Software product development involves creating products that work as software applications and carry out a particular function. The specifications for the product may be developed by the company (in case of general products) or by the client (for custom software). Software product development services involved developing a product for the market or for a client right from scratch.

The process of software product development services

The process of software product development starts from requirements and specifications and goes on until the product is tested is released in the market or delivered to the client.
The process involves the following:

• Planning: This is the first phase of the software development process. Here the product is planned. If it is a general product, a plan is made based on the market requirements. For this, a market analysis and a study are carried out. The study is done to understand what kind of software product is needed by the market. If for instance, a company wants to create a product for payroll processing, they first need to find out about existing products, what these products lack, what new features can be introduced and how the company could succeed in the market. Based on the study, the requirements of the product would be decided. If it is custom software, then the first step would be to understand the present operations of the client and the client needs.
• Analysis: This stage is where a detailed analysis of the requirements is done to understand how to convert these requirements into features and functionalities for the product. The specifications of the product are prepared and finalized. In a general product, the specifications are reviewed internally. For custom software, the specifications have to be signed off by the customers. It would involve multiple stages where client approval is taken.
• Design: This is the stage where the specifications are converted into features. During the design stage, the software design is finalized. The design is the basis on which the software programming would be done. The design would comprehensively cover all the features and functionalities that the product is expected to complete. The final plan is also updated with the timelines for completion.
• Development: At this stage, the design is finally converted into a program. An appropriate platform and programming language is selected. Programmers would create the code and develop programs. These programs would be tested and integrated into modules with each module covering some functionality.
• Testing: The modules need to be tested to find out if it is working well. All possible scenarios need to be considered while testing. Testing is done to find out if the requirements are all fulfilled. A beta version of the product would be given to the client (if it is a custom product) and given for testing. Once this testing is done, it is finalized.
• Implementation/Release: For a general product, after thorough testing, the product is released in the market. It would be sold as a ready product that could be purchased by anyone who wants to use the product. At this stage, marketing has to be done to promote the product to potential customers. If it is a custom product, it has to be implemented at the client’s premises. Implementation would involve the installation of the product, and training for users.
• Support: Once a product has been developed, support is essential. Users may have issues while working with the products. They may face errors or have confusions and queries. For all such cases, a support function is required to handle these issues. If there are bugs, the developers would fix the bugs and release an updated product so that the bugs could be fixed wherever the product is used. For custom software support would include bug fixing, adding new features, etc. Support is an ongoing function and would also include new versions of the product.

Software product development services lifecycle

When a software product is developed, the software company would follow a development lifecycle. The model for software development would be decided based on the type of product to be developed, the kind of features to be developed, the programming platform used, and the client needs.
The various software product development lifecycle models are:

• Waterfall model
• Spiral model
• Prototyping model
• SCRUM model
• Rapid application development
• Iterative model
• Rational Unified Process model

Software product development services to create apps

While software products used to be sold in CDs earlier and had to be installed on a computer system, today everything is online. Thanks to the internet revolution, today software apps are in vogue. These apps are available online. A software development company can create an app which can be installed on their website. With the proliferation of mobiles, mobile apps have become popular. A mobile app is an application that performs a certain function. A bank can use an app where its customers can log in and apply for a cheque book or order a demand draft. A retail outlet can have an app, which its customers can use to shop online for products and even pay online. The store can then deliver products to the customer. These apps can be developed by software development firms.

Developing an app is just like developing a software product. The difference is apps are available online. The data would be stored online, so users can access the app from anywhere and at any time. The development company would create the app as a general product which would be available on the Google Play store where anyone can download and use. It can also be created as an app that is loaded on the client’s website. The app would be run from the website. In either case, users would be given access to the app and they can log in and start using the functionalities of the app.

Key issues to be considered while developing an app include:

• Creating an app with the best user interface, which should be easy and simple to use.
• It should be user-friendly and should present the user with a great experience.
• The app should be fast to load and should not make the user wait for long times.
• The app should have security features to ensure access to authorized users and to ensure privacy and data security.
• The app must ensure that the features the user expects are available.

Working with a software product development services company

If a company has decided that it needs an app on its website or for the mobile platform, then it needs to work with a reputed company, that is experienced and well-versed in the development process. While looking for a partner to develop the app, the following needs to be kept in mind:

• The company should have sufficient experience in software development and should have a team of software engineers who are skilled and able to come out with innovative solutions.
• The company should have developed apps for different functionalities.
• The company should be able to provide testimonials from satisfied clients on their work.
• A demonstration of the product or a presentation on their services would be the starting point of the association with the company.
• Transparent and value for money costing, quality services, and customer focus are the key areas.

Aptlogica is one such company that is well experienced in software product development. Any organization that wants to use an app on its website or provide an app to its customers for their mobile phones, can use this development firm’s services.