To build software, a Software Developer starts with requirements… just like when you build a house, it starts with a plan.
A home plan or blueprint is developed by an Architect. Requirements for software are written by a Solution Architect or a Business Analyst.
Continuing with the “house” analogy, the colors and materials for a house… paint, flooring, lighting, plumbing and such are often chosen or picked out by an Interior Designer. In software, the design of what you see and how you navigate in the software is designed by a UI/UX Designer (User Interface/User Experience).
Construction of your new home begins once the Architect and Interior Designer have completed their work and it has been approved. Then carpenters, electricians, plumbers and other trades people start their work. In software, once the requirements and user interface design are completed, software developers with different skills begin building the software.
There are some small differences if you are building software from scratch or adding to pre-existing software, but overall requirements are always a key part of the process.
One of the first questions Pale Blue Software will ask you when getting to know you is… “Do you have Requirements?” If you don’t, it’s ok, we can help you with that.
And just like there are inspections when you build a house, there is testing when you build software. The basis of the testing stems back to the requirements. Does the software look and perform like the requirements said it should? If so, that’s good!