How do you design computer software?

Answer 1

As simply as possible, developing and testing small pieces over short intervals, getting frequent feedback from the users or the other stakeholders who have envisioned the product, by as small a team as can do the job initially. One or a few talented and probably more expensive resources up front are worth a lot more than many mediocre resources. If you can be flexible, then allow flexible hours, relax the deadline a little, and offer a percentage of the profits. That way you may be able to get someone good who already has a job but wants to get in on the business; i.e. you may be able to get them for a lower price and allow them to work nights and weekends. The average resources can come later when it is time to do more simple maintenance tasks. Upfront you want someone with maturity, development talent, creativity, and the ability to deliver. You want to get a solid technical person with a good reputation (job wise and in general), and then trust them to make the right technical decisions, versus trusting Gartner Group, tech magazines, or what "everyone else seems to be doing." Try to define your product (and sell to your market) in such a way that you are able to get interest in something that you would be able to deliver in the course of 3 months or so -- 6 at most. Try to avoid getting hooked into developing something that takes a year or more to develop unless people have signed on the dotted line already and paid for at least part of its development. Perhaps have those with a vested interest pay when certain development milestones are reached and demoed to them, to show their good faith and true interest in the product. (This is, of course, if your product is for a vertical market versus a horizontal one.)

Answer 2

Most computer programs use a high level language like C. First, you figure out what you want the program to do. If it must run very fast, but isn't very complex, you might choose to write it in a low level assembly language. If it is a business application you expect will be used for a number of years and must be maintained by a staff of programmers, you might opt to write it in Cobol.

Operating systems and widely used applications like word processors and spreadsheets are generally written in C, C+, or some variant.

Web based applications might be written in Java or some other web client programming language.

Answer 3

you need to learn a programming language, there's loads, usually java or c/c++ would be most popular.

you'll need a compiler for that language to turn your source code into computer code.

and depending on the purpose, you will most likely need to learn about some kind of API, i.e. you may consider learning about OpenGL for programming games

Answer 4

You could use books or online materials and tuition, but the best way is to be taught how to do it by someone who knows how to do it. Ideally, you should go to classes to learn.

Answer 5

with code.