A Curiosity About Software Product Development & It’s Future!

My curiosity took me to a topic that looks generalized but has lots of aspects related to it. Instead of creating useless suspense, I have created this blog on software product development and its future. While searching for software development, the term SPD aka software product development, grabbed my attention. So, new readers might be confused that software development is different from developing software products. So, first, let me clarify that.

Is Software Product Development Different From Software Development?

Some users might find this question funny or unusual. However, something is hidden behind it. In simpler terms, you can understand it as software development can be in-house for business process automation. On the other hand, software product development intends to produce something for the customers. It helps in generating revenue for a business.

In other words, the software product is for selling to customers, but the software is only for organizational purposes. Their development process has more than similarities, but the only thing that differentiates product development is market research. For launching a software-based product, deep research is required by keeping the end user’s requirement in mind and finding out whether there is a demand for that software product that you are thinking about.

I hope you are still clear about the idea; if you have any doubts, let’s clear them with the following image.

The table mentioned above clearly represents the difference between software development and software product development. Here I would also like to mention the software products that will help novice readers know some additional and exciting information.

Type of Software Products: A Generalized Information

You might find the heading and section of this blog stereotyped as you find the likewise title on the internet or in blogs or might be on a webpage. The reason to mention the type is only one is to create the interest among the new readers who have still less idea about product development and software development.

Here I have included these types to help me connect with the layman readers as I do with each blog.

So, let’s kick start with the type:

#1. System Software Products

Systems software products are dedicated products that use the overall resources of computer systems. Additionally, it also simplifies application programming in a real-time sense. You can refer to the computer systems resources as OS(operating systems), DBMS(database management systems), networking software, utilities, translators, compilers, and others.

#2. Programming Software Products

Programming software products stands for the software that helps the developers throughout the life cycle of product development, which is creating, designing, debugging, launching, and maintaining.

#3. Application Software Products

Application software products are meant for performing a specific task on the system. The software can be categorized from low-level language-based applications to high-level languages oriented application software.

#4. Embedded Software Products

These are specialized software built for non-PC devices that can be controlling device software or software for a microchip. The most surprising thing for me is that this software runs with fixed hardware requirements. The systems executed based on this software are called embedded software. A simplistic example is the traffic control system.

So, these are the software product type with generalized information.

Until this section, I have only written about the differences and the types of software products. While writing this blog, my curiosity was to find future trends. The way to find out these goes through the term - Software Product Design.

Software Product Design And Its Process

Please do not take it as anything else like the blog title is of curiosity about software product development, and I am talking about the software product design. The point is that talking about trends without product design is useless because trends directly relate to them.

So software product design is the most crucial element in creating the best user experience. It includes identifying market opportunity, defining a problem statement, developing a solution and validating it with users in a real sense.

The whole game of software product development and design depends on how you find the solution to a problem. It can be done in the following steps:

●     Know Your Audience

It is necessary to design and develop a software product for whom you will do it. If you or I want to go for product development, the crucial step is to do market research.

●     Define Problem Statement

Based on the user’s specific requirements defining the problem statement is the next step. It is necessary to define the project goal and outline the project scope.

●     Brainstorming

For developing creative solutions, brainstorming is the only way. It always helps create potential solutions and provides 360-degree insight into product development.

●     Prototyping

Now, it is the step where the hypothesis will be brought into a real-life product. The professionals put effort into the same based on specific needs.

●     Product Testing

Product testing ensures finding any bugs or ensures the product’s quality. The testing process is most important for any product.

Till this section, you have read all the necessary information; now it is time to proceed with the trends in 2022 that you need to watch.

The Software Product Development Trends To Watch In 2022

Rapid development, change in the trends, and continuous technology always give goosebumps and why not? The world is full of surprises and opportunities. Every organization or product development company wants to set benchmarks. That is the reason that the everyday world is observing new things. I was searching for new software updates, and then suddenly, I got the idea of the future trends regarding software product development in 2022.

So, what I got here, I am sharing with you all.

