How to Plan a Software Development Project?
Behind any successful software development project lies a good plan. With a well-defined plan, development teams can roll out solutions faster, eliminate common roadblocks, stick to the budget, and deliver great outcomes. The trick? You need this plan to be really good.
In this detailed guide, we’ll shed light on the key stages of software project development and how they are typically planned by development teams to streamline the process. These insights will help understand the process from within and come in handy when planning your own project.
Remember, software development is a complex process. One wrong step and you may lose a lot of money. However, with good planning, even the most complicated solutions can be implemented with relative ease. Think about it like building a house. Like you wouldn’t start construction work without drawing a plan first, you shouldn’t develop a software product without taking the time to plan it.
Key Takeaways
- A software development plan is a timeline of the project that includes all steps required for successful completion. The more thorough the planning is, the smoother your development process will be.
- The software development process includes several stages: analysis, development, design, testing, deployment, final product release, and post-launch maintenance. Each of these stages play an important role in the project’s success.
- While thorough planning is crucial for any project, there are a number of scenarios where it proves particularly important. These include startups with limited budgets, companies outsourcing development, and products with external deadlines.
- Creating a detailed project management plan helps save development time, avoids scope creep, provides clear documentation, and ensures that resources are allocated in line with the project needs.
- Planning is the most critical part of the project. It lays the groundwork for informed decisions and effective project management strategies. All other stages depend on the initial planning phase.
- Early documentation of the project requirements, key roles and responsibilities, and collaboration models is essential. This includes defining issues the software will solve, security measures, regulatory requirements, and performance criteria.
- The project doesn’t end with the software release. Ongoing maintenance, updates, and improvements are necessary to keep the product running smoothly and meet evolving customer needs. Planning for maintenance from the outset is critical.
- Tools like Jira, Trello, Asana, Confluence, and similar help simplify planning and allow team members to stay on the same page throughout the entire software development process.
What Is a Plan for a Software Development Project?
A software development plan is a plan of action put in writing that PMs and development teams stick to when creating software. This plan describes all resources and activities that are required to develop software and the timeline during which the project can be completed.
The development process consists of multiple stages, including:
- Planning
- Analysis
- Development
- Design
- Testing
- Deployment
- Launch
- Post-launch maintenance
Now, which stage do you think plays the most important role in the success of the project? If you answered planning, you nailed it. How the project will go and how good the quality of the end product will be is equivalent to the amount of effort and time put into preparation.
A thorough and methodical plan created in the early stages of development allows teams to allocate resources efficiently and tackle any issues with confidence and ease. As you can imagine, a complete opposite happens when you don’t have a plan. Any unexpected situation leads to delays and resource drainage, resulting in low quality of the product.
Why You Need a Plan
While everyone goes agile, and it’s become more common for companies to experiment and iterate, it is easy to get an impression that having a plan is more of a constraint than something beneficial. It may be true in some cases, but more often than not, detailed software development project planning is the only way to succeed.
Here are just a few of the examples where having a project plan is a must:
- Startups – startups often have limited budgets. If they don’t stick to a specific plan of action, they may very soon end up being unable to move from one phase of delivery to the next because they’d run out of the budget.
- Software development vendors – in case development is outsourced to a third-party company, the company vendor should be able to provide the client with accurate deadlines. This is particularly important if they work on a time and material business model.
- Products that have external deadlines – some products may have external deadlines. For example, in order to stay compliant, banks often need to develop and/or upgrade their products. If they don’t meet the deadlines, they will face significant fines.
As you can guess, these aren’t the only situations that demand having a plan with strict deadlines and estimates. But even in more casual settings, where budget and time aren’t a concern, having a plan proves invaluable. First, it allows everyone involved in the project to keep track of the progress. And second, if any issues occur, they can be addressed quickly, preventing them from escalating into much bigger problems.
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Advantages of software development planning
Did you know that 45% of IT projects overrun their budgets, while 56% don’t deliver as much value as anticipated? If you don’t want your project to join these statistics, creating a detailed project plan is essential. Let’s look at the advantages of creating a thorough software development plan.
Saving development time
A well-defined plan serves as a roadmap. With clearly defined tasks, milestones, and tech stack for product development, project teams can avoid wasting time and focus on activities that bring the most value. Moreover, they can envision potential issues and gear up to minimize their impact on the project.
Avoiding scope creep
Scope creep is what happens when project requirements change at the request of stakeholders after the development team has begun working on the project. This often results in missed deadlines and budget overruns. However, when you have a plan with clear project requirements and the scope of the project, you can avoid your team getting sidetracked.
