Software Designing and AI – How To Make The Most Of It?

Today, software, artificial intelligence, and design are tightly connected together. Each of these fields influences the other two. The results are tremendous. Software development and design powered by AI are much more efficient and flexible than the traditional version. In this article, we are going to show you some of the essential software designing principles. How can your company get the most of these three aspects of software development?

First and foremost, you have to be aware of the software development dos and don’ts and stick to them. You see, the list of things that can go wrong or be poorly done is very long. In fact, designing software from scratch can be a huge challenge! And your company’s success is frequently at stake. Developing software according to software designing principles can facilitate the entire process and make it successful.

Software designing – basic principles

When designing software, you have to start with the ultimate goal. You have to know what do you want to achieve and how. Let’s say you want to design an eCommerce platform for online sellers. We will use this example in this entire article to help you understand the main idea.

If you want to design an eCommerce platform (you can replace it with your project if you will), you have to:

Software Designing Principles: Make sure it solves real problems

Don’t start designing software only because you feel like doing it. If your platform is to be successful, it has to solve at least one significant problem that your potential clients are struggling with right now. Perhaps you can think of something that hasn’t been solved yet, even though there are dozens of various platforms commercially available. It’s all up to you!

Software Designing Principles: Keep it simple

Frequently, companies have real problems with walking in someone else’s shoes. As a result, their software, even though fully functional, is challenging to learn and use. Don’t go down this road! If you want to succeed, you have to make software that’s as simple to learn and use as possible.

Software Designing Principles: Plan everything you can

Try to plan every step and every stage of the software designing process. This way, you can easily keep track, monitor results, and take corrective actions when needed. In fact, a thorough plan is the best way to get the most out of software design!

Software Designing Principles: Ensure high quality

The internet has accustomed us to high-quality solutions and quick answers. Your software has to tick these boxes, too! Make sure everything looks great, works flawlessly, and is fully functional. A decent UX and testing team will help you achieve this goal. Make sure everything works properly, and conduct at least several tests before your product reaches the market.

Software designing fueled by the amazing UX

Today, especially in the eCommerce sector, user experience (UX) plays a key role. Here, again, simplicity matters. In general, the shorter the path your customer has to take (in e-commerce, it’s called Customer Journey) to place an order, the less likely they will withdraw.

The purchasing process should be shortened to the minimum necessary and legible. By no means don’t make your customers repeat themselves. At no stage, your customers should wonder what exactly needs to be done now or whether the order has been successfully accepted.

Next, the store’s layout should also be transparent. Make sure you have a detailed product search engine, refined descriptions, and specifications. And finally, the menu also needs to be straightforward and easy to navigate.

Your role doesn’t end here. Take care of high-quality photos. If possible, take your own pictures, don’t copy them from the manufacturer’s website (read about the duplicated content issue). If you have a bestseller or a product that you particularly care about selling, maybe it’s worth making a short video about it? Give your customers the opportunity to leave feedback and evaluate the purchased product. In one sentence–show that you really want your customers to feel taken care of in your store.

Remember about mobile customers!

We can’t stress that enough. Mobile commerce sales are projected to reach 2.91 trillion USD by the end of 2020[1]. The same source indicates that by 2021 mobile commerce will reach almost 73% of overall e-commerce sales. And on top of that, in September 2020, Google introduced their Mobile-first Indexing[2].  This means that since then, it’s the mobile version of your website that’s indexed in Google, not the desktop one!

What does it tell you? You have to be aware that if the mobile version of your store is much slower, does not contain all information, or is just noticeably poorer than the desktop version, you can expect significant drops in your store’s visibility on Google. Therefore, you should exert every effort to ensure your mobile website is fully functional and meets all the standards set by the desktop one.

So far, we discussed the basic software designing principles, analyzed the significance of the well-designed user experience, and talked about your store’s design and functionality. Now, it’s time to raise the question–where is artificial intelligence in the software designing process?

The role of AI in designing software

In short, artificial intelligence can significantly shorten and speed up the software development process. How artificial intelligence facilitates designing software? Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting applications:

Quicker prototyping

We always recommend adopting the MVP approach that is based on developing a prototype first. You should be able to create a prototype (an initial version, if you will) without the need to invest extensive financial resources. This way, you can present your software to:

• Potential clients
• Investors
• Business partners

The MVP version also allows you to verify if everything works and looks as expected, and is functional.

Data Acquisition

Each AI-fueled app needs data to operate. Machine learning algorithms are trained on specific sets of data that enable them to do their job correctly and accurately. If you want to design an eCommerce platform, data acquisition should be one of your main concerns. After all, each store that will operate on your platform will generate tons of customer and traffic data! If you plan to offer some machine learning-based feature, you have to know what data you need, where you can obtain it, and how you should use it to train your ML algorithm.

Automatic Analytics

Artificial intelligence allows you to automate the analytics process. The machine learning algorithms that analyze data in your clients’ stores can verify gigabytes of data all on their own. As a result, your clients can obtain useful insight in regard to their performance and results. All in all–you offer a much better solution, and your clients get access to valuable data in a legible and transparent way. It’s a clear win-win situation.

At this point, we have to mention that if you want to implement some AI feature in your software, make sure it comes with a transparent data visualization tool. It’s the best way to make this feature useable and understandable. Otherwise, your clients may not be able to understand the benefits artificial intelligence offers. This, in turn, may result in their dissatisfaction. Here’s your takeaway–make sure your clients understand how AI improves their work.

Improved decision-making

In many instances, AI is used to facilitate the decision-making process. In short, various analytics and predictive models can help you devise the perfect strategy or course of action that will lead you to the launch of a successful software product. Machine learning algorithms take into account all available data and, based on it, provide you with a recommendation. Drop us a line to find out how AI algorithms can help you make better, more informed business decisions.

Let’s sum up! Today, software designing can be tricky and demanding. That’s because it’s a complicated, multifaceted process. And then, you have customers who expect the best quality possible. If you want to make sure everything works correctly:

• Stick to basic software designing principles
• Take care of the mobile version of your website
• Make sure the UX in your product is exquisite
• Adopt artificial intelligence

With artificial intelligence, you can develop a much more tailor-made software that answers modern customers’ needs and expectations. And finally, this technology can help you and your clients make more informed decisions and make the most of their efforts.

If you are interested in implementing artificial intelligence in your software development process – drop us a line! We have vast experience in working with software houses and other companies that develop various types of online/mobile applications. We are at your service!

References

[1] Oberlo. MOBILE COMMERCE SALES IN 2021. URL: https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/mobile-commerce-sales. Accessed Nov 23, 2020.
[2] Mindy Weinstein. Google’s Mobile-First Indexing: Everything We Know (So Far). Feb 13, 2020. URL: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-mobile-first-indexing/346170/#close. Accessed Nov 23, 2020.