Meeting Pulse: A Surprisingly Easy Unfair Advantage
Effective communication is crucial to the success of custom software development projects. As simple as it sounds, you may be surprised by how much traction your team gets when you add a regular meeting pulse to your process. The key is establishing and sticking with a steady, dependable schedule that stakeholders can depend on. Like clockwork, your projects will gain clarity and momentum in a way they never did before. A regular cadence of meetings establishes specific intervals throughout the project’s lifecycle where stakeholders will share information about the project’s status. By doing so, team members can collaborate more effectively and address potential obstacles early before they become more significant issues. Moreover, the regular meetings incentivize each stakeholder to keep their deliverables on schedule, knowing they must report their progress to the rest of the team. You shouldn’t have to be an expert in business and software. We help…
Five Expert Disciplines For Custom Software Success
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. Stephen Covey Developing custom software is complicated. It’s common for projects to get off track, take longer than expected, and/or not deliver what is needed. Yet, there is a relatively simple process to help ensure your projects succeed. Would you rather talk with someone about this? Schedule a free call to talk about your custom software project. Five Expert Disciplines for Custom Software Success Make these disciplines the foundation of your custom software development process to enhance your chance of success. Begin with the end in mind Make Project Management a priority Embed quality assurance in the process Clear communication is critical Make a long-term commitment Begin with the end in mind The success of a custom software development project starts with understanding why you’re creating it in the first place. Ultimately the software must…
How to Run The Perfect Software Project
You’ve got a great software idea. What could go wrong? Everything. A Simple Misunderstanding Let’s say you need a house. You contact a builder and tell them the requirements: “Build me a house.” What you needed: What they delivered: Miscommunications cause software development projects to get off track, which costs unnecessary time and money. Projects must run smoothly to complete on time, within budget, and meet requirements. A Simple Plan Running a custom software development project does not have to be hard or complicated. Follow this simple plan to ensure your project goes smoothly. Clearly define your objectives. Set up clear communication channels. Monitor progress and manage risks. Sound overly simplistic? It’s not. Research shows that three of the most common mistakes that lead to a software development project getting off track are: Unclear requirements Poor communication Lack of project planning By simply avoiding these three mistakes, your chance of…
How to Find a Software Development Partner
Avoid wasting time and money on a software developer that does not deliver what you need. Fool Me Once… I hired a team in the early 2000s to build a low-level Internet filter because it was technology I had no experience with. Our first round of calls went well. They affirmed that they could do the job in about three months. We communicated regularly, but the project just kept dragging out. In the meantime, I built the frontend and studied low-level Internet filtering. Almost a year later, I had an “ah hah” moment. I realized it was impossible to create what I had asked for. I brought this up on our nightly call, and the project lead confirmed it was impossible. When I asked why they didn’t tell me, he said, “we’ve been doing what you told us to do.” What “I” told them to do? I was telling them…
5 Simple Steps to Create a Custom Software Application
Building a custom software application can be daunting. If you’ve never done it before, it’s hard to know where to start. Five simple steps to create a custom software application Here are the essential tasks that ensure custom software development ends in success. Begin with the end in mind Assemble your team Plan your work Develop, test, and review iteratively Review/Repeat Begin with the end in mind Know what you are creating before you start because custom software development is costly. Don’t waste time making anything you don’t need. Take the time upfront to consider precisely what your software should do to support your business objectives. You don’t need to get into every minute detail. You just need to understand what the software should accomplish on behalf of your users. User stories and user journeys can help you achieve this. Assemble your team Choosing the right team is critical to…
Begin With the End in Mind
Don’t Waste Your Time Developing custom software is expensive and time-consuming. You should not undertake it lightly. Be sure you understand the end goal before you even start. Your software may increase efficiency, improve communication, or create new job opportunities. Solving real-world problems or addressing industry pain points are great goals. However, you must know what you are trying to achieve before you start, or you will waste A LOT of time and money. I was really impressed with Berkemeyer ConceptsProgram Manager, Fives Lund LLC Stay Focused You will likely fail without a clear vision. Without clearly understanding your end goal, you will not know whether you are on track or even heading in the right direction. Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.Alice: I don’t much care where.The…
Custom Software is a Long-Term Commitment
It’s Time for Custom Software Custom software may be the right solution for your business. It will solve problems off-the-shelf software may not be able to because it is designed specifically for your unique business needs. It will help support your business objectives and should earn you more than it costs to build. Just be sure you have a long-term perspective on your custom software before you start. Would you rather just talk about this? Schedule a FREE consultation. Creating custom software is a long-term commitment. Once you begin, be prepared to make regular investments in it for a long time. You should be ready to invest time and money to ensure your software project is successful and healthy. It will need to be updated regularly for as long as you continue to use it. Custom Sofware is a Long-term Commitment A software application typically takes several months to complete.…
Count the Cost of Custom Software
Considering a custom app for your business? You can solve a lot of problems with custom software. Be sure you have counted the cost before you start, however. A custom mobile or web app can enhance user productivity, provide a better customer experience, or even be a status symbol. Nonetheless, creating custom software may not be your wisest choice. Just want someone to talk to about this? Software is Expensive All software is expensive. You may think your monthly subscription fee for the software you are using is high. Perhaps you’ve considered spending it to build custom software instead. The bad news is, if you think existing software is expensive, you will not like the cost of custom software. Custom software is even MORE expensive. Custom software is not a one-time out-of-pocket expense. Once you’ve created custom software, you will need to budget both time and money for it every…
Don’t Be a Victim
You’ve poured your life into this business. You’ve invested heavily in both time and money to create something of value. Then, one day, out of the blue, it’s gone. Your site is down, the resources don’t load or, heaven forbid, the developer just goes dark and doesn’t respond to you at all. You have no idea where these assets are stored, much less how to fix this. Are you prepared for this? You should be. It’s not a matter of if, but rather, when one of these scenarios will happen to you. Click here to schedule a free 15 minute call Be Prepared Your website, images, PDFs, Word documents, database, custom software, and any other digital assets are the foundation you’ve built your business on. You have poured enormous amounts of time and energy into creating these materials. Have you considered the huge financial impact you will face if your…
What’s Important Now?
I was on a bi-weekly strategy call with one of our clients the other day. We were discussing his implementation strategy for their custom software. Like so many organizations out there, this is a small well run team with a limited budget of both time and money. There is constant pressure to do more with less. This particular company is run via the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), something we embrace as well. A core tenant of EOS is focusing on a 90-day world driven by high-priority Rocks. The central mission of the company for each 90-day cycle is ensuring those Rocks are accomplished. Despite this clear corporate focus, each of the five business units within my client’s company have prioritized the software development tasks differently based on their own needs. He was stuck. He could not figure out how to move forward without having some business units feeling unsupported. I…