Every company, irrespective of its size, can benefit from custom software solutions. With the help of custom software, a company can enhance its efficiency, increase innovation, and reach new customers. However, the small company does not always have the budget to work with the high-priced software.
That is the reason why it becomes essential to estimate the cost of software development before implementing it. Determining the cost of software development is not a child’s play. You have to consider many things, and if it is inappropriate, you cannot determine the final cost of the software accurately.
If you do not consider the essential things involved in the software development process, it may not be up to the mark even if its cost is less. That means you must have appropriate knowledge of what you should consider in custom software before developing it. Hence, in this article, we have come up with all the essential things you should consider to estimate the cost of software development.
Eight essential factors to consider in estimating the cost of software development
Many constraints are involved in the process of any software development project. Before we move into the depth, it is essential to understand these factors which described as follows:
Human Resource:
The first thing that will produce a major impact on the project’s total cost is the number of people working on the project. The team’s size will also impact the price, and the size you need for the project depends on the complexity of the project. Again, the project’s cost will also depend on the experience and skill set of the persons you have hired on the team.
The more the experience, the more the hiring price and the more will be the project’s cost. The project’s overall cost also depends on the number of the person you have hired for the project. Again if you hire fewer people, it will take a longer time to complete the project and cost more. It would help if you considered all these things at the time of estimating the cost of software development.
Schedule:
The time required to complete a project will also impact the overall cost of software development. If the project takes a long time to complete, then the project’s price will be more since you require to pay the software developers on an hourly basis. Generally, an experienced software developer charges anywhere between $30 to $150 for software development, although it depends on the developer’s skill set, experience, and responsibilities.
The best thing is to break up the project into different stages and keep a separate budget for each step. As each phase of the project completes, you can adjust your budget, looking at the previous stage’s cost, and based on the deadlines to meet.
Scope:
Generally, the software development project has fixed human resources and a fixed schedule, but the scope of the project is variable and can change from time to time. As the software develops, it is necessary to take constant feedback from the stakeholders. If you find any unnecessary features that increase the cost, you can easily remove that feature. This way, you can decrease the custom software cost at the time of software development.
Size of the software:
The software’s size depends on the number of screens that you are going to build. The more the screen, the more expensive will be the software. Generally, a small software application has 10 to 25 screens, and it usually ranges between $50,000 to $70,000. A medium-sized software application has 25 to 40 screens that generally cost $75,000 to $2 00 000, and a large-sized software application with more than 40 screens cost $250,000 or more.
The complexity of the software:
Some software is more complicated than that of the usual ones. Every software development requires analysis, scoring, or number crunching, and the more it requires, the more it will be its cost. When the software is complex, it requires experienced and skilled developers who have the experience and knowledge to handle all sorts of permutations and nuances of projects.
Creative design:
The looks of the software application also matter a lot since it makes a good impression. If the software application is user-friendly and looks attractive, then it will attract more and more customers. The creative design includes fonts, color, animations, artwork, etc. The more the software application is creative, the more expensive it will be. The cost of the innovative design of the software ranges from $8000 to $16000.
Integration with other systems:
Sometimes, it becomes necessary to integrate your software with other external software applications. But such integration can be incredibly challenging and is based on the number of integration that you require in the software. Generally, it is not so difficult for the software developer to integrate with essential payment providers, such as PayPal, Credit Card, Debit Card, Rupay Card, etc.
However, it can be very challenging for a software developer to integrate with some apps. The more the software is complicated for the software developer, the more expensive it becomes. It is because, in such cases, you have to hire a specialized software developer for integrating it. Hence, the software integration cost fluctuates from project to project, depending on the software integration’s complexity.
Migration of existing data:
In some software applications, it becomes necessary to move enormous data from one system to another or from an older system to the new application. However, all software application does not require migration, and there is no need to migrate or import the existing data. So, there is no need to bear the cost of migration unnecessarily. Generally, for an experienced software developer, migration is not a very complicated task and is a relatively painless process, but it can be difficult for an inexperienced developer.
Hence, if you observe that your software application will require migration, you have to hire an experienced software developer. If you hire experienced software developers, it is evident that they will charge a little more than that of the normal software developers.
Hence, the cost of software development varies depending on the factors mentioned above. As the owner of a company, you have to consider all these factors before developing the software. You must make a budget for developing the software. If you consider all these factors, you will develop the software application within your budget. Hence, every company owner needs to check these factors from the beginning to estimate and manage the cost of software application easily.