Starting an app or software project, where do you start?

 

Step 1: Formulate

Who are the stakeholders in your project, and what do you want to achieve for them with the software and/or app? Formulate these objectives. This can be an overarching objective for the entire project, or an objective specific to a stakeholder. Suppose you want to have a platform developed for knowledge exchange between secondary school teachers. A corresponding objective could then be: Improve and promote knowledge flows in secondary education.

Step 2: Analyse

Write down which tasks the stakeholders should complete. In the case of a teacher, this could be: Preparing lessons.

Based on this, write down a problem statement, for example: Teachers depend on their immediate colleagues to share knowledge. Reliable information on the internet is scarce.

Then write down what the business value, or added value, can be from a software application. ''Teachers save time, are always up to date with best practices and can put out a question within 30 seconds and have an answer within 24 hours''.

Step 3: Discover

What functionalities should your software have? These functionalities always solve a problem, or they create an opportunity. For example: ''Personalised content with high relevance'', or ''a direct messaging function''.

Optionally, you can rank these functionalities by degree of importance. That way, you can ensure that the most important functionalities can be made operational already in the first version of your software.

Step 4: Define the Scope

Together with your team, you decide what the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) will be. This is an initial version of your product, which solves the most important problems and delivers sufficient business value to justify an investment.

Next, formulate an MVP statement. Try to do this in one sentence. In it, you give a summary of the software product you provide to end-users within the MVP. Example: An app for teachers that allows them to easily connect with each other and exchange knowledge.

Once you have completed these steps, you can start looking for a software developer. They can then give you an estimate of the development costs. With that, you can get your budget approved internally.

Useful toolbox: Digital Solution Canvas

A useful tool when drawing up an Action Plan for software is the Digital Solution Canvas. You will find the different steps from this article in it as well. You can download this canvas for free via this link: https://www.SevenLab.nl/digital-solution-canvas/. It helps you make your software idea clear and concise.