How Long does it Take to Build a Custom Software for Your Startup?

Building Custom Software for your Startup can be challenging, especially when you do not have much experience in the market. You are just starting to dive into the deep waters of the business world, and you need that piece of software to create the wheels turn.

You have some options to consider to launch an excellent custom software product for your startup. You don’t need to spend all your budgets or ask for extra funding to make a timely solution that works well and will enable you to start working with your clients.

So, how long does it take to build your custom software? There is not a straightforward answer to this question. How does it take to tailor a dress? The timing can be very different if it is a wedding or an everyday dress. What aspects come into play that directly influences the time custom software is created? And most importantly, how can you speed up the process of building your software efficiently? Let’s see!

#1. How elaborate is a software

The complexity of software dramatically impacts the time it takes to build it. The more functions the software has, the more time and resources it will require for its creation. If you would like to have a product that has many features and works with multiple integrations, you should consider that maybe it would require more time than a more simple one.

It is pretty logical, but also, it can depend on many factors as the expertise of your team members and the resources you have. You can speed up even the fanciest software creation with the right experts and plenty of budgets.

#2. The quality of written code

It is essential to take this one into account. If you force your team or the agency you work with to keep impossible deadlines, it can impact the quality of written code. This will result in many bugs and future troubles that will be wasteful for your company. You will lose more time and money if you compromise on the quality of the written code. This is also true if you hire underqualified developers that ask for pennies but provide a defective product. Please do not play this game; it does not end well.

#3. Your team of developers

Your team of software developers plays a crucial role in the timely execution of your plan. If your team is well-built, it has established processes and excellent communication so that the wheels turn with ease and grace. You need such a team if you want to finish your project as soon as possible.

Apart from team cohesion, team size plays a vital role. Small teams are managed efficiently, but they cannot accomplish much. Not every company can afford big groups, and they are not so easy to operate, although when they mix their brains efficiently, they can do miracles together.

Offshoring offers you a workaround. It can provide a dedicated team for your project that aligns with your core values, and you can direct it as you wish. This way, you have a big team and someone to manage it for you while simultaneously overseeing the software development process!

#4. Your team players

Here comes the level of expertise of your team players. As long they possess the knowledge, skill, and attitude necessary for the job to be done, it will be accomplished quickly. Of course, you cannot expect that all of your team will contribute on the same level. But it is crucial to know them well, as well as their strong points and weaknesses. This way, you can support them in the best methods and give them the tasks that fit their profile and that they can accomplish speedily.

The combination of your team members’ skill, drive, and motivation will result in the timely accomplishment of your goals, so keep this in mind while choosing your team players, and make sure they are go-getters and not lay-backers.

#5 Your plan

Even if you have the best software engineers at your fingertips, when these professionals are not clear about what you exactly want, they cannot deliver. Pulling your act together is crucial and developing a plan, blueprint, or outline of what you would like your software to look like, function, and behave.

Get this vision and project very clear, and include as many details as possible. Visuals, graphics, descriptions, everything that will transmit your ideas to the brains of your software development team will set them in motion.

You can include all the milestones that need to be accomplished along the way and your vision of how to get from step A to step B. Things can change along the way, but having this plan will be your starting point to the project’s success. So do not delay it!

#6 Increase your Team gracefully

The more complicated your projects, the more team power you will need. You do not need to hire full-time in-house developers to increase your team’s capacity. Just be aware of all the options you have. Nowadays, there are various ways to expand your software development team without hiring new members.

When choosing the method to expand your team, keep your project’s and company’s needs in mind.

You can use Outsourcing efficiently if you want to accomplish a big goal according to a tight deadline. This is excellent if your project is like a sprint.

You can expand with offshoring. As we mentioned, it can provide efficient team members that align with your mission and vision and work on your long-term projects. Working with offshoring resembles more a marathon than a sprint as you engage with the team on a deeper and more meaningful level.

According to the specific needs of your project, you can choose to hire freelancers that meet this particular demand. This way, when your project ends, you can also evaluate whether you will need an in-house developer with these skills or will proceed to work with freelancers in the future.

Whether you hire through Outsourcing, offshoring, freelancing, or in-house, keep in mind how this will serve your project and company, and stay away from personal preferences and curiosity about the unknown.

#7 Avoid scattering your resources and creating deficient software

When you have to launch a product or software, you must behave as if you are at war. When war strikes, all unnecessary activities halt, and only the essentials are kept to support the joint effort to protect the country. So cut all the activities driving your team’s energies in wayward directions and focus on the single goal of completing the task according to your schedule.

Another big mistake to avoid is creating software that presents many deficiencies, thinking that you will get them “later,” which can create many problems, disappointment, and ommissions. Suppose you are not keeping track of this technical debt properly. In that case, chances are nobody will get to these hastily written codes, and they will reach your client like that, resulting in customer dissatisfaction and bad reviews. So do not risk.

In Conclusion:

Building an excellent team, making a clear plan, and avoiding distraction and poorly written code are ways you can speed up the building of your custom software for your startup! There are also many other factors, such as using correct methods. However, these points give you clear direction for where to start and create your roadmap to the custom software of your dreams, built according to your business schedule!