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Do you or your team have a problem with meeting deadlines safely? It can be tricky, right?
But we all know it, and we’re all annoyed by it when it happens: missed deadlines or delayed projects. Why do people or companies not honor their deadlines and commitments? In most cases, this isn’t ill will. It frequently involves poor planning and assuming that it will all work out somehow. But very often, it doesn’t.
Deadlines are essential. They are needed to align the people’s actions within a complex project, assuming that different processes will be conducted alongside each other. Let’s see what this means for software project deadlines.
First of all, time is money. Software development is expensive, and it is imperative to stick to the plan. Moreover, as soon as the product is launched, the faster you will recoup your investment. Furthermore, the product’s release may be scheduled to a particular date; for example, the time of a board meeting or marketing activities. It is also worth noting that completing the project on time is a matter of principle for software companies because they are interested in keeping their customers satisfied. That’s why we decided to explain the importance of meeting deadlines for our customers and the team.
Reasons for Untimely Development
People often do not succeed in completing projects within the timeline, not by their fault. The more complex the project is, the more factors have to be considered. Here are some of them:
An improper estimate
If we are talking about a brand new product, there can be inaccurate planning of the development process. It is essential to determine clear goals with smaller tasks to see a clear and understandable mission. This way, your team members know what is expected from them in the long run and within a particular task. In our work, we do detailed planning for specific periods and use an approach to give each team member a chance to estimate and determine their tasks. Goals give a broad vision of the future project. Breaking a project into smaller iterations with a clear set of tasks reduces possible chaos and creates a perfect ground for reaching deadlines without any fuss and in a timely manner. In case of improvement and finalization of digital products, it is more complicated than designing from scratch. It is hard to predict how much time it will take before exploring the quality of the code.
Third-party services
However, a new product can be unpredictable. For instance, if the development process involves third-party services, they can change their configuration or API at any time during your project. Therefore, the developers will have to change the code according to those changes, which can take additional time.
Human factor
We should remember the human element, including illnesses, residence changes, and many others. If a new person joins the team on an ongoing project, they will need some time to adapt and understand the process. This can happen from the customer’s and developer’s sides.
Requirements correction
Difficulties with deadlines might arise from the customer’s side. If a customer wants to add some features, the project scope will change, and additional time will be needed to develop the team. It is also essential to get feedback from the customer or answer questions on time because doing so might jeopardize the timeline.
Get lost in wishes
Usually, that is just the kind of startups that do not know what kind of a digital product they want to get. In this case, it is better to cooperate with the outsource development company according to the experience they know how to create a real competitive product.
Ways of Cooperation and Risk to Miss Deadline
Dedicated Team
This is the most reliable form of cooperation we can offer regarding timely completion. It means that the full-cycle development team will work on your project. Together with the customer, we agree on the project scope, requirements, and deadlines. In case of any unforeseen circumstances, we can revise the content by prioritizing requirements.
Time and Material
This type of cooperation implies paying customers for the actual work scope based on hourly rates. Customers pay for the particular number of hours spent on a specific project, plus materials’ costs. This model is also flexible and allows for adjusting requirements, changing directions, replacing functions, etc.
Fixed Price
This model fits only small projects where a service provider can complete the project within the agreed sum of money. If anything changes during an ongoing project, a customer would need to pay extra. To ensure final results, customers should present a clear vision of the product to developers. The “Fixed Price” option involves many factors, including the possibility of missing the deadline.
How to Meet a Deadline
It doesn’t matter who is working on the project, a team consisting of several departments or just a couple of people; in any case, the planning and preparation must be carried out. After all, projects are an essential part of developing and maintaining a business.
A major part of software development is respecting the deadlines and many issues may endanger the timely finalization of a project. Below you will find some advices how to do everything on time.
#1 Details Matter
The most important thing is to compile the project requirements carefully. At the initial stage, it is difficult to say how long it will take to create a project. Therefore, it is crucial to collect all the wishes for a digital solution to understand the desired result. The more nuances you discuss with the development company, the more likely it is that all your expectations will be met and the development will be completed on time.
