The cost of software development, upgrade and maintenance projects can be a sore point because they don’t come cheap. Whether you take-on the projects in-house or outsource them, there are technology and resourcing costs that can spiral when unmanaged, causing them to go over-budget.

As with any project, a quick return on investment is wanted from software projects. When your business is reliant on technology to run and be profitable, extended tech projects that don’t perform or deliver value fast are a thorn in the side of business continuity as well as the bottom line.

Here’s an idea of software project costs

In Dubai, the cost of the average app development project ranges from $5 000 to $10 000. For complications and multi-feature app, prices shoot to between $267 000 and $360 000. 

Need a website? For a small and simple business website, expect to pay in the region of $15 000.  For a conversion or lead-focused website, the cost will be about $30 000, and $50 000 upwards for a complex, feature-rich website. 

The average cost of a business software upgrade, from Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship Management systems to IT security, can range from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the size and the type of business you are in.

Don’t underestimate the time and financial resources needed to build quality, functional software applications. There is a lot that goes into it and costs begin to stack-up when the project doesn’t perform or goes over-budget. 

Use the Cost Performance Index to measure project cost efficiency

The Cost Performance Index is a measure of the financial effectiveness and efficiency of a project, and represents the amount of work completed for every monetary unit spent. Project managers can use CPI to measure the cost efficiency of software projects against the work actually completed for an early flag that budget or scope adjustments need to be made. Simply put, it is a way of demonstrating whether or not your project is on budget and performing.

Using the CPI will give you an honest view of the cost efficiency of budgeted resources as a ratio of earned value to actual costs. 

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The power of one

You can calculate the Cost Performance Index by dividing the Earned Value (EV) by Actual Cost (AC). When we talk about Earned Value (EV), we are talking about the amount of the task that is actually completed compared to what was planned to be done by a particular stage. It is expressed in terms of the budget set for the project. For instance, if the budget is $10,000 but only 20% of the work has been completed halfway through the six month project timeframe, then the EV is $2,000. The Actual Cost (AC) is the amount of money that has been spent on the task.

So, CPI = EV / AC 

For example, if a project has an EV of $30 000 but the AC is $15 000, the CPI is 2. 

But what does that mean?

CPI < 1 – a CPI that is less than one means the earning is less than the amount spent. You can say the project is over budget. 

CPI > 1 – a CPI that greater than one means the earning is more than the amount spent. This is when you can happily say that the project is under budget. 

CPI = 1 – a CPI equal to one means the earning and spending are equal. Everything is going according to plan and the project is performing well. 

The upside and downside of technology

In this digital age, you know that technology not only enables your business but powers it. There is a downside though. Software needs constant maintenance and frequent upgrades. Don’t consider maintenance or upgrade projects as a nuisance. Instead, see upgrades as an investment into better efficiencies, seamless continuity, improved productivity, more features, greater functionality, happier employees, more engaged customers, tighter IT security and reduced risks. The list of rewards from optimised software goes on, and they translate into business growth. Maintaining your software systems will ensure that they are up-to-date, bug-free, cyber-secure and working as they should. 

Hand it over

Budget, skills and resourcing constraints will impact the progress and ultimate success of your software projects, whether it’s a new app development or a website upgrade. Poor planning leads to slow progress and failing to reach the goals you want to achieve. You want a CPI equal to one or more if you want the most bang for your buck.

Not your forte? Hand it over. At Digital Grind we eat, sleep and drink this stuff. We have an established team of tech experts who understand the software development, maintenance and user experience design landscape. We also know that getting ROI on software projects is important to our clients. So planning and sticking to budget and project timelines is non-negotiable. We aim for a CPI of one or more on every project we undertake. Have a look at what we did for Moro Hub. 

Got a goal or a project in mind? Start it now with Digital Grind.

The web is a fast-paced and ever-changing medium. There are new trends popping up all the time, new browser releases to contend with, and new frontend frameworks to learn.

It can be hard to keep up with all that's happening in our industry. When your job depends on your knowledge of what's new in web development — whether you're a developer or designer — it's especially important that you understand what's current so you don't miss anything that could impact your business or life.

