Software Development Methodologies (SDM)
Software development methodology refers to structured processes involved when working on a project. It is a blend of design philosophies and pragmatic realism that stretches back to the early days of computing. The goal is to provide a systematic approach to software development.
It needs to be stressed that it’s crucial to choose a software development methodology and apply it with discipline throughout the project. There are numerous risks when you’re taking software development methodology for granted.
Without structured guidance, developers can suffer from customers’ ever-changing requests, and even more so when there are miscommunications. This leads to frequent revision in the software without considering the overall implications of the project.
The result? Wastage in time, money, and effort with the risk of producing a subpar application that doesn’t bring much to the table.
Software development methodologies are developed to benefit both the development team and customers. Choosing the right one ensures that discussions are conducted on proper channels, and decisions are made after evaluating all factors.
Using a software development methodology allows the team to cut down on inefficiency and provide a more accurate delivery timeline. It prevents the team from reacting to every input, but instead, allows them to be more organized and structured when dealing with spontaneous changes.
Developers are spoilt for choices from the various software development methodologies available. Most of the methodologies fall can be categorized as either a waterfall, iterative or continuous model.
A waterfall methodology follows a fixed sequence in implementation. Stages of development are defined in a rigid, sequential manner. This model was highly popular during the early days of programming due to the certainty in project scope. However, the rigidity of its structure also contributes to a high failure rate for many projects.
The iterative model offers an alternative for software development that’s less focused on rigid documentation but provides room for constant revisions. It uses multiple sprints to quickly build and test ideas to ensure they are relevant to users. As such, problems get fixed early on, and the team stays within the project’s goals. Agile and Scrum are two of the most popular iterative software development methodologies.
The continuous model is inspired by the Toyota Production System. It is about minimizing interruption or ensuring the flow between different phases of developments. The goal of the continuous software development approach is to avoid wastage and improve the efficiency of the various phases.
Let is explore Software Development metholodies by doing.
- Software Enggineering
- Software Requirements
- Software Requirements Specification
- Software Development Life Cycle
- Agile Methodolgy
- Scrum Framework
- Source Control
- Software Architecture
- Data Flow Diagrams
- UML Diagrams
- Software Design Principles
- MVC Architecture
- DevOps
- Cloud Computing
- Virtualization
- Containerization
- Containerized Application
- Continous Integration/ Continous Delivery
- Software Testing