How Do I Quote Costs For Software Development Projects?
Recently, while conversing with one of my clients, I realised how costing their dream project has become challenging altogether. Costing your software development project means you have to take care of all the nitty-gritty. Costing depends upon the following factors: Size of the project The complexity of the project Design of the project Team composition Platform used Size of the project To understand the cost behind the software development project, you have to understand the project’s size. Size also represents the scope of the project. The requirements that reveal the added features on the pre-existing ones. This will further make you understand the software requirements. Thus, the cost depends upon all. Yes, sizing the project means you cannot leave a minute detail out of it. Or else it is going to show the disparity in cost amount. For sizing the project accurately, follow this checklist. The complexity of the project Complexity plays another important role in costing. Complexity comprises of features required for the development project and thus how you want the features to e designed and put together. Thus the navigation and UI/UX also comes with it. The third element that comprises complexity is the technology required to make those features work. Therefore to cost-effectively, you need to have a clear understanding of these elements. Design of the project The design comes after deciding on the complexity. You understand the market trends and customer behaviour and then decide on the designing part. For example, in the food ordering mobile application, which one will you prefer while ordering the quantity of the same product? Do you want to increase the quantity one y one with the ‘+’ sign, or do you want to type manually or choose the number from the drop-down box? Thus all these matters when designing an app, and the costing depends upon it. A checklist to follow for deciding on the creative design. Team Composition All these require a team, and for composing your team, you need to choose the right talent. Fortunately, today software development companies have different engagement models or hiring models to hire the resources as per your business objective. You can also opt for a pay-as-you-go model. Platforms Lastly, it is important to decide which platform your application will run and what technology stack should be used to achieve the same. There will be an introductory rate for developing a project, but creating something that will cater to the niche segment requires advanced technology and unique design, which adds to the project’s cost. There are three popular platforms for software development projects – Android, iOS and web applications offered to the client by software development partners. Today users are using various platforms, and thus to stay future-ready, founders need to build different versions of applications for different platforms. Software development cost depends upon various matters apart from the five key factors mentioned above. It also relies on the region of the world from where you hire your developers. In North America, hiring a junior developer takes $90 to $100 per hour, whereas, in Asia, the hourly rate for senior developers varies from $25 to $35. So when you find costing complicated, always start from the basics and then go up to the complexity. An MVP features also give you a costing idea. After that, find out the design and creatives required to enhance customer experience. Often in low budgeting, developers overlook the market trends and user experience. Thus along with costing, taking care of the quality of the project is important. Remember, you are paying for the brains, too, along with the hands.
