Software Product Engineering- Basics You Need to Know
                     Software Product Engineering- Basics You 
Need to Know
Satya K Vivek
Writes for Gadgeon Software product engineering and 
IoT engineering services.
Software product engineering refers to the complete process involved in 
bringing out a software/ digital product. The process spans several stages 
where there are specific deliverables from each stage. The entire process 
is driven by the primary objective of ensuring that the eventual outcome 
fully conforms to the specification of the product being developed. Most 
importantly, the final product should meet the objectives for which it has 
been developed.
Here, we need to highlight that software product engineering is much 
bigger than software development. This engineering doesn't excessively 
focus on the technologies used; it's more concerned with enabling a 
seamless user experience. 
Software product engineering- Outcome-oriented or input-oriented?
Many people wonder whether product engineering is outcome-oriented 
or input-oriented. Let us now examine this aspect. Although several inputs 
are given during the development phase of a product, software 
engineering is not of input orientation. It is essentially an outcome-centric 
process.
This is because right from day one the emphasis is on the result/ product 
expected. The software product engineering process of any company has 
the same important goal: delivering exact solutions desired by clients. This 
process attaches a lot of significance to exactly understanding both the 
user preferences and the issues being faced by them. These details help 
the team in taking decisions at various stages of the software product/ 
solution development.
Software product engineering- Different phases
At this point, it won't be inappropriate to briefly speak about the different 
phases of a software engineering process.
• Concept: In the concept phase, the product engineering team comes up 
with a framework for the product. Concepts for the specified 
requirements are identified. We can say that a blueprint for the final 
product is developed.
• Development: Subsequently, the phase for the creation of the product 
gets initiated. This involves design, development, and end-to-end testing 
of the system being designed and developed. Care needs to be taken to 
make sure that the development cost is well within the anticipated 
cost/budget. Product features are constantly analyzed and prioritized for 
development. Features are prioritized as must-have, nice-to-have, 
optional so on. This helps in taking decisions on features to implement or 
to postpone or drop. 
• Testing: Here, the finished product is subjected to stringent tests to be 
certain that it provides a good experience to end users. Any errors noticed 
are instantly corrected.
• Launch: After successfully passing through the above phases, the 
product is eventually launched. The related information is shared with 
prospective users through digital and print media, and public events. The 
software engineering wing keeps track of feedback from consumers, as 
well.
• Maintenance: The importance of the maintenance phase should never 
be overlooked. In case of any complaints from users about the 
functionality of the product, product engineers mustn't lose any time in 
resolving the problems. Additionally, these professionals have to continue 
researching the market. This is for the purpose of quickly adding updates 
to the software product, as and when needed.
Depending on software product engineering has now become mandatory 
for various organizations. That's the only way for these entities to attain 
success amid fierce competition in contemporary markets. You are 
advised to hire the right professional adept at managing all the software 
engineering stages. That's become a key ingredient for ensuring viability 
and boost the growth of your business.
About Gadgeon
Gadgeon is known for its expertise in Industrial IoT and engineering 
excellence. We connect devices, operations, and processes to create 
business value, and revolutionize enterprises with the power of data. As 
an end-to-end technology services company, we successfully enabled the 
digital journey of customers with critical digital services ranging from 
embedded systems, cloud app development, mobile app development, 
data & analytics, application modernization, emerging technology based 
solutions, and testing & test automation across the industries such as 
connected factory, telecom & datacom, digital healthcare, CSPs, and 
home & building automation.
Thank you for time in reading this article!