Improving the software development process is vital to creating good products. The best products are those that become better in multiple areas, without becoming worse in others. Increasing the speed of a program, while also increasing the amount of memory it takes to run really isn’t making it better, just faster. While sometimes these tradeoffs are acceptable, we should strive to make improvements to our programs without introducing any negative side effects. There are many ways we can make these kinds of improvements in programming. We can fix bugs, improve a program structure and design, implement better algorithms and work together better in teams.

The less bugs a program has, the better it will be. In fixing bugs however, there exists the potential to create additional ones, which makes things worse. By performing regression tests you can avoid this hazard. By using good coding style and following good programming practices you can find bugs faster and stop some from happening in the first place.

Many software bugs and glitches are evidence of poor program design and structure, something that cannot be solved through simple bug fixes. Although proper planning and good requirements documentation can solve some of these problems, there are times we must go back to the drawing board and completely restructure a program. Unseen problems, additional features or misunderstandings can all justify restructuring part or all of a program. We should look at software as a constantly evolving organism that must be refactored in order to survive. Design flaws that are allowed to propagate through multiple iterations of a product will either require many hours to fix or cause the project to fail altogether.

Even the best structured projects will not perform well if they don’t contain good algorithms. Good algorithmic thinking and creation requires research, planning and time. With the proper education and research skills, existing algorithms can be fitted to work in your program, saving you time, money, and frustration. Sometimes a problem is unique enough, however that we must come up a good way of solving it on our own. Again education and critical thinking are invaluable in this process, but we must realize that good algorithms take time to create. Most aren’t thought up in just a few minutes, but take several hours or even days to conceptualize, refine and implement.

When used correctly, teams make these things easier to accomplish. Aristotle corrected stated that the “whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Good teams notice and fix bugs earlier and they use their collective knowledge to come up with designs and algorithms that would be impossible to create individually. Effective teamwork gets a project done quicker and better and is worth the extra effort it takes to manage and maintain.

Improving the software development process is about facilitating the improvement of the things mentioned above. It requires additional effort and planning, but the investments made early on in a project result in long-term gains. Productivity and efficiency are improved, along with employee satisfaction. Projects that would otherwise fail are made possible. You are able to take on new projects and challenges that you wouldn’t have considered before. Endless bug fixing, slipping deadlines and complaining are replaced with excitement and better products that get finished on-time. Improving the software process isn’t easy, but it’s a sacrifice worth making.