It all starts with questions. Why is it so crucial for your digital product’s success? The short answer would be quite simple: you don’t want any misunderstandings about your product. However, it doesn’t just come down to this. Here we are going to explain in depth the importance of brief in the software development process and provide some valuable tips.
Stages of the software development project
A properly planned process will help your project come to life. That’s why it’s essential to know about the project and its commercial objectives from the start. By doing this you will better understand the subsequent stages of creating your product and t will give you control over possible changes. The person who ties everything together and reports on the progress is the Project Manager. This minimizes the danger of developing a product that your consumers don’t want to use or missing the established objectives.
The creation of a project overview should be preceded by a thorough examination of the problem from multiple perspectives. Before we begin the project at Applover, we go through the following steps:
- Brief – a form of questions and answers that describes the overall goals and functionality of the product and provides additional development work. It also helps developers in the evaluation and planning of tasks.
- Initial valuation – estimated time and costs of the project generally based on the brief.
- First workshop – a gathering of the information and resources needed to develop the initial technical specification and mockups, including the product’s analyses.
- Second workshop – a clarification of any questions or concerns to produce final specifications and wireframes. It gives full insight into the development process.
- Kickoff – a start of preparing the software development team and finally, working on the project.
If you want to learn more about the whole process in-depth, read our Process Book.
Understanding your needs with a development brief
The brief outlines the product’s overall goals, functionality, and the next steps in its development. It allows you to explain the product’s idea. And with a document that describes your product’s objective, it also lets you communicate your vision, all of the fundamental features, and the overall picture of your idea with the software development team.
Building the perfect development team
This is a starting point for both the client and software development company. A critical tool that allows clear and accurate communication at the start of the design process and that aids in understanding the product you envisioned. With a good brief for software, it’s possible to determine how many people should be involved. It will help save time on explanations during the design phase as well as the development phase, reduce the probability of misunderstandings, and shorten the time between contact and decision-making.
What’s even more important, with an understanding of technical requirements, the project can be supplied with the right developers to create defined software solutions. Let’s say you want a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices designed for a target audience of the MedTech industry. If you want to develop a software product quickly with a restricted budget, the brief helps to know what to focus on. This mobile app development could be settled with Flutter technology with devs that already worked on similar existing software. They already know how to effectively sort out issues with data security in this industry and integration with other applications. It also depends on the company’s existing projects and portfolio but the provided information of the brief gives room for much advice.
Fulfilling your software vision
Nothing is more important to the customer than ensuring that an objective is well understood. From the viewpoint of a team, the questions might additionally aid in motivation since they will understand why they are doing something. In all these situations, the app development project brief serves as a bridge between the two to guarantee that they understand each other’s demands.
The product brief should be straightforward, clear, and easy to grasp. It should only contain the items that are required. When you and the developers reach an agreement, the details of the application development will be explored further.
Preparing a software development brief
In case you are not sure what to offer in each area, the software developer sends you a document with numerous questions and short hints or examples. It’s good to distinguish between the type of project whether it’s a mobile application, web development project, or any other piece of software. If your project scope is ambitious but your budget is restricted, it may be beneficial to modify it and remain realistic. Remember that it should be completed honestly and with project characteristics in mind.
The good brief contains questions about your main company as well as all of the features and goals that must be met. The Applover’s brief is focusing on the following topics:
- Basic information
- Business goals
- Technical details
- Guidelines/ Legal issues
- Competition
- Target Customers
- Product
- Visuals.
The effort is worth the hard work of filling out the project brief, as it will provide successful communication and the completion of the project. Based on the brief for a software development project, the initial assessment can be moved.
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During software design, a brief reduces the time required to finish a project, improves the understanding of brand and product, and enhances collaboration and communication amongst teams. It’s the key to following the timeline presented in the contract and meeting deadlines. From the very first thought of app development, up to the very latest release and maintenance, significant questions will be raised at every stage. Get the answers and thrive by asking for the correct responses. The right company will make or break it. To avoid making bad decisions, explore the process – after the brief stage, there come product design workshops.
