Java is a strong and popular programming language, but it often requires a lot of code, which can slow developers down. It can be especially dangerous when there is an urgent need to go to market quickly or make the platform ready for an upcoming sales season with high traffic and numerous purchases. However, by using the right tools, frameworks, and methods, you can build great Java applications quickly without sacrificing quality. Java software development experts can help streamline the process by providing industry-leading solutions and best practices. Here’s how to do it.
Start with a Modern Framework
Why it matters: Modern Java frameworks eliminate boilerplate code, automate repetitive tasks, and enforce best practices out of the box.
Top picks:
- Spring Boot: The gold standard for rapid Java development. Use its starters (like spring-boot-starter-web) to auto-configure dependencies, embedded servers, and REST APIs in minutes.
- Micronaut: Perfect for microservices, with blazing-fast startup times and minimal memory footprint.
- Quarkus: Tailored for cloud-native apps, offering live coding and Kubernetes integration.
Pro tip: Use Spring Initializr (start.spring.io) or Quarkus CLI to generate a project skeleton with your chosen dependencies in seconds.
Leverage Code Generators and Templates
Why it matters: Code generators reduce manual coding, minimize errors, and enforce consistency.
Tools to try:
- JHipster: Generate full-stack apps (Spring Boot + Angular/React) with authentication, databases, and CI/CD pipelines preconfigured.
- Lombok: Annotate classes to auto-generate getters, setters, constructors, and builders.
- OpenAPI Generator: Automatically create REST API clients and servers from OpenAPI specs.
Pro tip: Combine Lombok with MapStruct for automated DTO-to-entity mapping, saving hours of manual conversion code.
Adopt a Modular Architecture
Why it matters: Breaking your app into modules (or microservices) lets teams work in parallel and deploy features independently.
Approaches:
- Hexagonal Architecture: Decouple core logic from infrastructure (e.g., databases, APIs) for faster testing and adaptability.
- Microservices: Use Spring Cloud or Helidon to build scalable, isolated services.
- Prebuilt Modules: Reuse existing modules (e.g., payment gateways, auth systems) from repositories like GitHub or Maven Central.
Pro tip: Use JUnit 5 and Testcontainers to write parallel, isolated tests for each module, ensuring quality without slowing down development.
Automate Everything
Why it matters: Automation reduces human error and frees up time for critical tasks.
Key areas to automate:
- Testing: Use Selenium for UI tests, Mockito for mocking dependencies, and JaCoCo for code coverage reports.
- CI/CD: Set up pipelines with Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI to automate builds, tests, and deployments.
- Infrastructure: Define cloud resources with Terraform or AWS CloudFormation for reproducible environments.
Pro tip: Use Spring DevTools for live reloading during development—see code changes instantly without restarting the app.
Use Cloud-Native Tools and Services
Why it matters: Cloud platforms handle scalability, security, and maintenance, letting you focus on coding.
Must-have tools:
- Docker: Containerize your app for consistent environments.
- Kubernetes: Orchestrate containers at scale.
- Serverless: Deploy Java functions with AWS Lambda or Azure Functions for event-driven tasks.
- Managed Databases: Use Amazon RDS, MongoDB Atlas, or Google Cloud SQL to offload database management.
Pro tip: Use Spring Native (with GraalVM) to compile Java apps into native binaries for faster startup times in serverless environments.
Prioritize MVP Features (But Plan for Scalability)
Why it matters: Building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) first ensures you deliver value quickly while keeping the door open for future enhancements.
How to do it:
- Identify core features that solve the primary user problem.
- Use Agile sprints to iterate quickly.
- Design with extensibility in mind (e.g., abstract interfaces, plugin architecture).
Pro tip: Document APIs with Swagger/OpenAPI early on to streamline collaboration and future integrations.
Don’t Skip Code Reviews and Static Analysis
Why it matters: Speed shouldn’t compromise code quality. Automated checks and peer reviews catch issues before they escalate.
Tools for quality assurance:
- SonarQube: Analyze code for bugs, vulnerabilities, and technical debt.
- Checkstyle/PMD: Enforce coding standards.
- SpotBugs: Detect potential bugs in Java bytecode.
Leading Java consulting company experts leverage these tools to maintain high-quality standards in enterprise applications.
Pro tip: Integrate these tools into your CI/CD pipeline to block merges until quality thresholds are met.
Choose the Right Technology Partner
Imagine you need to quickly enter the market, scale your platform globally, or prepare for sales seasons, such as, for example, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Sounds tough, right? In such situations, hiring and training an in-house team can take months, if not years. However, there is an alternative: finding a reliable technology provider and outsourcing development to them.
This approach has numerous benefits:
- Speed. It will be much faster to go to the market with an outsourcing team, as it is already trained and experienced in handling certain tasks such as scaling your business globally or ensuring your platform can withstand high peak loads during events like Black Friday.
In fact, they might have done this hundreds of times already for other global enterprises, so they know what mistakes to avoid and how to make the process as smooth as possible. Besides, you are allowed to choose the engineers you want and conduct numerous interviews until you are sure this is the right team for you.
- Expertise. If you partner with a company specializing in Java development services with years of experience helping global clients achieve their goals, you gain access to deep technical expertise.
- Cost-effectiveness. Working with an outsourcing company can be much cheaper. You won’t have to invest in hiring, training, retention, insurance, office space, or other expenses. Your outsourcing team works remotely, reducing operational costs.
- Flexibility. You can scale your team up or down as needed. For example, this year, you might require a large team to support global expansion, but next year, that need may decrease. When you work with the technology partner, you can hire more or fewer people, depending on your current needs.
Many people worry that building a good team outside their own office is too hard. They are afraid of time zone differences and language barriers. But if you pick a partner who speaks good English, there’s nothing to worry about. You can also read reviews from other businesses to feel confident in your choice. And for time zones, you can choose a partner with offices around the world, so you get support 24/7.
By working with the right technology partner, you can accelerate your time to market, leverage expert knowledge, and optimize costs—all while maintaining the agility to adapt to changing business needs.
The Checklist for Speed and Quality
- Choose the right framework (like Spring Boot).
- Generate boilerplate code with JHipster/Lombok.
- Design modularly (hexagonal/microservices).
- Automate testing, CI/CD, and infra.
- Offload heavy lifting to the cloud.
- Build an MVP, then iterate.
- Enforce quality with reviews and static analysis.
- Choose the right technology partner.
Final Thoughts
Building a Java app quickly doesn’t mean sacrificing quality—it means working smarter, not harder. By leveraging modern frameworks, automation, cloud services, and modular design, you can slash development time while producing maintainable, scalable, and secure applications.
Remember: Speed and quality aren’t mutually exclusive. They’re the result of good planning, the right tools, and a focus on what truly matters to your users.