The startup world can be cruel and exciting at the same time. Although most common challenges can be predicted before starting the process of product development, we often assume that they won’t happen in our case – and this approach can be disastrous! Being prepared for all the eventualities allows you to carry out your project and achieve outstanding results. To understand all the possible pitfalls better, we compiled some of the major challenges that startups face while product creation.
At the beginning, you might be in two minds about choosing the right technology. You could either pick a more mainstream or niche option. Undoubtedly, lots of decisions are made in a rush, but this one can bring awful consequences. The temptation of basing your project on technology you’ve previously worked on or your team is using can seem like a good pick. But let’s face it, some of the ideas you are trying to bring into the digital world might work much better if a suitable technology is chosen. Naturally, you can make it work well with the tech tools you already feel comfortable with, but it certainly can create lots of pitfalls and weaseling.
On the other hand, some ventures decide to implement brand new technologies. Using those types of solutions can definitely burden your budget more and cause some (usually unpredictable) problems during the product development process. As being the bellwether in introducing new tech solutions, you should also be aware of the difficulty in developing a high-quality product. If you'll be able to handle all the obstacles – the world is basically yours.
What’s more, startups scale up overtime. Choosing new technologies as the base of your product development might work well in small teams where you are able to find and hire specific developers. But as the company grows, you might have serious issues with recruiting.
If you are not fully sure which technology would be suitable for your project, hire a tech consultant. It does not need to be a long-term collaboration, even a casual conversation can help you clarify many of your matters and concerns. You might just want to prepare some questions and aspects you are still hesitant about to gain more insights.
Nowadays, a software product without a proper interface and thought-out functions is less likely to succeed. Let’s be honest, looks do matter, even in the tech world. An approach we can see quite often is rushing to create the technological side of the product first without planning the UX/Ul along the way. That creates an ultimate issue of tailoring the design to the already existing product.
On the other hand, many startups begin their product development process with rapidly crafted product design solutions and then move on to actual development. It leads to poor looks and malfunctions that can cost a startup a solid amount of money to cover post-release pitfalls. Keep in mind that launching your final version of the product should be your ride-or-die type of a moment. Underdeveloped outcomes will definitely affect your startup reputation in the long run. That is why taking more time and detailing your product is crucial in order to shake the startup scene.
As you might presume, the ultimate antidote for that challenge is balance and cooperation of both product design and software development teams to be assured of polished results. It can be strongly advised to invest in creating a design that will fulfill the client’s needs and then take care of all the technical aspects.
The IT industry is developing at an astonishing pace. Thus, it gets increasingly more difficult to find top talents for tech projects suitable for the budget frames. Majority of startups will look for several ways to overcome this problem. Outsourcing can, in most of the cases, be a financially beneficial decision. What’s more, developers from certain countries, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, can provide high-quality services while still being affordable.
Let’s also be aware of the fact that skillful and talented developers also bring some value to the team. It’s not only about getting the tasks done and waiting for the paycheck. As a startup founder, you should also be responsible for keeping the communication flow on the right level by choosing professional creators who will cooperate well with your already existing team.
Don’t hesitate to outsource product designers team! It’s not as complicated as it seems. As most of the agencies and service providers work remotely you can find plenty of compelling offers online and strike up a new collaboration. Search through platforms such as Clutch (to compare the prices and find the suitable company to outsource) or Fiverr (if you prefer to work with ar freelancer).
Most common challenges of software product development for startups are likely to revolve around three major aspects – choosing the right technology, hiring suitable people, and taking care of the UX/UI. Certainly, each startup has a different story and different decisions to make in the foreseeable future. What will always positively influence your choices is observation. Make sure to stay up-to-date with the upcoming trends/tendencies and allow yourself to spare your time to create a thought-out plan for your product.
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6 reasons why a product design and development agency can improve your business
