In addition, due to the global pandemic, many business leaders are trying to focus on the future, which may put extra pressure on the shoulders of CIOs. There has been a switch from enabling remote workplaces to trying to make up for lost time, productivity, and revenues. One of the ways to do this is to make software development faster. There are four key ways to do that including aligning strategy with delivery, clarifying the goal, adopting the right tools, and making the most of low-code platforms.

Align Strategy with Delivery

One of the main ways to enable fast software development is to ensure that strategies and delivery are aligned. To develop software and apps quicker, organizations need to have a clear and thoughtful strategy.

There are some things that should be considered when building the strategy including:

• Skill development – employees may need to be upskilled so they can get coding done faster.
• Team creation – software development can be enhanced if many different perspectives are guiding and informing the process. This means that teams should include more than just developers. Consider adding data scientists, business managers, and other key players in the organization.

Having a plan is the first step to creating an atmosphere that allows for fast software development.

Adopt the Right Tools

There are a number of tools that can help software developers do their jobs faster. But some developers don’t use these tools to simplify their work. Moreover, some teams are using just some of the tools that are available.

One study stated that 35 percent of respondents said the development lifecycle was automated at their organization, and 38 percent reported the lifecycle at their organization was mostly automated. A further 16 percent said they were just beginning to automate, and three percent said there was no automation at all in their development work.

Furthermore, researchers report that only 38 percent of participants indicated that their organization had continuous integration/continuous delivery. Developers also said that 29 percent use test automation while only 12 percent said they had full-time test automation.

Participants also told researchers they knew that if they adopted more of these tools they could speed up their development work. Sixty-six percent said their process and tools enabled them to do their jobs better. They also acknowledged that test automation was one of the three biggest areas of investment for their organizations.

The conclusion of these statistics shows the need to put the right tools in place that can help developers build quality software at a faster rate. Organizations that want to develop software faster should ensure they adopt the right tools as often as possible.

Clarify the Goal

To get the best results in the shortest amount of time, teams need to have clarity and focus. This means that teams should concentrate on the most important aspects of development.  Pull out the most essential goal or aspect of the project, what makes it stand out? What makes it different? This is where the most time and effort should be invested. Some projects may need to be revamped, which could lead to faster software development.

Innovation is great, but it needs to be guided. There is a lot of opportunities to get lost during the software development process, so maintaining focus is vital. One way to do this is to keep adding features from making their way into the design. Keep the team on track and don’t entertain any extras during the development process unless they are essential to the product. Otherwise, the developmental process may become hampered.

Consider Low-Code Platforms

No-code or low-code platforms have been touted as one of the key advances that has enhanced the speed of software development. Low-code technology can help developers create code at a quicker pace than if they write it themselves. It can also help businesses quickly develop software solutions to meet their needs. Low-code platforms are a great place for business owners to build a solution in real time based on their own ideas.  This cuts down on development time that can come with the traditional development process that requires collaboration and several meetings to define the project.

Similarly, low-code platforms can be used by non-IT individuals for less demanding development projects. This allows IT teams to focus on more complicated and higher-value development. It can also mean that those more intricate projects get completed faster.

There is a case for CIOs to invest more in low-code or no-code platforms as development solutions. By doing so, they can enable citizen developers and business owners to create simple software solutions while still remaining in charge of more complex software development. However, it is important to remember that not all low-code platforms are the same. It is also essential to have a development process in place to prevent any errors in the product.

As businesses continue to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic, there is more pressure to speed up the software development process. However, the risk is that developers become overwhelmed and the product suffers. But, it doesn’t have to be this way. There are four ways that can help improve the speed of software development including aligning strategy with delivery, clarifying the goal, adopting the right tools, and using low-code platforms. Companies that put these steps into place will be able to develop software faster, which will improve productivity and revenues well into the future.