Free Tips For Successful Software Projects
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What is software design?
Sure, we design software, but what exactly does that mean? We consider your requirements, your end users, your future visions -- then throw in a good measure of experience and intuition and create what we call a "functional design" for your application. You, your users, and your developers, can see visually exactly what the form and function of your application is going to be.
We don't just do wireframes, mockups, design comps, or UX analysis... we do it all! The output can be wireframes, mockups, or clickable prototypes and the process can include user testing and feedback loops as well.
At the end of the day our goal is a clear set of blueprints an application that will meet your needs and that your users will love to use!
Requirements documents are useful, but over and over we have seen the power of visual design in finding the heart of the product that's really wanted and needed, and setting up the development project for success. If you aren't sold yet, we'd love to chat and share our experiences (we've learned a lot...the hard way).
Why is functional design so valuable?
More Accurate Bids
Like the ancient parable of blind men encountering an elephant, different engineering teams can have vastly differing interpretations of what to build, even with detailed requirements documents. The Fusion design process produces blueprints for the app, cutting ambiguity and providing for more accurate bids and apples-to-apples comparisons.
Superior Product
Can you imagine how a house would turn out if the builders started with a list of requirements and built the house as they went? Software is built like this frequently! Designing the app up front allows for a cleaner, more seamless app, and can even be tested with end users before a line of code is (re)written!
Better Code
Having an up-front design allows developers to make better day-to-day decisions given the broad understanding of the scope and goals of the project. In addition, numerous challenges are often worked out in the design phase, which reduces code having to be written and rewritten -- again resulting in higher quality, more maintainable code.
Less Scope Creep
If you've been a part of very many software development projects, you've likely encountered numerous situations where expected features weren't adequately scoped in the original estimate. As more of these are found, time and monetary budgets can (and often do) spiral out of control. Designing first provides another win!
Happier Users
Let's face it, no one likes hard to use software. As a general rule, Software Engineers are better at programming than they are at functional and experience design. Additionally, each group of users is unique, and often what is simple to one person is not to the next. A strong functional design with this in mind, and often including some user testing for validation can certainly lead to a more usable app and happier users.
More Heroes
When a software project goes south, it can bode poorly for everyone. Product and project managers, technical leads, developers, even the end users... no one involved in the project is immune from the stress and mess. The clarity and structure that comes from pre-design can lead to a successful project where everyone's a hero!