5 most common Software Development problems

Every house has a foundation, right? Requirement gathering is the foundation of a software project. Unclear requirements mean a weak foundation and subsequent weaker product. 

Unclear requirements also mean wrong time and cost estimates. Time and cost estimation of a software development project involves a lot of variables that highly differ from project to project based on complexity, the quantum of features, and the sophistication of underlying technologies. So, inadequate software requirement gathering equals unrealistic time and cost estimates.

Another issue is ever-changing software requirements. So, on day one, you asked for a car with some specific engine capacity, fuel type, power, torque, etc. The next day, you ask to increase the torque. The third day, you say, I need an auto sliding door. See, what happens here - If you keep on adding to the requirements, your scope changes and so does the development. This will lead to a substantial increase in cost as well as development time. 

Irrespective of whether you are hiring some local software vendor or outsourcing software development to some other continent, communication is what allows the software firm and the business stakeholders to collaborate together. 

Poor communication can slow a project down to the point where it’s no longer relevant or valuable. Issues with communication might be lingual or might be not getting regular updates. Miscommunication can lead to missed deadlines and feature requests and may incur additional expenses and time or poor products that don’t meet stakeholder expectations. 

You have a list of software companies with whom you need to share your business idea. This can be overwhelming. These are the people you don’t know and don’t trust. So, sharing your software idea with them is a risky ask.

In situations like this, one’s worried that their ideas might be stolen or their trade secrets might be exposed or stolen.

Let’s point out here only: Perfect software is a myth. Bugs and glitches are a part of every software and are inevitable. Our goal here is to reduce their occurrence. 

The quality of the software is what you are working so hard for at the end of the day. Flawed and buggy software can significantly affect your business. First, you might have a delay in launch because developers will take some extra time to fix the issues. Second, if the issues are discovered after launch, it would mean a huge dissatisfaction of users and might subsequently result in a huge blow to your reputation and might not last long in the marketplace. 

You spoke to a developer or you hired a software vendor that promised you the world at $10/hour. Your happiness knows no bounds. You think to yourself, with this whole lot of money that I save, I’ll market my product better. What could go wrong? Well, prepare to be surprised. When you get your final bill, you see the cost is much higher than what was committed. This is because of the hidden costs - expenses that were not included in the purchase price. 

Another hidden cost is the cost that you incur when your product is badly designed and has a terribly written code. This will directly affect your product quality and, in turn, user experience, reputation, and revenue. The amount of money you have to spend dealing with the hassles will account for much higher costs in the long run. 

Another major issue is the hidden cost of a security breach. Hiring firms who work at $10/hour will not be dedicated to your projects. And being brutally honest here, will not have quality developers either. So, security might be the least of their priority. So, saving hundreds of dollars by cutting corners can mean exposing your client’s data and that’s a risk you shouldn’t be willing to take.