Hence, it’s important to consider the specific needs of your project. This article will explore some of the most popular software development methodologies and offer tips and tricks for choosing the right one for your project.

Software Development Methodologies: A Brief

Software development methodologies are rules, guidelines, and procedures that you follow as part of the software development process to ensure you can create quality code on schedule and budget. Enterprise software development methodology is constantly evolving.

Let’s Have A Quick Look At The Latest Statistics

The average Enterprise software development project takes 18 months to complete.

• • As per Business Intelligence Market, only 29% of Enterprise software development projects are considered successful.
  • According to CIO, 71% of Enterprise software development projects are delayed, over budget, or both. The most common Enterprise software development methodology is the waterfall model.
  • Agile methodology is gaining popularity, with 61% of Enterprise software developers saying they use agile methods.

• • • As per the Infoworld survey, the top three Enterprise Software Development challenges are requirements gathering (38%), integration (36%), and testing (34%).

Why Do Businesses Need Software Development Methodology?

To be productive and successful in your business, you need to know exactly what you want to accomplish and how you plan to do it. Without clear goals and a concrete plan, it’s easy to lose focus, which results in wasted time and resources. 

Img src: Google

Luckily, software development methodologies can help you create this framework that will keep you on track throughout the project’s lifetime. Here we have elaborated on the reasons why your business needs software development methodologies:

1) To Make Sure Everyone Is On The Same Page

When a team is creating software, all members must have a common understanding of how things will be done. For example, if you’re working on a project intended to process transactions as fast as possible, everyone needs to know what as fast as possible means. 

To ensure team members understand their roles and responsibilities, they should be provided with detailed requirements and objectives that outline project specifics.

2) To Ensure There Are No Miscommunications

Communication acts as a two-way street: as much as you want your team to understand what you want, you also need to understand what they need. To get their input, ask open-ended questions that don’t force them into yes/no answers; ask what if? Questions that leave room for multiple scenarios; and brainstorming together. Don’t be afraid to give constructive criticism, too—the best solutions are often created through an iterative process.

3) To Make Sure You Deliver What You Promise To Your Customers

All too often, businesses fail to deliver what they promise to their customers. In many cases, companies don’t start with a clear roadmap of what they need to do. By developing a methodology for software development, you can create an organized and consistent approach for building your product or service.

4) To Help You Avoid Costly Mistakes

Software development methodologies provide a set of rules for development, which are documented and enforced. They help you create easy-to-read and test code, ensuring accuracy and consistency. They also let you work with your team members in an organized way, minimizing duplication of effort. 

These things can help prevent costly errors that would otherwise arise throughout software creation. You don’t want bugs to make it into production—it’s simply not good for business!

5) To Ensure You Meet Deadlines

A deadline is a must when it comes to software development. If you don’t have set deadlines for your project, it could easily be delayed and never finished. Deadlines not only force action but also help you stay on track by giving you something to aim for and get excited about. 

Moreover, they provide clarity of purpose: When everyone knows what they need to accomplish within a given time frame, there’s no question about what needs to be done.

Example: A software development company uses an agile methodology, emphasizing fast-paced and continual innovation within each project’s time limit. Agile projects are organized in smaller timeboxes called sprints, each with a specific goal.

6) To Promote Collaboration

A good methodology will encourage collaboration between different teams and individuals, improving communication and ensuring that everyone is working towards the same goal.

7) To Increase Customer Satisfaction

By using a methodology that focuses on quality and efficiency, you can help to increase customer satisfaction with your software. This can lead to more repetitive business and improved brand loyalty.

Also Read: A Comprehensive Guide on Software Development

The Curated List Of Top Software Development Methodologies For Enterprises

1. Waterfall Methodology

In waterfall methodologies, every step or goal needs to be met before moving on to the next part. For example – if you have five tasks that need to be completed but only three are done while one is left undone, the project can’t continue until it’s been completed. 

