How to Estimate and Reduce Software Development Costs

Today, all the industries in the world are software driven. Though the types and functionality of the software might vary from industry to industry, the creation, implementation, and operation aspects, as well as the software development life cycle (SDLC), remain relatively the same.

Developing robust software can be an expensive affair. Thus, it’s essential for you to estimate and reduce the overall cost of software development. By understanding the factors that impact the cost of software development and implementing cost-saving strategies, you can ensure your vendor develops high-quality software that meets your needs without breaking the bank.

So, how can you estimate and reduce software development costs? Let’s find out –

How to estimate software development costs?

Having an estimate before moving forward with the software development process is essential. Below are a few things you can do to estimate the cost of software development:

1. Understand the scope of work: Before starting a software development project, it’s crucial to determine the required features and functions. For startups, the focus should be developing a minimum viable product (MVP) first and gathering customer feedback to improve the software. On the other hand, established businesses already have a clear understanding of their core requirements and can better define their scope of work. It’s essential to consider factors like in-house or third-party development, scalability, team size, and expertise level when determining the cost of software development. Businesses can take a strategic approach and analyze these factors to ensure their successful software development project meets their specific needs.

2. Make a cost sheet: After carefully considering the core requirements and solutions, you can draw up a cost sheet that mentions real-time cost. This will help you estimate the final figure needed for a specific project. Making a cost sheet lets you be on track when the custom software development project life cycle starts.

3. Keep cost deviation possibilities in mind: There are chances that things might not work as planned. In such cases, you will need an alternate solution. This can change the costs involved. So always consider contingencies and keep a backup plan and cost sheet ready so that you are not surprised when things do not go as planned.

How to reduce software development costs?

Once you have created the first software development cost estimate, you can now work on reducing the overall expense without compromising the outcome and quality. Below are a few ways you can adopt to reduce the overall software development costs.

1. Figure out the requirements: Have a clear vision. Keep features and functions that are crucial to the business. Eliminate elements that might not come in much use.

2. Choose carefully between in-house and outsourcing: While in-house development can be cost-saving, outsourcing can provide you with expertise and help complete projects at a much faster rate. Choose what suits your business requirements best.

3. Adopt agile: Agile is a software development methodology that keeps you and the development center in sync on a real-time basis. This helps in bringing clarity and faster responses to the changes demanded.

4. Do not go for fixed pricing: If you are opting for outsourcing, it is better to pay for the features you want in your software and not the whole package.

To maintain competitiveness in today’s market, organizations seek to control the cost of software development while maintaining quality. So, one of the most popular and viable strategies to achieve this objective is to set up an offshore development center (ODC) in countries like India. An offshore development center (ODC) is a dedicated team of top-notch software development professionals located in a different geographical location, like India, and supporting an organization’s software needs.

A robust offshore development center (ODC) in India can help you reduce software development costs, attract talented resources, and save time with faster solutions and multitasking. In short, it helps you to focus on the main part of your business, while you get cutting-edge software solutions delivered on time. However, to set up a robust offshore development center (ODC) in India, you need a reliable local partner. Selecting the right offshore development center (ODC) partner can help businesses achieve significant cost savings without compromising the quality of their software development projects.

Building your own offshore development center (ODC) in India

If you are looking for a reliable offshore development center (ODC) partner in India, Carvewing is one of the most trusted ODC service providers that has helped several organizations streamline their software development processes and deliver cutting-edge solutions on time with considerably reduced expenses.

We have a pool of talented software developers and other professionals who handle all the complexities of software development and efficiently manage an offshore team. With a proven track record of delivering high-quality IT solutions to clients worldwide, Carvewing offers a range of benefits that help businesses reduce software development costs without compromising on quality. In addition, we enable easy real-time collaboration, faster project delivery, access to the latest technology, and flexibility in resource utilization.

Learn how you can leverage Carvewing’s ODC expertise to set up, manage and scale world-class offshore software development teams quickly while benefiting from significant cost savings. Talk to our ODC experts today.