Speaker 1: Hey there. Are you interested in developing your own project management software? Or maybe you have a unique idea to create a software for construction services, transport management, real estate, consulting firms or even manufacturing industry? Well, stay with me because I'll share a step-by-step guide on how to do that in no time and save your money. My name is Denis Babich and I'm the director of a software development company. In this video I'll share with you how to test your idea out, play your competitors, hire the best team and save your money during the process. All this knowledge comes from the expertise of my agency, successful startups and top world practices combined into one ultimate system. Let's dive in. Okay, creating a project management software is an absolutely vital idea and here is why. In any market there is a huge room for improvements and innovation. Of course, you have to know all the ins and outs of the specific market and then you can easily start this journey. However, please keep in mind that the solution you are attempting to build not only serve you and your business but also cater to your direct competitors who may wish to use your system and pay you the fee. Your goal is to develop a unique marketplace that a wide range of businesses or individuals can utilize. This approach will set your software project on the path to success right from the beginning. All right, let's start by identifying the core components of your project management software. Let's say you want to build a software for a manufacturing industry. Depending on your business goals it might include mobile app for iOS and Android, a web app and the web admin zone. Okay, when we're talking about mobile apps it will include features such as an user authentication, project dashboard, task management, chat, calendar, reports, integration with third-party services and so on. The web platform will have almost identical features to the mobile app but with expanded functionality and much more user-friendly interface. The web-based admin zone will provide functionalities such as user management, organizations management, project management, payment management, analytics, security and more. All right, when it comes to developing your software product one of the most crucial aspects is your focus on creating an MVP minimum viable product. Look, we're talking about your startup here and the best approach for you in the early stages is to create an MVP. It will help you build your software really quickly with implementation of just four to five basic functions and your secret ingredient. That's pretty much all you need at this point. This approach will allow you to move swiftly, save a significant amount of time and resources and also start testing your market effectively. Remember, a basic MVP that's developed quickly and already has users can easily attract funding from angel investors with a startup valuation starting from 1 million dollars. That's why creating an MVP is so important. Now let's talk about pricing. When it comes to identifying the price for your software there are several things you have to keep in mind such as quality assurance, bug fixing, project management, maintenance and risks. Estimating the cost of developing unique features at this stage can be quite challenging but don't worry, I'm here to provide you with the pricing for the basic MVP functionality. Here's a pro tip for you. If an investor contract requires an in-house development team you will need to allocate a budget based on US or EU rates. However, you always have the option to outsource your software development expenditures to Ukraine which can be a significant game changer when you are seeking value for money. Ukraine is an absolute hidden gem in the software development world. Many successful startups such as GitLab, Grammarly and Jubil have already recognized a huge value of hiring Ukrainian developers to build a top-notch software. Ukrainian developers have excellent English skills, extensive experience in outsourcing development, strong math background, they have innovative thinking which help them always think outside of the box. On top of that they are hard workers. Okay, so the most pressing question you might have right now is probably about which features to include in your MVP and how to prioritize them properly. And the answer is super simple. Follow the methodology that I'm about to share with you. This comprehensive methodology that I've developed will assist you in identifying essential features, make the pricing accurately, finding the best execution team, outplaying competitors, achieving product market fit and saving a significant amount of resources. Moreover, it will shed light on why the app price can range from 50 grand to 100 grand. Buckle up, let's jump right into. So the first step is the business plan and this is where the modified Lean Canvas comes into play. It's like a business plan in a napkin that uncovers all hidden aspects that you need to focus on. This business plan will take something about an hour to prepare. Next, the order of these boxes and the process flow is crucial. It's been created after experiencing with 1000 plus Lean Canvas workshops with my clients. So it starts with understanding your user groups and their main pain points. What are their struggles? What issues can your service address and make their lives easier? Next, explore your competitors and the solutions they offer. Identify their advantages, disadvantages and their strategies that you can adopt. Your goal is to find the space where you can outshine your competitors by creating a unique solution for your specific niche without reinventing the wheel. Now let's talk about your unique and fair advantages. This is the powerful factor that sets you apart from your rivals. It could be your strategic partnership, first mover advantage, personal branding advantage, AI utilization and so on. Okay, once you've identified your unique edge, it's time to target your early adopters. These individuals will be the pioneers who will test your service and give you the most valuable feedback at the early stage. Discover where they spend their time online and create a cool marketing hook to engage them. Give them something truly unique and powerful. Broadcast your unique offer via social media, influencers or the timeless power of word of mouth or even networking. Also, if you're interested in learning more about Lean Canvas and get insights from 1000 plus workshops, I've created the full video about that. Link in the video description. Remember, don't just think about the present. Plan for the future and envision global growth and international expansion of your platform. Having a clear vision for your app's future in 5 or 10 years is crucial for attracting investors and achieving unicorn status. