3keys_for_outsourced.htm

For the Internet based business or information product marketer having software written is usually a big undertaking especially when your delegating the task to outsourcers... here are a few tips to use that will reduce the complexity of software while increasing the quality and robustness. Having been involved in a lot of program development one way or the next and these are obvious yet major stumbling blocks most people simply can't seem to avoid.

Get Some Testers
Anyone who has been writing software knows the importance of testing. Call up the help from your mailing list and ask some of them to be beta testers in return for feedback and a free copy of the program. It is important to use end users of the product because they always seem to find a way to use your program in ways never thought possible.

Avoiding the Creep
The creep, also known as feature creep is public enemy number one of any software. It has caused more project delays, cost overruns and software bugs then most any of the other problems combined. Most people rush right into adding features in the middle of things, avoid that and instead commit to a firm set of specifications at the onset of the project and do not change them until it has been completed and tested.

Input validation
Never ever expect someone to enter anything correctly, this goes hand in hand with testing. If you don't hard code something into the program you are just asking for trouble, simple things like error proofing and data scrubbing input fields are a huge plus. An example of this would be to not allow a user to enter letters into a field for numbers. Taking it a step further having said number field default with a properly formatted number like "00.00" instead of
all blanks is another great way of using poka-yoke.

By far and large I have found through the years that the number one project killer is scope creep. It is best to avoid it like the plague, when it comes to getting feedback from your users for potential enhancements only implement the top one or two on the list and send the software out to beta testers for testing after the code has been changed. Many times your end users will hound you to implement feature x as if they can't live without it, resist these temptations.

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