Common problems with bespoke software and how to overcome them

Bespoke software can be a great solution to your company’s IT and software problems.

Whatever problem you’ve got, bespoke software can help you overcome it.

That’s because the software is specific to you.

From day one, it is customised to your business’ specific needs.

But.

Like anything that is tailored to a specific requirement, the slightest miscalculation, or the slightest miscommunication can lead to big problems.

These are problems that lumber you with software than is worse than you started with, and is expensive to fix.

So, if you’re planning on bespoke software development for your company, make sure you avoid these common pitfalls and take our advice to make sure you overcome problems you might face along the way.

Not knowing why you want custom software

This is always something we try and figure out before going ahead with custom software development.

Why do you want it.

It’s a big investment to have custom software built for you.

So you need to be clear what problem you want it to solve.

And be specific.

If you aren’t completely clear on the scope of the software you need you can easily end up asking for a load of functionality you don’t need, that you’re still paying for.

Sit down with your custom software developer understand what the plan is.

Miscommunications

Another big problem.

You tell your custom software developer what you want.

They go away and build the software.

And when it comes back, it’s not what you’re looking for.

Or it’s not what you expected.

Having a clear brief for your custom software developer is a must.

It’s the only way to avoid getting back software that doesn’t meet your requirements.

When planning your custom software, make sure you give your software developer a thorough brief of what the software is for, what functionalist you need, how it will integrate into your business.

Everything.

If your custom software developer is experienced they’ll know what to ask to get a proper brief.

They’ll also keep you up to date during the development and should involve you in the testing phase of your software development.

Lack of vision

How do you see custom software fitting into your business?

Have you thought about where it fits into your software stack?

Will you have it integrated into other systems?

Or will you have to update other software as well?

How will your staff use the software. Have you got their buy in for this project?

This lack of vision over what your custom software will do is usually what leads to disappointment.

Because you weren’t sure exactly what you wanted, you’re not sure how to feel about what you’ve got.

Make sure you have a complete, understood, agreed on vision for your custom software before you sign up.

Delays

There are all kinds of reasons that custom software development can be delayed.

Not all of them foreseeable. Not all of them avoidable.

But common, avoidable delays, usually occur when your developer doesn’t have a full brief, you’re not pushing them for updates and providing information when they need it.

Or, the biggest one, when the scope of the software development is changed part way through.

It is important that you decide on key functions and a roadmap for completion before you start your project.

By creating a development roadmap, and setting deadlines, you can ensure you keep your plan on track.

Or you can identify potential bottlenecks that might delay the project and plan around them as best you can.

You don’t plan for scale

It’s easy to get short sighted when it comes to custom software development.

You need the software to fill a particular problem now, and that’s it.

But what about later, when your business grows.

Are you going to be able to scale the software with your company?

Always go into any software development with one eye on scalability.

Cost

With any development it is easy for costs to bloat as you get into the main parts of the project.

You realise your initial brief missed something you need.

Now it needs to be added.

Functionality you hadn’t anticipated is now needed.

Or the software needs to be designed differently to work within your company.

Keep a close eye on your budget.

As we’ve said, taking the time in the planning phase of custom software development can help keep unforeseen price increases down.