Field Notes From Cyfrania
Chronicles of software developers: sweet successes, bitter failures, and everyday routines shared to inspire, spark thoughts, offer hints, or just for a pleasant read.
The Struggle of Supporting Multiple App Versions
The number of app users is decreasing for no apparent reason. This is one of the nightmares of many app owners. Thinking about this problem, as a developer I would like to share the story of one of our company's customers. It is a leading real estate marketplace on mobile and the web, with a huge user base and unrivaled dominance in a major US city. The project was developed by another team of developers in the early 2000s and came to our company much later. When the number of app users suddenly started to decrease, the customer turned to us for professional help. He was afraid that he…
App Maintenance Costs and How to Reduce Them
The application development lifecycle consists of the planning, development, deployment and maintenance phases. Each of these phases is associated with certain costs and expenses. Before the start of application development, every entrepreneur is faced with the task of choosing the most suitable price contract: time and materials or fixed price. In the development stage, it is essential to consider the salaries and wages of the app development team. The deployment phase includes the cost of installing and configuring servers,…
How to Choose Application Modernization Strategy
Before we dive into legacy application modernization strategies, we need to understand what a "legacy application" is and why we're talking about it. Legacy application refers to an outdated or obsolete application that is still functional and in active use. This application can present challenges in terms of maintenance and support, as it may not be compatible with modern operating systems or hardware. However, it is important to recognize that a legacy application can have significant value as it contains important data and functionality that is not present in more modern applications.…
Website Speed Optimization Strategies
When analyzing competitors' successes, product owners often notice that their website runs slower than those of newer players in the market. It's even possible that not just newly created but also long-existing, substantial websites load faster, respond more swiftly to user search queries, and direct them to the next internal web page more promptly. What does it mean? Should you give up and surrender to more speedy peers in the trade? - Absolutely not. As a developer, I can assure you there are many ways to speed up your website, and I will tell you about them right now. To start with, it…
I Have an App Idea: Now What?
I have a great idea for an app! Now what? What should I do next? You have an app idea which came into your head and doesn't go away. It bothers you and you can't just move on with your life. You really want to build your app. Perhaps you want to run a business and make money with your app? Or maybe you want to make the world a better place? Or both? Where should you start? Take a deep breath and calm down. Here is the plan. You may feel like you have an app idea, but you do not have it yet, not until you have it written. Only…
Against the Clock: Deadline Rescue Tips for Product Owners
Imagine this happening - a serious threat of missing deadlines looms over your project. For an entrepreneur developing an app, the consequences can be very serious. At the very least, this means overspending the budget, but it's usually much more than that. This can also be forever missed opportunities to participate in a significant industry event, which the release was timed to. Or undermined trust of investors and partners, disappointed user expectations, and marketing efforts gone to waste. All these prospects are extremely unpleasant - which means it's time for a crisis plan. What does…
Time and Materials vs Fixed Price: Which Fits Your Business?
Money and deadlines are the two aspects that concern entrepreneurs the most when they want to develop an app or a website. This is not surprising, as everyone wants to save money and realize their idea as soon as possible, as time plays against them in the highly competitive IT world. When searching for developers, the entrepreneurs should pay attention not only to their professional skills, expertise and experience, but also to the pricing contract they use. The early outsourcing contracts were traditionally based on a fixed price model, but nowadays, another business…
How to Reduce App Development Cost?
How to create an app and not go bankrupt? How to reduce the app development price? Sooner or later, every entrepreneur asks themselves these questions. It's good if this happens before the start of app development. However, it often happens when app development expenses are already out of control. What does this mean? The entrepreneur and the development team had agreed on a certain amount, but the budget has long since exceeded the acceptable limit. This is the worst nightmare for any entrepreneur who dreams of bringing their idea to life as quickly as possible, but the developers fail…
App Owner and Tech Debt: Detecting and Managing the Unseen
At last, you've found it - an article for understanding technical debt in software development with no tech background, focused on app owners needs, free of tech jargon and needless tech details! It finally explains in human language just what you need to know for decision-making. With over two decades in the IT industry, I am convinced that when a project is handled by experts, product owners don't need to know anything about the technical debt - that's the team's domain. So, if you are aware of this concept, it's a sign that your team has failed, and the problems are already…
Speed vs Quality: Which Is Preferred in Software Development?
When developing an application or software, the question of whether to prioritize speed or quality often arises. Striking a balance between the two is crucial. In our article, we discuss how to find this balance and ensure both efficient development and high-quality outcomes. In September of this year, I was fortunate enough to visit the Seamless Saudi Arabia exhibition. After speaking with some attendees and exhibitors, I was able to identify several trends of the IT market in Saudi Arabia. One of…