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below. I'm always excited to help you out and I'll personally review each comment. Also, don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe to stay updated and gain more business insights. Thanks. One of the most crucial steps in creating your startup is achieving a product market fit. Believe me, it's a game changer. So, how can you offer innovative and disruptive solutions that address the pains and gains of your target audience? Well, completing your value table is the key to achieving that. Picture this. You have an exciting idea for your own project management software. Before diving right into the software development phase, it's important to identify the pains and gains of your users. It could be something like complexity of the existing systems and high barrier to entry, lack of integration with third-party services, uncomfortable data migration, bad customization, lack of real-time collaboration. Once you've identified all these issues, it's the perfect time to leverage your platform to tackle them. You can provide solutions such as easy to set up and modify system features, personal assistance which will help you run the software, integration with all popular third-party services in your niche, one-click data migration which will support different options, and so on. Look, when you prioritize the platform value for your audience on front and keep that at the core of everything you do, you're setting up your business for success. Remember, small companies and startups can easily outperform industry leaders by being agile, flexible, and focusing on unique problems and local niches. You don't have to compete with everyone in the market. Instead, concentrate on a specific audience and provide them with the best possible value. And always keep in mind that it's crucial to fall in love with your customer problems and not just your solutions. All right, if your goal is to create an app that can outperform your competitors and satisfy your clients, then it's crucial to do your homework and conduct proper competitor research. Look at the industry giants for inspiration. They've mastered the game and you can learn from them by studying their user flows and proven methodologies. Remember, there is no need to reinvent the wheel completely. However, don't limit your research to the big players. Expand your scope and explore startups in smaller niches and different countries. You never know what you might discover. There could be a hidden gem that gives you a competitive edge in the market. Trust me, this exploration could be the most beneficial factor in your startup success. On top of that, you can learn which startup ideas was successful and which one fails. If you need assistance or support, feel free to reach out to me through any of the contact details listed in the description below. I'm here to help you and I'd be delighted to share my niche knowledge that could significantly impact your startup success. Let's outperform competitors together. Okay, once you thoroughly researched your competitors, identified all your customers' problems and generated a range of solutions, it's time to properly prioritize your software features. You'll need to decide what features you must, should, could, and won't develop. This methodology effectively creates a framework of key features requiring for swift development and proper prioritization. On top of that, it helps you to pivot if needed with limited resources. Also, it helps you to identify your prime path and crystallize your project fundamental goals. When it comes to creating an MVP for your app, it's important to keep your focus on what matters most to your users. And that's where a story map comes into play. With a well-crafted story map, you can break down the user requirements and map out the essential features that need to be developed and launched quickly. But hold on, there's more. To ensure maximum engagement and satisfaction, it's important to develop separate story map for each user type. Think of it as providing each user group with their own treasure map, guiding them directly to the features that are the most important to them. By doing this, you can identify the specific needs of each group and prioritize the features accordingly. This way, your MVP will meet their crucial needs and provide the best possible value at this stage. This, the real strength of a story map, lies in its capacity to help you save funds on one side, while simultaneously enabling you to concentrate on providing the most value to your audience at the right stage on the other side. Marketing may sound like a challenge, but in reality, when you understand your customers' problems and can create a powerful answer, then it becomes a much simpler task. So the first step is to create unique and compelling offers that motivate your users to try your platform at least once. It could be something like supply chain transparency, waste reduction to improve your bottom line, automated regulatory compliance, and so on. Once your killer offers are ready, it's time to broadcast them. Leverage social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, and even TikTok. Identify the most cost-effective platform for user acquisition through testing. Remember, your ads should be engaging and appealing. No one enjoys boring ads. Are you interested in delving deeper into the world of startups and businesses? Do you want to connect with business-minded founders and entrepreneurs where I share tons of insights and host live chats? If so, click the link in the video description and join me on my Telegram channel right now. Alright, let's talk about wireframing. Wireframes are the blueprint of your app