While it’s true that custom software development is the act of designing a particular piece of software intended to be used by a specific group of users within an organization, this is only one small part of a much larger story. A lot of people seem to think that the potential for what can be accomplished ends there – instead, this is only the beginning.
As a business leader, any project that you initiate is usually purpose-driven – it’s an action made in the context of where your organization is, where you want it to be and how you can connect those two dots in the best way possible. Custom software development can and absolutely should be executed with the same mentality and from within the same framework, which is why a solution-focused approach to the affair is far more critical than a lot of people seem to realize.
The Art of Solution-Focused Software Development
To get a better understanding of this particular topic, consider the example of a branded mobile application being released to the customers of a particular business. Even though branded apps are incredibly popular, they have to have something of true value to offer an audience or they’re never going to be accepted in any appreciable way.
So it needs to be more than just “now you can download an app with our company logo on it that is essentially a mobile version of our website.” It needs to go deeper than that. It needs to be an easier, more efficient way for users to check on their account information, or to interact with customer support, or to find helpful information. It can’t just be an app that exists for the sake of it – if that were the case, it’s a solution in search of a problem. Instead, it needs to be a solution focused on one problem in particular.
Solution-focused software development in general is a lot like that, only in a custom app world the solution is focused inward, towards your business and exactly what it’s trying to accomplish.
Think about it like this: even if you were to compare your business to that of your closest competitor, you’d probably be looking at a very different organization. This is true even though you’re operating in the same industry, you’re offering similar products and services and you’re (theoretically) going after the same audience.
Nearly everything about the way you operate on a daily basis is dictated by these unique qualities – you’re doing whatever you can to use them to your full advantage. Why then, should your approach to custom application development and software development in general be any different?
Just as your business itself is unique, you face unique business problems on a daily basis. Every element of the design of a piece of software – from the user experience/user interface design to the software architecture to coding and beyond must be built to address those unique challenges. Even the way a piece of software is supported and maintained in the long run should be dictated not by some mythical “one size fits all” approach to software development, but by what you need and why you need it at any particular moment.
In the end, these are the reasons why a solution-focused approach to software development matters a lot more than people seem to realize. If a particular application doesn’t allow you and your employees to work smarter, not harder, it’s difficult to make an argument that it’s justifying its own existence in the first place. It’s about more than just customizing something to meet your specifications – it’s about making sure that you always have the right tool on hand for the right job at exactly the right moment, regardless of how that job happens to change or evolve in the future.
Contact us today to discuss custom application development for your organization!
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