How To Create A Software Development Plan In 10 Steps

Developing custom software is increasingly commonplace for all business types, streamlining internal processes and creating a platform for customer engagement.

Creating a software development plan (SDP) is vital for ensuring projects are developed promptly while still delivering the core features the end user requires.

This guide covers everything you need to know to put together a successful software development plan that can be used to implement and monitor project progress and deployment.

What Is A Software Development Plan?

A software development plan is a comprehensive roadmap that a development team uses to guide the creation of software and application products for clients.

It incorporates all the tasks required throughout the software development life cycle and outlines everything from the project scope to post-release maintenance and support.

On a fundamental level, a software development plan works as a chronological template from which the software can be built, outlining all the essential aspects needed for it to function.

The plan provides an overview of the project deliverables needed for completion and explores the project team requirements and any specialist coders required.

Additional information in a software project plan includes resource management protocols, risk management throughout each key stage, and methods to track progress.

A software development plan may also include software tools and relevant key performance indicators, depending on key stakeholders’ expectations.

Depending on the application’s nature, this can range from traditional tools supporting programming languages to dedicated generative AI software development tools.

Why Is A Software Development Plan Important?

Just as there are many benefits of outsourcing software development, an effective software development plan can confer various advantages for projects.

It allows the project development team to adhere closely to the client’s end goals, outlining the project schedule, development methodology, and expected milestones.

Some additional advantages gained from creating a software development plan include:

• Creating a project roadmap that aligns with the client’s vision: The software development plan ensures stakeholders and developers are aligned on priorities by clearly articulating the project’s core goals, including the features and functionality.
• Addressing risk management and mitigation: By identifying potential risks and other challenges, a software development plan can foresee obstacles that might impede the smooth running of the software development process.
• Improved communication and documentation: A successful software development plan includes detailed instructions for documentation and knowledge sharing between clients and the development team, establishing communication systems for real-time interaction.
• Outlining key development phases needed for the project’s success: Software development typically follows a series of key phases throughout the lifecycle, each of which can be outlined clearly to improve project monitoring.
• Defining the core approach to project management: Whether using the Agile project management approach or an alternative framework, a solid software development plan includes information on how this system will be applied throughout the project lifecycle.

A software development plan ensures that all parties understand their roles and responsibilities by providing extensive documentation covering the planning process through deployment.

Key Elements Of A Software Development Plan

A software development plan will feature specific key elements, whether you’re partnering with a software development outsourcing provider or developing software in-house.

These key elements include:

• A summary of the project scope and principle objectives, outlining the intended features needed and a selection of end-user stories to showcase how it is intended to function.
• A breakdown of the resources needed to bring the project to life and a resource management strategy detailing the development team members who require access to specific tools.
• An overview of the team members’ roles and responsibilities, with information regarding how these correspond to the various stages of the development process, covering project managers, programmers, designers, and other essential roles.
• A comprehensive project timeline with core milestones, from the early design phase to programming, quality control testing, and post-launch maintenance.
• Complete information regarding communication methods, collaborative tools, and other systems needed to ensure project completion.

A software development plan should, whenever possible, be aligned with the project budget to ensure the software meets expectations and is launched on schedule.

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How To Create A Software Development Plan (Step-By-Step)

Now that we’ve outlined the importance of planning and preparation, it’s time to explain how to create a software development plan for a specific project.

This outline applies to all types of custom software development and is designed to be shared between clients, the development team members, and other project stakeholders.

1. Analyze Your Project Scope

Before you can begin writing out the complete software development plan, you need to analyze the project scope and assess the features the application will require.

The project scope will influence all aspects of the software development process, from the number of team members to the project’s duration and overall budget.

This stage should be conducted with all key stakeholders, and it should include an overview of the end user base size and projected scalability requirements.

2. Outline The Project’s Requirements

The next stage in compiling a software development plan is to determine the project’s requirements based on the aforementioned analysis of its scope.

These requirements will vary depending on the project’s nature, from outsourcing SaaS development to creating an application for smartphones and tablets.

Additional requirements ranging from the core architecture and framework to the complexity of design and testing should also be assessed in this stage.

This will be invaluable when choosing a software development company to collaborate with on the project, as it will present them with a clear view of what is needed to succeed.

3. Assign Your Team Members

Implementing a software development plan will be challenging if the right people cannot manage the project and adapt to challenges.

By assigning the relevant team members to their roles early on, they can ensure they’re fully prepared to meet the project’s demands and implement the necessary tools.

While the number of team members clients need internally varies from project to project, most include project managers for liaising with the core development team.

Whether developing custom software for startups or creating applications for large corporations, these team members will require robust communication systems to perform their roles.

4. Plan Your Risk Management Strategy

The next stage in a software development plan is to outline a strategy for identifying and managing a variety of potential risks to prevent them from derailing the project.

Most developers operate within a secure software development framework based on industry-wide best practices to limit risk exposure.

Such measures help ensure the software’s vulnerabilities are as low as possible throughout the software development life cycle.

This stage can also include taking appropriate measures to ensure clients hold the rights to the software and including any necessary non-disclosure agreements.

5. Design & Prototype Creation Process

This part of the software development plan describes the activities needed to create a detailed application design and overall framework.

Other design approaches, such as rapid prototyping, are also covered here, outlining the technologies and tools needed to combine these elements.

This section details key team members who will be expected to create mockups and other representations of how the working software should perform.

These designs will then be passed on to stakeholders, managers, and key members of the project team, gathering feedback that can be used to refine them further.

Learn more: Explore our beginner’s guide to custom software development.

6. Progress Tracking Methodology

With the design phase complete, the next main section of a software development plan covers the methodologies for tracking progress.