Providing clear documentation
A project management plan is a valuable reference document that teams use throughout the entire project lifecycle. In addition to providing clear documentation of the project scope, goals, requirements, timelines, and deliverables, it comes in handy during onboarding new staff and conducting audits.
Improved resource allocation
A comprehensive plan enables project managers to accurately estimate the amount of effort required to complete the project and optimize resource allocation more effectively. This way, if any tools are missing or more workforce is needed, these gaps can be addressed early on, rather than scrambling to meet the deadline when the risk of delay is too high.
Key Elements of a Software Development Plan
Once we’ve answered the question of why having a robust plan is so important, it’s time to answer one more – no less important – question: what makes a good plan. In general, an effective project plan stands on three pillars: goals and objectives, timeframe and milestones, and smart resource allocation. It should also have clear answers to the following questions:
- What functions will be included in the product?
- What steps will need to be taken to implement the required functions in the software?
- In what order should the app functionality be developed?
- Who will be involved in the development process?
- What responsibilities will each of the team members have?
- What metrics and milestones will be used to track progress and measure the efficiency and quality of the end result?
- What approach and tech stack will be used to deliver the project?
- Why deliver this product in the first place?
To get answers to these questions, you should set up a friendly meeting with as many stakeholders as possible and brainstorm together. By involving everyone in the planning process, you’ll be able to cover more aspects of the project development and gain valuable insights from different perspectives.
Now, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty and go over each of the key elements of a successful project plan.
Goals and objectives
The first and the most important step of creating a solid plan is to establish clear goals and objectives of what you want to achieve. This will set up the scene for the whole project, giving everyone a clear direction for the next movements. Be particularly specific when describing objectives. Unlike goals, which can be very broad, objectives refer to specific activities that need to be taken to accomplish these goals.
Timelines and milestones
Including milestones and timeline of the project into the plan is key to keeping the project on track. With clear milestones laid out in the plan, everyone can follow the progress of the project, ensuring that each of its stages is completed in line with the set goals and delivered on time.
Besides, having a clear project timeline helps boost productivity of the team. When a team has a clear understanding of how their efforts contribute to the general goal, it fosters a sense of purpose and shared responsibility. This collective vision not only boosts motivation but also promotes proactive problem solving and collaboration, driving the team towards successful completion of the project.
In software development, it’s become common to use sprints or interactive cycles as milestones for tracking intermediate results. At the end of each sprint, teams discuss what they have done and plan the next steps. A project leader or manager then assigns new tasks.
This iterative approach helps quickly make adjustments when necessary and ensure that the team is moving in the right direction.
Resource allocation
Just like it’s important to estimate a project timeline, it is also important to be super accurate when organizing resources for a project. Projects can be scaled up at any point, and it’s essential that project managers have the necessary resources (both budget and team members) to complete the tasks.
With that in mind, it’s important to determine the key roles and skills required for the project. The team should have a clear understanding of what they are expected to do and have the metrics to check their performance. Make sure to monitor the use of resources throughout the project. This will help you make prompt adjustments and avoid unnecessary expenses and delays down the line.
Sure, even the most precise estimation can’t be completely flawless, which is why having a backup plan is always a smart move. Describe what you’re going to do in the case of unexpected changes in project scope. For example, you might want to turn to staff augmentation to reinforce your internal team if you run out of human resources or outsource some of the processes to bring new skills or expertise to the team. Planning these things ahead will help you better prepare to handle unforeseen challenges without significant disruptions.
Stages of Software Development Project
You can’t plan a software development project without understanding its life cycle. It is the foundation on which your entire project will be built. Typically, the software development life cycle (SDLC) is divided into several distinct stages and is the same for any software product, regardless of its type. Here are the steps involved in the software development process:
Project analysis
The initial development phase is project analysis. This is one of the most important steps of the SDLC that helps figure out if there’s a demand for the product and whether the whole idea of creating it is worth the candle. In-depth project analysis helps with:
- Understanding the concept and purpose of the software you’ll be working on;
- Understanding the specific needs of the project;
- Understanding the project specifications.
This stage usually goes hand in hand with software development planning. It lays the groundwork for making informed decisions and sets the stage for the successful execution of the entire project.
Documenting requirements
When planning your software development, it’s necessary to start documenting technician requirements as early as possible. Here’s what should be decided at this stage:
- Team composition and their responsibilities;
- Detailed project requirements;
- Markers that will help you track the project progress at each stage.
