7 Proven Techniques to Cut Software Development Costs & Time

Learning how to reduce software development costs and time is essential, especially for entrepreneurs and first-time founders. Modern teams must build smarter and more efficiently, bringing products to market faster, while keeping costs and development time in check.

In this article, we’ll explore seven innovative techniques from our experience that have helped entrepreneurs and first-time founders save money and time in their development process. Let’s dive in.

Introducing Lean Software Development: Doing More with Less

Lean Software Development (LSD) is like taking excess weight off a process so that only what is essentially needed remains. “Excess weight” in software development refers to anything that doesn’t directly contribute to the final, working product. Examples may include unnecessary features, too many layers of approval, and lengthy documentation no one reads.

Key LSD Principles to Cut Software Development Cost & Time

• Eliminate waste: LSD takes a user, functional-first approach. That is, cut out anything that doesn’t add value to the user.
• Build quality in: The lean approach incorporates quality into every process. It utilises automated testing tools, continuous integration, and code reviews to ensure the end product is high quality.
• Amplify knowledge: Software development isn’t static. Lean strongly encourages continuous learning and improvement through constant testing, gathering feedback, and adjusting the development process as required.
• Delay decisions: Avoid locking into decisions too early till there’s sufficient information. It prevents rewrites from happening after new information comes to light.
• Deliver fast: Early delivery helps you know early if you are building what the users actually want. The quicker users can get a working version to test, the quicker you get valuable feedback that helps development.
• Empower the team: Lean teams are self-starters, organised and empowered to make necessary decisions. There is little to no bureaucracy that could affect the development process.
• See the whole picture: Lean focuses on a more holistic view of the entire development process and optimises the process end-to-end.

Implementing Agile Development Methodologies

If Lean is about eliminating waste, Agile is about flexibility and collaboration. Its logic is simple: instead of building a house at once before asking the owner for feedback, build a room, and then ask for feedback before proceeding to the next room.

Agile development methodologies are a modern project management approach that allows teams to adapt quickly, deliver faster, and consistently improve based on user feedback. According to a study by the Project Management Institute (PMI), Agile projects are 28% more successful than traditional projects.

Differences between Agile and Traditional Models

• Traditional (Waterfall) model: You design the layout of the building, buy the necessary materials, and build everything at once. If the user changes their mind or suddenly dislikes something halfway, you might have to pull down walls (increased cost) or spend time trying to make it work (wasted time).
• Agile model: You start with one room from the layout, ask the user for feedback, adjust, and proceed to the next room. Making changes this way is cheaper and guarantees that the final product is very close to the user’s needs.

How Agile Supports Efficient Project Management

• Detects issues early: Delivering software in small chunks and getting early feedback allows problems to be identified and sorted early.
• Customer-centricity: Continuously involving the users in the development process ensures that the final products better meet their needs.
• Prioritised work: Agile helps teams to focus on high-impact tasks first and ensures early return on investment.
• Faster delivery: Agile projects deliver usable products to the market faster than traditional projects.

Ingenious App Studios employs Agile methodologies to reduce software development costs & time, involving clients throughout the process for flexible, timely delivery of high-quality products.

Utilising Automated Testing Tools

Testing in software development is the equivalent of quality control in factories. It ensures the final product is of the highest quality and meets users’ needs. However, doing it manually is slow, expensive, and error-prone.

Using automated testing tools is like having an expert digital assistant who can review every line of code and test every functionality after an update without getting tired.

Advantages of Automated Testing in Reducing Software Development Costs & Time

1. Automated tests can do in minutes what a quality assurance team might take hours or days to do manually.
2. Early bug detection is 6x cheaper to fix than those found after releasing the product, according to IBM Systems Science Institute.
3. Automated tests are more reliable than manual checks.
4. Automated testing can be done simultaneously across multiple browsers, devices, and environments, reducing products’ time to market.

Popular Automated Testing Tools to Consider

• Unit testing frameworks: JUnit (for Java), pytest (for Python), and Mocha/Jest (for JavaScript).
• UI testing tools: Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright.
• API testing tools: Postman and RestAssured.
• Performance testing tools: JMeter and LoadRunner.
• Mobile app testing tools: Appium and Espresso (for Android) and XCUITest (for IOS).

Prioritising the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Approach

Would it make sense to build an entire restaurant before knowing if people like your food? No, but many companies launch products that way. The minimum viable product approach suggests you first build a simple product with the core features that cater to the user’s main pain point, launch it quickly, and then gather feedback from real users before spending more money.

Steps to Develop A Minimum Viable Product

1. Identify the core problem you want your product to solve.
2. Define the core features that will solve that problem and build only that for starters.
3. Design and develop the product quickly using the Lean and Agile approach.
4. Release the product to a select target audience who can give solid feedback.
5. Measure key metrics and learn from them.
6. Make adjustments and add features based on proven feedback.

