Software Development Methodologies

Hijazi et al. Describe System or Software Development Methodology

Hijazi et al. describe system or software development methodology as an approach to the software development life cycle that describes a sequence of steps to be followed while developing a software project (3). Currently, there exists many software development methodologies that can be used by designers in carrying out development tasks on given software projects. Out of these frameworks, it is reported that only a third of them are successful. Principally, development methodologies aid in guiding a software designer throughout the life cycle of the project. The chosen methodology thus dictates the success of an intended project. According to (Hijazi et al. 2) many developments fail due to the risk associated with software development. Thus, a favorable development methodology should aid software developers in addressing occurring risks in the project.

The Agile Methodology

One of the most successful software development methodology is the agile methodology. The agile methodology was born in the 1990’s to address the deficiencies of other software development methodologies (“Comprehensive guide to agile manifesto”). The agile methodology aimed at the production of working software through a set of principles that ensured progress of a given project as well as the incorporation of rising needs from the client. Due to this, the agile methodology called for simplicity of tasks, the use of software usability as a mark of progress as well as the avoidance of tiresome documentation which was always at the expense of a working software. Due to this, it is the development methodology of choice.

Research on Agile Methodologies

According to recent research, many software developers and IT professionals have endeavored to incorporate agile methodologies in their projects instead of traditional methodologies such as waterfall. The research, which involved 601 online software developers, proved that agile is the most favorable methodology (“Survey: Is agile the new norm?”).

Factors to Consider in Software Development Methodologies

There are several factors which should be put into consideration when choosing a software development methodologies. A good development methodology should ensure that software designers have clear user requirements. It should also address the complexity as well as the reliability of the project (“Selecting the appropriate development methodology”). Also, schedule and schedule visibility of the project should be addressed, as well as the kind of tools or technologies employed in the intended project.

Limitations of Traditional Development Methodologies

Waterfall, Scrum, rapid application development are some of the traditional development methodologies in the software industry. While they were useful at the time, these methodologies had given limitations which disabled their favorability with modern software developers and professionals. Although they addressed functionality, they failed to predict the rapid changes in the industry. Due to this, future compatibility of produced software was not addressed. Software usefulness was also sacrificed since the generated software tended to focus on the software plan instead of being flexible. Due to rigidness, software applications did not address areas that needed more functionality.

Tasks in Software Development

There are various tasks which must be deployed during software development. These tasks are often relayed by development methodologies. A software developer is supposed to follow the tasks clearly so that an efficient software is generated. One of the tasks is the definition of the product. In this case, the designers are supposed to understand the principal purpose of the product (Awad 10). It is also important to design the product. This ensures that it is of quality and that its vital requirements are addressed during development. When all these have been achieved, coding the software should be done. Once this has become successful, the software developers should then test the product so as to ensure that it is fully functional. The last task is to implement the developed software.

Works Cited

Amad, M.A. “A Comparison between Agile and Traditional Software Development Methodologies.” Dissertation. University of Western Australia, 2005.

“Comprehensive guide to agile manifesto.” Smartsheet, https://www.smartsheet.com/comprehensive-guide-values-principles-agile-manifesto

Hijazi, Haneen. , Khdour, Thair. Alarabeyyat, Abdulsalam. “A review of risk management in different software development methodologies.” International Journal of Computer Applications, vol. 45, no. 7, pp. 2-10

“Survey: is agile the new norm?.” Techbeacon, https://techbeacon.com/survey-agile-new-norm

Shayan, Chris. “Selecting the appropriate development methodology.” ChrisShayan, https://chrisshayan.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/my/blog/2013/05/12/622650/Selecting+the+Appropriate+Development+Methodology