Major Blunders You Better Avoid During Software Development

These days, the business market is quite simple –  find a solution to the complex problem and promote your service to potential customers. But right before the success hits the product and the CEO starts publishing their success story, this business needs an efficient workflow. The company requires software for the internal working process and maybe even external customer communication applications. That is when the client comes to us, IT companies, and asks for help to ease the work.

Software development is like laying a road or race track. If you do it correctly, the racing will be smooth and safe. But even the smallest rock can later become a very troublesome stumbling block. That is why it is crucial to stay focused on the whole process and review all the work done before the beginning of another sprint. If not, you will have to stumble upon this feature bug every time until, hopefully, the first following release will fix that error (which most of the time does not).

For obvious reasons, nobody likes to do silly work, spending hours on something they need to work over later. So we recommend cutting all the defects out early. This article will look at the mistakes that can occur during the software development process and note how to correct them.

How does the development work?

HiTech Service, as well as other IT companies, has one software development life cycle or software development methodology, as we say. Simply put, every project goes through the following stages:

• Requirement Research
• Planning the Process
• Designing Architecture
• Development Process
• Testing the Software
• Deployment and Release
• Maintaining and Support

Some projects may need additional steps, but this is how the core process looks. Each stage serves as a pillar for the next step and proceeds the workflow only if the previous one is done, like a pyramid. In other words, if the earlier stage is done poorly, then it starts to grow and causes a snowball effect. And what mistakes can make the whole scheme go wrong?

Common mistakes during development

1. Vague Research over the Resources and Market.

First and foremost is the lack of market research by the executive company. This is one of the worst mistakes in software development. A primary goal for every software development is to perform an extensive market analysis before getting your hands on the process. 

Do not underestimate the importance of the research. Preparation is a necessary component of creating a premium product. Deep research on the topic eliminates gaps and serves as an airbag against the undesirable aftermath. For this reason, every respected company must take its time on the investigation beforehand.

2. Too Quick to do the Task

This point is quite similar to the previous mistake. Development in IT is not a race. It is a complex, long-term task that involves a problem-solving activity to manufacture a product from scratch. After the release, there are dozens of incidents when a finished project left the customer with mediocre software that eventually becomes useless. 

Planning is one of the most fundamental jobs on maximizing the chances of a happy ending. 

3. Getting Beginners into High-Class Projects

Without further to say, there is no reason to assign any novices to the professional project whatsoever. Prioritizing a company’s primary projects requires tons of resources which includes human resources too. There is no place for people who do not know about the flow and what’s going on. This decision brings nothing new to the table and will only hurt the project and a poor employee.

Instead, the company needs experienced software engineers. I mean, I get that this will be expensive, but some rookie’s false move may cost you an arm and a leg. Spare an apology to the customer and hire a better candidate or two.

4. Misunderstanding the Requirements of the Client 

Before the process begins, the top management needs to understand the client’s requirements and explain them fully and explicitly to the development team accordingly. This may turn out as a stupid and undesirable mistake affecting the project’s viability as a whole. Software development is a process of framing the program to meet the requirements of the end-user. Building unnecessary and wrong features will only take time for no need.

5. Seeking Perfection

Do not get me wrong here. That does not mean that the team should work half the effort and take these words as an excuse. The company must complete any project on the highest quality possible. However, every project has its limitations in cost and time. Wasting too many resources on the details, as a rule, slows down the whole workflow.

Experienced teams concentrate on the significant parts at first. There will always be some missing things, but it is important to remember that all minor changes can be added later on the next release. First is the core, then the details. 

6. Miscommunication or Unclear Communication

We know that this happens mainly to beginners and especially in the early project stages. Communication can spoil between anybody: the company and business, between team members, and between teams. If the management fails to convey client requests, that will not take long before the downfall begins.

The whole communication falls on the shoulders of the top-tier management. Creating practical work ethics and positive inner culture takes some time and yet remains a key, glue element. Encouraging others to speak their mind and, if necessary, to repeat the point of each other is vital. 

7. Working Without Time-Bound Scope

The work can move at a different speed. Once the planning is done, the next best thing to do is stick to the plan. However, management’s job is also to make the work more scalable. Lack of measuring progress is the same sin as insufficient planning. Worst of the worst is that the deadline is almost past, and it appears that the work is merely halfway complete. We have never experienced this sag during the development of software, but it is not that hard to predict what will happen in the end.

Take Cyberpunk 2077 as an example. This game was one of the most ambitious projects in the industry. CD Project Red had it all: an original idea, colossal advertisement campaign, and well-deserved reputation with the most iconic game on this day. Yet, the release date was moved three times, but that did not save the game from its fiasco.

Every experienced company scales its progress throughout the work. Usually, it is divided into monthly sprints with precise tasks for each member to do. There are many web software and applications that companies regularly use to control the process and manage their tasks. In the end, after several months of work, the management can see the big picture and then state if the project meets the initial plan or the deadline needs to be extended.

8. Taking the Feedback Superficially

This is the mistake that some beginners make due to their inexperience. Whether feedback comes from the organization or the end-user, the main task is to react quickly. Postponing the input does not make any good but only toughens up the work. After the considerable scope of work is done for nothing, a developer needs to crush it down and re-do it from that point.

A simple trick on how to omit it: always make changes as the feedback follows.

9. Not Commenting and Structuring The Code

Avoiding the old habit of making comments during coding the software is a deadly mistake for developers. We cannot stress it enough, yet many developers are guilty of it due to laziness or forgetfulness. When completing a good chunk of code, the developer must ensure that the rest of the teammates understand its functionality. 

Once after finishing the code, the same company was responsible for the support and maintenance of the service. After months when the bug and the new developers stepped into the project, there was a mess with poor structure and half present comments. At that point, the development team realized that the project was doomed.

Summary

So how can businesses ensure themselves against the mistakes which they do not even control? Skipping all the lecturing and endless explanations, trust your objectives to professionals. Every client has to consider the experience of the companies they invest in – even (or especially) towards the software development company. Previous project experience, client feedback, recommendations, communication skills, etc. – all the needful information.

HiTech Service offers its services to the clients with all the info as mentioned earlier. After more than a decade of history and hands-on experience, the result is assured. Following personal trial and error on our path, we welcome you to work together with our team of professionals as any other company.