When it comes to something as inherently fluid as SaaS (software-as-a-service) development, it’s important to acknowledge that you’re talking about designing and coding applications in multiple stages and cycles. For this to be successful, it requires a foundation of processes to be put in place to make the project run efficiently, all while reducing error as much as possible.
Thankfully, there are a number of solutions that can help make this process far easier to that end. What follows is a list of some of the best SaaS development solutions that will assist software development teams with improving their processes across the board.
Preview Environments
One of the key SaaS development solutions that can help improve a team’s processes has to do with preview environments. These are on-demand, cloud-based environments that allow for the testing of new features before they’re merged together into the larger solution.
They’re designed to be short-lived and used for a single purpose – indeed, they only exist as long as they’re needed to test a new feature, address a bug, and perform similar tasks. Not only can they dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes for troubleshooting, but they also speed up the process of merging new features together as well.
The Power of Dashboards
Because of the very nature of SaaS development, it’s always important to maintain a “bird’s eye view” of what is going on. But with so many different people working simultaneously on disparate tasks, doing so via the “old school” method of constant emails and progress meetings can only delay the proceedings, not help speed them up.
That’s why custom dashboards are so good for this particular use case. Not only can they help you keep track of every task someone is working on, but they can let you see as much as possible at a glance about the project as a whole. You can see if people are on task with the deliverables they’ve been assigned and, if they’re not, you can easily check in to see if any assistance is needed before things get delayed too much.
Many dashboard solutions also allow you to create your own custom widgets so that you can have the metrics that matter most to you rise to the forefront. You can use pie charts, graphs, and more – all to visualize project data in a way that makes it easy (and instant) to see how far you’ve come and where you still need to go.
Communication is King
Another one of the keys to success in terms of SaaS development involves creating an environment where constant communication isn’t just a recommendation, but a requirement. That’s why, especially during an era when more people are working remotely than ever, companies regularly rely on communication tools like Slack to bring everyone together again – albeit virtually.
A tool like Slack is a great way to constantly check in with one another via live chat. It can also be used as a file sharing solution as well. If you’re looking for robust video conferencing capabilities, you might also explore options like Microsoft Teams, Cisco WebEx or even the ever-popular Zoom.
Regardless, making sure that team members have access to the tools needed to communicate goes a long way towards improving collaboration as much as possible. This in and of itself can lead to more efficient processes (and a higher quality of work output) before you know it.
Embracing Automation
As is true with most types of software development, there are certain tasks and processes that – while important – can be time-consuming to say the least. There’s where automation via a tool like Quixy will absolutely come in handy.
Quixy (or any other automation solution) can help streamline processes by automating a lot of those manual tasks that eat up a lot of a developer’s time. This in turn allows them to focus more of their attention on the matters that truly need them. Quixy in particular is also a highly customizable solution that includes advanced features like a rich text editor, e-signature capabilities for when it comes time to sign off on a deliverable, facial recognition, and more.
Cloud-Based Code Management
Finally, many SaaS development teams have found success in improving their processes with a tool like Cloud 9. This is a web-based platform that can be used for not only scripting, but also running and debugging code, all via the cloud. This also enables team members to work with Serverless applications, making the transition between local and remote activities as easy as possible. All told, it can be used to create a replica of the entire development environment – thus giving team members more control over what they’re working on and how they’re getting their critical work done every day.
In the end, these are just a few of the many SaaS development solutions that teams can use to help improve their processes. Having said that, note that it is entirely possible that not all of them will be equally valuable to all teams. You need to carefully consider not only the needs of the project, but the people who are working on it, when making a selection. Don’t select a SaaS development solution and hope it aligns with your requirements. Start with the requirements themselves and work your way backwards to the solution that checks as many of your critical boxes as possible.