Software Development Company

Consider the following factors that will help you choose the right custom software development company:

• Company’s Portfolio
  Before you hire any software development company, take your time to browse its website, which could be the first medium of contact. Ensure to investigate the Work and Case Study section to have a look at their portfolio.

   

  Looking at their portfolio will help you understand the technologies you have worked on and whether the company has experience in building applications for your industry.
  
  A software development company would never hide their skills. Their website should have information about the technologies they are specialized in. Use this information to understand whether the company has an in-depth understanding of the technologies your project needs.

  Do not forget to consider the company’s portfolio thoroughly before you select a custom software development company.

• Company’s Reviews
  To ensure the success of a project, you have to look for a company that presents a proven track of successfully executed projects. Ensure to visit review websites to verify client relationship with the company before getting in touch with them.Check the company’s review and profile on review portals like GoodFirms, Clutch and other platforms. The review websites would tell you a lot about the company, for example, its location, project development cost, team size, services focus chart, client types and portfolio.

   

  You can get the company’s rating and read reviews provided by the clients. Since all the reviews mentioned on the review websites are genuine, you can select a company doubtlessly.

• Clarify the ownership of the application
  What if you see your competitors using the software you got precisely built for your organization? A company that pays for the app owns the software application. But, various cases of ownership conflicts have been seen between business owners and software development companies. Make sure that the contract between you and the company clearly defines the ownership clause in compliance with the governing state laws to ignore any conflicts in the future.

Agile Software Development is one of the best software development methodologies based on the concept of iterative development. In this methodology, requirements evolve via collaboration between self-organized cross-functional teams. Using an Agile methodology, teams can figure out how they will manage things on their own. 

There are a lot of tools available for developers and selecting the right one could be a challenge. We have curated a list of software development tools according to different categories.

Source Control

• GitHub
  It is a web-based Git repository hosting service using which developers can review code, build software and manage projects. Due to its intuitive interface and various features, GitHub is one of the most popular code repositories in the world. Its pricing model is quite flexible; private repositories are paid with a monthly fee while public repositories are hosted for free.
• Bitbucket
  A GitHub competitor, Bitbucket, is a web-based repository hosting service that uses the Git version control system. It facilitates collaboration for software development tools by integrating with Atlassian products like Jira. It is available as both an on-premise version (Bitbucket Server) and a cloud version.

Issue Tracking and Project Management

• Jira
  It is one of the popular development planning tools for issue and project tracking. Used mainly by Agile Software Development Teams, it has tons of functionalities and is easy to use. Some of its highlights include customizable Kanban and Scrum boards.
• Trello
  Trello is also one of the best tools for project management. It provides customizability with easy to manage boards for Kanban and Scrum users.
• Toggl
  Toggl is quite different from the above two project management tools, but it presents an overview of where the time is spent. It is easy to use and simple and can be integrated with lots of tools.

Integrated Development Environment (IDE) 

• NetBeans
  A popular, open-source and free IDE, NetBeans, allows developers to build desktop, mobile and web applications. It supports smart and fast code editing. Allowing rapid user interface development, NetBeans helps in writing bug-free code.
• Atom
  Atom IDE is an open-source and free all-around text editor. It allows developers to customize anything without the need to modify the config file. It supports various operating systems like Windows, Linux or OS X. Atom interface can be split up in multiple panes to edit and compare code across multiple files.
• XCode
  XCode is an IDE for macOS with a suite of software development tools developed by Apple. Featuring visual settings, it is simple to use and comes with drag-and-drop options. It is a smart integrated development environment that can prevent mistakes and errors.

Our team of software developers builds robust and secure software applications using the tools mentioned above.

Software Development Life Cycle is the foundation of all software development methodologies that include different activities like estimated budget, requirement gathering, documentation writing, design and development, testing, deployment and maintenance. 

It comprises of seven different phases:

• Planning
• Analysis
• Design 
• Development
• Testing
• Deployment
• Support and Maintenance

Planning

In the planning stage, a team of developers determines project goals and a high-level plan is created for the intended project. It is the most fundamental phase that primarily involves three activities:

• Feasibility Assessment 
• Project Plan Creation
• System Identification for Development 

Analysis 

In this phase, the software development team and client analyze the end-user business requirements and converts project goals into a system that the organization wants to build. Analysis phase consists of the following three activities:

• Implementing a Detailed Analysis
• Collecting Business Requirements
• Designing Process Diagrams 

Design

Desired features and functionalities of a software application are described in the design phase. This stage of SDLC includes business rules, screen layouts, pseudo-code and other documentation defining the components of the software. 

The design phase usually comprises the following activities:

• IT Infrastructure Designing 
• System Model Designs
• Technical Designs
• User Interfaces
• Marvel Prototype

Development

In the development phase, all the previous phases are converted into the actual working system. Developers develop the code and backend of a software application. 

Development phase involves two primary activities:

• IT Infrastructure Development
• Code and Database Development

Testing

In the testing phase of SDLC, all the code pieces are integrated and hosted in the testing environment. Testers check the system for bugs, defects and errors to test the system’s functionalities. 

Testing phase involves:

• Test Cases Creation
• Test Cases Execution

Deployment 

In this phase, the system is brought to the real-life environment where the user starts operating the system. The deployment phase involves placing all data and components in the production environment. This stage of SDLC is also referred to as delivery. 

Support and Maintenance 

In the Support and Maintenance phase, corrections, changes and enhancements can be made to ensure that the system will work after the updates and meet the business goals. It is essential to maintain and upgrade the software from time to time so that it runs seamlessly in the future. 

It involves the following activities:

• Supporting the system users
• Maintenance of the system
• System upgrades