No matter what the niche of your business is, chances are that software development plays a large role in its success. From tourism to catering services, most companies from all business areas are investing heavily in the creation of branded apps and other software. And this matter seems to be especially topical in the banking area.

Regardless of your objectives, if you need to create banking software, there are two ways to do it. On the one hand, you can engage in the process on your own. On the other hand, you can entrust professionals to do it for you to save time, energy, and (maybe) even money.

Luckily, today, you can get high-quality financial software development services with ease and ensure the best results. But, if you want to become a pro in financial software development yourself, read on! In this article, you will find a comprehensive guide that will help you create your own banking software without any external help.

Step 1: Do the Planning

The first stage in any kind of project is thorough planning. Banking software development is not an exception.

Before you get directly to the development phase, you need to do some preparatory steps that will help you ensure the success of the project and minimize your investment of time and money. Namely, the thing you need to take care of during the planning stage include:

• Define a clear purpose.
• Conduct target market research and feasibility analysis (by four elements – technical, economic, schedule, and operational).
• Pick the platform you are aiming for.
• Define your technology stack.
• Create a comprehensive technical specification (a detailed technical description of the future project).
• Set budgetary requirements/limits.

These are just some of the things you will need to take care of. All in all, your primary task is to define your target audience and objectives, figure out what your audience craves, study what others already offer, and create a feasible plan that will help you bring your idea to reality.

During this stage, you will most likely come across multiple issues and questions. But, remember that careful research and planning are the keys to success. So, take your time, and go through every stage of the preparatory process!

Step 2: Take Care of UI/UX Design

Although the functionality matters a lot, studies find the look and the feel that users get from your app are far more important. In fact, the UI/UX design is what creates the first impression and helps users decide whether they will use your app further or not. Thus, the designing stage can be called even more prominent than the development phase.

When you get to this step, if you are not well-versed in UI/UX design, consider hiring a professional designer with experience in financial services software development. This can help you get the best result in the shortest terms.

Step 3: Brush Up on Your Skills

In case you are a real pro in software development, this article is not meant for you. However, if you are a beginner, your next step, before you move on to the most responsible stage, is to give your skills and knowledge a little boost.

No matter what they say, it is impossible to create a flawless app having no knowledge, skills, or experience in this field. So, if that's your case, consider taking some classes or courses. Look for an exciting financial software development internship, or just take freelance projects to gain more experience.

Step 4: The Development Phase

Though many believe this phase to be the hardest and time-consuming, it's not. That's where you will feel the real value of careful planning. The thing is that when you have all the information and technical specifications, all that is left to do is to follow the plan and bring your idea to life.

Depending on your purpose, level of skills, goals, and the selected technology stack the development process can vary. So, the best tips we can give you is to follow the plan and know when to ask for help if you really need it.

Step 5: Testing

If you are new to this field, it is okay if you used to believe that the creation of software is the last stage of the process. Unfortunately, it is not quite true. Even after you have a ready-made app and everything seems to look just fine, most likely, there is still plenty of work to do.

The first step to take after the technical part is all done is testing. No matter how good your app looks by this time, testing is crucial for ensuring there are no bugs or other errors that can negatively affect user experience.

There are many different techniques and types of testing, all aimed at helping you ensure that the final version of the product is perfect. Thus, to get the best outcome, consider delegating this task to professional Quality Assurance experts.

Also, keep in mind that this stage often implies that you will have at least a few rounds of revisions. So, be sure to leave enough time for it.

Step 6: The Post-Development Phase

Finally, after everything is ready, there are just a couple more things left to do. This phase doesn't relate to software development, but it is no less important.

Namely, this phase involves to important, ongoing steps:

1. Marketing and deployment

2. Maintenance and support

While the previous steps aim to help you create your product, these last two steps are all about bringing it to the market and ensuring that users receive great experiences at all times.

The Bottom Line

Although software development (especially for the financial industry) isn't a piece of cake, now you should know that it also isn't all that scary and confusing as you could think before.

Hopefully, this article will help you understand how the entire process works and will give you some handy tips for ensuring the success of your own project!