12 Development Methods

Today we have reached a situation where you have control over everything at the tip of your fingers. Technology has developed beyond imagination. All thanks to the software development industry!

The world of software development is something that is limitless.

Technology is a perfect blend of innovation and ideation that conceptualizes to form a platform, which is suitable for operating various software developments taking place.

In fact, the methodology meant for software development is considered as a structure used for planning and controlling the procedure of creating a specialized information system.

Certainly, these innovative methods are concerned with highlighting the process of software development, which does not involve the use of any technical aspect.

The only matter considered is proper planning for the purpose of highly integrated software development.

The simple tenacity of these procedures is to offer customized software development as per the requirements.

Waterfall Model:

If you are into software development at some point or the other, you would have bumped into the Waterfall Model.

Considered as the traditional method of explaining the software development process in software engineering, waterfall model happens to clarify the process into a linear flow with a specified sequence to let the users understand that further level is made progressive on completion of the previous one.

Moreover, this methodology also talks about the fact that going back to deal with the changes is not possible.

Pros:

1. Easy to understand and functional
2. Simple enough to handle as model is rigid
3. Saves significant amount of time
4. Allows for easy testing and analysis

Cons:

1. Only matches precise needs
2. Not applicable for maintenance projects
3. No option to know possible outcome of a project
4. Not excellent for long and ongoing projects

Prototype Methodology:

It is a specialized software development procedure that initiates developers towards making only the sample of the resolution to validate its functional essence to the customers and make essential changes before creating the authentic final solution.

In fact, the best part of this methodology is that it tends to resolve a set of diversifying issues occurring with the waterfall method.

Pros:

1. Gives clear idea about the functional process of the software
2. Reduces the risk of failure in a software functionality
3. Assists well in requirement gathering and the overall analysis

Cons:

1. Chances of extension in management cost
2. Excessive involvement of client can affect processing
3.  Too many changes affect the workflow of the software

Agile Software Development Methodology:

As an innovative approach, the agile software development methodology is used for articulating a well-organized project management procedure allowing for recurrent alterations.

Certainly, such type of a methodology is one theoretical outline for undertaking several software engineering projects.

Another good thing about it is that it minimizes peril by creating software in short time boxes, known as iterations, which happen to last from one week to one month.

Pros:

1. Adaptive approach that responds to changes favorably
2. Allows for direct communication to maintain transparency
3. Improved quality by finding and fixing defects quickly and identifying expectation mismatches early.

Cons:

1. Focuses on working with software and lacks documentation efficiency
2. Chances of getting off-track as outcome are not clear

Rapid Application Development:

Aimed at providing quick results, rapid application development is meant to give excellent development processes with the assistance of other development approaches.

It is created to take the maximum advantage from the development software.

Undoubtedly, it is designed to augment the workability of the whole software development procedure for highlighting the participation of an active user.

Hiring for this kind of development is not straightforward, because there are many factors which you need to take into consideration. This article from Collectiveray discusses a few ways how to find app developers for your next project.

Pros:

1. Makes the entire development process effortless
2. Assists client in taking quick reviews
3. Encourages feedback from customers for improvement

Cons:

1. Dependant on the team for performance
2. Works on modularized system confined on this methodology
3. Requires extremely skilled personnel to handle complexities
4. Not applicable for the small budgeted projects

Dynamic System Development Model Methodology:

Authentically formulated and derived from the rapid application development methodology, it is an iterative and incremental approach that focuses on the involvement of the user.

The task of this methodology is to provide software development systems within the specified time frame and the allocated budget.

The very reason why it is quite in demand in the world of software development.

Pros:

1. Users getting a grip of the software development process
2. Functionality deliverables are quick
3. Offers easy access to end users by the developers

Cons:

1. This methodology is costly to implement
2. Not suitable for small organizations

Spiral Model:

Being a highly sophisticated design, it is meant to reduce the early risks in the project.

As per the process going by, the developers initiate on a smaller level and explore the included risks in it.

Further to this, the developers are intended towards crafting a plan for iterating of the spiral.

The accomplishment of any Spiral Lifecycle model is based on consistent, observant, and conversant management of the project.

Pros:

1. Risk factors are considerably reduced
2. Excellent for large and complex projects
3. Allows for additional functionality later
4. Suitable for highly risky projects with varied business needs

Cons:

1. Costly model in software development
2. Failure in risk analysis phase may damage the whole project
3. Not appropriate for low-risk projects
4. Might get continued and never finish

Extreme Programming Methodology:

Extreme programming is identified by the fact that customer involvement in the software development process is unbelievably high.

As an agile software engineering methodology, extreme programming methodology is presently known as XP methodology.

It is chiefly used for crafting software within a very unbalanced atmosphere.

It enables greater tractability within the modeling procedure.

The foremost aim of this XP model is to reduce the cost of software essentialities.

It is fairly mutual in the XP model that the price of altering the requirements on future stage in the project can be really whooping.

Pros:

1. It lays focus on customer involvement
2. Establishes rational plans and schedules
3. Developers are exceptionally committed to the project
4. Equipped with modernistic methods for quality software

Cons:

1. Effectiveness depends on the people involved
2. Requires frequent meeting for development raising total costs
3. Necessitates for excessive development changes
4. Exact possibilities and future outcomes are really unknown

We will take you through some of the add-on values that you can enjoy when using XP:

Communication

In XP, the process of communication is simple, robust and fairly transparent. Each of the team members is dependent on one another and share knowledge within the team – which means that each member is aware of the role and functionality of the other.

