Modern Software Methodologies you should be aware of

Hello everyone! In today's blog, we will be discussing some of the modern software development methodologies, their pros, and cons which you should know as a developer. If you will be interning or getting a job, knowing what software methodology the company practice will make you more comfortable working and will make you figure out things easily.

There are 3 main methodologies, companies use in modern times, these are:

Agile Model
DevOps Model
Rapid Application Development (RAD)

1. Agile Model:

Introduction:

This model works by decomposing client requirements into many small incremental parts that can be developed over decided timelines.
Agile project management works off the basis that a project can be continuously improved upon throughout its life cycle, with changes being made quickly and responsively.

Methodology:

Agile methodology is an umbrella term under which many frameworks based on Agile Model come namely:

Extreme programming (XP)
Scrum
Kanban

Advantages:

Highly flexible, dynamic, and has the ability to change as per client's feedback
Very suitable for modern software requirements where a new version has to be released as soon as possible.

Disadvantages:

More face-to-face communication rather than documents is preferred which in turn makes management difficult.
Sometimes code is not of good quality as it needs to be implemented fast and hence maintenance becomes difficult.

2. DevOps Model:

Introduction:

DevOps combines development and operations to increase the efficiency, speed, and security of software development and delivery compared to traditional processes. A more nimble software development lifecycle results in a competitive advantage for businesses and their customers.
DevOps focuses on incremental development and rapid delivery of software. Success relies on the ability to create a culture of accountability, improved collaboration, empathy, and joint responsibility for business outcomes.

Steps:

Plan: task management, schedules
Code: code development and code review, source code management tools, code merging
Build: continuous integration tools, version control tools, build status
Test: continuous testing tools that provide feedback on business risks, determine performance
Package: artifact repository, application pre-deployment staging
Release: change management, release approvals, release automation
Operate: infrastructure installation, infrastructure changes (scalability), infrastructure configuration and management, infrastructure as code tools, capacity planning, capacity & resource management, security check, service deployment, high availability (HA), data recovery, log/backup management, database management
Monitor: service performance monitoring, log monitoring, end user experience, incident management

Advantages:

It adaptively responds to requirement changes favorably
Fixing errors early in the development process makes this process more cost-effective
Improves the quality of the product and makes it highly error-free
Allows for direct communication between people involved in software project
Highly suitable for large & long-term projects
Minimum resource requirements & very easy to manage

Disadvantages:

Highly dependent on clear customer requirements
Quite Difficult to predict time and effort for larger projects
Not suitable for complex projects
Lacks documentation efficiency
Increased maintainability risks

3. Rapid Application Development (RAD):

Introduction:

Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a development model that prioritizes rapid prototyping and quick feedback over long drawn-out development and testing cycles. With rapid application development, developers can make multiple iterations and updates to software quickly without starting from scratch each time.
This helps ensure that the final outcome is more quality-focused and is in alignment with the end-user's requirements.

Steps:

1. Define the Client Requirements:

Instead of writing every detailed requirement as described in traditional models, RAD focuses on specifying the broader requirements and getting into details at later stages of the cycle.

2. Prototype:

In this stage, developers make prototypes with different features and functions as fast as they can, then client feedback is taken with these prototypes.
These prototypes are then further refined and more till it resembles the final product

Advantages:

Client is actively involved and heavy feedback is taken at each stage to correct the trajectory of product development.
Integration and Development become easier.

Disadvantages:

Not suitable for large team size because very strong intercommunication is required
Management becomes very much difficult as there are no structured paths.

When to use RAD:

When the system can be split into different modules so that members can rapidly develop their prototypes.
When deadlines are shorter and the client provides reliable feedback because changes in the prototypes will be based on feedback only