Prototype Model
As the name suggests the prototype model is a software development methodology where the product starts as a prototype and gets refined in iterations. However, the base of this method is precise requirements. So, the clearer the requirement is, the less time and iterations it takes to ship a fully functioning product.
As you work for the best custom software development, you can expect a prototype of your product just after a few rounds of requirements understanding and gathering.
The prototype model process generally follows the steps such as
- Requirements are gathered and understood by the custom software development agency.
- Then, a prototype – working software is developed by keeping in mind the discussed requirements.
- Once a prototype is developed, its evaluation is done at different levels to point out errors and refinements in the product.
- In the next step, the refinements are done. And again goes for the review. All these steps occur until the client is satisfied with the project or no more refinements are left.
Pros of Prototype Model
- Multiple Requirement Gathering Rounds – As discussed before, the requirements are the base of this development methodology with multiple discussion rounds. As a result, it makes your product idea clear, and the final product is free from flaws.
- Value-based Product for the Users – The custom software agency develops a functional product keeping in mind the must-have features of a value-based software. Also, they constantly improve it from the feedback & reviews from the users making it more relevant for them and their clients.
- Quick Deliveries – Software development methodologies like this enable quick deliveries of working software. That makes it a good choice in times of need. And the reason why so many love this method shipping their products quickly.
Cons of Prototype Model
- Completion Timeline is Unclear – Though prototype models are known for quick deliveries, they are improved from constant feedback. Hence, making it difficult to get a fixed time for its completion.
Moreover, if the requirements are unclear or their implementation is wrong, then there can be as many as infinite changes. That’s why the delivery timelines for such projects get unclear.
- Costly – The projects developed under this method are comparatively costly. Because the iterations need the inclusion of every type of team member for adding more features or testing that keeps the reserved resources for a long time. As a result, your billing shoots up.
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Waterfall Model
The Waterfall model is the oldest & widely used software development model. When it was developed, it performed well given the work scope of that time. However, as the world advanced, many flaws in the waterfall model emerged and became evident in following a smooth process.
The waterfall software development methodology is a sequential one with a pre-defined procedure. Hence, each defined step is executed one after another giving an informed scope of the software development process.
A Waterfall model may include a procedure like,
- The project starts with requirements gathering. In this step, all the features and objectives for the successful completion of the project are gathered and documented for future purposes.
- After the requirements are understood, the custom software development company will proceed to develop a system design for the project. It includes the creation of hardware and software specifications that allow the smooth implementation and functioning of the software for your specific needs.
- Once the system design is completed, it is time to get the hands dirty and start custom software development. In this step, every feature discussed earlier is implemented with code and made ready for testing and delivery.
- After the project development is completed, it is time for testing activities. During this phase, all features in the project are tested for usability. It is only during this part that the bugs are found & fixed.
- The above four steps are repeated unless the product is error-free and ready to ship to the customer. Thereafter, the deployment process commences.
Pros of Waterfall Model
- Widely Suitable – Being the earliest developed software development methodology, the waterfall is widely suitable for projects that require fix timelines and perceived outcomes. Though it has been many years since the development of this model, it is still used for many kinds of projects.
Whether you seek custom software development for startups or a custom enterprise software development, you can always use this model because of its relevance, ease, and predictability.
- Well-defined – Every part of this process is well defined and documented. Because of this, it is pretty easy to use. Even if you do not know about project development and methodologies, you can use this method and systematically start building your project.
Cons of Waterfall Model
- Time-consuming – The waterfall model is one of the most time-consuming methods. In this model, you cannot move on to the next stage until the current stage of the process is completed. Thus, it restricts the synchronous development of the project for quicker delivery. Hence, such a project becomes a challenging task.
- Needs Clear Requirements – While using the waterfall model, the custom software development company works on the requirements phase with fixed goals and features to be achieved. The better and more extensive the requirements, the clearer the process and defined final product.
If the requirements are unclear, the project will go under many iterations. Moreover, the iterations will be sequential and interdependent, which adds more time to project completion.
