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practical tips

How to evaluate the development before the start and not to lose:

automation

Developing a new product or service can be a complex and resource-intensive process. Before investing time and money into development, it’s crucial to be able to evaluate the project and mitigate risks.

In this article, I’ll share my experience in evaluating development and discuss key aspects worth considering before starting a project.
The first step towards successful evaluation of development is clearly defining the project's requirements and objectives. Develop a detailed technical specification outlining functionality, architecture, technologies, and quality criteria. This will help both you and your team better understand what needs to be implemented and prevent unforeseen issues down the road.

Example:
Company "ABC" wants to develop a mobile app for managing food delivery processes.

Project goals include:
  1. Increasing efficiency in ordering and delivering food.
  2. Improving user experience for customers.
  3. Reducing order wait times and enhancing accuracy.
  4. Ensuring integration with existing accounting and management systems.

To achieve these goals, project requirements could be formulated as follows:
  1. Functionality for ordering food with options to select from a menu, specify delivery address, and pay online.
  2. Real-time order tracking system for customers and couriers.
  3. Integration with order and delivery management systems to automate processes and coordinate courier operations.
  4. Intuitive and attractive user interface accessible across various mobile devices and platforms.
  5. Ability to leave reviews and ratings for restaurants and couriers.
  6. Content management system for updating menus and promotional offers.
Defining the requirements and objectives of the project
Assess available resources—time, money, and human capital. Determine how much time and funds you're willing to invest in development, and create a realistic project budget. Keep in mind that development may take longer than initially anticipated, so be prepared for that.

Example:
Company "XYZ" aims to develop a mobile application for personal finance management.

  1. As a first step, they assess the resources needed to implement the project.
  2. Time: The company determines that they have six months for developing and launching the application. They break this period into project stages such as design, development, testing, and product release.
  3. Budget: Based on preliminary analysis and comparison with similar projects, the company decides they're willing to spend $200,000 on developing the application. This budget must cover salaries for developers, testers, designers, and other team members, as well as infrastructure costs, software licenses, and marketing expenses.
  4. Human Resources: The company analyzes its current resources and determines that they'll need a team consisting of four developers (two front-end and two back-end), a designer, a tester, and a project manager. They also decide to hire an additional developer and marketer on a contractual basis.
Resource assessment
Study the market where you plan to launch your product or service, and analyze competitors. Evaluate how unique and relevant your offering is, and what advantages it can provide users. This will help you formulate a strategy for developing and positioning your product in the market.

Example:
Startup “EventFinder” plans to develop a portal and mobile app for searching and booking tickets to events like concerts, sports games, and theater performances.

To define their strategy and market positioning, they conduct market and competitor analyses:

  1. Market Size and Dynamics: The team analyzes statistical data and reports to determine the overall size and growth rates of the event industry. They discover that the market is growing at 10% annually, indicating potential opportunities for introducing new products and services.
  2. Target Audience: The startup identifies its target audience, which consists of young professionals aged 20 to 35 who actively attend various events and prefer to book tickets online.
  3. Competitor Analysis: EventFinder studies its competitors, including their offerings, strengths, and weaknesses, as well as user feedback. They find that major competitors are Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, and StubHub, but none of these apps offer personalized event recommendations based on user interests.
Based on the results of the market and competitive analyses, EventFinder defines its unique value proposition and strategy by offering an app with personalized recommendations, a simple ticket booking process, and a focus on local events.
Analysis of the market and competitors
The quality of development largely depends on the experience and competence of the development team. Assess their skills and experience working on similar projects. Ensure that your team has all the necessary knowledge and resources to successfully complete the project.

