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
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's 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 prototypes 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 of 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 part of development where the user design is built through customizable 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
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
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 the 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 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 after 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
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- The 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
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
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
