Software Development Methodologies You Should Know

As an IT-market evolves, more sophisticated software development methodologies enter the scene, and there is a reason for that. You see, development companies all around the world strive to be the most cost-effective, the fastest, the most performant. This makes them experiment with their approaches and figure out new ways to build their solutions. 

Let’s discover 4 prominent development methodologies and find out why these are considered the most effective.

1. Waterfall Methodology: Plan, Build, And Deploy

We all know the Waterfall methodology for software development as a traditional approach of the last century. Here’s how the Waterfall methodology workflow looks like:

  1. You analyze project requirements and establish strict specifications;
  2. You design a solution based on defined specifications;
  3. You implement the project design into a software product;
  4. You test the software product;
  5. You integrate and support your solution.

As you can see, the Waterfall methodology enforces strict sequential development steps. There is no chance to break the sequence, as the next project phase cannot begin until you complete the previous one.

The Waterfall approach stands out from other software methodologies thanks to the following edges:

  • The Waterfall methodology is easy to manage;
  • The Waterfall methodology enforces clear and stable objectives and requirements.

On balance, the Waterfall approach is excellent for short-term projects with clear requirements and for teams with constant composition changes.

2. Agile Methodology: Build, Learn, Repeat

Agile methodology – compared to the Waterfall one – is a flexible alternative to building software products. Agile development relies on numerous dev iterations. Here’s how it works:

  1. You define goals and requirements for a short-term development cycle;
  2. You strive to finish the iteration ASAP;
  3. You release the product version to gather feedback and other performance indicators;
  4. You learn from the collected data and implement the knowledge in the next iteration.

This sequence repeats over and over, as the product develops and reaches the phase when it becomes marketable.

Agile software methodology assumes that there are no mandatory pre-established rules and details. It implies you to stay flexible and take into account the current external and internal conditions to make the most relevant decisions.

Here’s why an Agile methodology is a viable option for a modern software development market:

  • Agile is adaptive. Agile approaches accept plan changes and adapt to the current situation;
  • Agile is feedback-driven. Countless development cycles bring more and more feedback and performance data with every iteration. This enables you to find and fix malfunctioning parts, as well as discover user expectation mismatches the earliest possible.

On the whole, Agile methodology is a representation of true flexibility and adaptive approaches to software product development.

3. Scrum Methodology: Plan, Sprint, Discuss, Repeat

Scrum methodology builds its approaches on sprints – short-term development cycles aiming to implement a certain piece of the end software product. Here’s how companies implement Scrum methodology:

  • Sprint planning. The team gather all requirements for a short development sprint, which takes from a week to a month;
  • The actual sprint. It is a rapid development cycle with constant meetings during the sprint. This way, the dev team timely resolves emerging issues and decides on the product backlog – a list of potentially helpful features and modules;
  • The after-sprint analysis. As soon as the team finishes the sprint, the discussion begins. The team analyzes the sprint results and learns how to perform even better in the subsequent ones.

Software Development MethodologyThis sequence splits the product development process evenly into short-term cycles followed by team performance analysis. It creates a platform for improving software development effectiveness.

All in all, Scrum is one of the agile software development life cycle methodologies using sprints as a unit of the dev cycle. Here at Gravum, we believe it shines the most when it’s crucial to keep the power of decision-making in the dev team’s hands.

4. Kanban Methodology: Plan, Split, Complete

Kanban is another agile development methodology based on dividing your product development into separate tasks sized for a single developer. Here’s how you can implement Kanban approaches:

  • Split your planned works into small tasks you can assign to a single developer and write them down on stickers;
  • Make a Kanban board. It is a board divided into BacklogActive, and Done sections. You’ll transfer tasks between these sections to marks their current states;
  • Place all your task stickers in the initial section (Backlog).

The Kanban dev system provides an explicit visualization of the development progress, as you can see all active and completed tasks, as well as the product backlog.

This agile methodology applies far fewer restrictions on the process, compared to Scrum and Waterfall methodologies. Kanban does not establish clear roles and responsibilities. 

Moreover, this approach does not limit the sprint duration, which is less stressful for self-organized developers. Additionally, Kanban cuts the meeting times and lets the team focus on the actual development.

The Bottom Line

There is no best development methodology out there because every project has its unique requirements, budget, time to market, and responsible development team. We encourage you to think critically and find your best methodology and not just follow the trends.If you are looking for an experienced developer team, reach out to our Gravum experts. We strive to innovate and change this world for the better. Opt for Gravum, let us select from the cutting-edge software development methodologies for your revolutionary app idea.