Developing new software for your company is essential when you want to expand your company toward its full potential. However, every company has one overriding concern about software development: software project costs. Fortunately, there are ways of implementing software cost reduction methods in every project to keep costs under control. Here are nine tips to reduce your software development costs.
Use an Agile Development Strategy
One of the easiest ways to reduce software development costs is to adopt an Agile development strategy. Agile is a cost-effective method of software development that prioritizes flexibility and speed over documentation.
It’s a great approach if your company is dealing with shifting requirements and deadlines due to changing business needs. It also helps you develop a minimum viable product faster, reducing the time and associated costs of development.
Be Clear On Your Scope and Requirements
Prevent problems that raise costs, like scope creep, by defining the scope and project requirements before you start working. The best way to do this is to create a software requirements document that outlines the project’s goals and objectives.
This is a significant source of software cost. It’s important to avoid adding features or changing the project objectives once development begins. If you do, it can be difficult to reverse the changes and may affect the project’s outcome.
Leverage Your Current Technology
One of the best ways to reduce your software development costs is to leverage existing technology that you have in your organization. This could be your current customer relationship management (CRM) software, development environment, or testing platforms.
Your company has already invested in adopting these platforms. Unless your project needs a new platform for a specific reason, stick to the resources that you already have available.
Don't Pay for More Than You Need
Keeping your project within scope means that you won’t pay for more than you need to get things done. The development process can push companies to spend money investing in things that they think they need for the project to be successful.
While you want to make sure that your funding supports development, be wary of paying for anything that is not essential to the process. For instance, if you choose to work with a React JS software development company, it’s important to discuss every aspect of your collaboration and set clear boundaries and requirements. + You may be tempted to spend more on things because it’s “an investment in the company’s future”, but many of those extra costs just inflate the budget if they are not contributing to the final product.
Utilize Cloud Services and Platforms
As you’re defining your project requirements, explore cloud service and platform options. Cloud services and platforms provide an easy and cost-effective way of implementing software for your company.
Many cloud services provide pre-built modules that allow you to easily incorporate software into your organization. Platforms like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud Platform provide an all-inclusive solution for building software, databases, and websites.
Make Use of Open Source Software
Another great way to reduce your software development costs is to use open source software. Open source software is free or low-cost software that you can use in your organization. It can be anything from a CRM platform to a website builder.
There are many great open source software platforms available today. Before you commit to one, do your research to make sure that it fits your needs. You can even try it on a small scale project ahead of time to make sure it is a good choice.
Use a Continuous Delivery Process
As you begin the process of selecting the right development team, it’s important to find a partner that offers a continuous delivery process. A continuous delivery process is a methodology that gives your team the capability of releasing new versions of the software as often as each day.
This is a significant cost-saving benefit because it means that your team won’t have to create a brand-new version of the software when a change or a new feature is requested. They can make the necessary changes to the existing version and push it out to your company’s employees.
Reuse Existing Code and Libraries When Possible
As your company begins to implement the new software, look for opportunities to reuse existing code and libraries wherever possible. Many times, you can take a piece of existing code that performs a specific function and incorporate it into your software project. This is a great way to reduce your software development costs as well as reduce the time your team has to spend on the project.
Partner With the Right Company
Choosing the wrong software development partner can lead to problems in every project that raise costs. With the right partner, you can create the software that you need on an affordable budget and in a reasonable amount of time.
At KitelyTech, we help companies develop new software while reducing software development costs. Call us at (800) 274-2908 to schedule a free consultation about your next project.
