How Do You Launch A New Software Product? ↴ 

For a long time, the Personal Computer (PC) was the central intelligence / productivity tool for getting work done and then came the Smartphone and the PC became history! More people now use smartphones than desktops to get work done (shopping, browsing the internet, etc) and every business worth its salt is re-inventing itself on the smartphone. This is just an example of how technology disrupts established ways of doing things thereby forcing every business to adapt. If businesses have to constantly adapt to changes in technology, then, so must you as a hired worker, aka employee. With that said, a time tested strategy used by businesses world-wide to stay competitive, reduce costs, improve revenues or just stay ahead of the technology curve is, developing and launching new software.

That is why it is correct to say ... every organization is in the business of software.

If every organization is in the business of software, then this article on how to launch new software projects will prove to be indispensable to your career because sooner or later, you will be involved in or hired to help launch a new software project. You can help your company launch a new software project in your current role as a business analyst, data analyst or software developer by playing an active part during a software product launch, in one these roles ...

What Is The Business Analyst Role in a Software Product Launch?

Business Analysts often find themselves in roles where they help their management or marketing teams figure out, why something needs to be built or even what needs to be built.

The business analysts role in this scenario will include helping create / document the high-level vision of what software needs to be built, what problems the software will solve for users / customers, and what the ideal customer or user will look like

After helping articulate a clear vision of why software needs to be written, the business analyst can also help get a deep understanding of the target users / customers pain points using tools like field studies, user interviews, surveys, etc. Finally, the business analyst will help create low-fidelity mock-ups or even high-fidelity prototypes that visually describe the key feature of the new software.

The business analyst's key role in a software launch is to "help the business understand the target users real pain points so software features are not chosen based on assumptions but on real data!

Here is a summary of the business analysts tasks in a software product launch ...

• Task #1: Document the software product vision and/or software product strategy
• Task #2: Validate and document the real-world pain points that the software product will solve
• Task #3: Create low-fidelity mock-ups and/or high-fidelity prototypes of the software as well as matching use cases or user stories

What Is The Database Professionals Role in a Software Product Launch?

The Database Professionals (Data Analyst, Database Designer, DBA) role in a new software product launch includes designing and implementing a data strategy because your software will generate and/or consume data, which is considered to be the lifeblood of a business!

The first step of your data strategy is a "requirement gathering & analysis" and after that you should consider putting together a logical database model and finally implement your physical database design ... in that order.

While gathering the data requirements, you should interview the target users, business analysts and/or stake holders, so that you can correctly identify what data needs to be collected, persisted and/or reported. To do interviewing right, you will need good analytical skills, communication and people skills. You may have to interview (interrupt) people as they go about their daily work and ask questions about the tasks they are trying to accomplish, which they may or may not be willing to talk about. As a database professional, start by reviewing the product vision / strategy documents generated by the business analysts before you proceed to the database design. Here is a summary of the database professionals tasks in a software product launch ...

• Task #1: Create a conceptual database model based on data needs / requirements
• Task #2: Create a logical database model before you begin your physical database design
• Task #3: Implement a physical database design that can handle the information / data needs of your software product

What Is The Software Developers Role in a Software Product Launch?

The Software Developers role in a new software product launch includes working with the business analyst to create a functional front-end and working with the database professionals to implement a restful database api.

Software developers often find themselves in a stretch role depending on the needs of the project and resource availability.

For example, software developers may also be tasked with creating mock-ups / prototypes based on business requirements or implementing the physical database design basd on data requirements.

Here is a summary of the software developers professionals tasks in a software product launch ...

• Task #1: Create a functional front-end based on requirements using languages like HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (Angular, React, etc).
• Task #2: Create a back-end system that interacts well with a database and exposes data as an api / service
• Task #3:Build, deploy and release functional working software every sprint

So, this is how you can help your employer / business make the next software product launch a success! [remote_topics series="true" url="http://services.itcareercoach.com/api/topics?id=http://www.itcareercoach.com/how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-technology-curve"] [/remote_topics]