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SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

How we work at GoodCore

At GoodCore, our software development process is more than just a series of steps–it's a commitment to delivering quality results on promises. We have an agile and adaptable SDLC that can be tailored to your project's requirements while still ensuring that we always stay on time and budget.

Top Software Development
Company in the UK

"GoodCore’s organization, methodology, and transparency distinguish them from other providers"

David Williams, Head of IT,

London Women's Clinic

"GoodCore Software hit their promised timelines and they delivered within our budget."

Sam Nimmo, Director,

Kittle Group

"They always exceeded our expectations and were ahead of schedule."

Livvy Probert, Head of Science,

HAWQ

Top Software Development
Company in the UK

01. Initial consultation

This is where we deep-dive into your vision, laying the groundwork for a strong partnership. Through dynamic brainstorming sessions, we'll uncover your goals, challenges, and resource considerations. Armed with these insights, we'll craft a tailored project proposal for you.

Preliminary discussions

During consultations, we delve into your business objectives and challenges. We focus on:

Core requirements for your product
Project documentation and stakeholder availability
Resource limitations

Project proposal

After discussing all aspects of the project internally with our solution teams, we will create a detailed project proposal. It will cover:

The project's scope
Team structure
Technology recommendations
Estimated timeline and budget

Contract signing

Finally, we refine the proposal to ensure it aligns seamlessly with your vision and expectations.

Once all project specifics are agreed upon, the next step involves formalising our commitment through the signing of a Master Service Agreement (MSA).

Concerned about confidentiality?

Even before you share detailed project information, you can sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with us ensuring all discussions remain private.

Concerned about your intellectual property rights?

With GoodCore, your concepts, ideas, and innovations are always protected and belong to you. While this may not be standard everywhere, for us, it's non-negotiable.

Deliverables:

Signed NDA
Technical and commercial proposal
Indicative timeline
Signed MSA

Key professionals involved:

Account manager
Business analyst
Technical architect

Duration of the initiation stage:

7 - 10 days (varies depending on the client)

02. Discovery

At this stage, we work in collaboration with you to shape your idea into a well-planned and practical strategy, unlocking both business and user value for an optimal investment. Together, we map out the technical solution, along with estimated resources needed to turn your project into reality.

Understanding your vision and goals

Building on the initial discussions, we dig deeper to comprehend your product vision and address specific business challenges. This includes:

Analysing your business processes and industry context
Outlining strategic goals and KPIs for the project

Identify obstacles and risks

Through risk assessment, we pinpoint potential challenges, constraints, and bottlenecks that might be encountered during the project to adjust the roadmap and make sure we have a correct risk mitigation strategy in place.

Gathering requirements

After strategically analysing your business workflows or competitor products, we refine our understanding of your envisioned product. Engaging stakeholders, we prioritise and document both functional and non-functional requirements.

Visualising your idea

Once we understand the vision and background of your software idea, we move on to the next step - visualising the idea. This includes:

Wireframing
UI/UX design
Prototyping

Architecting a technical solution

Leveraging our insights, we craft the technical solution:

We provide expert guidance on decisions regarding costs and future-proofing
Collaboratively, we decide on architecture, database design, technology stack, and third-party integrations

Defining the project scope and budget

We consolidate gathered information for budgeting and planning, including:

Prioritising product features
Resource breakdown
Estimated timeline with critical milestones

Deliverables:

Requirements document
Risk assessment and mitigation plan
Cost and timeline estimate
Resource plan
Project roadmap
Solution architecture
Technical solution
Product prototypes
UI/UX designs

Key professionals involved:

Business analyst
Technical architect
UI/UX designer
Project manager

Duration of the discovery stage:

2-8 weeks (depending on the size/complexity of the project)

Looking to validate your idea and link it with technical execution?

RUN DISCOVERY WITH GOODCORE

03. Development

Now, with a deep grasp of your requirements, we begin building your product. This phase focuses on coding, rigorous testing, and transforming your concept into a tangible reality.

Our Agile development approach

According to the Agile methodology, we break down the work into manageable units called sprints, usually of two weeks each. During each sprint, our team works to complete a set of prioritized tasks from the project backlog. The product is built incrementally, allowing you to see progress and provide feedback. Once a sprint is over and its results are reviewed, the team immediately plans the next.

Our project teams

As per our resource plan, we form a skilled team (including mobile and web developers, UI/UX designers, QA specialists, and DevOps engineers) for seamless product delivery. They work simultaneously, minimising bottlenecks and streamlining development. A project manager is also actively engaged, ensuring smooth communication, task coordination, and timely client requests handling.

What happens during each sprint?

Sprint: 14 days

1. Sprint planning

The team gathers to identify the backlog (a set of tasks from the product backlog), while also estimating the effort required for their implementation.

2. Implementation

Based on the set goals, the product’s functionality is coded and deployed to the staging environment for further testing, following a well-structured test plan.

3. Progress tracking

To synchronise the team's activities and ensure everyone is aware of progress, obstacles, and next steps, we have brief meetings (usually 15 minutes).

4. Sprint demo

At the end of each sprint, the team demonstrates the completed work to stakeholders. Feedback is collected, setting the stage for the next sprints.

