Natalie Monko Lead Project Manager

• Fintech

December 9, 2022 5 min read

Full Cycle Software Development for Fintech Companies: Step by Step Guide

Full cycle app development services include every step of the process, from research and engineering to programming and quality assurance, release and maintenance. This approach offers businesses

• the assurance of a reliable partner dedicated to transforming their ideas into reality,
• the guarantee that every aspect of the project runs smoothly so that business owners feel confident to get the project delivered on time and within budget. 
• expertise in the specific industry to ensure that all goals are met in a way that fits the business’s unique needs. 

We at Surf have been developing web and mobile applications for market leaders since 2011, and in this article we readily share a concise guide into the full cycle product development processes for the fintech domain.

Full development cycle stages

Before we go into the process of software creation, let’s check when financial startups and organizations need the full cycle development approach 

Ideation and strategy 

The first stage within the process of the full cycle development is gathering information about the idea, specific needs, goals and requirements for the project. This phase covers creating a detailed project plan that outlines all the deliverables expected.

For our clients we offer a kind of pre-development services that cover research and discussion of the product goal, business problem, target audience, and main competitors. We conduct quick briefing and analysis of preliminary requirements and MVP features set together with the client’s stakeholders.

Designing your software 

At this stage, the team will work on

• conceptualization to drive further UX \ UI solutions,
• customer journey mapping,
• building user flows,
• wireframing/prototyping,
• creating UI design.

For fintech web and mobile products, a well-thought-out design doesn’t mean a good looking interface and pleasant colors only, but much more. It is aimed to anticipate specific users’ needs and solve their problems easily and seamlessly, encouraging them to fully engage in the system’s services. The design should be adaptive to evolve according to the feedback from customers and along with ever-changing market requirements.

Fintech software development

Creating a fintech app is a complicated process that requires technical expertise, refined processes, and domain understanding – and all at an excellent level.

From the point of the code, the application shall be written with secure coding practices. Fintech full cycle developers lay special emphasis on ensuring data security and compliance with regulations (valid in the region where business is run) including applying advanced authentication, data encryption, and DevSecOps.

The experienced teams will offer you faster deployment, simplified maintenance, secure integrations, and higher scalability. The developers will recommend to you whether it is profitable to implement an API-driven microservice architecture, what cloud technologies to use, and how to set up DevOps pipelines to achieve connectivity, security, and high availability of your future product. 

Quality assurance and testing

The project team tests all of the deliverables to ensure that they meet the client’s requirements including fixing any bugs or issues.

The key challenges in testing fintech and banking systems are a lot of integrations with third-party services, many features with complex logic, and ever-growing app functionality to meet changing market demands and customer expectations.

To overcome them, we apply an early requirement and design review by QA engineers for their completeness, correctness, and consistency. We have also developed a common structure for test cases and efficiently use test automation, and have more testing practices based on our experience.

Deployment, maintenance and growth

At the deployment stage the project is actually launched and made available to users. The project team will work with the client to ensure that everything is set up correctly and that users have all of the necessary information and training before launch.

The following activities cover maintenance and support. This may include adding new features or functionality, fixing bugs, analyzing users’ feedback, or providing training or documentation as needed.

How to choose full cycle software development company

Hiring full cycle developers for your fintech project is a challenge in itself but as soon as you reasonably and consciously overcome it, you can dive into synergy and create the product you exactly need.

Factors to consider when deciding between different vendors

• experts of various expertise area available, their professional level, and replaceability,
• expertise and experience both technology- and product-related,
• well-established processes, multiple communication channels, project progress transparency,
• companies that have already entrusted the team their projects and results they achieved,
• arranging knowledge transfer to your in-house team when the project is complete.

Wrapping up

Full cycle development services can save companies both time and money in the long run. A team of developers diving deep into your project from start to finish will help avoid multiple hand-offs between different teams. This can save time and money, as there will be no need for duplicate work or wasted effort. Additionally, this approach can also help to reduce project costs by ensuring that all aspects of the project are optimized for your specific needs.