Custom Software Development Costs

You are not the only one. This is one of the first questions we get asked by our clients. Syndicode’s team of dedicated engineers has been accumulating expertise in building custom software products and solutions. And with this material, we are going to open up these mysterious curtains and answer the question of how much does custom software cost to build?

Frankly speaking, even for us, that’s a tricky question. Our experience allows our full-stack engineers to tailor projects specifically for our clients and create digital products that fulfill their needs. We have gathered enough knowledge to provide you with detailed custom software development consulting. That’s why we will try to be as open about the costs of software development as possible. Here we are going to discuss the approximate time we need to develop different products.

Every Good Product Needs Some Time and Investment

If you already have a business plan and have validated your idea, you might come to the understanding that you need to hire a development team. Because if you run your business you can’t be a good coder or a designer at the same time.

Why custom software development? Custom software aims to produce the most efficient system as it can provide support for the specific needs of the business, along with greater efficiency and customer service. That is not available from most off-the-shelf solutions.

Custom software development for startups or enterprises, as it is provided by skilled developers of Syndicode, helps you fulfill your business requirements with the ever-changing trends and evolving technology. Because professionals know what tech stack is the most efficient nowadays.

Also, if you need to improve something, a custom software development approach is here to give you the best or most well-targeted service improvement. But let’s narrow down all the pros:

• You get what you need. The business can have exactly what its customers want (not a package of everything available on the market that caters to a generic market). Only the important features.
• Custom software can be very flexible. It is constructed by software professionals that can implement functionality for a wide range of business needs.
• The best features within budget. For getting exactly what you need, you pay exactly for what you get. You won’t waste money on the functions you might never use (just because they’re included in the package).
• Custom tech stack. It gives you the ability to get any output you want. All possible integrations and features. Your developers’ team choose the tech stack depending on your priorities.
• Minimized information security risks. You and you alone are the owners of your software. And there are only two sides who have access to the information – you and your custom software development team.
• On-demand updates and fixes. You ask for custom development when required so you are able to update or improve your custom software functionality anytime you need it.
• Customized reports for specific events. Custom software development gives you the opportunity to save your time (and your devs) and resources. Get a feature only when you need it, and get a report for specific metrics and events.

Choosing Custom Software Product Development

Before starting to choose a software development team, you should understand your business goals. Try to answer the question of what is the problem you want to solve, estimate the possible risks and get the idea of what the finished result should look like. We recommend creating a realistic timeframe and budget. It really helps when choosing a custom software development company and methodology.

Syndicode follows an Agile methodology. That means we stand for iterative development. Agile software development is a conceptual framework for undertaking software engineering projects. The main goal of Agile methods is minimizing the risk by developing software in short timeboxes, called iterations, which typically last from one to four weeks. Each timebox is like a mini software project that includes all the tasks necessary to release the mini-increment of new functionality

But the main iteration stages are pretty similar. They include the following stages:

• Analysis and Planning
  • a collection of requirements,
  • research,
  • changes management,
  • risk management,
  • software architecture.
• Design
• Development
  • backend development,
  • frontend development.
• Quality Assurance and testing
• Intermediate deliveries
• Documentation
• Maintenance (software evolution)
• Reporting

Yes, custom development is tricky, but it brings you more than just readymade solutions.

Development Timeframes

Here we will try to estimate the development timeframes depending on the digital products and different custom development according to Syndicode practice:

• Ruby on Rails marketplace development ranges from 2000-3000 hours. MVP for the marketplace takes from 1000 hours. At the moment, every second project we do is a Ruby on Rails marketplace development project. We have done tens of mobile and online marketplaces in different countries and industries.
• Ruby on Rails MVP development takes upwards of 400 hours. As a startup, cost minimization is essential, as well as the minimum viable product (MVP). The MVP with the Rails framework to be used for the web or mobile app can be developed faster. This makes it a great option for the development of software products that may have to go back through the development process over and over for fine-tuning. When it comes to fast iterative development processes, Ruby on Rails is the way to go.
• Web app development (using any technology) is a complicated process and will take more than 1000 hours.
  To handle the storage and retrieval the information web applications use a combination of server-side scripts, and client-side scripts to present information to users. This way users can interact with the company via online forms, content management systems, shopping carts and more. The architecture makes web application development quite complex. Here in Syndicode, we use Ruby on Rails as our framework of choice. With the use of Ruby on Rails, the resulting web app has lower risks of hacking, data theft, and spying.
• Mobile application development varies, so it will take more than 400 hours. Syndicode provides custom mobile application development for startups and enterprises since 2014. We are experts in creating native and hybrid mobile apps for games, logistics, healthcare, e-commerce, fintech, education, and entertainment. Mobile app development requires a significant amount of critical thinking, research, and market analysis prior to development. When you have some figures about the duration of the stages of mobile app development, you can calculate an approximate time to develop your own mobile app depending on its complexity and features. We prepared a table that will help you to understand in what way different mobile applications can take a different amount of time to be developed.

Custom Software Product Development Iterations by Syndicode

When we talk about a software development company, we think of a work process that relates mostly to organizing software development services and processes. By applying the Agile methodology, the project team has to go through a cycle and evaluate each iteration and find out what changes they need to apply to make a satisfactory end product. This model is the perfect choice for managers and team leaders. You can read the frequently asked questions that the majority of clients ask Syndicode about software development here.

The main goal of Agile methods is to minimize risks by developing software in short timeboxes, called iterations, which typically last one to four weeks. Each timebox is like a mini software project that includes all the tasks necessary to release the mini-increment of new functionality:

• planning,
• requirements analysis,
• design,
• coding,
• testing, and
• documentation.

When you read about the stages and iterations of software development, you shouldn’t worry as it all handled by a dedicated team of software engineers.

Syndicode has a huge experience in custom software development and most of the stages depend on a unique and dedicated person called product manager. This specialist has to be an expert in tech and management, psychology and business. And moreover, the product manager will be always responsible for all the issues and all the wins no matter the conditions.

Product managers always face complex situations such as having to understand the environment in which the product resides, or resolving a request for a feature in an already existing environment. In any case, it’s better to have a clear understanding of the main approaches and principles you can apply to reconstruct and resolve these complex situations. That’s why we advise you to rely on some trusted guys who can provide you with quality product management services!

You Should Treasure Skilled Developers

Our expertise allows our software developers to create projects specifically for our clients and create digital products that fulfill their needs. We love building simple and unique solutions for the best customer experience. Our web and mobile developers know how to build products and services.

We are experts in different technologies and industries:

• We have a team of experts in building and integrating logistics information systems and services.
• We are proud to have a deal with customers that operate in the fields of express delivery, container shipping, freight trucking.
• We also have extensive experience with the classical hardware and modern cloud-based hosting types.
• In each particular case, our architect designs a specific technological stack to support load and security requirements.