A number of software application development projects might not produce the intended result because they are often missing function, over budget, late, or a combination. In addition, many software projects are canceled before completion because they are extremely poorly executed. Take a look at the 8 best practices for software application development.

1. Requirements

Gathering requirements and agreeing on the same remains fundamental to every successful project. This doesn’t necessarily signify that you need to fix all requirements before design, architecture, and coding are done. However, it is surely crucial especially for the developers to grasp what they need to build. Primarily, there are two kinds of requirements that are required to be documented or gathered. One is functional requirements that are documented using Use Cases. Another is non-functional requirements that possess a big impact on the application performance, architecture, and design. And, they also describe the system characteristics and performance of the application.

2. Architecture

Selecting the right architecture for the application is highly important. Often, when a project in hassle is reviewed, it is observed that the developers do not apply appropriate and renowned architecture practices. Apparently, this kind of problem can be avoided by contacting the right consultants and ensuring to start the project on the right track.

3. Design

Even after having a good architecture, there are still good chances of having a bad design. Numerous applications are either under-designed or over-designed. Here, the two fundamental principles to be followed are “information hiding” and “keep it simple.”

4. Code construction

Code construction is another equally important phase that consumes a fraction of the complete project effort. A great practice for constructing code is going with continuous integration that also unites the concept of self-testing code and unit tests. In addition, utilizing standard frameworks for automating builds and testing are always recommended.

5. Peer reviews

Reviewing others’ work often helps a lot. Over the time, it has been observed that problems get eliminated earlier by means of peer reviews, and also reviews can prove even more effective than testing. Any artifact from the process of development is reviewed including requirements, plans, design, architecture, test cases, and code. Peer reviews are extremely helpful in producing software quality at top pace.

6. Performance testing

Generally, testing is the last resort for catching application defects. It is just meant for catching coding defects, and also it is labor intensive. In this, design and architecture defects may be missed. One way of catching certain architectural defects is by stimulating load testing on the application before the deployment and by dealing with performance issues before they turn into problems.

7. Configuration management

Configuration management includes knowing the state of all objects that create your project or system, managing the state of those objects, and releasing diversified versions of a system.

8. Deployment

Deployment, which is the final phase of releasing a software application for users, is required to be planned effectively by utilizing a full-fledged deployment checklist.

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