Being a business owner, you might want to build your online presence to reach more potential customers to provide your products and services. One of the best ways to achieve this is through software development.
In today’s digital era, when you look around, you will see different kinds of software applications, be it social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter or customer relationship management platforms like HubSpot and Salesforce.
But do you know what software development involves? To help you understand, we will cover everything you should know when it comes to software development.
What is Software Development?
Software development is the process of identifying, documenting, designing, programming, testing, and maintaining to create a software component, application, or framework. It involves writing and fixing the source code.
Put simply, software development includes every process involved from having the idea to develop software to the successful completion of the software in a planned process.
Read: What is Custom Software Development
The software itself refers to the set of instructions to command a computer to perform specific tasks. It does not depend on the hardware and makes the computer programmable. Typically a software program is divided into system software (macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, etc.), programming software (compilers, linkers, Eclipse, Sublime Text, etc.), and application software (Google Drive, Asana, Spotify, Photoshop, Skype, etc.).
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Needless to say, software development is conducted by software engineers, developers, and programmers.
Importance of Software Development In Business
Before investing in software development, it is essential to know how software development can benefit your business. So, we have curated a list of benefits suggesting how software development is important for a business.
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Software development allows businesses to stand out from the competition by offering customized interfaces and experiences with feature-rich and innovative products to market.
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Flexibility is one of the significant benefits that come with developing software. You can easily choose features to be implemented in the software according to a business's unique requirements.
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Customized web app development can also help businesses in lead generation while reducing extra efforts needed to compile online data and send them to the sales team.
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Implementing adaptive IT infrastructure, automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in software development help eliminate repetitive tasks, replace physical infrastructure, improve workflows, and increase app deployment speed to offer faster time to market.
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Going for software development instead of buying off-the-shelf software can help businesses improve their security to minimize cyber attacks.
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Investing in software development lowers operational costs by eliminating the need to make additional purchases for making software compatible with different platforms.
Software Development Process
To develop software, one needs to follow the given steps:
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Identifying requirements: Here the project managers and stakeholders put all the requirements together and document them.
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Choosing Architecture: Next step involves opting for the ideal architecture for software development among layered, client-server, monolithic, pipe-filter, event-driven, microservices, model-view-controller, etc. on which the software will operate.
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Selecting a Development Methodology: Once the architecture on which the software will operate is decided, you need to choose the right development methodology that will be followed to build and manage the project. Some of the top methodologies to choose from are Agile, DevOps, Scaled Agile, Waterfall, and Rapid App Development (RAD).
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Writing Code: Next comes writing code in programming languages for front-end (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, BootStrap) and back-end (Java, Python, PHP, Ruby, .NET) development.
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Testing: A vital part of software development is testing the code to find and fix bugs and errors.
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Deploying: Once the features and components of the software are ready, it is deployed in the production environment to be used by consumers.
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Migrating Data: Now if a business has a pre-existing application or data sources, it will be migrated to the newly developed software.
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Managing the Project: Another crucial step in software development involves maintaining and managing the quality and delivery throughout the software lifecycle.
Key Features for Effective Software Development
To develop efficient software, you need proficient technologies and techniques. The top tools and technologies that a development team can use for an effective software development process are:
Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
An IDE includes a source code editor, build automation, and debugging tools. IDEs make it easier for software developers to easily build and manage software. Some of the popular IDEs developers can choose from are Eclipse, Visual Studio Code, and IntelliJIDEA.
Artificial Intelligence
Using artificial intelligence in software development allows the software to imitate human learning and decision-making capabilities. With AI technology, businesses and developers can gain opportunities to offer products and services in a way that helps in leaping ahead of the competition.
Blockchain
It is a secured, decentralized, digital, immutable ledger that eliminates the need for centralized authority when it comes to recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network. Using blockchain in software development, businesses can free their capital, lower transaction costs, and improve processes. Needless to say, blockchain is about to change the way businesses operate.
Analytics
In the current digital world, it has become important for businesses to gain insights from the vast range of data collected over time. Integrating advanced analytical techniques in the software can make it easier for businesses to explore data, automate predictive analytics, and deliver new insights for better decision-making on a visual dashboard.
Cloud-Based Development
If a business wants to reduce resource management costs while developing software, the cloud can be a flexible, cost-effective, and reliable solution. Not only that, but cloud-based development also supports design, coding, integration, testing, and maintenance as well as offers access to microservices, APIs, and other development functions and tools.
Cloud-based development also facilitates collaboration between distributed teams, allowing for seamless integration of code and other assets in real-time. Moreover, the cloud's scalability supports the continuous integration and deployment of new features, making it easier to incorporate an automated testing tool directly into the development workflow. This enables more efficient testing and faster identification of issues before they reach production.
Takeaway
So that was all about software development. We hope you enjoyed the article and found it useful for your next project.
Read: Construction Management Software Development
But remember, software development can be tricky. So, for the successful development of business software, you need to hire developers with years of experience and knowledge in the related area.
FAQs
What do you mean by software development?
Software development is the process of identifying, documenting, designing, programming, testing, and maintaining to create a software component, application, or framework.
Is software development hard?
Initially, software development can be challenging to learn for those who don’t have a coding or programming background. But, one can learn software development with the right courses, resources, and tools.
What are the 3 types of software?
System Software, Programming Software, and Application Software are the three types of software available in the market.