Learning Claris FileMaker

As a business leader, you may be considering developing a web application for your team, your company or customer use. Congrats! Let’s get your project off to a good start with a clear and concise Software Requirements Document.

As the leader, (aka project sponsor), your contribution will be paramount in defining the software expectations and your input required throughout the project lifecycle.

Throughout this series of Software Development Guide for Business Leaders, we will help you to understand the elements of success in a software development project. That success may be as simple as "the project expectations were achieved by the due date and within the budget."

Part One in the Series: Software Development Guide for Business Leaders

Thinking about developing a custom application?

Let’s talk about future-proofing.

When you do as much custom development as we do, we hear a lot about future-proofing in development.

The average expected lifetime of software that our customers expect is between 5 and 7 years.

When a system is designed to last that long, a considerable amount of effort should be invested into planning.

For a business that plans on developing a custom application, it’s important to future-proof your project to avoid costly application redesigns and to improve application longevity.

Future-proof through planning, honest reviews of your in-house skills and capabilities, striking a balance of in-house support and outsourced development, and by avoiding proprietary tools and frameworks.

Future-Proofing Checklist

• What is the life expectancy of your final product?
• Have you assigned a Project Manager?
• Have you set realistic project goals, budgets and timelines?
• Have you done an assessment of your in-house resources?
• Does the project rely on proprietary tools?
• Have you assigned a Project Manager?
• Is your outsourced partner large enough to roll with a contingency?
• Do you have a software update plan?

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