An effective way to develop a new software or add features to existing software in an effective manner is by assigning a qualified project manager and adopting a proven software development process.
The Role of the Project Manager in the Software Development Process
The first thing that a software development company must consider when undertaking a software development project is to establish a comprehensive but practical approach to the endeavor, which will eventually lead to a successful outcome.
In this regard, the in-house project manager plays an important role in ensuring that every phase of the project is completed as planned. Among the roles of the project manager in software development Miami is the identification of the potential risks that come with the project and how to mitigate ad resolve them. The project manager is also responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the momentum throughout the project, as well as for ensuring that the tasks of the individual team members are appropriately assigned and completed in accordance to the specifications. In addition, the project manager is responsible for the successful resolution of conflicts that may come up during the software development period.
A project manager is capable of addressing highly complex processes by establishing an organized approach where the process is broken down into smaller individual tasks that are more manageable. They are also responsible for gaining an understanding on how they can get the project team dedicated to the goal of meeting and exceeding the end result.
Steps in the Software Development Process
Once a competent project manager is selected, the following steps can be employed to ensure the project’s successful completion:
- Gather data and perform a feasibility analysis
The first step in the software development process is to gather data by interviewing the stakeholders. This would enable the project team to identify the exact needs of the client and to determine whether the project is feasible and if the software development company can deliver the software as the client expects. This step may also involve conducting an ROI study in order to determine the costs and benefits of the project.
- Analyze and determine the requirements
Performing a thorough analysis comprises of interviewing the end users and other stakeholders who use the software application. It is also necessary for the project team to thoroughly review and understand the business processes, business rules, and user documents in order to determine the functionalities and features that are appropriate and required n the software system.
At this stage, it is also important for the client to have the minimum technology infrastructure in place, such as desktop machines and servers.
- Consider the Best Practices in the Industry
The project team must consider the industry best practices when defining the software development process and selecting from the many software development methodologies. It is also important to comply with a standard template and to ensure that all activities can be traced and that they are shared in a document repository.
- Design
This step involves putting together a detailed design document that outlines exactly how the software will meet the client’s specific requirements. This may involve the creation of mock-ups along with the design document. These serve to illustrate the elements of the user interface.
- Measurement and Tracking of Progress
The key project data such as the cost, schedule, and the number of errors, enable the effective management of the project. These project indicators enable the project manager to promptly identify existing or potential problems, in turn enabling them to be recognized and mitigated in a timely manner.
- Development
This step involves coding or the translation of the design document into the software application. The goal is for the software application to match the business needs for which the project was initiated. The different states f the development phase may also yield various versions of the software. The Alpha version includes only the primary functionalities and features. The Beta version is used for usability and internal trusting. The release candidate is normally a stable build that need only minor tweaks while the Gold Master or Production build is the version that is ready for release.
During this stage, the project manager seeks feedback about the navigational experience of the user, how fast they can complete their tasks, how easily they use the application, and other information that is related to the application’s usability.
- Documentation
This step involves the documentation of the software development application with regards to how it is used. This involves the creation of the online help, the end user’s guide, the administrator’s guide, and others. This can be performed either after the development phase or concurrently with the development phase.
- Address Automation
This step involves the automation of the repetitive tasks, such as the collection of product and project related measures, the conduct of regression tests, the conduct of code analysis scans, and the code builds. This reduces the occurrence of human errors upon software implementation.
- Testing
This is the step where the software is tested on its functionality and if it does not have any more errors. For this, a list of the software’s features is made. A script is written for each of the tasks that the user might perform for each feature, and these are tested to ensure that they work. Organizations may adopt different methods for testing. Some comprise of a number of sub-stages while others perform quality assurance and staging. The identified bugs are urgently fixed, and changes or enhancements are scheduled for future upgrades of the software.
- Implementation
This step involves the installation and configuration of the software application into the client’s system. It ensures that the software works when deployed in the client’s production servers. During this step, it’s possible for another round of testing to be conducted at the client site n order to ensure that the software performs as it is supposed to.