You should also decide whether you’re going to have all of your development team in-house or outsource development to a third-party party. In the case of the latter, it’ll be necessary to choose an appropriate collaboration model. For example, for small projects with clear requirements, a fixed cost business model is a top choice. If your requirements aren’t clear and/or you believe they might change during the project, it’d be better to consider a time and material (TM) model, enabling you to pay exactly for the amount of resources being invested in the project by the development team.
Aside from choosing the model for collaboration, you should also document the following:
- What issues your software will solve.
- What data is required.
- What security measures will be implemented.
- What regulatory requirements are relevant to your software;
- What performance criteria must be met (response time, throughput, load capacity, etc.)
- What testing strategy will be used (including all tools and methods required).
- What metrics will be used to signal the successful completion of the project.
Software planning
Thorough planning is crucial for the success of any software project. A comprehensive plan serves as a roadmap, guiding all stakeholders from the initial stages through to deployment. With a detailed plan at hand, teams can better understand the project and work in sync towards common goals.
During the planning phase, the project can be broken down into smaller subtasks or steps. This approach proves particularly helpful for long-term projects. By breaking down a complicated process into smaller steps, with clear assignments for each member of the team, it’s easier to make a more accurate estimation of time and meet budget requirements.
Ideally, you want to have all of your specialists involved in this stage. Through close collaboration with designers, developers, testers, and business analysts, you can devise a thorough plan covering all aspects of the software development process. However, if any of the team members are hired from the outside, they may be involved later in the process.
For convenience, teams can take advantage of specialized project management software designed to visualize software development plans. A case in point is a Gantt chart. With the help of this tool, project managers can create a visual timeline of the project, displaying each task, its duration, and dependencies, making it easier to track progress and adjust resources as needed.
Designing and creating a prototype
After creating a plan, it’s time to develop a prototype of the software. Software prototypes are created by software architects and engineers and include the architecture of the product and its key functionality. Other than that, a prototype may include:
- The structure of the software.
- Certain parts of hardware and software (optional).
- Tools required to continue the development.
- Any other processes that are necessary for the subsequent stages of development.
Basically, a prototype is nothing more than just a simplistic wireframe, which outlines the main functions of the software. However, the beauty of it is that it allows project managers to quickly test the proposed functionality with real users and refine the product based on the feedback.
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Choose communication means
You might have a great plan, but if the team doesn’t have an opportunity to actively participate in the process and communicate, you won’t go too far. Bearing this in mind, it’s important to choose communication channels that facilitate effective interaction among team members and stakeholders.
For example, you can arrange video meetings over Zoom every week or so to keep your team up to date on the progress of the project. Aside from this, it can be helpful to use tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams, enabling real-time discussions and file sharing. Whatever tools you choose, make sure your team is comfortable using them and that your meetings are regular. This will help prevent any delays and ensure that you are all on the same page throughout the development cycle.
Keeping track of the progress
Having a plan alone is not enough for the success of your project. To achieve your goals, it’s crucial to stay in control of the project progress by keeping track of performance metrics. Here are some strategies you may find helpful:
- Regular check-ins: schedule regular meetings with your team. These can be daily or weekly meetings, depending on the project’s needs. During these meetings, team members can provide updates on their tasks, discuss any roadblocks, and plan the next steps.
- Progress reports: create and review progress reports on a regular basis. These reports should include completed tasks, upcoming milestones, any issues encountered, and the overall status of the project.
- Performance metrics: define key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure the project’s success. These can be the number of tasks completed, adherence to deadlines, and the quality of deliverables.
- Milestone reviews: run milestone reviews at the end of each project phase. During these reviews, assess what has been accomplished, what remains to be done, and whether any changes are needed to be included in the plan.
- Risk management: don’t forget to update your risk management plan. Make sure to develop strategies to mitigate new risks that may arise during the project.
The best way to track progress metrics is with dedicated software, which should be selected early in the project’s development. Most of these tracking tools can help ensure not only a smooth workflow, but also code quality and product readiness for the release to market.
Software development and writing the code
Once all the planning is complete, you can finally move to the most important stage of the process, which is development itself. Armed with the information gathered during the initial stages, as well as the detailed requirements and prototypes, developers can begin writing the code. No matter the size of the project, planning software development carefully from the outset helps mitigate potential risks and ensures the product’s stability and reliability.
Software Testing
One of the other crucial steps of software planning is testing. Before a product is released into public, it should be tested by QA to ensure:
- It meets the requirements.
- It is free of bugs.
- It meets the set deadlines.
