An Ultimate Roadmap Guide for a Software Development Project

Every day, its a new day for innovation updates. Software companies are in the race of developing products that bring a new concept and discover a real-problem problem that can be solved through technology. As an early-mover is given the most advantage. This view of thinking accelerates the motivation in software companies to come up with startups and innovative ideas that can contribute to this technological world.

Companies hire developers with updated technical expertise who build software which has not been introduced in any corner of the world. The innovative minds shape the product in a way that it marks and sells itself. According to the 2019 survey on software development projects, software investment in any company ranges between $3000 to $120,000. With this investment, companies demand remarkable input from the developers to build a product that stands itself.

Here, the problem comes when there is miscommunication between the developer and the client. Among the major challenges faced by the development companies, 53.8% corresponds to the adaptation to clients’ requirements. Companies have different methodologies that vary among departments and clients. Such issues overlap and become a hurdle in the production of desired products. 61.5% of companies adopt agile development methodologies in the development of software. There should be a proper roadmap that fits in all the functional and non-functional requirements of clients efficiently. Also, benefits the company with its production value and reputation.

Advantages of Creating a Roadmap

To smoothen the development process, it is necessary to comply with a proper roadmap. It definitely works without a roadmap but the end product would not be according to what was desired.

To achieve product delivery deadlines and meet the goals of product uniqueness, it is extremely important to follow a product roadmap. There are some other advantages that strengthen the concept of creating a roadmap for a software development project.

• The goal of product development is more likely to be accomplished in an achievable deadline. Timeline is established for the different modules of software development.
• The tasks are prioritized and the team has an idea of putting what amount of effort on which tasks. In this way, there are fewer chances of wastage of time on tasks which do not need extra effort.
• It gets easier to understand the flow of work instead of manipulating concepts. Also, to link different software modules based on performance, security, and logic.
• Risk identification of potential risks helps in mitigating the security and privacy-related issues.
• A proper product roadmap helps in easy understanding of the concepts and need of the product inside and outside of an organization.

Steps of Product Roadmap

Analyze the Need for Product

Look at the big picture of the product. Analyze what problem is solved by the product and how. Consider your target audience and think on behalf of the community for whom the product is built. Analyze the market of a product, the competitors and the overall demand.

Do the research and know your audience. It is a very important aspect while solving a real-world problem to do an ethnographic study.

Plan a Strategy

Design a strategy according to your product. Set an achievable timeline for the project. Do not get hasty and give proper time on deciding the deadline. Sometimes it is hard to learn new technology in a specific amount of time. For this developers need to boost up their learning process and specify before time if there is a need to extend the deadline or not. Plan the estimated budget for the development of the entire software project.

It is important that the team working on one project should have one vision. This not only increases productivity but also enhances working passion.

Prioritize Tasks

While developing a software development project, many times it is divided into separate modules on which different teams work. It is important to prioritize the tasks. This helps in managing the timeline and agile software development efficiently. In this way, the developer does not need to spend time on the tasks which do not require a lot of effort. Instead, focus on the bigger tasks with whom more functionality and security aspects are associated.

Define Roles among Team

Define the roles among team members according to their expertise. Give developers the tasks they are better at for the better execution of the project. Although it is a combined effort the strategy is extremely important that drives towards the way of success.

Risk Identification

Identify the potential risks associated with the project. These risks can be related to security, privacy, and data protection. It is the responsibility of the developers to comply with the GDPR compliance and local regulators. This requires time and attention.

Identify the risks associated with third-party services, API integration, and cloud services. Also, plan strategies to combat the risks associated with information security and cyberattacks.