What is Agile software development?

Agile software development is a combination of iterative and incremental process models with focus on process adaptability and customer satisfaction by rapid delivery of working software product. Agile Methods break the product into small incremental builds. These builds are provided in fortnightly iterations.

What is the difference between Agile and Waterfall?

Waterfall is a structured software development methodology, and often can be quite rigid. This is because all the planning takes places prior to a project commencing. Waterfall does not embrace the fact that requirements and priorities may change throughout a project, whereas the Agile methodology is known for its flexibility and achieving the most value in the shortest amount of time.

What’s an MVP?

MVP stands for Minimum Viable Product. This is an important concept in the software world. What you do is design your software, thinking of all the possible features. You then strip it back to the bare essentials. What’s the “minimum” product we can build, that has the value we need? The value depends on what you must achieve from the product – for example the minimum might be that it has certain important functionality and allows it to be bought online with a credit card. However you might decide that allowing customers to buy “on account” is not necessary from day one. Therefore if it’s not critical, don’t build it. Then you end up with a leaner product, costing less, and available much sooner. Then you get feedback and really start to understand what people want out of the software. You might find out nobody wanted to buy it on account after all. If you try to think of – and include – every possible feature up front, it takes far longer to build, which costs a lot more of course, and it simply delays getting it live, in use and bringing value to your organisation. Find out more about our software consultancy services.

Does One Beyond do mobile app development?

Yes, and we have dozens of examples of this in our portfolio. We work with Microsoft Xamarin and React Native, allowing our developers to write native Android and iOS apps. For more information see Mobile App Development.

Why outsource software development?

There are numerous advantages to outsourcing software development, the most obvious being you can switch us “on” and “off” as needed to match your projects requirements. Also, by outsourcing to an established and trusted software house you are gaining access to our talented team. At One Beyond we have everything needed for quality end to end software development.

What is the advantage of bespoke software over off-the-shelf?

Building bespoke software allows you to build the software in a way which matches your exact requirements, providing complete business process optimisation. As opposed to trying to “make something fit” which is a common occurrence when it comes to off-the-shelf solutions. Most importantly, when One Beyond builds your software, you own the code (or IP / Intellectual Property). This is important because it becomes an asset to your business and holds its value. It’s a bit like the difference between buying and renting a property.

How is software made from scratch – what is the process?

The first part of the project is called Sprint 0. This is where we fully plan out the system to thoroughly prepare the team for the project, and to align your teams and One Beyond’s teams on the requirements for the project. We will work with your key stakeholders to create a “Wireframe” of the entire system – designed to the requirements of today rather than how the current system looks & feels (if one exists). We will also create User Stories to specify each functional and non-functional requirement in detail. The system will be built using the “Agile” methodology meaning that every 2 weeks you will be given a full demonstration of work completed to date, an updated Budget/Burn Down and a meeting to plan out the tasks for the next sprint. Eventually the software will be ready to “go live” and we’ll make that happen, setting up the application on a production hosting environment. We’ll then support you for the long term.

How long will it take to build the software?

It depends on the requirements of course. It can be as quick as a couple of months for smaller projects. On average, we aim for 6 months for larger projects, and resource the team appropriately to deliver in this timescale. Much larger projects, or those with a complex “critical path”, can take much longer, or be “ongoing” projects with regular releases. Find out more about working with us.

Will I own the IP?
Is Onshore or Offshore development better?

Selecting an onshore provider can be advantageous as you have direct access to the supplier, meaning meetings can be conducted in person and overall communication is efficient. Also, in some instances it may be only possible for you to work with developers in the UK. Offshore (or Nearshore) is also a viable option for those that do not need to visit the people developing the software in person, or the location of software development is unimportant. One Beyond offers the best of both worlds – offering both options of Nearshore or Onshore, or a blend of both, without compromising quality or communication and delivering a world-class digital outcome.

Are all One Beyond Developers based in the UK?

All One Beyond developers are full time employees, and we have a team of approximately 200 across our international business.

Our developers are based across our office locations: at our Headquarters in Farnborough, Hampshire, and our engineering centres of excellence in Manchester, Madrid, Seville, Budapest and Szeged.

How many developers does One Beyond have?

We have approximately 200 full time employees, spread across our six international office locations.

Is software development a good career?

Yes, software development is a great career. One Beyond employs dozens of talented developers. The pay can be fantastic, and it’s a genuinely fun but challenging and interesting job to do. The world is becoming ever more dependent on technology and developers are hugely in demand as a result. One Beyond is growing fast and has vacancies available – contact us now!