You’d think that utilizing top coders, the best practices, and the latest frameworks would equal software success, but there are a few vital elements missing from this equation. Factor these in, and software can move from being merely good, to being great...
To uncover what these missing elements might be, it helps to start with a look at the current state of the market.
Pandemics aside, business is getting tougher. Customers are becoming more sophisticated, competitors smarter, and technology more complex. It’s still the case that for any company to keep up, let alone streak ahead, software can be the vital factor that gives you the edge, but it's not quite as simple as building a good piece of software and sitting back to watch the cash roll in.
In order to add real value in today’s business environment, software needs to be more integrated, to be more closely coupled to the company’s long term goals.
It’s no longer enough to build software for the beauty of automation and the thrill of rising to the challenge to see if it can be done, because once those projects are out in the wild, it becomes clear that a good solid build just doesn’t fulfil the end-game. The build is one thing, but the hard part is getting that software to really serve its customers and its parent company’s strategy.
Let’s take a look at what happens when you build good software without a deep alignment with a clear corporate strategy:
1. No strategy?
You’re building something of the moment, which, by the time you launch, may no longer be relevant, regardless of how well it’s built.
2. Clear strategy but no alignment with the software?
You have split priorities. At some point, you’ll abandon one of them, most likely the product. That’s a lot of wasted time and effort.
But, if you have a clear strategy and your software project is aligned with it, your chances of success are dramatically increased. So core alignment with a clear corporate strategy is one of the missing elements that could make your software great. But there’s another...
Your strategically aligned software is now a win, but can you support the success?
How are you going to support those thousands of new users/orders/leads? It's a great problem to have, but without a plan in place, your business can very quickly become overwhelmed and fail with too much success.
Underlying operational support for your software is an essential consideration. From the very start, you need to know how you’re going to support your software in the field, so that it can support your strategy. Without this step, you’re setting yourself up to snatch failure from the jaws of success.
At Brave, we design each software solution with alignment to your company’s strategy in mind and a plan for how it’s going to be supported in the wild.
Our tried-and-tested Discovery sessions have been honed to dig deeper, and understand not simply how to build your software, but how to ensure it is strategically relevant to your business goals. Got a good product idea that we can help make great? Lets talk.