This system has several pros compared to other ones out there- for instance, it doesn’t require too much thinking and planning, which helps save time, and because it has steps laid out beforehand, there’s less room for error.

The main advantage of the waterfall model is its predictability. Because each stage is completed before moving on to the next, tracking progress and identifying potential problems early on is easy. 

The main downside of the waterfall model is its inflexibility. Once a stage of the process has begun, it’s difficult to make changes without starting the whole process over again from the beginning.

A spiral methodology is also called waterfall because it follows a linear pattern without backtracking. Unlike its predecessor, though- it offers more flexibility in prototyping so that we can test new ideas earlier on in the process instead of making costly mistakes later on during the development stages.

Pros

• The phases (generally described as Requirements, Design, Implementation, Verification, and Maintenance) are easy to understand and manage.
• Ideal for less experienced teams and managers as confusion is minimized.
• Simple rigid model keeps things clear and easy to test.
• A significant amount of time is saved.

Cons

• Only focuses on precise needs.
• Does not work well for maintenance software development projects or long-term projects.
• There is no way to know the project’s outcome in advance.

2. Rapid App Development Methodology

Rapid Application Development provides an ideal way to take maximum advantage of software with minimal investment costs. This condensed model allows quick adjustments that speed up results, and you repeat user design/construction phases until project requirements finish (stages include: requirements planning; construction). 

However, there’s no need to go back through all four again once something has been changed in one stage.

Pros

• More useful for projects with well-defined objectives and user groups.
• Best for small to medium, time-sensitive projects.
• Facilitates the development process by developing high-quality projects faster.
• Take customer feedback for improvements and specific results.

Cons

• A stable team with experienced developers need for this methodology to work.
• Requires highly skilled developers to design complex problems.
• Does not work for small budgets.

3. Agile Methodology

This methodology makes it possible to develop software by working in small increments called iterations. It helps improve efficiency because you can find problems early on and fix them before they become bigger issues later. 

It is known as “reducing risk” or reducing uncertainty, among other things, through testing scenarios during each stage of development (user stories).

The main pros of agile software development is its flexibility. Because teams can adjust their plans, agile methodology is best for projects with rapidly changing requirements.

The main disadvantage of agile software development is that it is difficult to track progress and estimate deadlines since the project’s scope may change during the development process.

Pros

• The model adapts to changes quickly.
• Direct and regular communication maintains clarity about the project and goals.
• Defects and differences in expectations are detected early, so they can be corrected before they become significant problems.

Cons

• Focusing on the details and losing sight of the “big picture” can cause the project to drift.
• Real-time communication requires massive engagement with users and colossal manpower investment on the part of developers.
• May not work for larger organizations (a hybrid approach with another methodology may be useful).

4. DevOps Deployment Methodology

DevOps deployment methodology is a game-changing approach that improves all aspects of project management. It has been proven to lower the time it takes for projects and software releases, reduce failure rates overall as well as help developers be more efficient with their work producing better results in less amount of downtime or wasted resources.

Pros

• Significantly reduces time to market.
•  Improves customer satisfaction and product quality.
• Increases productivity and efficiency of employees.

Cons

• May require ongoing system updates that customers do not want.
• DevOps may not work for some industries that need testing before moving to operations.
• When working with departments, some undetected problems may go unnoticed.

Also Read: Why The Involvement Of DevOps In The Business Process Is Important?

Have A Look At The Infographic: A Brief Of The Above Points

Benefits Of Using Software Development Methodologies

There’s no question that software development methodologies can be extremely beneficial for enterprises. By following a set of best practices, enterprises can ensure that their software development projects are more efficient, organized, and successful.

Here we have listed the main benefits of using software development methodologies:

Improved efficiency

When software development projects are properly organized and managed, they tend to be more efficient. This means that enterprises can get their products to market faster and save money in the long run.

Greater accuracy

Using a software development methodology can help reduce errors and improve the overall quality of the final product. By following best practices, enterprises can avoid costly mistakes and deliver a product that meets customer expectations.

