Virtually every software design company would agree that writing a software can an unruly task to do. Fortunately, a significant amount of research and development has been made to find replicable and predictable processes that help increase the quality of a software product. One way is the effective application of project management strategy to meet the expectations of users when it comes to cost, functionality, timely delivery, and efficient management of the entire project. Here are some of the most common processes and methodologies that a software design company can apply.
The Waterfall Model
This is the oldest process in designing software in which developers follow the steps of development in order. After one step is done, the developer then proceeds to the next one. The steps involved identifying and analysing requirements, designing an applicable solution, creating an architecture for the solution, developing the codes, testing them and deploying them, and finally maintaining the system.
The Iterative Development Approach
This approach to software development is mostly chosen by commercial software design company as it enables them to meet the design goals of the customer who is incapable of defining the ultimate objective they want for the product to do. Iterative processes allow for the initial construction of small part of the software but gives provisions for larger portions of it to help the customer see any potential issues beforehand, preventing it from turning into a huge headache later on.
Agile Development
Also known as Extreme Programming, this approach to software development springs from the fundamentals of iterative approach. The only major difference it has from the traditional approach of iterative development is that it uses feedback as its key control mechanism, rather than planning. This is what makes agile software development more efficient, producing more functional and higher quality product using less amount of time for the developer to complete the product.