How We Approach Custom Software Development

Deciding on custom software development or digital process automation is a big step. And the most common question we are asked in this context is:

“How does the process actually work? How much time do I need to invest, and when will I see the first results?”

At Ben Böhm, we believe in absolute transparency. A software project should never be a black box. Here is our proven 6-step process, from your first message to the day we’ve automated your business processes and your new system goes live.

Step 1: The Initial Consultation

Duration: approx. 30 minutes

What happens here? An honest exchange. You tell us about the current state of your business processes. Where are the bottlenecks in your company? Where are your employees wasting time on manual tasks? Which systems aren’t compatible with each other? What’s the most time-consuming part, and are there already any existing solutions?

Who decides what? Together, we decide how a collaboration makes sense and how it will proceed.

Step 2: The Process Analysis

What happens here? If you don’t know how you work today, you can’t know what you’ll need tomorrow. We dive deep into your business processes. We digitally map your processes and identify the areas where data is manually typed from System A into System B.

Step 3: The Concept

What happens here? We translate your analog or fragmented business processes into custom software. You’ll receive a clear concept from us that precisely outlines: What does the user interface look like? Which interfaces (APIs) will be built? How will performance be measured?

Who decides what? You should be 100% satisfied. You approve the concept and the final milestone plan.

Step 4: Custom Software

What happens here? We develop your software solution and regularly show you working prototypes. This allows us to manage the project together and ensure that the software turns out exactly as you need it for your day-to-day operations.

Duration: Depends on the scope of the project. Most projects take between 3 and 6 months. We develop the software incrementally so that you can start using the first features productively early on. More complex projects may take longer, while smaller solutions can be implemented much faster.

Your time commitment: Regular, brief check-ins every two weeks

Step 5: Intensive Testing

What happens here? Before anything goes live, we put the software system through its paces. At the same time, we onboard your employees to ensure a smooth transition. Our goal is for your employees to look forward to the new system on launch day, not fear it.

Step 6: Launch & Ongoing Support

What happens here? We go live with the custom-built software. From now on, data flows automatically, interfaces work together seamlessly, and the manual copy-paste chaos is a thing of the past.

Operation & Maintenance: The code we write belongs 100% to your company. You receive full access to the source code and repositories. We offer complete operation and maintenance on high-performance, secure servers. Alternatively, the software can also be run on your own infrastructure or with a cloud provider of your choice.

But our job doesn’t end here: We continue to support you after go-live, provide updates, and optimize the software system as your company continues to scale. Together, we’ll explore how your company can continue to grow.

Conclusion

You don’t need to build a digitalized company on your own, you build it as a team. At Ben Böhm, you’ll know exactly where we stand at every stage of the project, what the next step is, and when your input is needed.