(3) Ways to Save Money on Your Software Build

Do you like saving money? Of course you do. Do you have an idea that involves building software or technology? I bet you have thought of at least one. But, building tech is expensive, so, the thought of the investment leaves some innovative ideas left to die on the vine.

If you or your business is considering taking the plunge and finding a contracted partner to build your tech here are three ways you can save money:

Write things down.

This may seem obvious but the reality is that roughly half of the entrepreneurs and businesses we work with don't have anything written down when they first engage with us. When it comes to building software and tech, much like building a house, we need blueprints to go off of to help us gauge complexity and begin thinking about architectural considerations so we can respond to the million dollar question, "how much is it going to cost?". While you don't have to have a complete business requirements document before reaching out, I suggest having at least a lightweight document telling what the overall goal is for the platform, define the expected users, the features desired, and any inspirational websites or apps that can help demonstrate your gold standard along with a few sketches if possible highlighting what your vision is. When the amount of documentation is increased we can begin to decrease our estimates to negate any of the uncertainties we may have accounted for. In a subsequent post we'll be talking about how to elicit some solid requirements to help in your documentation effort if you're interested in learning more.

Prioritize and research features.

While it is fun to list any and all features you can come up with to make your software product the biggest and best on the market you should note not all features add the same amount of value. Prioritize which features represent your core product as well as satisfy your customers' demands and choose to build those first as they should generate the most value and return on your investment. Once you have decided on the prioritization and provided a roadmap, most technology partners will then help you understand which features needs to be custom built and which may be available technology that can be purchased at a cost savings (compared to custom development) and implemented into your product. Take time to do some research to understand if anything appropriate may exist and provide links of possible integrations to your vendor for further review and consideration.

Seek opportunities to pitch in.

While developing your technology you may be able to play an important role by providing assistance in doing some of the quality assurance yourself. Your vendor/partner should be able to set up a QA site or deploy iterations of your app for you to review at certain intervals throughout the process. Manual testing and clear documentation of testing outcomes can be time consuming which drives costs up. If you're willing to get involved and have been briefed on QA best practices it may help reduce your overall bill. It is important to note that clearly reporting any issues you find by including environmental factors, details, screenshots and reproduction steps goes a long way in the developers ability to correct those items.

Having an idea for something in your head is good, scribbling it on the back of a napkin is better, and writing down a project concept brief is best when it comes to engaging with a tech partner. Getting familiar with your marketplace and understanding what your true MVP is and how you can iteratively build upon initial success is key. And, pitching in for some key activities that do not require coding skills can be valuable. If you're trying to do more with less keep these initiatives in mind and ask your vendor what you can provide that will help your budget go farther.