Developing Software | General Concepts Everybody Should Know
Updated: Sep 21
How Does Software Development Work?
Developing Software is a computer science related to creating, designing, deploying, and supporting software. It is used to build applications and system tools to improve the quality of human life.
Nowadays, we can consider most enterprises as software companies. Not because their main product or service is relative to software but because, in their process, the software tools are essential for their performance and achieving better results.
Developing Software is vital in the world to create digital tools to solve different kinds of problems, improve the performance of existing resources and enterprises, reach digital audiences for companies, and facilitate computational processes.
I will give you some examples to make a better image of how software development works.
1. Grocery Store
You have a local and small grocery store, but your dream is to sell in the whole city and not just in your neighborhood.
You want to be seen largely and reach more audiences.
You can develop a website to show your products and services.
You can also develop a mobile app to make easier the process of buying fruits and vegetables.
You are a small business, but to grow, you can think of two different development to help you. We all are immersed in a software world.
2. Personalized Clothing Brand
You have a clothing brand but want to differentiate it from your competence. So you got an idea of personalized the clothes you made.
Part of the idea is that you want the customers to see the personalized item before they pay.
You develop a website with unique widgets for every customer to make a unique clothing piece.
3. Farmers
You are a farmer, and you grow a very delicate flower to export it.
Because of climate change, the humidity in the soil has changed a lot, and you, as a farmer, should monitor this critical variable.
You need to develop a real-time monitor system to know exactly the measurement of this variable to take action and succeed in the crop.
You can develop a smart device that interacts with apps and online platforms.
In the examples, we show you 3 cases of companies that 15 years ago would have had no contact with developing software. Nowadays, it is almost indispensable to belong to this world to grow and survive as a company.
How is the process of developing software?
1. A specific need become an idea.
2. Then the idea of the digital tool or software has to be conceptualized: topics like the audience, and the device where the tool is going to be used, should be considered.
Conceptualizing means coming up with a practical implementation of an idea. More is needed than just having an idea. To conceptualize, one must develop a mental model of how such an idea might manifest. In other words, one might have an idea to build a spacious house. But to conceptualize the house, one must imagine everything that makes up the house -- the design, the layout, the colors and textures, everything that is essential to understanding what that specific house is.
3. It is crucial to consider the best way to approach the development in terms of budget and maintainability because there are solutions with outstanding results but with high-cost implementation.
4. The next step is to start development. Usually, there is a scrum master who meets with the customer and creates the requirements; later, the scrum master assigns those tasks to the development team, then there is some testing to ensure everything works.
If we use agile methodologies such as scrum, periodic meetings should be held with the developers to evaluate their performance and state of mind.
What are the steps for Developing Software?
What is the first step for developing software?
The first step to developing software is to get an idea and create the concept.
What next?
After making the concept of the software tool, it es essential to have a UI and a UX designer; they will put these ideas on paper.
This design is an important input for the team. This design is split into requirements, and the requirements are divided into development tasks.
Now, the development team is going to have all the assets: graphical design, requirements, and tasks. They are ready to start the development and deployment process.
The steps of Developing Software are called de Development Life Cycle.
What is the Software Development Life Cycle?
The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) refers to a methodology with clearly defined processes for creating high-quality software.
In detail, the SDLC methodology focuses on the following phases of developing software:
Requirement analysis
Planning
Software design, such as architectural design
Developing Software
Testing
Deployment
Maintenance
What is the Best Platform for Developing Software?
When someone asks for a platform, he can talk about a programming language or about the IDE (integrated development environment). Everything we are going to discuss in this title is about the programing language, just to clarify.
There is no “best platform”; all languages are pretty good for some specific scenarios, so you may think about what exactly you need and the scope and then look for the best tools for your solution.
Now, if you don't know anything about coding and want to learn some programming language but don’t know where to start, here is a tip.
If you’re looking for something easy: Python
If you want a solid foundation to make you a master developer: C
If you’re looking for a job or want to create mobile apps: Java
If you want to try front-end development: Javascript
If you’re programming for your startup’s website: Ruby
Can I Develop Software by Myself?
I interviewed two senior developers of Code Branch, and here is the answer:
According to Alejandro: “All people can create software themselves. They only need technical knowledge and imagination.”
Jose said: “Developing Software is an activity that can be performed by anyone with an affinity for technology, good logical and mathematical foundations, frustration tolerance, and above all, a continuous learning attitude.”
About two years ago, I wanted to learn how to develop software, someone very close to me, a senior developer, convinced me and told me that anyone who wanted to learn how to develop could do it.
He recommended a course that contained HTML, CSS, and Java script.
I only got as far as CSS and was very excited when I managed to diagram a Matroska doll.
However, I didn't continue because it didn't seduce me; it didn't catch my attention enough to dedicate several hours of learning, and I quit.
I am sure I could be a programmer if I had continued.
Here what I want to tell you is that it is crucial the discipline to learn to program and, as Jose said, the tolerance to frustration and the ability to be self-taught.
How Much do Software Developers Make?
Developers can earn from 85.000 USD to more than 122.000 USD per year.
A web developer has an extensive range of salaries; this will depend on how much experience the developer has, if junior or senior, and how many years and what kind of experience they have.
Also, the salary will depend on their knowledge and whether they are back-end, front-end, or full-stack developers.
Front End Developer:
Front-end development is programming that focuses on the visual elements of a website or app that users will interact with (the client side). According to Glassdoor can earn an average of 85.000 USD.
Back-End developer:
Back-end development focuses on the side of a website users can’t see (the server side) 95000 USD.
Full Stack developer:
A full-stack developer works with a web application's front and back end. The front end is responsible for the visual look and feel of the website, while the back end is responsible for the behind-the-scenes logic and infrastructure of the site.
They earn 101.000 USD approximately; however, for a developer with 3 to 5 years of experience, the salary can go up to an average of 122.0000 USD.
Conclusion
We can all become developers, the most important thing is to be creative, have enthusiasm, resilience, high frustration tolerance, and be empirical.
The development process must start with a need that becomes an idea, this idea is conceptualized and with the help of designers, we put it on paper and begin the life cycle of software development.
In case you don't see yourself as a developer you can always look for a specialized team to help your ideas come true. In CodeBranch we will love to help you.