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Agile Software Methodology
Agile is the latest and most popularly used software development methodology. Every custom business software development company uses this to promptly produce and deliver products to their clients.
Significantly, this method works on the principle of value delivery and changes. As a result, agile projects welcome changes and don’t follow a strict set of procedural steps. So, you can change or modify the requirements in the middle of the project too. And the delivery timelines are also flexible or even shorter due to the simultaneous development of various parts.
An agile software method may look like this
- Like any other software methodology, Agile begins with planning the project. During this phase, brainstorming on the interesting project idea is done with the team. And a project plan with delivery timelines is created.
- After project planning, a product roadmap is created. Further, this phase focuses on breaking down user stories and feature requests into workable agile features. And a product backlog containing a list of all project deliverables is created and sorted by priority.
- Once the team has the product backlog of all the features to implement, it moves towards sprint planning. In the agile method, sprints are smaller work plans that focus on delivering things at the end. Each agile project can be comprised of multiple sprints. During the sprint planning, priority work items are taken from the product backlog and assigned to team members.
- Daily standups are another agile development step that every custom software development agency performs. Daily standups are short meetings that happen every day where the progress of each item is discussed and decided whether any changes are required are not.
- At the end of each agile sprint, the team members host a sprint review meeting to discuss performance and deliver the module to stakeholders. It also includes sprint retrospective meetings that focus on analyzing the sprint and what are the action items for upcoming sprints.
Pros of Agile Model
- Flexible – One of the most significant benefits of the agile model is flexibility. Businesses approach a top custom software development company to utilize this benefit in their software. As agile encourages and easily settles changes in plans and projects, business owners love it. Imagine you have a rough idea of something that you want to develop, and quickly work on it. Also, you can flexibly keep on adding features as you go on.
- Timely Deliveries – Another benefit that Agile lives by are timely delivery. No matter how many changes are suggested in a project or how many new features are added, delivery timelines will remain short.
While working with an offshore software application development company, you need deliveries on time, and that’s where agile helps you. Moreover, if you are working on a crucial idea that might evolve as you go ahead in development, you will still be able to inculcate it in your project and get timely delivery of the custom software.
Cons of Agile Model
No Fixed Requirements – Agile promotes change and evolution. Due to that the projects with unclear requirements can also begin development and start shaping gradually. For a custom software development company that implements solutions, this can be a big drawback. As unclear requirements may require a lot of assuming and figuring out things inducing stress or losses for the business and the stakeholders at times.
So, if you like to work on a streamlined and regulated project, you should not use the agile model.
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Rapid Application Development
A rapid application development process helps companies build and ship applications in a short time. To be precise, this model can be considered a mix of agile and prototype models focusing on enhancing the software development process.
In this model, the custom software agency makes the feedback loops smaller and removes idle time and interdependencies for a quicker launch time.
Steps in Rapid Application Development,
- Any rapid application development project starts with collecting the requirements. They are gathered from all the stakeholders and consolidated for product development.
- Once they are in place, the team begins the prototyping of the project with all the features that were discussed in the previous phase.
- Once a prototype is ready, the company goes for rapid feedback and testing of the developed product. Here it is thoroughly tested but not in the conventional slow and steady way. In this model, everything happens at a pace, whether it is testing, feedback, or implementation.
- After all feedback and changes, the product is ready for deployment. And this is the last step in rapid application development as after this the custom software developer won’t accept new changes. They do so to bring completion to the project to close a commitment.
Pros of Rapid Application Development
- Assured Fast Delivery – If you ask any top custom software development company for assured delivery on your project, they’ll recommend this model. As the whole plan is predecided and no changes in requirements are accepted after deployment, which makes the development process a lot simpler. Due to the more straightforward process, developers can work on things dedicatedly and provide fast delivery of every module.
- Continuous & Small Feedback Loop – The rapid application development process has a smaller feedback loop and the changes get implemented at a high pace. Moreover, the development team seeks continuous feedback from the stakeholders to improve the process and create better products.
