Building a software application is not an easy task. Rather, it involves a very complicated process. In this article, we will shed some light into the different phases that a project of custom software development has to go through, including the typical duration of every phase. There are no two custom software development projects that are completely identical, so the time will definitely vary in case of different projects. However, most of the projects are known to fall in the range we are going to discuss below. Whatever we mention is going to be the average estimate of time.
If you are a part of custom software development project or planning on building a software application, you will gain a lot of insight from this article. So, keep reading!
What Is Building Software Like?
Many compare the process of building software to be similar to one that involves building a house. When you plan and estimate a project, the designer will consider the phases mentioned below:
- Requirements and Designing
- Planning, Architecture, Development
- Testing
Sometimes, A software company is hired to give the desired results. It is quite similar to building a custom home. In the first step, Requirements and Designing, the company will decide on the type of software they want, and come up with a blueprint. The design is very important, and it gives vision to the whole plan. In order to create something, you need to know what you want. It is the same with software as well. By the end of this step, there will be a concrete plan for the software application. The architecturally significant as well as impactful decision about the budget will be made for implanting the plan later, without having any surprise variables popping up.
The next step is Planning, Architecture and Development. It is probably the most important part of the whole process, because the actual work is done here. You need to find the right people to do the job. Therefore, the project manager will have to engage in a significant amount of research to hire software developers who are willing to do the job. The project may also involve technical architects and creative designers. The architects will come up with the software framework and foundation. The creative designers will work on creating the user experience, and the software engineers will make everything work with the help of logic. By the end of this step, the application will be fully done.
When you build anything new, you cannot just sell it without having it tested. The same goes with new software as well.. You need to see that the software is meeting certain standards. Therefore, the last step, Software Testing, will involve walk-through, inspections, and so on.
Time Frame
- Requirements and Designing – 2 to 4 Weeks
In the entire process, this step is going to be the most predictable one. Therefore, it is also very short. The primary stakeholder ad decision maker will be working with the IT team on:
- Documenting the requirements of the system
- Collaborating different application features and ideas that are meant to work together for meeting the requirements
- Discussing the users, capabilities, the desired appearance, and feel of the application
- Documenting and reviewing the design of the application
- Deciding the initial scope of the software development project
The phase will take about 2 to 4 weeks. The time duration will vary on the team’s availability, design reviews, questions, responsiveness, and other similar critical decisions.
- Planning, Architecture and Development – 3 to 6 Months
Planning is necessary to bring some order into the whole process and making sure that work is being done. It is the foundation of the whole project. Therefore, it is probably the next things the team will work on. Planning usually takes about 2 or 3 days, as it is a short activity. After the basic framework is laid down, there is a need for structure. In order to get the work started, technical architects will be bought into the lay. They will know how technologies need to be used in the project’s favour in order to make them work. The process is pretty straightforward, unless the software is going to involve unusual technologies or complex system integrations. The architecture will be taking somewhere close to one or two weeks, depending on the complexity. Lastly, the software needs to be developed. With the resources available, technical gurus will work together to make this dream come true.
- Testing – 3 to 6 Months
The methods used for testing will depend on the nature of the project. And depending on the methods used for testing, the time will vary. User acceptance testing and end-to-end testing is absolutely necessary for the project to be a success.
The user acceptance test is a common type of test. Other tests include load testing, integration testing, performance testing, cross-mobile-device or cross-browser testing, and so on.
On an average, most software projects work around a time frame of four to nine months. However, other factors play the biggest role in determining the overall time duration.
