Hello my friends. In this week’s #SolutionsSaturday we are going to talk about problems, and why we should always be on the lookout for them. While most people tend to shy away from looking too much or for problems, as a software developer when I hear people talk about problems, especially those related to business, I get interested real fast.
The fact of the matter that applications are developed to solve problems, so as developers if we are keen to listen in on problems our clients, friends or associates are having, we can then ask ourselves if there is an opportunity to solve some of these problems through software development.
While there are tons of the world’s problems that we cannot solve through software development, many problems faced by medium and small business owners CAN be solved with good software development. When you become open to listening for and listening to problems it become natural for many of us to want to solve them.
Whether it is a customer, friend, or business associate who will express this pains or problems, I always try to follow up with some questions in order to gauge if there is the possibility that Excel Application development can solve, or at least lessen the pain, of these problems. I often would ask the following questions:
- What have you tried in the past to solve this issue?
- How big of a problem is this for you and your company?
- What is this problem costing you in both time and money per year?
- What would it mean for you, or your company, if this problem or issue was removed?
- Have you considered a custom software solution to fix this problem?
Often just by asking the above questions, the customer or associate becomes automatically involved in both the size and scope of the issue, along with the possibility of making this problem go away. These series of questions are all designed to measure the impact and value of a custom software solution. Answers to these questions can also play a part in the overall cost of an application. (Since the actual Value of the application, and the problems it will fix, plays a large part of the pricing of the development and application.)
Answers to these questions will also help me decide the feasibility of creating a solution for this customer, since they may have tried to implement the exact solution you are thinking of already. If that is the case, then other options should be considered.
The most successful application developers are the ones that can listen, understand and then solve real problems for real companies today. So if you can take something away from this week’s Solution Saturday, the next time you hear about someone having a business problem, it may just be time to listen in, as this could be the next massive opportunity.
If you have any questions you want answered, put them in the comments below and I will do my best to get them highlighted in a future Solutions Saturday.
Thanks as always for your Likes, Shares & Comments,
Randy