Additional tools focusing on project management and how team members interact are also covered here to ensure essential milestones are met.

It will outline each software development tool the team uses and the general project management methodology, such as Agile or Scrum.

This stage may also cover the key performance indicators that will help to keep the project focused on core goals, whether SMART goals or ones set to another system.

7. Development & Coding Processes

The next step in compiling a software development plan is to break down the processes for coding and developing the application.

This is one of the lengthiest stages of the development process, with multiple programmers often involved in delivering front- and back-end development and other core features.

The core programming team members and any additional short-term coders needed for specific application elements will each be assigned responsibilities.

Likewise, the software development plan will outline a detailed documentation system, ensuring project tasks can be reviewed and completed on time.

8. Testing & Quality Assurance

Quality control is another vital element of any software development project plan, with ongoing support in this area often applied at various stages of development.

A detailed quality assurance and testing plan should be outlined early on, with frequent testing during development and before launch.

This should include any outsourcing to third-party testing teams needed to support internal quality assurance and the project deadlines these sessions revolve around.

It can also break down the testing tools to be used throughout the entire process, with AI-powered tools for quality assurance available to streamline processes.

9. Software Deployment

Launching a new software or application can be incredibly challenging, so outlining how this will be managed in the initial stages will ensure everyone is on the same page.

The development plan should detail the procedures for the software’s release and how the marketing team can promote it as a high-quality software product.

Software developers can liaise with marketing professionals throughout the development process, aiming to foster collaboration so they fully understand the target audience.

Whenever possible, precise dates should be included to give the entire team a clear idea of when it will be released to the public.

10. Maintenance & Support Provisions

The final section of the software development plan provides an overview of provisions for maintenance and support after the product has been launched.

This should include a section exploring current cybersecurity trends and protocols for mitigating these influences to minimize disruptions for the end user.

Any tools needed for ongoing support and project monitoring should be detailed in full and tied into other factors, such as tracking performance metrics and bugs.

This section of the plan should also outline schedules for progress meetings, change management, and stakeholder meetings to discuss new features.

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Creating A Software Development Plan

Creating a robust software development plan requires careful attention to multiple factors that draw on diverse expertise and skills.

As such, it can be easy to overlook key elements or make common mistakes that lead to problems with a project later on.

If this occurs and potential risks become a reality, significant additional custom software development costs can arise, which may derail the project entirely.

Some of the common mistakes to avoid when creating a software development plan include:

• Failing to perform comprehensive competitor research: With hundreds of thousands of software programs on the market, business leaders developing applications for their companies should thoroughly research competitors before they begin writing a software development plan.
• Underestimating the required resources and time frame: A common pitfall some developers encounter is a lack of understanding of the resources and time needed to complete a project. This can be avoided by consulting with a professional software development team in the early stages.
• Overlooking the importance of risk management: Most software development projects come across at least one stumbling block throughout development, and while it isn’t possible to accurately foresee all challenges, risk management is vital for outlining potential obstacles.
• Miscommunication with stakeholders and end users: Software and applications ultimately serve a clear purpose, whether making life easier for customers or streamlining internal work processes. If the software development plan doesn’t begin with feedback from end users and key stakeholders, it may fail to fulfill its intentions.
• Rushed development of the software project plan: Since a software development project plan is intended to provide a roadmap to success, it must be written carefully to ensure everything necessary is covered.

By learning from experiences from previous projects and ensuring the relevant people are included in its composition, a software development plan can be created to avoid these pitfalls.

Tools To Help You Create & Manage A Software Development Plan

With many factors to research and outline in a software development plan, managing it can be improved through various valuable tools.

Here are some examples of tools that you can use to create a software development project plan as efficiently as possible:

• Jira: With many software development projects adopting the Agile management approach, Jira is one of the most popular software development project management tools for managing progress and outlining the main stages of the plan.
• Canva: If you need to include graphical elements or other visual information, you can use Canva to create them without a background in graphic design.
• Trello: For those taking a collaborative approach to creating their software development plan, Trello allows for easy communication and the instant sharing of visual and text information on easy-to-read boards.
• Slack: Clear communication between team members is another necessity for composing a robust outline of the development process, with text and conference call tools supporting multiple users.

These and other tools will help ensure your software development project plan is thoroughly crafted with input from all relevant parties.

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Implementing A Software Development Plan With MyDevTeam

Once you’ve created a robust software development project plan, you must partner with a dedicated software development team to bring it to life.

MyDevTeam’s comprehensive services cover all of the critical elements of software development, including:

• A cutting-edge development methodology that combines the latest in artificial intelligence with DevOps, improving collaboration and maximizing efficiency.
• Comprehensive mobile and web app development and hybrid application development that delivers cross-platform support for large user bases.
• Professional user interface designers who understand how to craft an intuitive and engaging user experience through compelling and visually striking design.
• Implementation and monitoring of search engine optimization to support the client’s content marketing initiatives and reach a broad audience.
• The latest technology stacks leverage open-source frameworks and combine powerful integration with community-driven solutions that ensure projects are future-proofed.
• Extensive e-commerce support, from Amazon Web Services for scalable app hosting to integration of popular platforms such as WooCommerce and Shopify.

With experience developing software across all major industries, MyDevTeam has a proven track record of making software development project plans a reality.

Summary

Whether you’re investing in a new application for your startup or developing software for online sales, thorough planning and preparation are essential for success.

Following the structure outlined in this article, you can develop a robust and detailed software development plan that team members can refer to throughout the development process.

As your project scope evolves and new features are required, the software development project plan can be refined to reflect new project goals.