Top 7 Software Development Methodologies in 2022

Author: Navya Muralidhar May 30, 2022

Introduction
When was the last time you found yourself in front of a whiteboard, contemplating an idea or
drawing a map of how your plan will go?

If you're a developer with a project on hand, you know that mapping out a blueprint on a
whiteboard may just not be enough. For an effective plan and proper results, the workflow or
the framework needs to be thorough and should work best with your team.

These workflows or frameworks are called software development methodologies, in a

developer’s world. It goes beyond the technical aspect and involves collaboration,
communication and planning across teams to ensure the efficient release of a software product
or project.

If you’re new to the world of software development or someone willing to switch their
blueprint for a new project, here's a list of the top 7 software development methodologies that
can boost the productivity of your organization or team.
Top 7 software methodologies to consider in 2022 and
beyond
1. DevOps methodology
To understand DevOps better, let's break down the term. Dev or development is combined
with information technology operations or ops, throughout the entire production and
deployment life cycle. The goal of DevOps is to ensure maintenance of faster development,
and deployment throughout the cycle, followed by receiving and integrating feedback from
various ends.

Adoption of DevOps

There are various stages to adopting the DevOps process, compared to any traditional
software development life cycle. DevOps emphasizes automation, collaboration, development
and other factors. The various stages of implementing DevOps include,

a. Continuous development‐ In this stage, the software is built continuously using different
tools and across different stages. Due to the tools, coding and automation used, the software is
developed with fewer errors and bugs

b. Continuous integration‐ a process where the software is screened for fewer errors and bugs,
and integration with modules, add one, libraries and so on is done to make the software
complex

c. Continuous testing‐ a stage dedicated to different forms of testing such as systems, security,
integrity, and performance among others. This is done to ensure fewer errors in the production
environment

d. Continuous deployment‐ this stage is also known as continuous delivery as software is

continuously deployed in production and is modified according to customer feedback

e. Continuous operations‐ in this step, manual intervention is replaced by automation by

leveraging infrastructure as a code and other servers, scripts and coding to upgrade
functionalities of the software

f. Continuous monitoring‐ this is the final stage where post‐deployment, the software is
monitored continuously, ensuring that there is very little downtime or issues with the software.
DevOps services ensure that the investment and the effort from all these stages help maximize
the performance of the software.

Pros and Cons of DevOps model

 Pros

1. Streamlines the cycle of development and operations to boost collaboration

2. Manual handling is very minimal due to the extensive use of automation

3. DevSecOps offers enhanced security and there is an improvement in overall quality due to the continuous tes

2. Rapid application development

Deemed to suit smaller projects, rapid application development focuses on speed, smaller
teams and effective communication. The model is suited to fit the customer requirement at a
particular time and developmental methods to create the same.

Adoption of Rapid Application Development

The adoption of RAD focuses on reducing the duration of planning and emphasizing prototype
and development. For an organization opting for Rapid application development services,
using the right blend of tools and automation are two crucial aspects of the process. The four
main stages of adoption of Rapid Application Development include,

a. Planning the requirements

Rather than starting with the prototype or a blueprint, the RAD model requires a deeper
discussion on the requirements of the software users as well as the team members. The
requirements of the project, goals, and approvals for each stage are considered within the
thorough communication process.

b. Prototype, refine and test

This is the part of development where the user design is built through customisable software
development. A constant cycle of testing and refining based on customer expectations is done
such that the prototype meets customer needs and is free from bugs and errors. A satisfactory
design is obtained through constant tweaking and redesigning.

c. Rapid construction

This stage moves on from the design phase and involves the construction of the working
model based on feedback from all ends. Program and application development, coding, and
unit and system testing are done by the development team along with suggestions and
changes along the process.

d. Cutover
This phase involves the launch or deployment where the finished product is checked in the new
environment and is tested and monitored for any bugs or errors.

Pros and cons of rapid application development

Pros

The requirements can be changed anytime based on feedback

Emphasis is on the reduction of development speed, rather than on producing a perfect working model

The duration between changes and feedback is less, allowing proper modifications before the release of the pro

3. Agile software development

Agile methodology is a flexible, collaborative model that streamlines the development process.
It focuses on product testing and documentation at all aspects of the cycle with a focus on
responding to any changes required by the customer, for the end product to have desired
features and be customer‐oriented at its best. It consists of a loop process rather than linear,
where each step is repeated until the desired outcome for that particular step is reached.

Adoption of Agile methodology

The agile software development cycle allows reflection throughout the process, continuous
input and space for improvement. The cycle can be broken down into 5 stages namely,

a. Concept‐ includes the information required to map out the requirements, duration and
target audience of the project

b. Inception‐ involves team recruitment and division of work into sprints. Each sprint is
assigned to a particular set of developers and has a designated deadline

c. Construction‐ this relies on development, testing and continuous feedback across

development cycles with the ultimate goal of having a working product at the end of this stage

d. Release and production‐ the release of the product and maintaining ongoing support as
long as the software is available to the client

e. Retirement‐ this activity includes all steps required to remove the product from the
production environment when the software is outdated or has to be removed

Pros and cons of agile development methodology

 Pros

1. Agile development is open to modifications and discovery at any stage of the life cycle

2. The End product is more efficient compared to other development lifecycles

3. The method of breaking down tasks and deadlines for each task may work better based on the projects

4. Waterfall development
The classic waterfall model is a linear structure based on phases. The next phase is not taken
upon until the completion of the previous phase. It forms a sequential flow as the phases do
not overlap and loop.

