Custom Software Development Project Plan: Tips for Developers

When businesses intend to develop a custom software solution, they would want to work with developers who have the professional expertise in the field.

Businesses invest in custom software development projects so they can establish a management system that can support their operations and process. When planning for a custom software development project, you need to make sure that the custom product has the features that will work for your business.

It is also important to identify the budget, project goals, development team, and the timeline of the project, which should include the time for finalizing the key design and testing end-product.

Set the Project Goals for Software Development

There are steps to take to curate a custom plan for software development. The first one should be to clearly define and outline goals.

You must get the data and supporting document first about the project, which you may then make use of in creating the project plan. After that, set your high-level goals for the custom software development project.

For example, your business may need help to:

streamline current process
automate time-consuming manual tasks
have better productivity levels

Your project manager needs to know the tasks to be executed and steps to be followed so the project will stay on the right track.

Define Key Software Requirements

When planning for a custom software development project, you need to define the business requirements for the features of the product to ensure they get done.

The team, led by the project manager, needs to be informed of the key software features so they can be prioritized.

The “must-have” requirements should benefit your business, like end-user will have better output, reduce errors, and even get some savings. Consider these important aspects when you make project plans.

Watch Out for the Scope Creep

In a software development plan, the management should be aware of scope creep as this one can create delays. It refers to potential change that can happen well within the duration of the project because the plan was not properly crafted. This can happen from early stages of the plan and even right the way through the development cycle.

With this, you have to focus on the key goals of the projects. Build within the scope of the project.

Work Out the Project Budget

The company management should ensure they have enough budget to be used to complete the project.

Starting one without funds to support the project is just a waste of time and money as it would not help your company at all.

To account well for the budget, you should create a list of software requirements so you can compute the rough estimate of the costs.

You can manage your costs better, without worrying about sacrificing product quality, by hiring a nearshore software development partner.

Set the Timeline of Deliverables

After outlining your software development plan, the company management or project manager partner should draft a timeline of the steps the team will follow throughout the project.

Make sure that you have a deadline for every deliverable in your list. Breaking down the tasks will allow you to better allocate resources for the project, like the budget and team members. At the same time, doing so can help you roughly estimate the timeframe to complete the project.

Form the Development Team

Pick the members and software development partner you believe are right for the project during the planning stage. You need someone who has the relevant experience in developing the software you intend to put up.

As a reminder, recruiting a team is not an easy undertaking and it might actually take you some time to find the most suitable developers for your project. You can consider outsourcing such services.

We build custom software with modern solutions in mind for any business and sizes!

What is the purpose of planning a software project?

A custom software solution is deemed successfully done when it provides the business it requests. It should also be delivered on time and cost you your projected spending. To do so, an efficient software project planning is needed. It allows you to stay on top of things all the time so you can adjust your approach accordingly if needed.

Indeed, project planning is vital to ensure that the team developing your custom software will stay on track. To know more about this, visit Laneways Software & Digital today.