Cons of Rapid Application Development
- Requires Expertise – Not every custom software development company can adopt rapid application development. As this method requires high expertise to work with. Everyone involved in the development team, like developers, managers, testers, etc., must be highly experienced in their area to ship applications rapidly. If you end up with a lesser experienced team, you cannot enjoy the full benefits of this method.
- Not Universal – Rapid application development is not universally suitable. It is good to use in some kinds of projects only, and that is why it is not a widely used methodology.
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Scrum Model
The scrum model is another popular software development methodology. It is similar to agile, and many people use it in place of agile too. In scrum, every module is divided into smaller parts and distributed to team members equally, which helps in the creation of the software faster.
Scrum Model involves a quick process like
- Every scrum project begins with sprint planning. Here the deliverables are discussed and distributed among team members based on their performance and expertise.
- Once the tasks are distributed, the team members work on them and try to complete them as soon as possible.
- After the tasks & product increment, it is made ready for the stakeholders to review.
- In this step, the stakeholders are presented with the module of the current sprint, and feedback is requested.
- After the sprint review is completed, a sprint retrospective meeting is held to discuss the challenges faced during the sprint and to prepare a better plan for the upcoming sprint.
- At the end of the meeting, the product backlog is updated, and the preparations begin for the next sprint.
Pros of Scrum Model
- High Collaboration – Just like agile, scrum also focuses more on collaborations and is highly preferred by top custom software development companies India. Here, every team member involved in product development can communicate freely with other team members or clients. And at every discussion phase, the development team is invited and allowed to talk to the clients openly to understand requirements better.
- Faster Feedback & Resolution – Scrum is a model that focuses on speed of delivery and resolution of issues. In scrum, everything happens at a good pace, and the feedback loops are smaller and continuous. Moreover, once the feedback is received, they quickly start working towards a solution.
Cons of Scrum Model
- Requires Experience – Scrum is a model that not everyone can master. It takes time and experience to attain workable scrum model skills. Hence, if you are working with a custom software agency that is not highly experienced, the results of using this model won’t be any good.
Spiral Methodology
The spiral model is another method that involves eliminating issues early on in the development cycle and delivering projects iteratively in time. Here a module development phase is not complete until all the errors are resolved. So this method focuses on eradicating issues before moving on to the next stage.
The Spiral Method goes in the flow of
- A spiral model project begins with determining the objectives and finding solutions. In this phase, the requirements are understood by the custom software development agency, and they focus on finding solutions to work on the issues.
- In the next step, when multiple solutions are found for a problem, they sit down to analyze each solution for risk and scalability. All the solutions are tested, and the most risk-tolerant solution is implemented for making a secure and scalable product.
- It’s this step where the actual development and testing of the product are done. After finalizing the best solution, the developers start working on implementation. And once they’ve implemented the solution, it is shared with the testing team to check the solution thoroughly.
- Only after successful closure and review of the current phase does the development and planning for the next step begin. If there are any review comments, the team must close them before moving to the next stage.
Pros of Spiral Model
- Easy Cost Estimation – A significant benefit of the spiral model is the easy cost estimation. And reliable software development companies frequently use the spiral model to deliver error-free software at every stage. When requirements are precise, the team can identify the iterations required to implement the features, helping in estimating costs.
- Risk-tolerant – During every iteration, the spiral model focuses on analyzing the risks involved with everything making it a risk-tolerant. No matter what you choose to implement, there are always associated risks. During the spiral model, the implementation with the least risk is used to move forward at every stage making it most suitable for the custom software development for startups.
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Cons of Spiral Model
- Deadlines Might Extend – The spiral model focuses more on the completion of a phase with zero errors and risks. It is a perfectionist software development model. Due to this, the deadlines might be compromised at times. Moreover, the teams don’t work on other things until the phase is signed off with zero errors. So this hinders the productivity of team members and also affects delivery timelines.