How to Make a Desktop Application: A Guide to Project Development

Deliverables: Project charter.

Start by clearly outlining your business needs. If you're developing a desktop software product, it's crucial to analyze the market first. Whether working solo or with a vendor, define the functional scope of the desktop application. This includes detailing user roles, content types, and the permission matrix. As a result, you'll generate high-level project requirements and document essential decisions, including::

• App’s value or the problems it helps to solve.
• Target app audience.
• Disadvantages of similar existing solutions.
• App’s advantages over competitors (in case of a product app).
• Development risks and constraints (and ways to address them).
• Success metrics (KPIs to measure project success).
• Selected desktop platform(s) and reasons for targeting them.

ElderberryTech tip:  Our experience has shown that the discovery phase is crucial in preventing unnecessary costs during development by establishing a solid foundation for budget and time estimates. Invest ample effort and time in this phase to avoid expensive adjustments down the line.

Deliverables: Project management plan.

Once you've defined the scope and objectives for your desktop development project, the next step is to create a project management plan. This document should outline the design and development tasks, taking into account the business risks and constraints identified during the discovery phase. Each task should be estimated for time realistically, with clear assignments to the relevant roles. After reviewing and confirming the high-level plan, the project can progress to the next stage.

Deliverables: Software Requirements Specification (SRS), Solution Roadmap, Quality Management Plan, Risk Management Plan, Change Management Procedures, Responsibility Assignment Matrix, and the Final Schedule (updated Project Management Plan).

The goal of this phase is to produce comprehensive documentation that outlines the entire development process. The primary deliverable, the Software Requirements Specification (SRS), should include the desktop app's purpose, a detailed overview, use cases for various user roles, as well as both functional and non-functional requirements. Additionally, the SRS should outline key modules and their interactions, presented in an architecture diagram. It also specifies the technology stack (development tools, programming languages, libraries, and APIs) and provides details on system integrations.

Moreover, this final planning step involves documenting the:

• app evolution plan,
• project quality standards and control metrics,
• ways of addressing most possible risks to the success KPIs,
• a matrix that assigns participant roles to certain team members,
• a schedule of assigned tasks,
• methods of handling changes to the schedule.

Deliverables: UX wireframes, UI mockups.

The functional requirements of the app are initially translated into simple wireframes, providing a basic yet clear visualization of how users will interact with the software. These wireframes come together to form a prototype, often created using interactive digital tools. After user testing and feedback, the prototype is refined into full-color graphic interface mockups, which are then handed over to the development team for implementation.

ElderberryTech tip: To collaboratively create striking and user-centric desktop app designs, ElderberryTech UX and UI designers recommend using Sketch and InVision apps.

Deliverables: Desktop application, source code, user installation guide, and system manual for administrators.

Testing should be conducted alongside development, as identifying and fixing code issues early is more cost-effective and efficient. If discovered later in the process, these issues can disrupt the entire codebase and cause significant delays in the release. If needed, the QA and development teams can collaborate to produce the user installation guide and the system manual for administrators.

ElderberryTech tip: Whenever feasible, automate the code delivery and testing processes using a CI/CD pipeline. In our experience, this can accelerate development by up to 20%.

Depending on whether the app is intended as an internal solution or a commercial product, it will either be deployed and integrated into the required corporate infrastructure or made publicly available. In the case of a commercial product, the app typically includes an installer and is distributed as a .exe/.pkg file via the product website or published on platforms like the Windows Store or Mac App Store.

If the app is listed on an official app store, the store will handle user notifications for updates. However, for apps distributed via other internet or intranet resources, such as HTTP/FTP or file-sharing platforms, you will need to incorporate automated update-checking functionality within the app itself.