How To Develop Software For Your Business

Software development is a risky business
Many software developers are barely skilled at their trade, much less at business. They can't understand how your business operates - and their code isn't unreliable.

It crashes constantly.
It isn't professional.
It hurts your business.

If you want software developed for your business, what can you do?
You need a software development professional - a consummate businessman, and you need to deal with him on your terms. How can you do that?

First, you need to make sure that you find a professional who understands business - your business. He has to listen, and be cautious before giving advice. If he tries to drop a pre-packaged solution on you, drop him. Make sure he charges by the project, not by the hour - hourly rates are great for developers, but not for clients. Hourly rates mean they get paid *more* for every bug they create - so they create as many as they can.

Once you have chosen a developer, the next step is to come to an agreement on what needs to be done. Don't worry about the particular technology used - the developer should worry about that. Worry about what you need on your end - and stick to your guns! You know your business best, and your developer should respect that.

After you have an agreement, you get a contract signed, and then the real fun begins. Insist that your developer give you regular progress updates - including early versions of the software (called 'builds'). That way, bugs can be detected early, and there will not be any surprises when the project is over. Depending on the project, you may be able to get a build every few days, or every week. The more frequent, the better.

When the project is finally over, you get to take a deep breath. Relax. Sip champagne - or Heineken, if that's your thing. Don't get too relaxed, though, because you will have to start the process over again soon. Business is constantly changing, and your software has to evolve with your business. That's good, though, because every project makes your business more profitable, and more profit in less time is always a good deal.

About The Author
David Berube is a software developer and IT consultant solving business problems. He's also a prolific writer and speaker. If you'd like a powerful, innovative developer, check out http://www.berubeconsulting.com

djberube@berubeconsulting.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

 

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A collaborative approach
Working with a consultant doesn't mean you get a solution on a plate. It should be a collaborative partnership, where both of you end up learning something along the way. If you tell the web developer what you want, and they deliver only that, you've missed your chance to expand your ideas about web strategy options. If you sit back and let the web developer decide what's best, you're unlikely to get a web site that reflects the real distinctiveness of your business. A web developer who happily takes a pile of marketing material from you and doesn't get in contact again until the web site is finished is going to deliver brochureware. By 'brochureware' I mean a site that is static and superficial, as opposed to a site that enriches your business by taking good advantage of the Internet's unique communicating powers.

A proposal document
After meeting with you to find out about your business and discuss the objectives for your web site, the web developer should prepare a proposal describing the work to be done, the time it will take, and roughly how much it will cost you. Expect the proposal to also contain details about the web developer's business: how long it has been in operation, what resources it draws upon, and information about their web site design and implementation process.