Business Logic where you create every possible user cases and scenarios. It helps you uncover all the hidden or unexpected user flaws. For example, let's say you're in the process of creating your project management software. You've covered the basic functions like user authentication, project dashboard, task management, and calendar functionality. But what about situations where the organization wants to do the automated integration with third-party tax services? Have you incorporated a feature to manage such scenarios? These are the types of issues where a wireframe will help you identify potential gaps. Look, once again, the wireframe serves as the foundation for your app's functionality and user experience, and it's crucial to make this foundation rock-solid. Next, let's delve into the UI design of your app. There are two key aspects to consider. Firstly, the UI design should cater to users of all age groups, so the UI should be modern but not too fancy. Secondly, and most crucially, your UI design should facilitate users in solving their problems with the fewest clicks possible. Remember the problem of complexity of this system that I highlighted at the beginning? Thus, your job here is to incorporate well-known icons, design intuitive element location, and a simple color scheme that will help your users swiftly and effectively navigating your app. Forget about branding, fancy logos, and other visual design nonsense. At the early stages, this won't bring value neither to you nor to your customers. Center your design around your user problems, minimizing clicks, accelerating user goals paths, and simple but modern design aesthetics. Draw inspiration from industry leaders like Notion, Asana, Trello, and so on. Here's a helpful pro tip for you. To generate really cool UI design style and ideas, explore portfolios on websites like Behance or Dribbble. Search for CRM, ERP, and project management apps and incorporate design elements that catch your attention. And remember what Picasso said, good artist copy, great artist steal. If you found value in these tips, please show your support by hitting that like button and subscribing to my channel. Your support will boost this video visibility in the YouTube algorithm and you don't miss any well-built business videos from me. Thank you. Now let's delve into the tech stack. This is one of the most critical aspects when creating a project management software. Therefore, choosing the right tech stack is vital to avoid challenges such as slow user interfaces, non-scalable and non-maintainable cloud infrastructure, high costs, payment and subscription issues, and the risk of your app going offline during traffic spikes. If you are planning to create a project management software, it's essential to select the appropriate tech stack that enables rapid development of your minimum viable product. Flutter or React Native are excellent choices for Swift mobile app development. For backend development, Python, Django, Node.js, and Amazon Web Services are perfect options. React, Vue.js, and Angular are ideal for crafting web applications with easy. Additionally, leveraging third-party services like Stripe and Braintree for payments processing, Twila for SMS, and SendGrid for emails can expedite your development timeline. Remember, it's crucial to choose the appropriate tech stack for each stage of your software development journey. Tools and services like Marinstack, GraphQL, Microservices, Docker, Kubernetes, MongoDB, or PostgreSQL are also important, but your goal is to start with a minimum viable product and make notes regarding your future feature set when you are designing your app architecture. Different tools you have to use at the different project stage. The right tech stack is like receiving a correct diagnosis after a blood test. Alright, let's discuss the Agile process. One of the most powerful methodologies out there that can significantly speed up your development process. However, did you know that in some situations it can actually slow down your project by up to 30%? Picture this, you have a team of five developers who understand their roles, communicate effectively, and have made significant progress in coding the product. They could use simple tools like Trello, Asana, Google Docs, and QuickZoom meetings. However, as your team expands to 15 or more people, you may face some challenges such as losing your key developers, complex and time-consuming onboarding processes, reduced team productivity, communication issues, missed deadlines, and a decline in code quality and architecture. To avoid these problems, it's important to hire a tech lead to oversee the team and code architecture, find a project manager with tech background, implement scrum, sprints, backlog, and retrospective processes, conduct daily stand-ups to keep everyone updated on pending tasks, utilize advanced tools like Jira to manage tasks and track your team velocity. Choosing the right tools at the appropriate stage can accelerate your progress towards achieving your minimum viable product. However, keep in mind that even the best tools can lead to failure without the necessary knowledge or expertise. Another pro tip for you. Agile methodology can be a valuable asset not only in your software development journey, but also in your daily tasks, businesses, and marketing. It's a really powerful tool. Collecting user analytics is a crucial practice in the tech industry, allowing you to uncover essential metrics like unique visitors, user behavior, and session frequency. Using powerful tools such as Google Analytics, Sessionstack, Firebase, and Mixpanel will enable you to gather valuable data. By consistently tracking your app performance and analyzing your users' feedback, you can pinpoint areas that require improvements to ensure your users' satisfaction. Alright, if you're thinking of creating a mobile app or a web app, but you're not quite sure where to start, and you need some advice on how to start and outplay your competitors, feel free to shoot me a message via Calendly, and we can have a 30-minute call. Trust me, I'll be more than happy to share some insider knowledge and expertise with you that could be a real game-changer for your startup. So, what you're waiting for? Let's make it happen. See ya.