When communicating with the customer, we always prepare detailed specifications and agree with the client on the goals we want to achieve on the project.
#2 Estimate Risks Realistically
Project managers are used to working with risk management. Determining and classifying risks before the project starts, preparing a plan for every risky situation are what PMs do. There can be used a risk matrix that helps to identify the probability of possible issues. Such an approach allows skipping panic when an incident happens because it was foreseen, and Project managers are ready to solve it.
Therefore, we always insist on the work of a project manager. After all, this is precisely to maintain consistency in project actions and manage risks.
#3 Manage the Working Process
We work according to Agile methodologies, so team members themselves determine the amount of work they will complete in one sprint. This approach also helps to be flexible and adjust the overall scope of the project if needed.
The team’s task is to meet the deadline they personally declared without relying on existing and inherent risks.
#4 Task Tracking
Every project should have a task management system. Some projects are large, and the customer wants to personally track the process, adding feedback and suggestions to each task. In such a situation, special applications are used, and all negotiations take place online. Some clients only want to be sure that the process is going well. In this case, simple communication methods are used, or you can use documents with scheduled (daily/weekly) reports for the client.
Every day, we report on the work done and discuss tasks for the coming day. Thus, both the project manager and the customer can see how much resources were spent on a specific task.
#5 Step by Step Process
By moving one step at a time, the workflow becomes more even, and subsequent inspection becomes easier. This allows for assessing the likelihood of meeting deadlines and making necessary corrections.
In our opinion, the workflow should be consistent, taking each task to its logical end before starting another.
#6 Communicate With Team
Seeking preliminary input from your team, and good communication keeps everyone on track. Don’t skip contact. If you’re outsourcing software development, bring your unit close to your in-house group with video conferencing, with shared successes and challenges, and by requesting their opinions on the project and ideas for improvement.
Be interested in the opinion of your in-house or outsourced software team. While daily stand-up meetings sound great at first, stressful deadlines and a lot of work can demotivate them. Poor communication can be a more significant concern than security or the safety of your intellectual property.
We believe that regular interaction with the customer from the very beginning gives an understanding of their project’s attitude. Therefore, we regularly organize meetings with the customer, and, at his request, we can send daily reports or weekly. It all depends on the project itself and the wishes of the client.
Do Not Forget About Project Management Software
You barely find a project manager who performs all tasks without a unique tool. Managing a software development team requires in-depth knowledge and excellent planning skills.
It doesn’t matter whether you use Agile, SCRUM, or Kanban; JIRA, Asana, or Trello must be software tools. One crucial element of project management is backlog grooming. This process usually involves both a product owner and the team checking the backlog tasks. They ensure that all the necessary tasks are in the backlog, that they are prioritized, and that tasks at the top are ready to be delivered. Backlog grooming is always an ongoing process that helps avoid unnecessary tasks and meet deadlines.
Conclusion
One can hardly find a software development project without deadlines. In fact, everything related to project management is related to deadlines.
The problem is that deadlines exist to be broken. Of course, this is a joke, but it does have a great degree of truth to it. Many managers and teams fail to meet deadlines promptly. This is especially the case with software development, where so many members are involved, so many processes occur, and so many deadlines are missed.
FAQ
We provide full involvement and dedication, quick and efficient communication, and in-time requests processing. We will also get free consulting and onboarding, regular comprehensive reports on the project budget, timelines, and scope. We always do our best to provide the most reliable service to our customers.
Yes. It might happen. It is possible if we are talking about the ready-made, out-of-box applications. Applications based on the ready-made solutions with their possible customization and adaptation to your needs help to save time and budget. Best choice for limited budgets. Available templates: Social Network Application, On-Demand Application, Uber Like Application
The main responsibilities of this specialist: Project budget and timeline tracking, Comprehensive reports on budget and timeline weekly, Passive project control provided with Risk Management and Project Roadmap gathered in a unified place, Meeting scripts from all meetings happening in the team. So the answer is yes. It is a mandatory participant in the software development process.
