bespoke software developers for the hospitality & leisure sectors

0333 050 5855

Working in partnership to develop software tailored to your business

The process

In today's fast-paced online marketplace, staying ahead of the competition depends on finding and using great software solutions that are tailored to the needs of your business. Many of our clients approach us because they are fed up with having to shoehorn their business requirements into off-the-shelf software products and they worry that the software they are using is preventing their business from reaching its full potential.

At Angelfish, we recognise that embarking on bespoke software development for your business represents a significant commitment, both in terms of budget and time, and it requires you to take a big leap into an area where you may only have limited knowledge. We understand how important it is to find the right software development partner for your project, which is why our emphasis is always on establishing a successful working relationship with our clients based on clear, open communication and mutual respect.

Developing bespoke software for your business is a comprehensive collaborative process that spans multiple critical phases, from the initial idea to ongoing support and evolution, ensuring that your software remains a dynamic and powerful asset for your business. The team at Angelfish is here to support and guide you as you take those first steps into bespoke software development.

Phase 1 – Discussion

Defining your project and cost estimates

Choosing the right bespoke software developer for your business is crucial. The success of your software development project hinges on working with a reputable company to develop software that is tailor-made to fit your needs, technically sound, efficiently managed and secure. 

All projects start with a conversation and the initial consultation meeting between us will centre on finding out more about your business, how it operates, the pros and cons of any software you are currently using, and your hopes and expectations for the new software.

Phase 2 – Specification

The foundation of your project

Once you've committed to the contract with Angelfish, your software development journey commences with the specification phase, which is the cornerstone for developing bespoke software, ensuring alignment between the client and the development team.

During this phase, we work closely with you to thoroughly define the project brief, ensuring we've covered all your requirements. We value your input, encompassing your ideas, goals and expectations, and providing our technical expertise to advise on what's feasible and how it can be achieved. A precise specification serves as the blueprint for the project.

The more precise the specification, the smoother the development process. The specification not only guides the development process but also forms the basis of our contract, reflecting our interpretation of your requirements based on our discussions.

Phase 3 – Development

Crafting your software solution

With the project's specifications defined and approved, the development phase begins. This is where your bespoke software solution is meticulously designed, coded and brought to life. The Angelfish team transforms the specifications into a functioning software product.

We grant you early access to our development and testing platform, enabling you to witness the software taking shape and to provide your feedback, suggestions and ideas. A well-structured and organised development process is critical to ensuring adherence to initial specifications and the elimination of errors. Regular communication remains essential to address any changes or concerns that may arise during development.

Phase 4 – Deployment

Ensuring quality and launch success

Once the software has been developed, it goes through rigorous testing to identify and rectify any issues. The testing phase is twofold, involving testing by Angelfish (Alpha Testing) and by you (Beta Testing). This ensures that the software not only functions properly but also aligns with the requirements you specified at the outset of the project.

At this point the software is then deployed and goes through a two-week period of Live Testing. We typically ring-fence approximately 10-15% of the budget to cover the costs of the Beta and Live Testing  phases of the project. 

Once the deployment period is over, the software is declared launched. Subsequently, all further programming support and development work are separately chargeable under our support and maintenance programme.

Phase 5 – Support  

Empowering users and ensuring reliability

Once the software has been launched the development phase of the project comes to a close and the support and maintenance programme begins.

As you start using your software you may find that there are areas where you need further guidance on how to get the most out of the functionality, or you may notice areas that you would like to further improve or tweak. It's only natural if you have a bespoke developer on tap that you will want to use their expertise to further refine your system. 

The beauty of the Angelfish support and maintenance programme is that you only pay for our time as and when you need it, so you get to benefit from having software experts on your team but without having to pay the annual salaries and benefits associated with employees.

Phase 6 – Evolution

Software that grows with your business

Bespoke software should not remain static. The evolution phase focuses on enhancing the software over time to meet changing business needs and industry trends. The evolution of the existing features or development of new functionality may be based on requests from you or recommendations from us.

When a new requirement is identified the software development process begins again with phases 1 (Discussion) and 2 (Specification). Each new feature or enhancement is costed and presented to you as a separate project so you can decide which you wish to pursue and then budget accordingly.