Creating any piece of software from an application to an entire system is no easy task. This is especially true in the modern day, as customers and users expect a very high quality and can be unforgiving at times. If you don’t put your heart, soul and a whole lot of effort into your software, it could easily fail. As a result, it is very important to not only have a great plan ahead of time before you learn how to design software, but also make several other considerations throughout the design process. With that in mind, this article will look at a few different things to consider and do during the software design process. These considerations could help you improve your software and make it the best it can possibly be.
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It is a Continuous Process
Your job isn’t done once your software is designed and created. Software of all different kind will need fixes, patches, upgrades and additions over time. User expectations out of your software might change over time, and you will need to be able to respond to those concerns quickly and effectively.
Using SCM tools (software configuration management tools) can be incredibly helpful for organizing the development and implementation of new versions of software. If you think you won’t need to change or update your software often, you are sadly mistaken, as what was the standard even only a few years ago might not even be used anymore today.
How To Design Software: Know Your Target
The target of your audience (whether they are novices or experts) will have a large impact on how you design your software, so you need to consider who you are marketing to. If you are marketing your software to novices or relatively new users who are not very tech-savvy you need to ensure it is simple to use and navigate.
On the other hand, if you are dealing with experts who will be using your software, they have a different set of preferences and requirements out of a good piece of software. For example, they will often prefer it to be speedy and clear, and don’t really need it to be visually impressive if it works well. They also want it to be optimized and have quicket input options available when navigating.
How To Design Software: Don’t Be Scared to Use Inspiration From Others
Of course, plagiarism is a terrible thing and should never be done, but there is nothing wrong with using other people’s ideas and either expanding on them or changing them. Every cell phone, every computer, every game and every piece of software had to, at one point, get some inspiration from one that came before it.
This means you should be aware of other software out there similar to yours, and think what you can improve or do better. This will not only make your software familiar to what users have already been dabbling with, but can also help you learn from the mistakes that other pieces of software might have made.
How To Design Software: Explore Various Ideas Early
During the initial design phase for your software, it is a good idea to have as many different ideas on the table as possible. All of this thinking allows you to look at different features, factors and if you have a team working on the software, allows many people to provide input, which is never a bad thing.
However, instead of using the questionable tactic of brainstorming, you should have each individual come up with ideas or thoughts about the software on their own and then compare them as a group and see which ones hold any merit. This can help not only your initial software be great, but also help with future changes and innovation that you might utilize.