Top 7 Tips on How to Speed up Software Development

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

The technology space has never been as dynamic and volatile as it is currently. There is an increasing need for fast software development. This is very necessary to remain competitive in the IT market of today. There is an explosion of creativity and innovation in this space and thus every software must be out there as soon as possible.

In addition, the software development process must be rapid because of the clients. People seeking software solutions are now more informed than before. They can always find what they need elsewhere. The onus is then on any software company to learn how to speed up software development. You need a dedicated software development team, to begin with.

How do you speed up the software development process? We have here 7 sure tips to help you get your software out there in the best possible time.

Step 1. Set Clear Requirements

This is a very common tip because it is basic. For any sight of success in software development, you need to set clear goals and objectives. A fast software development process starts with a focused plan and a coordinated course of action. It necessarily does not have to be about having a large number of developers or a big team. The clarity of direction will save a lot of time.

When there is a distinct path to follow, there will be ease in the disbursement of resources. Once each member of the team has a robust understanding of what is required, then there will be speed in software application development. It is in a similar way that a clear sense of direction helps a journey that a clear requirement helps the development process. Projects in software development can be faster when the whole team is aware of what they need to do.

Step 2. Establish Your KPIs

The focus should not be on activities but on productivity. There is a profound difference between the two. Developers can write tons of codes but with little real actionable results. The attention should be on the output that the codes are written to deliver, not the codes themselves. This is why you must establish key performance indices. What will you measure real productivity with? Not just activity, but tangible results.

To speed up projects in software development, you can look into setting up KPIs like Cycle Time. This is the time it takes to complete a task. Milestones are very important, breaking the project into smaller tasks. Another KPI is Velocity; it is the amount of quality work done within a period. These KPIs will keep the project speed up and steady. You will not be measuring just activities, but productive actions.

Step 3. Limit Your Work in Progress 

Work efficiency is not necessarily about multitasking. Though the ability to multitask is good, it does not help when there are too many of them. In a bid to speed up software development, limit your number of work in progress. Having too much ongoing work concurrently can get the team stressed and overwhelmed. This means a bigger room for error and burnout.

Rather than having numerous works in progress, get the team to focus on a few tasks and complete them in record times. Project managers must be conscious of this tip. If you’re using a board for tracking tasks, ensure to limit the number of open tasks. Get the team focused on a few tasks per time. The overall software project completion timeline will be improved as well as the efficiency.

Step 4. Improve Automation

One sure way to lose time in repetitive tasks. There are parts of the development process that can be automated. Although the software development itself cannot be automated, you still have to write the codes. But, there are chances to get some repetitive actions out of the way. One of such windows of automation is automated testing. Regression tests can be done with repetition scripts, ensuring it is done once. Look to automate your software tests. 

Another automation process is to create a continuous integration and continuous delivery pipeline. This will guard against manual errors and save time. You can also make use of automation tools for communication and managing workload. Zapier for instance can be used to automate processes. Reducing repetitive tasks with automation can help save hours per day.

Step 5. Expand Your Team

The number of your team members is not as important as the quality. You need to check through what the software development project requires compared to the capacity of your team. Expanding your team may be the key step in saving time on the project. In expanding your team, you need to start with ascertaining your need.

This is where you must pay attention to quality. Don’t just go ahead to hire more hands, but hire more quality hands. You may need to get more advanced-level developers above testing engineers. It depends on the area you have more work to be done. More quality hands on deck will speed up the software development.

Step 6. Leverage the Lean Approach 

The Lean approach is another great way to save time for fast software creation. Fast software development entails focusing on what is important or mandatory over what is not. The Lean approach prioritizes giving attention to what is compulsory in the operation process. Anything that is not a compulsory task can be kept for later. You will save a lot of time paying attention to the most important tasks. You can just rate all tasks in the order of importance, this will help you to decide where to focus the team’s energy.

The main objective of the software development process will help inform the Lean approach. For instance, if the software is intended to hit the market as soon as possible over the quality, then the testing can be left for later. It will be best to get the software out and use the early feedback to shape the testing. But if it is otherwise, then the quality becomes the top priority.

Step 7. Avoid Long Work Hours

Staying longer than necessary at work will be a self-sabotaging move. Saving time is not synonymous with longer work hours. One thing that must not be compromised in software development is the creativity and attentiveness of the team. You need them to remain in shape and active, this is when they can produce quality and still save time.

Don’t put too much pressure on the team. Working more hours increases the margin for error. You will get the software out early, but you will also have to fix so many bugs at the same time. In the long run, it will not be worth it. It’s then best to let the team work for a healthy length of time. Extra hours do not mean more productivity. Keep them fresh, motivated, and creative.

Conclusion

Fast software development is achievable when the right things are put in place. And the very first thing to do is to set the requirements clearly. The clearer the direction, the faster the development process. Establishing KPIs and reducing WIP are necessities for fast software delivery.

The team should contain more quality than quantity. So, be certain you need more hands and get the right set of recruits. The Lean approach is a good addition to the acceleration mix as well as reducing repetitive tasks with automation. Finally, the creativity of the team must be conserved. Don’t overload them with extra work hours.