System Development Methodologies and Practices

The system development methodologies rationalize and organize steps taken for the development of web and mobile applications. The methodologies focus on cost and the time frame for developing the apps as well and thus impact the development process besides the customer requirements and benefits.

There is an ever-increasing demand from the mobile computing sector as regards operating systems and application software in the contemporary era. The app development for laptops, smartphones, PDAs, and tablets is on increase at a breakneck speed. As the demand for handheld and portable devices grows the software requirement needs grow proportionately. Thus, in a competitive sphere, there is a need to rationalize the process of development keeping into account. In a market-dominated economy, there is always a stress on strategies adopted and process optimization in order to outdo the competition and increase the market share. The methodologies now being used have become a critical component of each and every development process. The creation of different practices and their subsets was an effort to standardize the process using an open source.

Organizational Need for Development Process Optimization

The idea of process optimization began in the seventies with the introduction of the closed source development paradigm but access to these methodologies in the nascent stage was difficult being private and often accessible through expensive licensing. The initial development processes were not well executed and the whole exercise was subject to an undisciplined approach. After years of unstructured approach, closed source development was to emerge but it was of disadvantage to companies and entrepreneurs since accessibility was not possible. It was the emergence of open-source development that cleared the pathway for one and all.

Though the ultimate focus was on making quality software there was stress on keeping in the picture the customer benefits and ease for the developers involved as well. Thus, the methodologies eventually gave rise to a holistic process standardization in time to come.

The standard process involved focuses on the following steps:

• Concept Propagation
• Analyses
• Planning
• Prototyping
• Design & Development
• Implementation
• Maintenance

SDLC framework may vary according to the product design and requirements but the core principle remains the same irrespective of the methodology to be implemented.

Upon the first contact with the prospective client, the concept should become clear and the next step is that of analysis. The system analyst (SA) comprehends the project requirements, and once the attributes like inputs, interface, database, and output are structured, the next step that follows is that of designing the application. The baseline design helps in the implementation of coding and the subsequent testing. In some cases, a prototype is made in order to put the model that has been conceived to test virtually with much investment. Prototyping acts as a safety mechanism and saves time and money, and it also assures the viability of the whole process.

The design and development is the most crucial phase where the technical documentation, coding, and front-end designing are executed as per the methodology adopted. It is at this stage that the final documentation of the application takes place and training is imparted to the technicians, clients, or operators. The last phase is maintenance which continues as long as the application is in the use.

System Development Methodologies

It was in the year 1970, that W.W.Royce developed the Waterfall Methodology which became the first that aided the development process for diverse applications. Waterwall methodology was the first systemic approach toward web and mobile application development. This was followed by a number of methodologies and their subsets, they are as follows:

• Spiral Model
• Prototype Model
• RAD
• OOAD
• FDD
• JADD
• Agile
• Scrum
• XP

There is more to Agile with a number of subsets besides other latest introductions in open source development frameworks. The methodologies adopted are subject to suitability to the projects but of these Agile and its subsets are the most popular.

In the year 2003 Google gave a major fillip to open-source development by making Android an open-source operating system.

As a supplement to their closed-door methodologies, most companies now employ these open-source development processes often in conjunction.

The popularity of Open-Source System Development Methodologies

At the present juncture, Agile and its subsets dominate the usage in open-source system development for the methodologies being used. Agile is being used in software programming for mobile and web app development throughout the world. The employment of Agile leads to greater success in projects as compared with those using the traditional ones by at least 28 %. This is further substantiated by the fact that almost 86% of developers use Agile globally. A large number of IT Companies worldwide implement Agile in combination with the others.

For various reasons, other methodologies are also used along with their subsets. Each one has its plus and minus points and it is for the system analysts and project managers to choose which one to implement for cohesive application development without any risks.

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