As a technology professional the questions I’m often asked is what does it cost to develop a software system or app?
I have learned that the best way to answer these questions is to draw a comparison with more familiar concepts. In my case I choose to use the construction industry.
To start, let's use the custom construction of your new dream house as an analogy. We'll explore how costs are estimated in construction and then link that back to technology projects.
The cost for building your dream house depends on a few factors. For example the location of the property, its size (square footage), features (e.g. double garage, pool), interior finishes etc. The same applies to a custom build technology project. The scope of it's features, the business domain, the size of the user base and so forth has a direct impact on the cost for building the software product.
Your dream build cost is further influenced by specialist skills you may need to hire. Assuming your house is being built on a rocky mountain terrain you would need a specialist engineer, an architect familiar with designing for this specific terrain and a quantity surveyor capable of providing insights on material consumption estimates.
Each of these specialist skills comes at a premium. The same applies where specialist skills are required for your technology project. Typical tech specialised skills would be security architects, database engineers or perhaps user experience specialists amongst others.
Someone has to build your house, and for this you’ll need a building contractor who will employ and project manage various artisans e.g bricklayers, plumbers, electricians etc. For your technology project the same applies, but here your artisan equivalents would be software developers, business analysts and other IT professionals. Again how many of the workers are required for either a construction or technology build depends on what you want to achieve.
A few hundred words in and I’m sure you still don’t have your answer, right? That's because the answer lies in the fact that the cost of your technology project depends on all the factors listed.
Cost estimates for a construction build are often done using the services of an architect and quantity surveyor. The architect delivers the building design blueprint. The quantity surveyor will act as a liaison between the architects, contractors and engineers to provide cost estimates for materials and services required.
In the technology domain, and more so in large complex custom builds, the equivalent role of an architect and quantity surveyor would be the Solutions Architect. A less complex website or marketing app development would not require this specialist skill.
An experienced solutions architect’s systems blueprint considers the organisational system. In an organisational system technology is one component alongside other like people, processes, legislation etc. They would further be able to identify specialist skills required for the build and provide project cost estimates.
In closing, cost estimates for technology are varied and depend on what your organisation wants to achieve.
Athdown IT Consulting provides solutions architecture services on an as needed basis with no minimum contract duration stipulations. Contact us and find out how we can assist with your next technology build.