Better communication

Methodologies can help improve communication between all stakeholders in a software development project. By having a clear plan and well-defined roles, everyone involved will know what their responsibilities are. This can help reduce confusion and conflict and make the project run more smoothly.

Increased transparency

When enterprises use software development methodologies, they can provide greater transparency into the project for all stakeholders. This can help build trust & confidence in the enterprise and keep everyone on the same page.

Overall, using software development methodologies can be extremely beneficial for enterprises. By following best practices, enterprises can improve the efficiency, accuracy, and communication of their software development projects. Additionally, using methodologies can help increase transparency and build trust with all stakeholders.

No matter which software development methodology you choose, there are some general tips and tricks that can help ensure your project’s success:

• Define your objectives early on and be sure everyone involves in the project understands them.
• Create detailed plans for each stage of the software development process.
• Make sure you have a clear idea of who is responsible for each task and when it needs to complete.
• Establish regular checkpoints throughout the project to track progress and identify potential problems.
• Prepare yourself to adjust your plans as the project progresses. Unexpected changes are inevitable in any software development project, so it’s important to be flexible and adaptable.

The above tips would surely help in ensuring that your software development project is successful, no matter which methodology you choose.

What does The Future Hold for Advanced Software Development Methodologies?

The future of software development is looking bright, with several advanced methodologies set to take the industry by storm. Hence, we can expect to see more of the following:

Collaboration between developers and other stakeholders

To create successful applications, it’s important to understand the needs of those who will be using them. It means that developers will need to work closely with other stakeholders, such as product managers, designers, and user experience experts.

Focus on automation

Automation is key to efficiency in software development. By automating tasks like build processes and testing, developers can free up time to focus on more important tasks.

Emphasis on delivering value to users quickly

In today’s fast-paced world, users expect to regularly see new features and updates. It means that developers need to be able to deliver value quickly without sacrificing quality.

Advanced Software Development Methodologies

The software development landscape is constantly evolving. New methodologies comes, and old ones refine.

Here are just a few of the exciting new approaches that developers will be using in the years to come:

Model-based design

This methodology focuses on creating visual models of software systems, which can then use to generate code automatically. Hence, this approach can lead to more efficient and accurate development and a better understanding of complex systems.

Component-based development

This methodology takes a modular approach to software development, building individual components that can reuse in different applications. It can save time and money during the development process and make it easier to maintain and update software systems.

 Agile development

This iterative approach to software development is more flexible and responsive to changes, making it ideal for rapidly evolving projects. Also, agile methods can also help improve communication and collaboration between developers and other stakeholders.

DevOps approach

This methodology emphasizes collaboration between developers and operations teams. It helps in speeding up the software development process by making it more efficient and streamlined.

Behavior Driven Development

BDD aims to make it easier for businesses and developers to understand what to develop. Using a language you choose (e.g., Gherkin), BDD lets you write what your app should do before writing any code. It makes your specifications clearer, so there’s less back-and-forth between business and engineering teams later on.

Conclusion

So, which software development methodology is right for your business? Hopefully, this article has given you a good starting point and some ideas on what to consider when making your decision.

Always remember that the best methodology is the one that fits your company’s culture, processes, and goals. Hence, you can even try to experiment with different methodologies until you find the one that works best for you.

In my opinion, if you’re working on a large, complex project with ever-changing requirements, the agile methodology can be the right choice for you. However, waterfall may be a better option if you’re working on a small, predictable project with well-defined requirements.

Moreover, you need to keep an eye out for new developments and prepare to adapt as needed. For any query, you can always consult with our expert software developers @ValueCoders. We have been a leading software development company in India since 2004. 

Related FAQs

What is enterprise software development?

Enterprise software development is a term that refers to the process and methodology of developing software for large businesses and organizations. This type of development typically follows a more formal and rigid set of guidelines and procedures than other types of software development, such as web or mobile development.

