How long does it take to build custom software or an app?
How long custom software takes depends on how much it has to do, how clear the job is and how quickly questions get answered, not on how fast anyone types. The other drivers are the kinds of user, the tools it connects to, testing and, for an app, store review. No honest number fits every job, so ask for a plan in stages. A first usable version usually arrives sooner than the finished system.
What decides the time
- How clear the brief is. A brief that describes the job and what happens today moves faster than a list of features that keeps changing.
- How much it does. More tasks, kinds of user, connections to other tools and data to bring in all lengthen the work; the related answer on what decides the cost of custom software covers each of these. On the time side, getting access to another tool can take its own time, and messy records take longer to bring in.
- Testing. A problem found late often costs more time than one found early, so ask when you will see something working.
- How fast answers come back. Work often waits on a question only you can answer. One person on your side who can decide within a day or two often keeps the work moving.
- Store review, for an app. Apple says it reviews all apps and app updates, and that if a submission is incomplete, "review times may be delayed or your submission may not pass". Plan for review before a launch date; the related answer on getting an app into the App Store and Google Play covers the accounts and what each store asks.
The usual order of a project
Lengths vary from job to job, so this gives the order, not durations. Each step ends with something you can look at.
- Write the brief: the job, who uses it, what it connects to and what data it holds.
- Build a first version that does the main job from start to finish.
- Try it with your real examples, including the awkward cases, and write down what to change.
- Add the extras in stages, approving each one before the next.
- Launch. For an app, store review comes first.
- Keep it running: updates, renewals and fixes carry on after launch.
Why a first version comes sooner
A first version that does the main job has fewer parts to build, connect and test, and it gets real use sooner. What people ask for after using it is often different from what was on the first list. The finished system is the first version plus the extras, so it is usually the later date, and every extra added midway can move it. A written change list, as the related answer on what decides the cost of custom software describes, helps a date hold.
What to ask for instead of a date
Ask the developer for the stages, what you will be able to try at the end of each, what they need from you and by when, and what the plan assumes about your data and the tools it connects to. The related answer on checking a developer's work before paying for more covers approving each stage, and the related answer on what to have ready before hiring a software developer covers the brief.
A website is a different job with different delays; the related answer on how long a website takes to build covers those. Ascent Vision builds custom software and apps and does not publish prices.
Sources
Related answers
- What decides how much custom software costs, and why do projects run over?
- How do you check a developer's work before paying for more?
- What should you have ready before hiring a software developer?
- What does it take to put your app in the App Store and Google Play, and whose account should it be in?
- How long does it take to build or upgrade a small business website?
Custom software and apps
Off-the-shelf tools get you most of the way. When the last stretch is where the time goes, we build the part that fits: the dashboard, the portal, the internal tool or the app.