8 Easy Ways To Cut Down On Software Development Cost

Software development comes with a price tag.

Still, having nightmares about that one poorly executed software development project when your budgeting went wrong?

Do you wish you had done more cost-benefit analysis and used THAT development strategy?

Need not worry because we have answers.

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The Internet has inundated material on project budgeting and cost estimation. So the only logical question is how this article is going to be any different.

Ever wondered what are those treasured bargain chips that cut costs without putting a hole into the revenue streams?

To serve your curiosity, we’ve relied on some seasoned tech experts to bring apt cost-cutting solutions to the table. My friend, you are not only going to cut costs but also going to change enterprise-wide scalability and extensibility for your future business projects.

Recommended: Secrets to Achieve a Fault-proof Software Development Process

But first, you gotta read:

Tried and Tested Ways to Reduce Software Development Cost

Document Each and Everything from the Scratch!

Documentation is an investment for the future as well as the present. How will documentation save your time and money? It does so by having all the technical and functional requirements in one place.

Without documentation, the chances of delays and errors increase manifolds.

• Reusable for future projects (You don’t have to invent the wheel every time)
• The project stays on track even if team members leave
• Stakeholders and the team will always be on the same page
• The following process will cost less as a result of rigorous documentation

Agreement on an MVP before Anything

What if I tell you there’s one way that will reduce software development costs significantly? Yes, MVP (minimum viable product) is the answer. MVP just does not allows you to reduce cost but the timeframe to launch the product and let the feedback come in for improvements; otherwise to avoid tragic user experiences after a bug pops up or a feature starts lagging post-product delivery.

How does an MVP help in Cost Reduction?

• developing just the must-have features
• Reducing considerable time to market
• Ongoing customer feedback that helps in early-stage improvements
• Not going overboard with the budget in the first development phase
• Including only must-have features
• Choosing to use the design system
• Starting testing from the start
• Choosing an open-source software development
• Backend as a service solution
• Choosing the right project management approach
• Clarity of tasks
• Considering outsourcing mvp development services

Read more about: A Complete Guide to MVP Development For Startups

Clarity of Requirements is a Must

Setting requirements can be termed as the make or break of the deal.

You should start documenting business, feature, and end-user requirements from the very beginning. Divide the process into two types for ease: Must-haves and Good have. Start with the must-haves and launch the product with the essential features. The Good to Haves will follow once the product is launched and is in the market for feedback. This will help in getting a product together in less time and improving it over time.

Another feature of this approach is the guaranteed ease of scalability and extensibility.

Additionally, the IT development budget for software, personnel, and outside professional services is over 41% consumed by ambiguous requirements.

Whether you outsource or work with an in-house software development team, it is very important to communicate with the team clearly about the project requirements. This will significantly improve the following communications during the development stages and leave less room for technical gaps and a lack of prioritization.

If the functional requirements aren’t well defined and understood, excessive resources will be spent alongside delays in meeting deadlines.

A failed attempt to find a company that gives the best consultation when it comes to outsourcing? Do not worry. Read our well-structured outsourcing articles to gain valuable insights to kickstart your project.

Recommended read: Understanding the Web App Development Cost

Involve Quality Assurance (QA) from Stage One

Why is it so important to have QA on board from the start? It allows you to identify bugs and errors from the basis and fix it there and then. Practicing from scratch ensures low software development costs.

How? The QA works with the developer throughout the different software development stages to ensure that the product is bug-free and works as intended. This shift-left software testing approach helps in end-to-end bug hunting before the code is pushed into the production phase. Otherwise, the undetected bugs can malign the entire product, and release surging financing, reputational, and CX costs. ,

This way the process becomes preventive rather reactive in nature. The rework cost will be significantly less as compared to leaving the QA to the final stage.

Recommended read: Software Testing Tips for Proper Quality Assurance

Smart Integration of Libraries and Framework

Relying on existing libraries and frameworks for your product isn’t a bad thing at all. It isn’t necessary to build the product from scratch and waste tons of time developing a code that is already available. If it’s paid and worth the time, definitely go for it.

Not to suggest that you pick everything off the shelf but if you can find pre-written codes that can be seamlessly integrated then why not?

This will not only save time and effort but will reduce the overall cost of the software development project.

Features and add-ons that are already performance-tested would not require you to spend hordes of money to meet the anticipated product quality standards.

Create reusable components and modules

It is a smart approach to building plug-and-play modules and components to assure reusability in future projects.

Advantages of reusable components and modules

• Low learning curve (to not have to invent every time)
• Consistency across platforms
• A major chunk of work is done for future projects with basic functionalities developed already.
• Easy maintenance - Issues will get fixed across products if identified in one.
• Accelerates development and cuts development costs
• Enhances productivity and effectiveness manifolds

Follow Agile

How does Agile exactly reduce software development costs? What makes it more lucrative than other software development methodologies?

Agile helps you save money as it significantly lessens the chances of reworking. It wouldn’t be wrong to term agile as a “collective process”. It encourages coordination at all levels which in return favors the team in feedback collection and incorporation.

Also, work in iterations, develop the MVP and the list of good to have will start automatically while you’re working with the must-haves list. The good-to-have list will have course corrections because of user feedback that will pour in as the early launch of the product in the market.

Automate, Automate, and always automate

What are the benefits of automation? Two of the most cited benefits are higher output and increased productivity. Management, DevOps automation, and testing automation can save time and cost. The most crucial part of software development is the people working on it. Automation leads to smaller timeframes, simply put the time spent on repetitive tasks can be cut in half.

Testing Automation — According to statistics, software testing utilizes 40%-50% of total resources and 50%-60% of the total cost of a software development project. Start with automation testing to ensure quality and reduce software development costs.

DevOps Automation —The importance of management and DevOps automation (frees the developers of the manual work)can’t be stressed enough for the cost-cutting of the overall product. These processes can be costly at first but have long-term benefits such as scalability.

Research shows that software testing utilizes approximately 40%-50% of total resources, 30% of total effort, and 50%-60% of the total cost of a software project.

Your first place to start for automation should be an easy pick now. Guess what? There are well-versed automation testing companies in the industry that exactly know how automating the development cycles can cut costs and increase revenues.

Use Case: Factors to minimize the cost of the project at InvoZone

• Meticulous requirement collection and documentation process
• Industry-specific software development team and knowledge
• Complete Client involvement in the software development process
• Low on the pocket and high on quality
• Highly automated processes
• Seasoned quality assurance team

Cutting it short, these have worked successfully for InvoZone and its clients to achieve reduced software-developed costs. Implement these and the results will blow your mind.