Real-World Success Stories

• Amazon started out selling books only. Their website was simple and focused on just this functionality. It served customers well, and the growing traction from selling books validated its business model, laying the foundation for the $2 trillion giant we know today.
• Uber’s MVP was a simple app that could connect riders with drivers in San Francisco—no fancy GPS tracking, fare splitting, or luxury options. Just connecting riders with drivers. The MVP validated their concept and became the foundation for a $176 billion empire.
• Airbnb started with its founders renting out air mattresses on their apartment floor to people who attended a conference when the hotels were full. They had an MVP website that was enough to share the idea with their target audience. This simple solution validated their concept and grew into a $77 billion company.
• Dropbox started with a 3-minute explainer video instead of a full product. Without having to write code, they generated over 75,000 signups overnight. Now, it is worth $8 billion and has over 700 million registered users globally.

Collaborating with Cross-Functional Teams

Software development suffers when teams work in isolation. It kills speed and can inflate costs. Running a cross-functional team where people with unique skill sets can collaborate effectively towards a common goal speeds up decision-making and ensures better product outcomes.

Benefits of Diverse Skill Sets

A football team cannot consist of defenders only. When distinct skill sets collaborate, the project benefits in a lot of ways:

• Different skill sets bring different perspectives to the table and can allow teams to tackle challenges from a holistic perspective.
• Cross-functional teams can work on the same project concurrently, reducing dependencies and bottlenecks.
• Cross-functional teams have more empathy for each other’s roles, which can improve communication and workflows.
• Decisions are made faster.
• The collaboration between diverse skill sets can easily spark innovation compared to homogeneous teams.
• Cross-functional teams foster a stronger sense of shared ownership and responsibility for the project’s success.

Effective Communication Strategies

1. Clearly define roles and responsibilities.
2. Establish clear and frequent communication channels. E.g., daily stand-ups and using shared tools like Slack.
3. Use visual communication
4. Create an environment that encourages sharing ideas, dropping feedback, and asking questions.

Cut Software development costs & time: Outsourcing Non-Core Functions

The world has moved past trying to do everything yourself or build everything from scratch. Outsourcing non-core functions reduces software development costs & time, allowing your team to focus on what they do best while you leverage the expertise of other professionals at an affordable and efficient rate.

Identifying Tasks Suitable for Outsourcing

Different tasks have strategic value. Some core tasks are best kept internal, while others can be outsourced without compromising quality. Tasks that can be outsourced are:

• They are not core to your business value proposition.
• Require specialised skills that you don’t have in-house or are quite expensive to maintain.
• Repetitive and time-consuming
• Can be clearly defined and measured
• They are not critical to your intellectual property or competitive advantage.

Common non-core functions outsourced include Quality assurance testing, IT infrastructure management, Technical support, Content writing and marketing tech, UI/UX design, and even some aspects of development.

Choosing the Right Outsourcing Partner

Some critical factors to consider are:

• What is their expertise and experience portfolio?
• Do they have clear communication processes?
• Do they culturally align with your values?
• How secure and confidential are their processes?
• What is their cost-to-value ratio?
• Can they easily scale?
• Are there clear legal structures?

Continuous Improvement and Feedback Loop

A robust feedback loop and a constant iteration system drive efficiency over time. Software needs to improve continuously based on real user interaction and feedback.

Emphasising Iteration and Feedback

Iteration and feedback are the same side of the same coin. Iteration says to break down the development or upgrade process into smaller parts and release it as quickly as possible for users to test. Feedback measures key metrics from users interacting with the released product and uses it as a reference point for further iterations.

The power cycle is build, measure, learn, iterate, and repeat. Continuously doing this helps teams identify and eliminate inefficiencies, adapt to changing requirements, improve quality over time, and enhance team performance.

Metrics for Monitoring Progress and Quality

• Cycle time: Time taken to complete a task.
• Lead time: Total time taken from when a request is made to when it is delivered.
• Defect density: The Total number of bugs found in a software relative to its size or complexity.
• Test coverage: The percentage of the codebase that is automatically tested.
• Customer satisfaction (CSAT/NPS): The measure of users’ satisfaction with the software.
• Team velocity: How much work can the team complete in a sprint? (in Agile).
• Code churn: How frequently do you make changes to your codebase?
• Feature usage rates: Which features are being used or ignored?

Work with Us to Reduce Software Development Costs & Time

Reducing software development costs and time does not mean cutting corners; it means working smarter and more efficiently. From Lean and Agile practices to outsourcing and MVP strategies, each technique serves as a tool to help your business innovate faster without wasting valuable resources.

At Ingenious App Studios, we’ve helped dozens of startups and businesses scale through efficient development, delivering high-performance applications without bloated timelines or budgets. See what some of our clients have said about us:

“We were impressed with their ability to deliver complex features on time while maintaining high code quality.” – CTO, Timuse.

“It’s great to work alongside passionate people who believe in your ideas.” – Founder & CEO, Motion Shield Ltd.

We are ready to partner with you. Let’s build scalable solutions tailored to your goals. Reach out for a consultation.