The enterprise software development process often begins with requirements gathering, in which analysts work with stakeholders to understand the needs of the business. A team of developers will create a design based on those requirements. Once the design is approved, the actual coding and implementation of the software will begin.

What are the 5 software development models?

The question of which software development model to use is fairly important, as it will decide only the success or failure of a project. Here are five popular software development models to use:

-Waterfall

-Agile

-Spiral

-Lean

-DevOps

What is Agile software development methodology?

Agile software development is a newer methodology for developing software that focuses on speed and flexibility. Agile developers aim to finish projects, in short, intense sprints instead of the longer, more drawn-out process of traditional software development. Hence, it allows them to rapidly test and iterate on new features, which is especially important in today’s fast-paced business environment.

A few key concepts are important to understand with agile development. The first is the “Agile Manifesto,” which emphasizes individuals and interactions over processes and tools, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, working software over comprehensive documentation, and responding to change following a plan. This philosophy is what informs the entire agile process.

What is the difference between Agile and Scrum methodology?

Agile is a software development methodology that encourages continuous improvement and iteration, while scrum is a specific framework that helps teams work in an Agile way.

Scrum regularly delivers short bursts of functionality called “sprints,” while agile allows for more flexibility in how teams approach their work. Many teams use scrum in conjunction with agile, as it provides a structure for team communication and accountability.

Is DevOps different from Agile?

DevOps is a qualitative approach to software development that stresses communication, collaboration, and integration between software developers and IT professionals. It acts as a merger of the best aspects of agile software development methodology and operations management.

The agile software development methodology is a flexible approach to software development that allows for rapid changes and adaptations to requirements as the project progresses. It relies on regular, frequent communication between team members and close collaboration between developers and users/customers.

The post Tips To Pick The Right Software Development Methodology For Your Enterprise appeared first on ValueCoders | Unlocking the Power of Technology: Discover the Latest Insights and Trends.

A survey from Progress with 100,000 respondents tells us that-

1. 1. 38% of the respondents think that the opportunity to build and run .NET apps cross-platform is “amazing.”
   2. 43% of them think  that .NET Core being open-sourced and cross-platform is kind of  a “dream come true.”

Having said that, there should be no confusion about choosing a platform for your next web development project. However, while hiring a dedicated .Net developer team, you come across various types of programmers. Many of them represent themselves as pro-level .Net developers with reasonable doubts.

As a result, you are left with a mental duo on how to evaluate them before considering them for your project. Don’t worry, here is how you can judge the skills of .Net developers and decide on hiring the perfect resource.

This blog will clear out all your doubts regarding the skills of a Professional .NET developer: 

Here are the skills of a Pro-level Microsoft .Net developer

1) .NET MVC (Model View Controller):

ASP.NET MVC is spreading over the web market, replacing many others competing with it. As web programming is progressing up ahead, a developer should master this skill.

With the help of this framework, .Net developers can make beautiful, fast, and secure web applications easily. Thereby, this parameter can be considered in the first place while evaluating applicants.

2) Understanding of client-side technologies:

A dedicated .Net developer should have skills in creating highly creative, catchy, and interactive web applications. This increases his value in the market. In order to achieve that, understanding client-side technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, jQuery and Bootstrap is a necessity.

Hence, while hiring, check once if they are comfortable with your language demands. This is especially relevant.

Also Read: 5 Reasons To Opt For .Net Development In 2018

3) Database application:

Data is one of the most important aspects of app development, and .NET development is no exception. You’re offshore .Net development team must be well-versed not only with Microsoft’s own SQL databases but also updated technology like NoSQL. Therefore, the more .Net developers know about this field, the better performing and optimized web pages will be developed.

4) MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer):

The Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) certification is a highly demanded certification in the market for .Net developers. This skill is valued as its development and maintenance come from Microsoft itself, which requires rectification after every two years. Hence, this competency level can be looked for enhancing the code quality of your offshore .Net development team.