Simplicity:

Since the communication stage itself begins with a simple and transparent approach, simplicity is guaranteed across all other phases. Moreover, in this context, simplicity refers to implementing an approach where you cut all the crap and include only the necessary information.

Feedback

With feedback, it is easier to track down the areas where improvement can be brought about along with modification in the processes that are being applied here.

Motivation

Courage is nothing but a set of actions if implemented that might be harmful to the team and the business requirements that will be performed. So, with motivation, you can now work on identifying those grave factors that might affect your services.
Extreme programming connects five different individuals in a team and these include customer, coordinator, programmer, quality checker and a tracker.

Pros:

1. It lays focus on customer involvement
2. Establishes rational plans and schedules
3. Developers are exceptionally committed to the project
4. Equipped with modernistic methods for quality software

Cons:

1. Effectiveness depends on the people involved
2. Requires frequent meeting for development raising total costs
3. Necessitates for excessive development changes
4. Exact possibilities and future outcomes are really unknown

Feature Driven Development:

Being an iterative methodology for software development, it is aimed at serving a large number of teams working on a project based on object-oriented technology.

This sort of model is decent for companies that are passing on from a phase-based method to an iterative approach.

It is already known as an FDD methodology and is highly functional and creative enough to deal with varied complexities.

Pros:

1. Moves bigger projects with continuous success
2. Easiest 5 procedures bring outcome in a better manner
3. Built on pre-set standards of software development, it is programmed for easy development
4. Projects that need continuous updates are powered by feature-driven development that ensures all needs are taken care of.
5. Results in features that always outshine the inputs
6. Since this is based on some of the best software development practices, any developer with relevant experience can handle and manage the project-related tasks with ease.

Cons:

1. Not suitable for smaller projects and a single developer – always a huge team is required, which means that we cannot ever guarantee a brisk deadline.
2. Highly dependable on the leading developers, necessitating for the complete structure – the process needs to be monitored through each phase as even a minute flaw can create chaos in the system.
3. Highly dependable on the leading developers, necessitating for the complete structure – the process needs to be monitored through each phase as even a minute flaw can create chaos in the system.

Joint Application Development Methodology:

The Joint Application Development Methodology is a requirements-classification and user-interface expansion approach that necessitates for the end-users, clients and developers attend a powerful off-site conference to accentuate and confirm software system.

This methodology serves towards including the client in the design and expansion of an application.

This is effortlessly proficient through a sequence of concerted workshops known as JAD sessions.

It tends to lay emphasis on the business difficulty rather than methodical details.

Pros:

1. Allows for simultaneous congregation and alliance of excessive information.
2. Produces huge amount of valuable information in short period
3. Immediate resolving of differences with suitable assistance
4. Provides forum to explore multiple points

Cons:

1. Takes excessive amount of time for planning and scheduling
2. Requires significant investment of time and effort
3. Calls for highly trained experts, which is tough to find

Lean Development Methodology:

As a technical advancement, Lean Development model lays emphasis on the formation of effortlessly manageable software.

This exquisitely designed development technique is more deliberately engrossed than any other form of agile methodology.

The objective of this procedure is to improve the software in one-third of the time, with very restricted budget, and very fewer amount of essential workflow.

Pros:

1. Lower budget & time requirements
2. Allows for delivery of product early

Cons:

1. The workability of the team decides success of software development process
2. Unsuitable business analyst can be severely problematic
3. Excessive flexibility leads developer to lose focus

Rational Unified Process Methodology:

Smartly called as RUP, Rational Unified Process methodology powers software development using rational tools.

This methodology segregates the expansion process into four different stages that each includes business modeling, scrutiny and design, enactment, testing, and disposition.

This is an object-based and web-empowered program growth methodology.

The model tends to assist software developer for stating guidelines, templates, and specimens for all features and stages of software development.

Pros:

1. Lays high focus on precise documentation
2. Removes project risks linked with client evolving needs
3. Very less requirement for integration

Cons:

1. Needs excessively expert software developer
2. Development procedure of the methodology is complicated
3. Integration might cause confusion
4. Very complicated to understand

Scrum Development Methodology

SCRUM is the most widely preferred agile software development approach.

(Likewise, KANBAN is a process that helps teams to collaborate and work effectively.)

Basically, this excellent development is suitable for those development projects that are constantly altering or extremely developing requirements.

The Scrum Software development model initiates with an ephemeral planning, conference and completes with a concluding review.

This growth methodology is used for prompt development of software that happens to include a series of iterations to generate required software.

It is a perfect approach because it effortlessly brings on track the deliberate progressing projects.

Pros:

1. Decision making lies in the hands of the team
2. Business requirement document is considered insignificant
3. Lightly controlled method empathizing with constant updating

Cons:

1. The processing method suffers because of wavering costs
2. Not suitable for big sized projects
3. Requires highly expert team, which has no place for novices

Technology has paved way for exclusive developments and software development procedures are not different.

The main thing in this aspect is that it deals with a variety of complexities, which requires expert handling.

Software development has specified methodologies that work on certain platforms, which allows them freedom to operate.

This calls for high-quality performance under the guidance of professionals, who have years of experience in handling technical issues with efficiency.

With varied forms of methodologies applicable to a different set of software development projects, the developers have loads of options to create excellently working software.

It is the world of technology that everyone is looking, and the constant changes have led to various software developments.

It is the technique of creating useful software that adds value to the overall business procedure and creates ways for technical methodologies.

The essential factor of developing high-quality software is that they simplify complex procedure; but, requires an extensive way of dealing with technicalities and expert knowledge.

@Credits: Acodez