Software release is complicated. Launching a new product successfully takes a lot of time and resources. Thankfully, there’s a way to make it more efficient. Here are some software release strategies to reduce the number of reworks on your product.
Software development is a long and complex process with a lot of challenges. When you’re building an intricate system involving several functions, you’re bound to encounter many issues. While certain things can work right, there is plenty that can go wrong. That’s why there’s no such thing as an error-free software release. And, it’s also not the goal in development.
Simply put, we don’t strive for perfection in software releases. Instead, we focus on releasing something functional, then pinpointing the areas that need improvement. After all, missteps still lead us closer in the right direction.
But before we dive into the process of a product launch, let’s first understand its development stages. Most software release errors can be found and prevented in the development process. You just have to pay close attention to each stage. And of course, don’t skip any step.
Understanding Software Development
In developing a product, we follow a process called Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). It involves a series of stages designed to fulfill the project requirements. The fundamental phases are requirements and analysis, designing, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance. The development team chooses a standardized methodology for the entire development.
Is Error-Free Software Possible?
Now that we know what SDLC is, it’s time to answer that burning question about error-free software. The short answer is no. It’s not possible to create a perfect system in one take. There are many factors that affect the whole development process. Here are some of them.
Modularization
In development, the project is broken down by individual effort. Each software component is worked on by separate developers, adding separate lines of code. And in the final stage, the lines of code come together to create one cohesive system. But, even with the cleanest code handling, issues will still arise in merging the code.
Project Scale
The bigger the project, the bigger the potential for errors. A large and extensive system involves complex variables and components. This, in turn, extends the scope of testing that has to be done for each use case. And with every new plugin or installation, there’s always a risk of unpredictable errors with compatibility.
Resources
Testing costs time and money. You have to pay QA specialists to conduct regular testing. Even after the software release, they will still work on troubleshooting when bugs are found. Even if your testing procedures are conducted by the development team, you’ll still be taking hours away in productivity. Hence, if you focus too much on producing a flawless output, you’ll be taking away from profitability.
Software Release: How to Reduce Errors
Even though there is no guarantee of an error-free output, there are ways to minimize mistakes. You must invest more time and energy in your preparations. Here are some tips on what areas you can improve on.
Quality Assurance
In development, we can’t stress the importance of quality assurance enough. You can prevent a lot of errors by combing through the system while it’s being made. Each phase of development involves different levels of testing. And, each performance test can detect, categorize, report, and eventually remove troublemaking elements.
Here’s a checklist of items commonly overlooked:
- Communication – all features provided should display on the end-user’s screen.
- Functionality – the software should behave as designed.
- Text – labels, strings, or instructions appearing on the screen should be grammatically correct and free of typos and misspellings.
- Commands – user options and buttons such as “exit” or “cancel” should be found easily on the user’s screen.
- Calculations – formulas, metrics, and other technical details should be correct, consistent, and communicated properly.
- Error handling – software must be responsive in recovering procedures disrupted by errors. It has to maintain the normal flow of the program’s execution.
The items above are just a few of the frequently occurring technical issues. Nonetheless, you should pay close attention to them as they are the common roadblocks in a software release. This is why hiring software testers is important.
Supporting Documents
Documentation plays a crucial role on both the user and development sides. Your software product’s documentation should be easily accessible on the user’s side. You should also review and prepare your manual, product description, and a Help or FAQ section before the actual release. And on the development side, your team must employ the best practices in software documentation to make troubleshooting efficient.
Technical Support
Another thing to prepare is the support team. Customers are bound to call in when they encounter problems. Your customer support team needs training in the proper protocols and answers to common issues. Additionally, you have to develop an efficient escalation process for more difficult cases. You have to ensure they can easily contact the people who can solve the problems.
Legal Claims
Lastly, take care of all the legalities Ensure that your legal team vets and reviews documents like Terms and conditions, contracts, and regulatory documentation. Delays can happen in software releases due to legal issues. Fortunately, these are preventable as long you prepare all the documents beforehand.
Build your Software with Full Scale
Planning to launch a mobile app or a website? Make sure you’ve got a dedicated team of developers ready to handle your software product launch. There are just as many items to deal with after the software release. Hence, it’s crucial to have a team readily available to troubleshoot, maintain, and upgrade the product.
If you’re having a hard time assembling your development team, we can help! Full Scale is a software development outsourcing company that focuses on a variety of business solutions. We can help you find and hire the right people for the job. Based on your requirements, we’ll put you in touch with qualified and experienced tech specialists. Scale your business with Full Scale! Talk to us.