Adoption of waterfall model

a. Feasibility‐ the financial and technical aspect of the project or study is debated to check if
the method and results of the project would be feasible

b. Analysis of requirements and specifications‐ all the requirements regarding the software
and specifications such as documents between the provider and the customer is settled during
this phase

c. Design‐ the customer requirements are then considered by the development team to
convert into a coding language

d. Coding and unit testing‐ the design is translated to code and each unit is tested post
coding

e. Integration and system testing‐ this is done post the testing of each unit and is done in
three stages, where it is tested by the team, the customers and overall testing to accept or
reject the final model

f. Maintenance‐ a crucial part of the cycle, in this stage, error correction, enhancing
functionalities and adaptability with different software environments are aspects taken care of
by the development team

Pros and cons of waterfall development methodology

Pros Cons

1. Rigid and well‐maintained phases of the project due to intensive testing 1. The d

2. Clear documentation and goal orientation for the team to work towards 2. Suite
 Pros Cons

3. Each phase of the project is subjected to a specific timescale which makes management easier 3. Clien

5. Lean development
Also known as the minimum viable product strategy, lean software development is focused on
eliminating waste, and delivering the product that ultimately satisfies customer requirements.

Adoption of lean development model

The lean development methodology involves boosting efficiency across all departments and
eliminating waste at every stage of the process, from individual and department to the entire
organization. The application of the lean development model occurs in these steps,

a. Eliminate waste‐ under lean philosophy, unnecessary code, quality issues, bugs, and so on
form bottlenecks that need to be identified at each stage and eliminated

b. Quality‐ including quality through pair programming and test‐driven development is a part
of lean methodology

c. Knowledge hub and amplification of learning‐ team rapport plays a crucial role as any new
form of knowledge or development is shared across all the members of the development team

d. Experiment‐ features are incorporated late into the development process to facilitate
experimentation and learning

e. Fast delivery‐ lean development follows a feedback post‐deployment model, where the
product is released faster, feedback is gained and modifications are done. This can be
strenuous in the case of complex products

f. Respect and optimization‐ lean model depends on productive communication and on

optimization of the lean value stream to make it as effective as possible with an efficient
examination of the process from start to end

Pros and cons of lean development

Pros

1. A streamlined approach that reduces wastage and costs

2. The development team has the independence to make decisions compared to other models

3. The focus is on MVP and other essential steps of the development process rather than the time‐consuming p
6. Iterative software development life cycle
Envisioned better as a 'build it as you go' model, the iterative software development model
starts with a part of the software rather than the process of mapping all the requirements out.
Parts of the software are built, analyzed and reviewed before repeating the same for another
part until the entire software model is built. The main idea is to repeat cycles ﴾iterative﴿ and in
smaller portions at the same time.

Adoption of the interactive software development life cycle

In this model, the process is broken down into various builds,

a. Each build goes through design, testing and implementation stages

b. Each build adds a subsequent function to a previous build or release

c. This process is continued until each brick is added step by step to build the software model

Pros and cons of the iterative software development cycle

Pros Cons

1. Results are obtained at every stage and are easier to measure progress with each build 1. The end of

2. Risk identification is easier and testing for errors and bugs at each stage is implemented 2. Not suited

3. With every build, an operational product is developed which facilitates feedback 3. Progress of

7. Feature‐driven development
With a top‐down decision‐making approach, feature‐driven development has been most in use
among larger projects and organizations. A component of the agile framework, feature‐driven
development makes progress throughout the cycle via an emphasis on features rather than a
specific goal.

Adaptation of feature‐driven development

Feature‐driven development uses a five‐step development process based on different steps

that include the development of the overall model, building a feature list, planning and
development, and building.

Pros and cons of feature‐driven development

 Pros

1. The presence of documentation leads to fewer meetings

2. Easily adaptable by larger teams and large organizations for projects

3. Has a user‐centric approach and a scalable methodology that makes the onboarding of new members easier

Which software methodology should your organization go

for?
Before starting with your development process, it's essential to discuss choosing the right
model. An organization needs to consider what is best for the team, the size of the team and
the project requirements. Regardless of the pros and cons of each development methodology,
the features that best suit your project play a key part. Based on these features, the method
that cost‐effectively produces high‐quality software should be an organization's best bet.

Got a project in mind? Or need custom elements for a project? Our experts are a chat away. From
consultation, and thorough assessment to providing support, Toobler's experts are a call away.
Reach out to us here.

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