- It delivers high-quality code.
- It complies with the allocated budget.
For small projects running on Waterfall, testing is carried out after the product is built, while if your team has chosen an Agile approach, it should be carried out in parallel with the software development process. The earlier a product is tested, the less likely you are to encounter major fixes later in development.
When planning software development, you should build in enough time for testing by identifying all types of testing required for your project. This might include unit testing, integration testing, regression testing, system testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT). Most often, companies that do not have their own in-house QA team delegate this step to a third party vendor that offers extensive testing coverage and has experience in the field.
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Releasing the software
Once all conditions are verified, the software can be finally released into production. However, this doesn’t necessarily have to be done straight away. Sometimes, the product may require additional testing and refinement before having the final release version ready for deployment.
These are the nine essential steps that any efficient software development plan should be based upon. None of them can be skipped or rushed, as each plays an important role in ensuring the successful outcome of the project.
However, the work on the project doesn’t end here. Once the product is finally launched, it moves to the tenth (last) phase of software development – post-launch maintenance. Any project, regardless of its size, requires some kind of maintenance at some point or another. These can be:
- Basic updates to keep your product running smoothly;
- Implementing new advanced features to meet the evolving customer needs;
- Scaling your project once it gets traction;
- Improving the initial stages of the project.
Bearing this in mind, you should be planning for maintenance of the project from the get-go and treat it as a critical part of the software development life cycle.
The planning process isn’t a one-off task that can be done quickly. It requires an in-depth understanding of the project, as well as a full vision of the future goals to effectively plan ahead. That’s why it’s important to engage as many key stakeholders and team members as possible in the early stages of development and document everything from project requirements and resource allocation to timelines and risk management strategies.
This document will then be used by software development project teams as a reference guide, helping them track the progress and ensure they move towards the same goals.
Software Development Planning Tools
As we’ve covered the key steps to creating an effective software development plan, it’s time to take a look at project management tools IT specialists can take advantage of to streamline the process.
- Jira – this is one of the most popular planning tools for agile software development and bug tracking. It offers custom workflows and boards and easy-to-read reports and integrates seamlessly with many other tools, making it a great choice for different teams.
- Trello – this tool is well known as a highly visual project management platform. The tool features boards, lists, and cards, and has an intuitive design, making managing and tracking progress easy for everyone.
- Asana – another popular project management tool, Asana is a favorite choice of many teams seeking to streamline project management work. With features like task assignments, due dates, and project timelines, it allows everyone to keep track of what needs to be done and when. Plus, it offers robust reporting and integration capabilities.
- Microsoft Project – this is a comprehensive project management tool that provides advanced features for planning, scheduling, and tracking projects. It’s suitable for larger, more complex projects, offering detailed Gantt charts, resource management, and budget tracking. For management teams using Microsoft products, this is the best choice.
- Basecamp – this is a user-friendly project management and team collaboration tool. It combines task management, file sharing, and team communication in one platform, making it ideal for teams looking for a comprehensive solution.
- GitHub – primarily known as a version control system, GitHub is also a great project management tool. With GitHub Projects, teams can organize work, track progress, and collaborate on code, all within the same platform. Besides, it can be integrated with other development tools, making it a good fit for software projects.
- Slack – while not a traditional project management tool, Slack is often used by teams for communication and collaboration. With channels, direct messaging, and integration with other planning tools, it helps all project team members stay on the same page.
- Confluence – often used together with Jira, Confluence is one of the best tools for creating, sharing, and organizing project documentation. Whether you have an in-house software development team or your specialists are based remotely, the tool offers easy access to everyone looking for project-related information.
These are the most popular tools used for effective software project planning, though not the only ones. You may want to try a few or use a combination of tools to find the best fit for your team and project goals. Either way, using these tools will help you boost your team’s productivity and minimize potential roadblocks caused by poor planning.
Final Thoughts
As much as the project’s success relies on the quality of code and testing, it equally depends on thorough planning and effective management. Without knowing how to plan software delivery, even the best code can fall short of meeting user needs and business goals.
That’s why having a detailed plan is a must. A solid plan helps align all team members with the project goals, ensures that resources are allocated appropriately, and keeps the project on track through clear timelines and milestones. More importantly, planning helps minimize risks and prevent major rework in the later stage of software development, saving thousands of dollars in the project budget.
With that in mind, make sure to invest enough time in developing a comprehensive plan that describes the specifics of the project. Use planning tools to simplify progress tracking and communication between team members. Remember, the more detailed your planning is, the higher the chance that your development will be successful.
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