Anticipating the additional costs of Software Projects

You’ve come up with an idea. An idea that’s going to tackle a problem that your business is facing; or perhaps kick-start your next venture. Like many other businesses this will take the form of an app or a website.

More and more businesses are relying on software solutions to succeed. Your next step is to meet with a development team, ready to turn your idea into a reality, but first you need to understand the associated costs and how to be as efficient as possible with your budget.

Why is software so expensive?

Software development is in high demand, and only growing in popularity. Building good products requires a whole team of individuals with diverse skills. The efforts of the designers, analysts and testers sometimes go unseen, but it takes a whole group of trained professionals to develop an idea into a tangible product.

This is where things may start to get scary – you’re not just paying the bill and getting a perfect product in the end. Unfortunately, there are several costs throughout the process that may appear hidden at first. By being aware of them from the start you will be better prepared, and this will allow you to plan effectively and even avoid these hidden costs where possible.

The cost of preparation

Once an agreement has been made to start your project, the first cost is preparing a backlog. This is where the Product Owner steps in – they take your idea and transform it into a list of tasks (called stories) that break down the project into smaller, more manageable pieces than can then be individually worked on by the architects, designers, and developers.

These tasks require detail. A lack of detail can result in misinterpretation and misaligned expectations. Your Product Owner may raise questions that you hadn’t considered – what if the user is using a different browser or an older cell phone? What if a user’s Internet connection fails? These questions need to be discussed and solved in the initial stages of your project to ensure that you have a strong foundation from the start. This preparation takes time and may seem costly in the beginning. However, over the duration of your project it will become more and more apparent just how crucial this stage is. This is where you can save on future costs by making sure that the software for your project will function in the way you intend – right from the start.

The cost of variation

Ideas will evolve the more you develop them, and priorities may shift over time. Your initial idea might grow the more your work with it, and as you see it developing into a real product, you will almost inevitably want to make adjustments. Sometimes your instinct may be to change the scope of the project as soon as new ideas come to the surface. Doing so is often possible, but it takes significant time and effort to re-assess the backlog, re-prioritise tasks, and make sure that nothing is unexpectedly broken by the changes. These variation requests can quickly rack up costs that were not in your original budget.  Keeping these changes to a minimum during your already planned out project is vital for keeping costs lower. You can always re-evaluate once your project has been completed and opt for new phases.

The cost of delay

Throughout your project the development team may be reliant on you for additional decision such signoffs on designs or complete work. This could potentially lead to inefficiencies in the development process that can affect your project deadlines. It’s important that these matters are dealt with swiftly to avoid any unnecessary delays that could result in additional costs for extra time.

The cost of maintenance

You’ve reached the end of your project and it’s fantastic – just what you ordered! The final bill has been paid and you’re relishing taking your vision to market. Your project has finally become a product that you can be proud of. Unfortunately, this is when the costs of software maintenance rear their ugly heads.

Hosting is one of these costs. You want your project to carry on performing seamlessly and fast. You want your users to have a good experience interacting with it, and to not spend too long looking at loading screens. You’ll need good hosting, which can often be surprisingly expensive. Hosting costs will typically grow with the number of users you have using your software, and therefore may increase significantly over time. Research the best options for you and plan for these costs in your preparation phase.

Domain and certificate costs are annual fees that are easy to forget about, but they are necessary to keep your project going. These costs aren’t typically very high, but they will need to be maintained for the rest of your project’s life.

You may find that your project requires additional maintenance as time goes on. This may entail going back to the development team and paying additional costs for re-development. Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and this means that good software usually needs to be kept up to date to avoid falling behind. This isn’t only true of the features of your product itself, but also the devices and programs your users might use to interact with it. Cell phones and browsers release updates all the time, and sometimes these updates can interfere with the functionality of your project in unexpected ways – nobody wants their app to break when the new iPhone comes out, or when Chrome is updated. Sometimes security issues are discovered in the software that was used to build your product, and often this means that updates need to be applied to protect your users and their information.

Paying for support hours may also become important. As your user base grows it’s possible that missing pieces of functionality will become apparent, and there are costs associated with filling the gaps, especially if they’re urgent.  

Fortunately, software is a purchase, and with that purchase you will receive a warranty. Do not discard that warranty – test the software as soon as you have access to it to ensure that there are no surprises and that any problems you encounter can be fixed within the warranty period. Waiting until it’s too late will result in additional scheduling, maintenance, and charges.

In summary, the most important things to remember when you embark on your development journey is to plan meticulously, remain disciplined when it comes to changes and to leave room in your budget for maintenance costs. Well-made software development projects are not static, but proper preparedness and understanding can help you reduce the cost of keeping up with the times.