Are You Prepared for the Challenges in Software Development?

Over the decades, software development has transformed from primitive to very advanced. However, advancement in technology and processes has brought its share of challenges in software development. 

Complexity is increasing, and cutting-edge technology is replacing conventional processes in software development. Software developers are trying hard to cope with this change. But, to be successful in the competitive market, it is also essential to keep prepared for challenges and find ways to overcome them. 

Software Development Challenges to Prepare For 

Let’s look at the challenges developers face and those they must overcome to deliver successful software.

Changing Requirements

Developers often have to deal with tough challenges, such as changing requirements at different stages of development which lead to revamp of the complete project. After working hard for hours and days and reaching the desired outcome, the developer often has to go back to square one and change the software.

Depending on the project's complexity, some changes can be taxing. However, for the client, these are mostly inevitable. Developers have to accept the challenge and find ways to deal with it. 

The basic that developers can do is to use languages, technologies, and frameworks conducive to clean coding that is easy to modify without hassle. This can save them plenty of time and resources during modification.

Changing the software to match changing requirements can also be avoided by following the planning stage of the software development cycle very diligently. The user requirements analysis should be given ample time, and people who are good at communication should be put into roles that require communicating with the client for user requirements. 

The clients also want to ascertain that the requirements they provide are perceived correctly by the services provider. Developing a prototype is a good solution to keep the developer and client on the same page. This also helps prevent changes at later stages.  

Technology Upgrades 

Technology centricity is increasing globally, giving many opportunities and options to choose from. For each development project, there are a variety of tools, frameworks, technologies, and integrations available. And more innovative technology solutions are discovered very rapidly.

The availability of options and rapid technology change keep developers under tremendous pressure to cope with it. However, it is difficult to deal with; the technology upgrade is challenging at various levels. The infographic here describes the various challenges with technology upgrades that the developers must overcome.

Communication Gap

The communication gap is the biggest hindrance and challenge to successful software development. Miscommunication or communication gap in software development projects commonly affects the results negatively at three different levels.

When the software development service provider communicates with the client, it is the client's responsibility to convey the requirements comprehensively and clearly. But, to understand and comprehend client requirements properly, it is obligatory on the part of the development partner to involve experienced professionals.

The people who communicate with the clients should be good at communication and understand technology, its advancements, and its limitations. Hiring professionals who can take up such roles effectively is not easy. Moreover, communication issues can cause serious problems and affect the outcomes of the project, no matter how good the developers are. 

Furthermore, communication issues can continue if the person who takes client requirements cannot communicate these requirements well to the development team. This can create a considerable gap between what the client wants and what the developers perceive about their expectations. However, the top software development companies understand this, so they only give the role of requirements communication to excellent communicators. 

Last but not least, despite precise requirements coming from the client and conveyed to the team, if the internal communication in the team is poor, the software development project cannot be a success. So, software development companies must ensure that their development teams do not face communication gaps.

Communication gaps can be resolved with appropriate training and development. The first step is to identify such gaps and, next, have an intention to do something to overcome this challenge despite the time and money spent on it. 

Security

Despite having experience with software development and expertise with all relevant tools and technologies, security is one area that scares developers. Even the best software can fail if it risks the users' data and privacy. So, security is a matter of reputation for developers. 

Over the years, software developers have understood that secured software can be ensured by integrating security testing from the beginning. However, security is a continuous and ongoing concern even after the release of a successful product. Changes in preferences and technology make existing software vulnerable to security threats. So, how do developers overcome this challenge?

Businesses must release periodic updates, commonly known as patches, to take care of security threats arising out of changes in technology. This is to maintain secure software and build trust among the users. It requires keeping up-to-date with changing technology and testing to identify the need for upgradation. Quality developers do not undermine the importance of security, irrespective of its costs.

Maintenance and Upgradation

With advanced technology and an increased need for security, software development complexity is increasing daily. Due to this, maintenance and upgradation of software are difficult yet unavoidable. 

As technology upgrades to new versions, the software, its dependencies, integrations, etc., must be configured to accommodate the change. Upgrades also give rise to incompatibilities that have to be resolved, at times, by evaluating and substituting with alternatives. 

However, the challenge does not end here. When the developers have finally completed the upgradation, they realize that newer versions of the software are released, and the changes have to be made again. This is a never-ending challenge. 

The only way to deal with upgrades and changing requirements is through software maintenance and upgradation. Most developers offer annual maintenance contracts for complex software. For simple software that may not require frequent upgrades, the developers often offer to do it as and when required for nominal charges. 

Businesses going for software development must consider the need for upgrades and maintenance. It is wise to discuss these issues with your development partner before the software is developed to gauge the level of involvement they are ready to offer and the costs for the same.

Quality Assurance 

Owing to high demand and an increase in expectations, software developers must become more quality conscious. The importance of quality software has led to a global revolution in quality assurance. Researchers are giving new and innovative development practices to incorporate quality at different levels of software development.

Software developers are adopting practices such as QTC (Quality Total Control) and  TQM (Total Quality Management) to ensure that quality is taken care of at every level, from the beginning to the end. The software development industry is also embracing BPR (Business Process Reengineering), Lean Thinking, and Six Sigma to acquire the capability to deliver high-quality products and services.

The above sounds exciting! Focus on quality and incorporating all the measures that can lead to quality in software development is also a challenge as it requires the developers to come out of their shells. They must be open to learning new skills, including better planning, change management, communication, and much more. 

However, quality and operations improvement requires investment in terms of money and time. So, businesses must budget in advance. Businesses must spend money, time, and resources to train their developers to adapt to the new way of working, where quality is an integral part of the development process and not just managed by testing and control teams.

Suggested Reading: 3 Best Tools for Software Testing & Quality Assurance  

Why do Businesses Need the Best Software Developers?

Cutting-edge technology has paced up software development and enabled amazing outcomes that could not have been imagined a decade ago. Developers have access to the best platforms, frameworks, resources, and tools that help them develop high-quality software solutions. Access to better resources has also reduced development time, even for complex requirements. Does that mean all is well with software development?

With time and changing technology, the expectations from developers have only increased manifold. But, all is not rosy for them. Challenges in software development have increased almost at the same rate as the solutions for problems in software development.

No challenge is impossible to overcome for the best software developers. They must keep themselves aware of the latest technology and upgrade their skills to match technological developments. Understanding the general challenges and resolving the bottlenecks to overcome them is the key to success in software development.

Suggested Reading: 5 Emerging Trends and Stats on Software Development

How Can You Find the Right Developers for Your Project? 

Goodtal lists software developers who can deliver successful outcomes in challenging projects for C++ development, .Net development, C# development, etc. So, look no further!