The only constant is change

Web development is constantly evolving. As new technologies emerge and more and more devices are being used to access the web, web developers have to keep up with the latest trends in order to create websites that perform well and look great. Let’s take a look at what’s poignant at the moment:

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Accelerating menial tasks
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‍Sometimes the greatest innovations come in simple changes to existing mechanisms, where small changes mean big benefits. We know that consumers value speed, which is evidenced by drop-off rates on sites that take more than 3 seconds to load. As much as 40 percent of your audience will leave when your webpage doesn’t load instantly. This is just one example of many, where consumers expect instant feedback and gratification when interacting with your brand online. In light of this, the growing trend towards accelerating menial tasks is becoming a standard. This is true for both consumer-facing content as well as internal platforms and web developers will be expected to get the basics right before branching off into novelty. 
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Perfecting e-commerce user experience

‍Historically, developers were largely in control of creating a user experience by dictating formats for websites and online platforms. When marketers started to understand the importance of user experience design - new roles emerged in the strategy and creative sphere that blended design with creating a consumer journey. Now, developers and designers are part of increasingly hybrid disciplines, where both are required to work together to generate user interfaces. A prevalent trend is for front-end developers to automatically suggest interface mechanisms, while designers with basic development knowledge are more in demand than ever. Today, the prototyping process is a combined effort and will increasingly merge as design and development overlap in terms of meeting consumer expectations.  
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Everyday artificial intelligence

‍AI was once thought of as a concept only meant for sci-fi movies, but has evolved from just theory and cinematic special effects to everyday use. The use of machine learning and natural language processing techniques has improved drastically, faster than previously thought possible. It may seem that the sky's the limit at this point. Current trends indicate that chatbots will continue to feature as a marketing tool for many web developers. The chatbot market is growing at a rapid pace and is expected to reach $83 billion in 2021. Another current AI trend is its use in predictive analytics. Machine learning is being applied to better understand consumer behaviour so as to target them more efficiently. This leads to increased customer acquisition as learned patterns assist in the personalisation of targeted content. 
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One-pagers

‍These types of websites are a controversial topic in the marketing world, because while it means less code, easier experimentation and simplified analytics, it can also present a cost to SEO and content limitations by design. Plus, creating enticing and functional user interfaces can become more challenging. However, as a sufficient, resource-efficient tool for SMEs, these sites are on the rise and the art of perfecting a one-page site needs to be a tool in the arsenal of modern developers. One other advantage is that they lead to increased user engagement and ultimately higher conversions than multi-page sites through simplified navigation. In addition, they’re great for any web developer’s clients that may be starting out and don’t yet have a lot of content to offer but need a web presence. 
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Full-stack development with JavaScript

‍When it comes to web development, things are rapidly evolving and advancing and if not managed well, can lead to an overrun on development costs. For one, if you have to hire multiple developers well-versed in different programming languages and frameworks, and a new industry standard comes into play, it may be costly to get each of them up-to-speed. However, hiring or becoming a full-stack developer gives you an all-in-one development solution. JavaScript has grown in popularity over the years and is used by almost all websites. It is particularly useful when developing mobile apps and dynamic websites. Currently, it’s popular frameworks and libraries include Angular.js, Vue.js, React and Node.js. Indeed, JavaScript full-stack development will continue to be a major feature in web development in coming years.

Lastly, a current trend related to all the above in the web development world is the growing use of progressive web apps which may replace native mobile apps in the future. This is being driven by the growing use of mobile devices. Another is the increasing use of voice searches giving rise to digital assistants and the proliferation of IoT.

From what we’ve seen, web development will continue to incorporate newer technologies going into the future. The consensus so far is that, regardless of what development trend is adopted, speed and usability will be the key determining factors of any web design.

At Digital Grind, we stay ahead of the curve as our web development is next level. Be it websites, apps, business intelligence or newer technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality, we have the necessary tools to bring your ideas to life. Start a development project with us. Ready when you are!

Your secret weapon in the battle for better business

No matter the size of your organisation, achieving and maintaining a high level of operational efficiency is part of the success journey. Usually, striving for efficiency means that the organisation becomes more profitable.

