In a highly competitive environment, startups are forced to move fast, creating hypotheses, testing them, and then implementing the solutions. At the same time, founders often deal with tight budgets and must find ways to reduce the cost of software development. In this article we will discuss how a startup can save money and create a high-quality product that is valuable for customers.
Why is it important to develop an MVP?
There are several factors affecting the cost of development, and they can be found in different stages of work on a project. Using a minimal viable product as a test version helps to avoid critical mistakes during development, market positioning, and sales strategy planning. MVP is needed to see how idea implementation is received by users and what can be changed in the product’s functionality to make it more efficient, convenient, and useful for customers. Another benefit of using MVP is that it allows for prioritization of features, choosing which ones should be released first.
Can’t have too many tests
Conducting tests in every stage of development is the key to timely product modification. Even during the planning, as you specify the feature set you also keep options open in case changes are needed. You must also leave the space for scaling the project in the future when your budget increases. The earlier you start to test different hypotheses and functionality of your software, the more opportunity you will have to improve the product before implementation makes it more challenging. Once product development is completed, changes become much more difficult.
Ready design templates
User Experience Design (UX) and User Interface Design (UI) must be carefully worked if you want your project to be successful. But, these issues are also a very expensive budget line. A good lifehack for startups is to use ready design systems from outset in order to save money that would be spent creating their own brand books. As we said above, it is necessary to make tests during each step of development, which should also include involving focus groups and A/B testing for adjusting designs.
Choose an appropriate platform
When you lack resources, it’s best to concentrate your attention on the one platform which would be the most comfortable and useful for your customers instead of throwing bodies at creating a mobile app, desktop version, and a cloud service all at once. The right choice depends on the goals your startup wants to achieve by developing the product and on audience preferences. Alternatively, you can use cross-platform tools, which enables the development of the one-size-fits-all software solution.
Role of the team
It may seem paradoxical, but a large number of developers, designers, and project managers doesn’t guarantee efficient work. What really matters is clear communication between all members of the team. So, it would be cheaper to hire a small team of experts possessing coherent communication skills and a clear division of responsibilities. You can also learn about different approaches to development, such as agile, lean, waterfall, scrum, kanban, and choose the most appropriate one for your project.
Emphasoft has experience working with startups of many different sizes and business verticals, which is why our specialists can help you to develop a unique and fascinating product even if you have a tight budget. We know how to create conditions for a smooth start and how to grow the business in the future. We strongly recommend leaving the development of the project to our professional team to help you avoid critical mistakes and achieve outstanding results without big investments upfront.
