1. Brainstorming and planning Of course, product development is not only about the idea or primary vision. Before we write even a single line of code, we need to carefully plan the the whole project launch. We need to define its scope, business strategic objectives and timeframes, and find the answers to questions below:

What kind of project I need to achieve my business goals?

Who will be the end user of the product?

How to make product compliant with my company’s vision and mission?

What kind of resources do I have on my disposal to complete the project?

What is the deadline? What are the budget limits?

In this phase the client, project manager and developers take part in an organized brainstorming session to share their ideas, objectives and expectations. At Oakfusion we use very creative and methods which help us to define requirements and roadmap. Thanks to this we can come up with the right, scalable solution harmonizing with client’s business needs.

2. Technical analysis In the second step we need to confront ideas with technical capacities. A well understanding of technology-related requirements will help us to avoid overspends and failures. No worries – we are experienced in conducting a feasibility analysis which includes both economic and technical factors.

At this stage we ask every team member to prepare a clear estimation of timing, technologies and resources they may need to complete a specific task. We also decide on the final technology stack and verify whether all required integrations are manageable and able to be completed in a given budget. In this way, we can make sure that the project will be profitable and that the solution will meet requirements without the risk of financial loss.

3. Designing and prototyping Once we’re sure that the project will pay off, we can finally proceed to the designing stage. In this step we go deeper into the details and start to imagine how the final product should actually look like. Product design is, of course, not only about aesthetic, but also interactions, UI/UX design and wireframes.

When the idea begins to take shape, we can proceed to the prototyping phase. At Oakfusion we are experienced in building functional and cheap MVPs which help to receive the first user feedback and find out what are the necessary modifications. To learn more about our approach, check out our articles about how to build an MVP or best practices in prototyping.

4. Development and coding Created MVP can be then used to produce the final product. Once we’re sure that the prototype met market’s requirements and expectations, we can start proper programming work in order to convert our promising design into reality.

At this stage all involved developers should already know their tasks and responsibilities. The whole process should be controlled by an experienced project manager who will keep an eye on whether the developed solution meets technical and business requirements. This stage is typically the most time-consuming, but it leads straight to the nearly-final outcome.

At Oakfusion we closely cooperate with the client at every stage of development and provide them with regular updates about project progress. We also prepare detailed and well-structured technical documentation of every produced solution.

5. Testing and coding A produced software is still not yet ready for launch. It needs to be tested in order to check whether the performance meets expectations.

Together with our Quality Assurance team and experienced software testers, we carry out in-depth testing sessions including functionality, interoperability and UX. If necessary, at this stage we also release a beta version to a group of users to monitor interactions and detect errors. Once we’re sure that there are no bugs and that produced solution is stable and ready, it can be finally implemented.

6. Implementation and integration A ready-to-implement solution can be finally launched and integrated. It is always done accordingly to the implementation plan and the duration of this step depends on the complexity of the project. We install the produced software and make sure that it is compatible with data and other technology tools used by the client.

7. Maintenance Although we can be already happy with an implemented solution, it’s still not the end. As both business and technical environments are constantly changing, the product needs to be constantly monitored and updated in order to maintain its functionality. There always might appear also a need for future improvements, upgrades and extensions to improve the performance and satisfy the latest consumer expectation.

At Oakfusion we obviously support clients also at this stage. We provide full planning, implementing and maintenance support in line with our Rapid Development Process. To learn more about our approach, feel free to contact us. We will be happy to provide you with our expertise and project development ideas.