How Long Does Custom Software Take to Build?

Implementing custom software can be a time-consuming process, and the best way to avoid having to wait longer than you need to be to only spring into action when you have a clear idea of what you want to see in your product and what you don’t. Hence, before choosing a software development agency, make sure your goals & requirements are set clearly.

Building Software Is Like Building A House

When planning and estimating a project, we consider each of the following phases separately:

• • • • Requirements & Design
      • Planning, Architecture & Development
      • Software Testing

Of course, the production timing of projects tends to vary wildly depending on the size and features of the software that is being developed. Thrivative believes that a typical custom project takes between four to nine months to complete from conception to completion.

The process of producing custom software begins with planning and analysis, followed by design, which can take anywhere from 1 to 6 months to get right.

This part is crucially important because any oversights here will carry big ramifications for the latter stages of production.

Bear in mind your system requirements, and what you want to achieve from the custom software. Also consider the usability of the end product, and how easy it will be to navigate for all of its users.

The development stage of the process is an exciting one, where you get to see your ideas come together. Developing custom software takes time — up to a year in some cases with larger projects, and you’ll need to brace yourself for curveballs and setbacks during this time. However, if you’ve chosen a competent team to work on your software, the potential for problems is limited.

Once a build has been completed, your custom software enters its testing stages. Much like with planning and designing of a service, this is a quicker process and typically takes from three to six weeks. The focus on testing is to make sure the software performs as intended and is free of bugs or glitches.

When developers are happy with their product, they will open their software up for a User Acceptance Test. This gives you the chance to investigate the final build and check for any issues or errors that might hurt the usability of the service. Once you’re happy with the service, you’ll be able to sign it off and receive the completed package.

Overall, the lifecycle of custom software development is as long as your requirements are. Things that affect this range from the aforementioned pages that are needed to be built, the platforms that it caters for (i.e. if the service is produced with mobile compatibility for Android or iOS), what kind of features are to be included — whether it’s a paywall, external security systems, CRM services, or if it requires complex business content.

Why Software Development Is a Time-Consuming Process

The speed of software development depends on factors like development process complexity, quality of code, team size, productivity, and efficiency. Let’s have a closer look at each one.

The complexity of the development process

Every development team faces issues related to the technical aspects of the project, such as project requirements and tight deadlines. All these challenges may slow down the process of software development.

Quality of code

When the mess in your code increases, so does the time that it takes to maintain it. In the worst case, the code can no longer be maintained and the project will slowly die without continuous updating.

Team size

The success of each project depends on the efficiency of internal communication. Researcher Katherine Klein from Wharton University states that the optimal size for a team is 5 people. If there are more than 7 people in the team, finding common ground becomes more challenging.

Team productivity and efficiency

In general, the performance of the team depends on the contribution of each member. If some team members are skilled and experienced, the team will work faster and smarter to get all of your tasks done.

Conclusion

On average, we see software projects taking between 4-6 months to design and develop.  The size and complexity of the project are the biggest factors in overall duration. A project is considered large or has a greater complexity if any of the following apply:

• Involves 25+ screens
• Includes an administrative portal as well as a user application
• Supports multiple platforms (web, tablet, phone, iOS, Android, Windows Phone)
• Integrates with multiple systems (security systems, payment gateways, CRM systems, ERP systems, HR systems, etc.)
• Involves data migration from an older system
• Has complex business logic
• Has complex reporting requirements
• Involves a data warehouse or data mart

However if you really wish to have the complete benefits of the trends and technologies partnering with a right web application development really matters. Thrivative help fast-growing start-ups and scale-up to build quality software, staff their teams, and create outstanding designs for websites and applications. We are looking forward to partner with you!