployment metrics and implementing an integration server. If you are sure about the project’s quality features and functionalities, you can deploy it on the server.
Maintenance
Once deployed, you need to continue to maintain the software for a specific period of time. For example, users’ requirements change frequently, and you must meet their expectations quickly. Most software development companies provide free support & maintenance services for a specific period of time, though it can be paid in some cases. Do consult and discuss the maintenance process with your provider in advance.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to building quality software, following its best practices is the only way to achieve all your objectives. We have explored all the essential software development best practices. You can now hire web developers or a dedicated team for web and mobile to take your project forward. We at Codzgarage provide high-quality software development services to clients worldwide. Connect with us today if you need to build software or want software consulting services.
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