Example:
Startup "LearnVid" wants to create a platform where users can share video tutorials on various topics—from academic subjects to hobbies and crafts.
They understand that high-quality development of the platform's key components plays a critical role in the project's success, and begin looking for a suitable development team.
  1. Defining Team Requirements: LearnVid analyzes its project and determines that it will require specialists in web development, user interface, video processing, analytics, and database management.
  2. Considering Internal and External Resources: The company evaluates its internal resources and decides to hire an external development team capable of providing the required expertise and skills.
  3. Finding a Development Studio: LearnVid researches the market and finds a development studio called "Sailet," which has successful projects in education and video technology.
  4. Portfolio and Review Analysis: The company examines Sailet's portfolio and pays attention to the quality of their previous work, as well as positive client reviews. This strengthens their confidence in choosing them as a development partner.
  5. Agreeing on Collaboration Terms: LearnVid and Sailet discuss project details, timelines, service costs, and other essential collaboration aspects. After clarifying all conditions, both parties sign a contract and start working on the project.
Choosing the development team
Identify potential risks associated with the project's development. These risks might include technical problems, system integration challenges, lack of time or budget, changes in requirements or market conditions. Develop a risk mitigation plan and determine actions to take if those risks materialize.

Example:
Company "TravelBuddies" intends to create a portal and mobile app that allows users to find travel companions and split expenses.
Before beginning development, they perform a risk assessment to identify potential issues and devise strategies to minimize them.
  1. Technological Risks: The startup analyzes possible problems related to integrating different APIs, such as maps, payments, and messaging. They seek ways to ensure data security and app stability.
  2. Market Risks: TravelBuddies identifies main market risks as low user conversion, limited number of trips due to seasonality and economic factors, and competition from other travel apps.
  3. Legal Risks: The team investigates legal aspects related to organizing shared travels and expense splitting to ensure compliance with laws and regulations in different countries.
  4. Team-related Risks: TravelBuddies determines that these include potential conflicts of interest among founders, insufficient experience or competencies within the team, and the risk of disagreement over key decisions.
Risk assessment
Engage potential users of your product or service in the development process. Gathering feedback early in the development stages will help you determine whether your offering meets their expectations and make necessary adjustments to the project. This will also help build a loyal audience and reduce the time spent on testing and refining the product after its launch.

Example:
Startup "FitLife" is creating a mobile app that helps users track their physical activity, nutrition, and progress in sports activities.
To improve their product and meet user needs, they actively collect and consider feedback:
  1. Creating Feedback Channels: FitLife provides users with the ability to submit reviews and suggestions through built-in feedback forms, social media, and email.
  2. Review Analysis: The team regularly reviews and analyzes received feedback, identifying common trends, issues, and user requests.
  3. Prioritizing Improvements: Based on the review analysis, FitLife determines priority areas for improving the app, such as fixing bugs, adding new features, or enhancing the user interface.
  4. Implementing Changes: The startup makes necessary changes to their app and releases updates for users.
  5. Communicating with Users: FitLife informs users about the implemented changes and thanks them for their feedback, strengthening trust and loyalty.
Taking into account feedback from users
Anticipate that unexpected circumstances may arise during development, potentially impacting the project timeline and budget. Be prepared for this and predetermine measures to take in case of unforeseen situations.

Example:
Company "QuickBites" is building a platform for ordering and delivering food from various restaurants.
They recognize that unforeseen circumstances could affect the development and launch of their service, so they proactively take steps to mitigate risks:
  1. Financial Reserve: QuickBites allocates extra funds for potential unplanned expenses, such as changes in third-party provider fees or additional marketing costs.
  2. Flexible Timelines: The startup sets realistic development and launch deadlines, leaving a buffer for potential delays caused by technical issues, legislative changes, or supplier problems.
  3. Contingency Planning: The QuickBites team develops action plans for various unforeseeable scenarios, such as losing key partners, shifts in market conditions, or data access issues.
  4. Monitoring and Adaptation: QuickBites closely monitors the development process, responds to emerging problems, and quickly adapts to changing conditions, adjusting their strategy and plans when necessary.
Consideration of unforeseen circumstances
Conclusion
Evaluating development before starting a project is a critically important step that helps reduce risks, optimize resources, and increase chances of success. By following the above advice and drawing on the experience of experts in the field, you'll be able to create a product or service that's in demand in the market and brings you satisfaction from the result of your work.

If you encounter difficulties while evaluating development or are seeking consultation on this matter, don't hesitate to reach out via the form below.

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