Continuous Software Improvement
Software process improvement (SPI) is the systematic approach of continuous improvement of software by identifying areas for improvement and implementing changes to increase effectiveness and efficiency.
If you don’t stay on your toes, competitors might stomp on them
A great software product requires an iterative process over time. The first release is never the final product. Each process improvement or revision adds functionality, fixes bugs, and improves user experience (UX). It doesn’t matter how big your company is — or how many coders, QA engineers, and security auditors you throw at your software — you always have things to improve and issues to fix.
So for startups and other early-stage software developers, the principles of continuous development are the only way to go. But after an application is “stable” and starts generating revenue, many companies tend to get complacent. They stop applying the continuous development approach to their product. And that error can be fatal, especially for the SaaS industry. Without continuous development, even a relatively mature product can lag behind the market. If you don’t update your software — continuously and quickly — you risk getting stomped on by your competition.
Benefits of Continuous Development, in a nutshell
Done right, continuous process improvement sets goals, tests assumptions, analyzes reality, and implements changes to meet proven needs — quickly.
The speed and agility of continuous development can improve software in many ways, including:
Adding new features and functions to address changing (or newly identified) customer needs
Identifying and resolving bugs, customer concerns, and other issues to maximize product quality
Reducing overall project risks by deploying and measuring small, incremental product changes
Adapting to market conditions that unveil new revenue opportunities
Scaling the application to capture changing audiences and markets
Updating security to keep the application ahead of rapidly evolving cyber threats
Code and architecture refactoring to make the product easier to maintain and develop
What Goes into Continuous Development?
Continuous software development can be described in many ways, but it boils down to the four simple stages of continuous improvement: Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA).
Planning should cover your business objectives and strategy, product goals and required functionality, deadlines, and budget. Planning typically involves a Discovery Phase that lets the development team define the scope of the application, align functionality with business requirements, and tie the solution to the strategic vision.
Doing sets the plan in motion. For the most effective software development, best practice is to release elements in short, quick sprints and test continuously as you deploy. As your product nears full release, you can also apply analytics to internal reviews and external user behaviors to compare product performance against your goals.
Checking measures reality against the plan. Again, analytics are key to making objective assessments of product success. What worked? What didn’t? Did customer behavior meet expectations? Were the objectives met? What adjustments are needed? Product optimization requires data-driven decisions on application UI/UX, content, process flow, and other key parameters.
Acting means fine-tuning functionality, improving quality, fixing issues, enhancing performance, updating security measures, and adding requirements if needed. It is vital, especially in the early stages of development, to be flexible and creative — much innovation comes from experimentation.
When the PDCA cycle is complete, go through it again: adjust the plan, deploy the revised solution accordingly, measure the effect of the product changes, and take the necessary actions to improve the product.
