What Are the Risks Involved in Custom Software Development

The software development process goes through multiple phases of the Software Development Life Cycle – SDLC. This requires a high level of technical and management expertise. 

At first, custom software development sounds like an easy option. But only an IT person can understand the complexities associated with it.  Juggling between the evolving technologies and choosing the right Software Development Methodology is hard. Whereas, finding the most optimum way to reach the development goals takes time and effort. 

So, every custom software development involves some elements of risks and complexity. This is why Bruce Eckel, author of Thinking in Java and Thinking in C++, noted: 

“Programming is about managing complexity: the complexity of the problem, laid upon the complexity of the machine. Because of this complexity, most of our programming projects fail.”

In order to manage the potential risks of custom software development, we have listed six significant risks that need to be checked and mitigated by your software development company.

1. Being Overly Fervid

Getting excited about the new project is natural for any developer. So, when an idea of development pops up, it’s a common desire to start working on it and deliver a solution that can solve real-life problems.

The risk involved here is that being overly fervid can divert you from the track. Adding too many features and functionalities can extend the timeline and cost of the project. It may also sometimes result in higher complexity of the project.

To avoid this custom software development risk, developers should start with creating MVP – Minimum Viable Product. This method will keep you on track and focused on the most important features of your project. Also, adopting the MVP approach, you can align your project budget and timeline in a sorted manner, safeguarding against the risk of being overly fervid at the starting phase of any new project.

2. Undefined Goals

Not having definite goals at any phase of the development can be troublesome. You can get off track from the development process without even realizing it. Undefined Goals are crucial risks in a custom software development process that are needed to be mitigated at the beginning phase.

To manage this risk you can stick to the below given set of questions at any point in your development process:

• Which real-life problems would be solved by this software?
• Who will be the target audience for us?
• What would be the endpoint where the problem will be considered as solved?
• What benefits do you get from the software – Efficiency, Cost Saving, Productivity, Flexibility, Reliability, and so on?
• Would this software be beneficial in the long term?
• What is the MVP for this project?

These questions at any point can help you to be on track. And revisiting them from time to time will maintain project clarity.

3. Poor Team Communication

Success of custom software development is dependent on teamwork. When multiple people work on same project, it is necessary to have them united.

Software development firms generally have big teams. Such teams consist of Designers, Developers, Testers and many more peoples. Where each member of the team is interdependent on other members. 

In such a situation, lack of communication between team members could be perilous for your project. This could divert the track of the project or result in complete failure.

To mitigate this risk of custom software development, smooth communication needs to be maintained. A proper flow of communication can be defined at the beginning of the project. This will increase the involvement of each team member in overall communication. 

Moreover, it will identify the basic requirement and help in concentrating on these requirements as a team. Which would result in delivering the desired product on time. Apart from that, communication should be handled well between the software development company and the client.

4. Inaccurate Budget Estimation

As discussed above, Poor team communication can lead to Project failure. This can also lead to misidentification of requirements and defining clear goals. In the end, it would result in an inaccurate budget estimation for the project.

Apart from communication, transparency between the custom software development service provider and client is necessary. By maintaining high transparency, end goals can be determined easily. 

Stakeholders involved in the project need to have clear understanding of requirements before beginning the development.  This will help in getting clear budget estimation and define a roadmap for the whole development process. 

With accurate requirements of the project it is easy to choose the suitable custom software development methodology. As these methodologies play a vital role in cost estimation, you must be aware about them. Know more about custom software development methodologies.

5. Substandard Development Process

There are lots and lots of software development companies out there. However, not all development companies have expertise in customized software. In order to make a custom software project successful, you need to hire the firm that is best in business.  

Not all companies have an understanding of choosing the right process for development. And if the development process is not good enough then software solution wouldn’t be great either.

This Custom software development risk can be mitigated by choosing a right software development company. It would be best if you look for a company that follows best industry practices. And before moving further, you also should check the qualification of their teams to avoid any development risks.

6. Improper Implementation

A good project needs exemplary implementation. It sometimes happens that softwares are built and then abandoned without proper implementation.

You need to make sure that your employees understand and adapt to this new software. Employees’s interest needs to be maintained in software so they can utilize it well. At the end, this implementation should make the work-life of your employees better. 

Concluding Thought

You need to make sure that your custom software development project is risk free and adds value to your work. The project’s payment, process and timeline related details must be adequately discussed. Every aspect must be covered from your end so risks involved in custom software development can be handled efficiently. 

Sigma Data System is a Custom Software Development Company that offers simplified solutions to most complex problems. Before working on any project, we dive into collecting requirements, validating the idea, and planning the solution. Our simple yet quality-obsessed approach in custom software development service helps our globally diversified clients to stay ahead of their competition. Let’s connect and convert your beautiful idea into an innovative solution with us.