The cost of development
The previous article The cost of new features brought up some of the hidden costs when making new features in software development. This article outlines some of the, sometimes hidden, costs around the actual development of those features, on a product development level:
Big complex systems with lots of mass slow down development. The leaner you are, the easier it is to change (which includes both adding, modifying, and removing).
Impact on related systems and software areas that may need to be modified: accessibility, analytics, integrations, language support, monitoring, performance, privacy, search engine optimization, security, usability, tooling…
Bugs, regressions, and rework caused by the uncertainty and learning experience of doing software development, and ineffective processes.
Documentation and knowledge sharing in the team and company.
Our users’ situational environment and capabilities, e.g. browsers, network connection, disabilities, devices (and ways of input), etc.
All the not “happy paths” to be considered for user interactions.
Processes outside of the team that blocks further development (e.g. waiting for a partnership review to get partner API access).
Unhelpful bureaucracy hampering even the smallest things.
Uncertainty in the system as a whole, people, interactions, etc.
Collaboration difficulties and clashing priorities within the org.
