Probably, every company’s dream is to implement a product that will gain sympathy and popularity among its users. For this to happen, a good and unique idea is necessary as the foundation on which the product will be placed. Whether it is built well and reflects the vision of its initiator depends on the work of the software team. For this reason, it is essential for the people involved in building the product to form a close-knit structure adequately selected for the complexity and type of project.
Who should be involved in product development?
Although you may think that the work of developers is enough to build a functional software product, it is also worthwhile to involve other necessary IT professionals for the product’s success. How big should the software team be?
Product owner
To define the role that the product owner plays in the software team, one thing should be written – he is the decision maker. This, of course, comes with a huge responsibility, as he is the one who shapes the product vision, manages the budget, and stands behind the task of meeting customer expectations. The product owner is usually more customer-oriented than technical and is associated with Agile environments where working conditions change frequently.
The Product Owner is also responsible for explaining to the rest of the team the purpose of the product and is the person to whom any questions about the direction of development should be directed. Moreover, the Product Owner creates the product backlog, a list of features that should be implemented in the product.
The Product Owner is a signpost who shows the rest of the team the direction to follow toward the goal, but he does not necessarily have the technical knowledge and is not the person who will answer the question of how to do something. There are other people to devise the specialised plan.
Business analyst
A business analyst aims to thoroughly understand the client’s needs and prepare and describe a viable business concept based on them. The client’s expectations can be very high, so the analyst interprets and prioritises them based on budget, time, and ergonomics.
A good IT analyst often takes the initiative and proposes solutions that can benefit the client’s long-term goals with whom he is in direct contact. Moreover, he or she is responsible for ensuring that the team accurately understands the established business assumptions and acts according to them. Although the business analyst is not directly involved in software development, he or she provides the development team with crucial information from the client. He or she is constantly present in the development process.
The analyst’s role doesn’t end there, as every product development concept awaits verification. It is essential to check for consistency and completeness. If something in the idea doesn’t fit, the analyst is supposed to inform the customer about the consequences of implementing the element and propose another solution.
The business analyst is the person who checks whether all the puzzles in the development process fit together and, if not – looks for an element that will complete the full picture of the product.
Project Manager (PM)
The Project Manager is the bridge between the team, the client, and the management. He is primarily responsible for successfully guiding the project through all stages of its implementation. He manages the team, delegates tasks, keeps an eye on deadlines, is accountable for the budget, and prepares project documentation.
In other words, the PM is responsible for every step the team takes to meet the project objectives and deliver a product that meets the client’s requirements.
He is the person who has complete knowledge of every technical issue related to the project underway, as well as the business involved and the target market. He or she is responsible for the efficiency of the development process and is an invaluable team member.
UI/UX designer or software designer (SD)
Product design is divided into two functions – those related to building user experience (UX) and those related to user interface (UI) design.
A UX designer is concerned with nothing less than carefully thinking through the entire path a user will take when interacting with a product. His work aims to increase user satisfaction by making the product more functional and intuitive. The idea is to make using the product simple and enjoyable for everyone.
On the other hand, the UI designer’s job is to design a clear and aesthetically pleasing interface that will attract users and make them not feel lost among incomprehensible icons.
Both the UX and UI designer participate during the entire development cycle by conducting user research, developing personae, wireframing, and prototyping, which they then develop until a satisfactory product is created.
Software architect
The software architect’s most important tasks include designing a high-level software architecture by selecting the right tools for the product, and he or she sets code quality standards.
A software architect’s responsibilities also include overseeing the process involved in designing to then implementing IT systems. Often, a software architect is involved in both programming (the practical side of the process) and planning specific processes (which is purely conceptual).
We can say that a software architect moves between IT and business issues. Above all, however, he ensures that the solutions provided meet the requirements of business partners.
Software programmer
A software programmer is a person who constructs and stabilises a product and is responsible for solving any technical problems that arise throughout the product’s life cycle.
Among programmers, we distinguish those who deal with the frontend, that is, everything visible on the screens. Their role is to ensure that the product offers a seamless experience across all devices, operating systems, and platforms. It is thanks to them that we can interact freely with elements of the site.
Backend developers, on the other hand, deal with what is invisible to users but undoubtedly perceptible. They make sure that the system smoothly flips us from page to page, that we don’t have to wait long to view them, that users’ data is secure and that processes such as payments run without a hitch. Backend developers provide the product’s core in code, without which the effect would be just a picture on the screen.
If you are wondering if it is possible to deal with coding the frontend and the backend simultaneously, the answer is yes – in the IT world, some so-called full-stack developers can code practically the entire product!
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Talk to us!Quality Assurance
A QA is a person who checks the product for functionality and whether it meets its requirements. His or her job is to develop test plans and execute them to find as many bugs and defects as possible. Before releasing a product, testing should be done as much as possible, both in terms of performance, functionality, and security. Without testing, the product is at risk of big losses in terms of time and money, as bugs always come out sooner or later, and user trust is difficult to rebuild, so QA involvement should never be overlooked when assembling a team.
The better the team, the better the product
To implement a quality product, it is necessary to analyse it from many different aspects. Usually, one person can only catch some of the traps that await in the path of new products.
For this reason, the richer the technological background and the more experienced specialists, the more confident your product will not disappoint the expectations of its users. Entering into cooperation with a technology partner is based on good communication, the experience of each side, and trust. At Applover, when working with our clients, we ensure that we go through the entire product development together with full awareness of the processes involved.