#1. Accelerated Design Automation

How will it be if you have the facility to automate a repetitive task that will boost productivity?

I hope every business will like it, so that is the first trend that I will write about here. Accelerated design automation empowers product development engineers and managers to produce solutions acceleratedly. It boosts efficiency and productivity, and on the other hand, it also reduces costs due to automation. Due to these advantages, it reserved its name in the top trends you need to watch in 2022.

#2. Web 3.0

It is one of the trends that you do not want to miss, and even I also. Here I am talking about Web 3.0, which is a topic on which most experts are keeping a constant eye. It is such a fresh concept compared to its ancestors, Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Its main features are decentralized applications & controls, including technologies like Blockchain, NFTs(Non-Fungible Token), P2P networking and smart contracts. Web 3.0 will also accelerate modern hardware design and development.

#3. Distributed Teams

Although it is not a technical term, do you think software product development can happen without a team? The answer is obvious that is a big- "No". Pre pandemics, everything was going on as ordinary or as usual. But after the Covid-19 scenario changed, instead of working from the office, experts started working from their home locations. Now, the structure is changed, and the product development teams started working distributedly. It has several advantages, such as:

●     You can hire talented professionals without any boundation of geo boundaries.

●     In-office cost is less as there is no need to arrange the infrastructure.

●     Working with distributed teams boosts productivity.

●     Work-life balance is a higher degree.

#4. Adoption of New Technologies

The adoption of new technologies is necessary to stand out from the crowd. These technologies are futuristic technologies such as cloud-native technology, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, AR & VR, and BlockChain. Cloud technology reduces the dependency on resources and offers scalability. On the other hand, AI & ML offers predictive analytics and automated decision making; Blockchain technology offers security at the highest level. You can consider these technologies as trends that innovatively accelerate product development.

#5. Multi Experienced Development Platforms(MXDP)

It is one of the fantastic trends to consider for product development in 2022 as it works super fantastic in creating software products with the best user experience. Product development engineers can leverage it to create a high-quality user experience across multiple channels. The key advantage of using MXDP is reduced development cost and time. Additionally, it works fine with the latest technology oriented devices such as AR-VR, IoT, Wearable devices, Chatbots and smart devices.

Miscellaneous!

Some other software product development trends also exist that you can concentrate on in 2022. And these are:

●     DevSecOps: Cyber attacks are one of the biggest concerns for companies in 2022 as they are increasing daily. So, DevSecOps is the best remedy to prevent these attacks. It offers security tools and processes that an organization can strengthen its security.

●     Microservices: It is the most trending way to develop applications in a structured way. Organizations can break applications into smaller parts to achieve better efficiency in serving customers via developing and deploying a software product.

●     IoT: You can't ignore IoT, as it is a top-notch trend to watch in 2022. It applies to all industries, from custom software development to innovating smart hardware and healthcare to manufacturing.

●     IoB Aka. Internet of Behavior: I was surprised when I read about it. You will also be surprised that the tech giants like Facebook and Google are already using it. The concept of IoB refers to the collection of internet users' behaviour and preference.

The Conclusion

I wish I could extend this blog more but what I want to share with you is enough written in this blog. My motive is to share information about software product development and its future trends that you can consider for developing a product in 2022. These trends affect the design and development of the product. As a business or a brand, it would be best to focus on any trends to develop the product that you see as a great tool to serve your customers in the best way and provide them with the best user experience.

I also want to share some links with you which belong to some latest trending technologies:

●     https://hackernoon.com/web30-vs-web20-vs-web10

●     https://hackernoon.com/as-healthcare-app-popularity-rises-organizations-need-to-focus-on-new-software

●     https://hackernoon.com/can-we-predict-the-future-of-tech

●     https://hackernoon.com/have-you-heard-ai-can-edit-genes-now

●     https://hackernoon.com/artificial-intelligence-and-modern-wars-how-ukrainian-cyber-defense-and-diia-leverage-ai-to-fight-back

Stay tuned for more information as the world can change overnight, not by some Alien attack, as some new technologies are ready to launch.