Top 7 Challenges for Every Software Product Developer

Building a high-quality product is the end goal for any organization. Still, the software development process is evolving while automation is becoming rampant, and new tools and libraries are emerging daily. A process as complex as software product development comes with its own set of challenges – challenges that you might encounter every day. These software development challenges need to be addressed almost immediately to reduce their impact on your end product. Below are the top 7 challenges for every software product developer.

1. Development Expectations and Outcome

Software development expectations will vary by industry, business size, and even the individual involved in the project. If you are developing an internal application for your company, it's quite likely that all stakeholders will expect certain deliverables from the product itself. Likewise, if you build a web app for a client or customer, they may expect results within a given timeframe and budget. In addition to these expected deliverables, the entire process needs to be well thought out beforehand to ensure success at the end of the process.

These development anticipations can cause problems during the planning stage when designing the product from scratch or when implementing features into an existing codebase. The challenge lies in getting stakeholders (customers/clients) to understand what they want before signing off on their approval. This is why communication between a stakeholder, the team responsible for delivering the product, and other stakeholders should happen as early as possible. Once this communication occurs, the design phase often starts where the developers start taking the shape of the desired final product. During this time, several things need to be taken care of:

a. Designing a Product from Scratch

When starting a project from scratch, the product owner needs to make sure there is enough time to plan the application's structure. Some frameworks offer initial scaffolding for building applications which helps speed up the architecture-building process. It also allows designers and developers to get started quickly.

b. Updating Existing Code Base

Adding functionality to an existing app is a different story than adding new features to a brand new application. When updating legacy applications, many factors come into play, such as making changes without breaking anything else. Most programming languages have extensive built-in support for dealing with version control systems, and each language has its own way of doing this.

2. Quality Assurance

Quality assurance (QA) or testing should start from the very beginning of the workflow. Developers should think about quality first, rather than just focusing on deadlines. Without adequate QA, your app could turn out to be buggy due to missing features or poor coding practices. When launching a beta version, users are going to test the product to see whether or not bugs occur. If there are bugs in the app, they need to be fixed before it goes live to avoid wasting valuable user data or money. A QA team will usually handle this task; however, many organizations do not have a dedicated QA team because the cost would be prohibitive. For small projects, having a friend or family member help with QA might be more affordable. This could mean either finding someone willing to review a rough draft once in a while or asking them to take part in beta tests after release.

3. Adapting the Latest Market Trends

It's always good practice to stay abreast of market trends and adapt to them accordingly. An old saying goes, "Your competitors don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Therefore, being aware of what your competition is offering is vital, and keeping track of any emerging technologies is crucial for staying ahead. You should try to make use of those advancements and incorporate them into your product. There are three primary ways to keep track of what is happening in the tech world today:

a. Reading blogs

Newsletters related to technology are great resources for learning trending topics. Blogs are a great place to find information on current news stories and new ideas. Many communities, including startup forums, exist solely for sharing ideas and helping one another learn the latest tricks of the trade.

b. Search engines

Google and Bing have advanced immensely over the years. It's practically impossible to search effectively these days. Even if you manage to narrow down results by keywords, most websites use SEO techniques that render the results useless. To deal with this issue, some companies purchase lists of keywords used by people who conduct searches on Google. However, these lists tend to change frequently. Other strategies include using social media sites like Twitter to gather customer feedback directly. Social networking platforms provide a free source of information and insight into what people want from their products or services.

c. Tech magazines

Magazines are definitely worth looking at because you can get a lot of useful information. Popular publications often contain articles covering all types of technological developments. The article may focus on a specific industry or technology but still offer value even outside of your field. Technology magazines cover new research and development, so it's a great resource for getting up-to-the-minute facts. They also give information about which companies are leading the charge and why.

4. System & Application Integration

Software integration is a broad term referring to combining two software systems. It occurs when an application functions as a middleman between them. There are several factors involved when integrating software applications, which include, but are not limited to, security, compatibility, availability, scalability, performance, flexibility, and usability. Another important factor is communication, ensuring the interface between two programs works smoothly. Integration can enhance productivity and save time. Kapsys software development team strives to integrate businesses with appropriate business software. Integration can be applied to various fields, such as medical, finance, marketing, manufacturing industries, etc. The following are common types of integration:

• Data management – A system allows an organization to control, view, modify, and process data throughout its lifecycle.
• Enterprise Content Management (ECM) - ECM involves managing content, whether created internally or externally. ECM tools facilitate collaboration among different departments within an enterprise.
• Business Process Management(BPM) - BPM focuses on automating processes in an organization; improving efficiency through automation enables organizations to accomplish tasks more easily while providing employees with job satisfaction.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can help businesses improve customer service by storing information needed to understand each person's needs and preferences.
• Manufacturing Information Systems (MIS) - MIS refers to business operations involving information management for manufacturers where inventory, production, shipping locations, and other items are recorded.

5. Security Infrastructure

These days, every company has serious issues with cybercrime. Hackers and malicious threats try to penetrate your computer network or steal confidential data by gaining unauthorized access. There must be a solid infrastructure of security measures in place and proper training to combat these risks. Your IT department will monitor suspicious activity and block any attempts to infiltrate or damage your system. You should perform regular maintenance on the system as well. If you notice anything unusual, take immediate action. This includes contacting your firewall vendor to assess the situation and recommend fixes or ways to prevent further attacks. You also need to make sure you keep your operating system current and install patches on a timely basis. IT consulting also forms part of our comprehensive services. We can assist you in setting up new procedures, reviewing existing controls, implementing necessary changes, and training staff about their importance as well as its services outsourcing to various businesses.

6. Project Management

Project managers oversee the execution stage of the project. These professionals are responsible for overseeing the entire workflow from start to finish. Their goal is to ensure that deadlines are met, budgets remain unchanged, and quality standards remain high. Many times, team members will work directly under a project manager. If necessary, the PM may delegate some tasks for others to complete. Project managers normally have many responsibilities, including coordinating team members, reviewing progress, setting goals, software development business, resolving problems, planning future projects, analyzing results, and managing resources. While the role may vary depending on the type of project being managed, most projects involve these services.

7. Test Environment Duplication

Duplicating test environments helps to prevent costly mistakes in development cycles. An ideal environment would duplicate the exact configuration used to run actual production system tests. In addition, this ensures that new features don't cause existing errors. However, duplicating all configurations requires time and costs money. The right solution balances cost and risk. There are two basic approaches to duplication: manual and automated. Manual methods allow developers to enter their testing environment into the production environment manually. Automated solutions use scripts to create similar configurations automatically. Both types of solutions provide benefits in terms of reduced cost and improved accuracy. There's always a trade-off between time spent in setup and time saved in error correction with either method. These are the top 7 challenges for every software product developer that Kapsys, a software developer offering IT services, seeks to overcome daily. We are not just limited to the top 7 but rather an underlying theme that runs throughout the entire course. Our experts help enterprises connect businesses with information technology services that empower employees to do more than ever before. Through collaboration and creativity, we foster growth that exceeds expectations. We strive to bring our best practices to each client, offering expert advice at scale across multiple technologies and working closely with their teams to solve complex business problems. We share the knowledge earned through experience and expertise by sharing what works. Experience shows us that no one knows it all. It's how we learn from each other and improve over time. We're here to help you build smarter products that drive value and boost performance.