The most successful organisations are always trying to improve the way they operate and finding new and innovative solutions that improve performance. They know the importance of making sure they stay ahead of the competition - at every step of the way.

Generally speaking, continuous process improvement (CPI) seeks to determine if an organisation’s business processes are meeting company goals. There are various tools that are used to achieve this fast - but getting the improvement part right is a little trickier. We’ll get into this in a minute, but first, let’s look at CPI’s application in software development.

CPI in software development - The Dark Horse

For developers, CPI is an ongoing effort to improve products, services or processes through continuous testing and optimisation. This means that attention is put on making sure a business’ products are up-to-date, bug-free and secure. This process is done on a continuous basis as part of a developer’s maintenance protocols.

Changes are implemented either incrementally or in one fell swoop (also known as breakthrough improvement). The advantage of making incremental changes is that improvements are made almost as soon as they have been discovered. 

Once these have been processed, the next step is to ensure that you constantly go back to reanalyse all processes throughout the lifecycle of the project and make additional changes. This is one of the pillars of an agile environment.

Getting it right

One of the most popular CPI models used is PDCA, which stands for Plan, Do, Check, and Act. By carefully going through these steps, the ongoing cycle of continuous improvement can be achieved as the model controls and regulates the processes. 

One can also start by using business process mapping to visualise all the business processes that require monitoring and assigning responsible individuals. Below is a breakdown of the PDCA model.

• Plan: The planning phase is the initial element in the model that sets out to identify objectives and challenges within the particular project. The problem identified would need to be solved in alignment with expected outcomes. A number of possible solutions are identified, with the most favourable solution touted first.
• Do: The selected solution or solutions are then implemented, initially starting off on a micro scale. Data is collected for analysis purposes to measure the progress of the implemented changes. The main purpose of the Do stage is to ensure that the proposed solution is fully tested before it can be rolled out fully to the entire system. 
• Check: The checking stage involves taking the data collected during the Do stage to compare if it matches expected outcomes. The purpose of this is to assess whether the solution was successful and if additional improvements are necessary. Any useful information that can be gathered is recorded and the Do and Check processes are repeated.
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• Act: This phase involves actual implementation after all the pros and cons of potential solutions are laid out, based on the information gathered in Do and Check stages. Any feedback received is also considered. If the solution is not as successful as initially expected, an alternative is then considered. 

Once a workable solution is implemented, it’s time to focus on the next identified urgent areas to improve and the same cycle repeats.

Why should you use CPI?

There are a host of benefits when it comes to using CPI for your brand. These ensure that the quality and integrity of the software is kept at a high level. Here are five key benefits:

• Quicker feedback: With continuous testing, the development team is able to receive feedback on any issues that require their attention within a short timeframe. By monitoring all stages, early feedback means fewer defects are found in deployed products.
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• Cost reduction: The cost of development can skyrocket unexpectedly if errors are not monitored and resolved timeously. As fewer defects are found within products, there will be a reduction in the back-and-forth between the client and their developers, leading to the costs of development being significantly reduced.
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• Improved quality: Using CPI is one way of ensuring that the quality of the product is improved. The quality assurance process via the back-and-forth of process improvement results in better products with fewer errors. Ultimately, user experience is more pleasant leading to greater customer satisfaction.
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• Faster deployment: One major benefit of CPI is that any updates or upgrades to products can be deployed quickly, while being able to respond to industry changes more efficiently. Automated testing helps to make sure testing is constant and meticulously done. 
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• Better compliance: With continuous testing comes increased employee engagement and collaboration. As the development team becomes aligned to the software improvement process and overall organisational goals, it creates a culture of success and improved morale leading to better compliance.

CPI is a critical element of any software developer team, creating high quality products that stand the test of time while optimising business processes and achieving its goals. Standardisation is thus necessary in terms of implementation best practices.

Each improvement process needs to be thorough to maximise output and returns on investment. At Digital Grind, it's a part of who we are, as CPI and maintenance are implemented in our development projects. 

We strive to ensure that your brand receives quality outputs that are adaptable and enhanced on an ongoing basis according to evolving needs. Start a development project with us. Our team is always ready to listen.