Unlocking the Potential: The Power of Good Software Development

Software is eating the world and the world is delicious. From mobile applications to web platforms and beyond, software powers our modern existence. However, not all software is created equal. Good software development is the key to unlocking the true potential of technology. In this blog post, we will explore the essential elements of good software development and how they contribute to successful outcomes.

People 

Good people are the bedrock you build your software development capability on. If you get the wrong people onboard, nothing else matters. A bit cliché maybe, but true. The quality of your team will determine the quality of your software. 

You don’t need superstars but you’ll need people that are motivated and capable of doing what is needed. Motivation usually comes from caring about the product or mission and/or being inspired to utilize and learn the technology stack. Capability comes from having the a) processing power and b) relevant experience. It makes sense to balance things like experience and enthusiasm in the team - building a strike force of superstars doesn't really make sense for most projects. It might sound like a good idea at first, but superstars tend to be high maintenance and their attention span varies. 

Clarity 

Being clear about what you’re building and why is not only important but also surprisingly rare. Focus on doing the RIGHT THING before trying to do things right. Such a simple thing, yet it is hard and requires a successful interplay of users, designers and developers. Many times the right thing in the beginning of a software project is not the right thing at the end of that same project. You constantly learn and acquire information during the development and this will direct your subsequent efforts. Not being able to modify the initial requirements accordingly is as bad as forgetting them in the first place. 

An important point - bureaucracy creates confusion. It is always a bad sign if you’re not directly talking with the users. We have countless examples of development efforts that are mainly led using assumptions made by people not actually using or needing the end product.  They often fail.

Planning

Good software development involves meticulous planning and architectural design. Plans change but the process of planning is important in guiding us through various levels of conceptual abstraction and project timeliness. Identifying challenges beforehand and planning for scalability, maintainability and extensibility gives the ability to adapt and evolve the software. 

Practices 

We’ve come to believe that the methodology you choose matters less than how you use it. It is clear that good software development embraces principles such as iterative development, continuous feedback, and frequent collaboration. Agile methodologies are a good place to start but they’re not the silver bullet that solves everything. Scrum can be misused just as well as Waterfall can make your project too rigid to respond to new information before it is too late.  

Coding

The essence of the software development process is coding. Writing clean, well-structured code that follows established standards and best practices is the key to reliability, development speed and maintainability. It is critical to constantly balance the quality of the code, the technical excellence, with the business objectives and context. Sometimes, prototypes require moving fast which means the code is rubbish. On the other hand, when building production software, maintaining quality at all times is a key perspective on the development process that will greatly influence the total-cost-of-ownership for that software. Great software crafters will take care that their code is secure, tested, properly documented and actually does what is intended.    

Continuity 

Quality code helps building continuity but thinking beyond quality soon becomes important as we’re talking about business critical software that must work at all times. People change roles and companies. The person technically leading the initial development effort is probably not the same person that will see the end of the lifecycle for the developed software. We go back to the people and planning perspectives and think from the start who are the people that will continue maintaining the software when it is “finished”. We also plan the distribution of the work and roles in the team in a way that ensures continuity in situations where something unexpected happens. 

From Good to Great

Today, crafting good software is a team effort. Things around and beyond technical excellence are as important as the coding itself. Greatness in software development comes from nailing the mundane and the obvious, the simple things that are hard to actually consistently implement.