5. Sprint retrospective

The team reflects on the sprint, discussing what went well and areas for improvement. This ensures each sprint is more efficient than the last.

Deliverables:

Source code
Test plan
Test runs
Database design
Technical documentation
Staging environment
Production environment
Data migration scripts (if any)

Key professionals involved:

Project manager
UI/UX designer
Technical architect
Software engineer
QA engineers

Duration of the development stage:

6+ months

04. User acceptance testing (UAT)

At GoodCore, we believe effective software addresses real end-user needs and challenges. That's why our user acceptance testing (UAT) phase mirrors real-world usage, empowering end-users to validate the product and provide valuable feedback for refinement. Your involvement is essential throughout this process.

Planning and preparation

We work with you to define the goals for UAT and create a detailed test plan to focus on key software aspects like features, functionalities and business processes. We also guide your users to test the software in real-world conditions, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of its performance.

Setting up test environment

We set up a dedicated staging environment for UAT. The setup closely replicates the actual production environment to ensure authentic testing.

UAT execution

During testing, we engage end-users, stakeholders, and technical experts in scenario execution. Our structured approach follows this process:

Project managers provide software usage training
Your product owner coordinates participants
Participants log observations for verification and resolution

Addressing feedback and closure

As feedback comes in, we follow a strategic process:

Our developers prioritise and fix issues, redeploying the application to the UAT environment
Users confirm that reported issues are resolved
You provide formal approval, signifying that the software meets your acceptance criteria and is ready for production deployment

Deliverables:

Software in live environment
Additional documentation (if any)
User manuals (if any)

Key professionals involved:

Project manager
Technical architect
DevOps engineer

Duration of the UAT stage:

2 - 3 days

05. Go-live

This is the stage where the final product goes live. We ensure a smooth transition from our staging environments to live production systems.

Live environment set up

We set up and optimise infrastructure like servers and databases for deployment, configure specific settings and permissions for the production environment, and implement crucial security measures to protect the data and system.

Data migration (where applicable)

Our team designs a step-by-step plan to transfer existing data from old systems to the new one, ensuring data integrity and consistency during the development phase. The plan is then executed during go-live using data migration techniques, specialised tools or scripts.

Deploy to production

The team deploys the software to the production environment. As the software is deployed, the team stays on high alert, closely monitoring the deployment process to detect and address any issues.

Post-go-live review

Following the deployment, our team conducts smoke testing to validate the software's performance within the production environment. These basic tests confirm that everything functions as expected.

Deliverables:

Software in live environment
Additional documentation (if any)
User manuals (if any)

Key professionals involved:

Project manager
Technical architect
DevOps engineer

Duration of the go-live stage:

2 - 3 days

06. Support

At GoodCore, our relationship with you doesn't often end once your software goes live. We provide post-deployment technical support to enhance and maintain your software, offering peace of mind and reliability. We understand that bespoke software needs evolve, and we're here to ensure it continues to meet your changing requirements and maximise its positive impact on your processes.

Periodic health checks

To guarantee long-term reliability, our engineers and technical experts periodically assess the health of your software. Evaluating system performance, database integrity, and other key functionalities.

Bug fixing & stabilisation

Even the best software can encounter unexpected issues. Our team promptly addresses and resolves any bugs to ensure smooth operations.

User feedback implementation

We understand the value of user insights. By integrating their feedback, we continually refine and enhance your software experience.

New features

As your needs evolve, so can your software. Whether it’s adding new features or scaling up, we’re here to make those transitions smooth.

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

How we work at GoodCore

David Williams, Head of IT,

London Women's Clinic

Sam Nimmo, Director,

Kittle Group

Livvy Probert, Head of Science,

HAWQ

01. Initial consultation

Preliminary discussions

Project proposal

Contract signing

Concerned about confidentiality?

Concerned about your intellectual property rights?

Deliverables:

Key professionals involved:

Duration of the initiation stage:

02. Discovery

Understanding your vision and goals

Identify obstacles and risks

Gathering requirements

Visualising your idea

Architecting a technical solution

Defining the project scope and budget

Deliverables:

Key professionals involved:

Duration of the discovery stage:

03. Development

Our Agile development approach

Our project teams

What happens during each sprint?

1. Sprint planning

2. Implementation

3. Progress tracking

4. Sprint demo

5. Sprint retrospective

Deliverables:

Key professionals involved:

Duration of the development stage:

04. User acceptance testing (UAT)

Planning and preparation

Setting up test environment

UAT execution

Addressing feedback and closure

Deliverables:

Key professionals involved:

Duration of the UAT stage:

05. Go-live

Live environment set up

Data migration (where applicable)

Deploy to production

Post-go-live review

Deliverables:

Key professionals involved:

Duration of the go-live stage:

06. Support

Periodic health checks

Bug fixing & stabilisation

User feedback implementation

New features

More on GoodCore's processes

Transform your product concept into a well-defined roadmap

Select a partnership model that aligns with your needs

Get a glimpse into the potential price ranges for your bespoke app

Everything you ever wanted to know about GoodCore

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