5) Microsoft MVP(Most Valued Professional) :

Microsoft MVP is one of the most valued certifications in the market. Hire .Net developers with the same certification are considered to have leadership quality and high skill level in the said framework. Moreover, it will augment the scalability of your project. Therefore, if you are hiring a .Net developer with such a skill set, you will have a mentor in your project.

Wrapping it up:

Therefore, when you are going to hire .Net developers for your upcoming project, it is not that you always pursue the amount of theoretical knowledge they have. You need to judge how much they can implement practically as well. You may evaluate some of their works done before and then make your final decision.

Looking to hire dedicated .Net developers in India? ValueCoders (Top IT Outsourcing and App Development Company) provides .Net developers who make secure, optimized, and quality web applications with the following advantages.

1. Flexible Hiring Models
2. Pro-level Teams
3. Guaranteed SLAs
4. Zero billing guarantee

The post 5 Skills A Microsoft .Net Developer Should Have appeared first on ValueCoders | Unlocking the Power of Technology: Discover the Latest Insights and Trends.

Yes, you heard it right. 

Among the different software development methodologies, Agile and Waterfall are among the most popular SDLC methodologies in the present.

The dilemma of choosing the right development methodology is the same with software development teams and entrepreneurs who are always looking out for the right development approach for different projects and businesses. 

But before digging into the dissimilarities, let us have a closure look at what they are and their strengths and weaknesses.

What is Agile Methodology?

Agile methodology focuses on the continuous iteration of development and testing during the entire software development process. This form of SDLC model increases communication among clients, developers, and testers.

The software development approach was developed by Scott Ambler during the autumn of 2000. Though initially dubbed Extreme Modelling (XM) was later renamed as Agile Modelling at the suggestion made by Robert Cecil Martin.

The Agile approach is an iterative and team-based approach to software development. It is a distinct type of Rapid Application Development (RAD) Model. A relatively newer software development model as when one compared to the classic Waterfall Model.

When you opt for an Agile based development approach, your project is divided, time-boxed, into phases called sprints. Every sprint encompasses a defined duration, typically, in weeks, with a list of deliverables that were planned during the start of the sprint.

The deliverables are prioritized in terms of the business value which is determined by none other than the client(s). The Agile methodology conforms subsequently to a high level of customer involvement throughout the entire software development process.

There will be cases when the planned work for a particular sprint can’t be completed for some reason(s), then, in that case, the entire work will be reprioritized while the information gained is used for the upcoming sprint planning.

The entire completed work is evaluated and reviewed by both the project development team and the client. This will be done through daily builds as well as end-of-sprint demos.

What are the Pros and Cons if you opt-out for Agile Software Development Methodology?

What do you understand by the Waterfall Software Development Approach?

Waterfall, also known as the traditional approach to software development, the waterfall model follows a linear approach to software development. Because of this, it is also known as the Linear-Sequential Life Cycle Model.

The first description of the Waterfall model was deprived of the word Waterfall, which was first cited in the feature article by Winston W. Royce in 1970. 

However, it is in the year 1976 in which a paper by Bell and Thayer is believed to feature the term Waterfall for the very first time.

The Waterfall Model follows a sequential approach, hence the project development team can only move on to the next stage if the previous phase achieves successful completion.

What are the Pros and Cons if you opt-out for the Waterfall Software Development Methodology?

Agile Vs Waterfall: The Ultimate Face-Off:

Conclusion:

Agile and Waterfall development methodologies are distinct forms of software development methodologies. 

So, if you have a software development project that has evolving or uncertain requirements, then it is ideal for you to use the Agile methodology. On the other hand, if you have smaller software development projects with definite requirements, then you can find the Waterfall model to be your best pick.

We hope that the aforementioned comparison will make it easy for you to make a selection among the two popular SDLC models.

The post Agile Vs Waterfall: Which Software Methodology is Right for your Business? appeared first on ValueCoders | Unlocking the Power of Technology: Discover the Latest Insights and Trends.