What software development model focuses on improving the product in small steps each time through the cycle Agile process model?

With 55% of technology companies increasing headcount this year and the majority of organisations embracing remote work, it’s no surprise that organisations are placing more importance on IT than ever. 

As an software development professional, it’s no longer just about programming: if you want to land your next role in IT, you need to demonstrate that you can design, develop, test and optimise software for a user’s needs.

That’s where SDLC methodologies come in.

SDLC stands for Software Development Life Cycle models, and these are a variety of processes of design, development and testing that are used in the industry today. While there’s no best or standout SDLC methodology, it’s essential to be across the most common models that can be applied to projects within a company.

Here are the top seven SDLC methodology types you should know about.

1. Lean methodology

Lean methodology is focused on eliminating waste, making decisions as late as possible, delivering outcomes as fast as possible and focusing on the big picture. Project teams working with the Lean model find opportunities to cut waste at every step of the SDLC process – in other words, skipping unimportant meetings and reducing documentation.

Lean methodology is cost-effective and empowers the entire team in the decision-making process. However, with limited meetings and documentation, communication needs to be sound for senior stakeholders to stay in the project loop.

2. Agile methodology

Agile is a combination of an incremental and iterative approach, where the product is released on an ongoing cycle then tested and improved at each iteration. Fast failure is encouraged in agile methodology: the theory is that if you fail fast and early, you can solve minor issues before they grow into major issues.

Agile is one of the most common methodologies out there today but it’s technically more of a framework than a distinct model. Within Agile, there are sub-models in place such as extreme programming (XP), Rapid Application Development (RAD), Kanban and Scrum methodology.

3. Waterfall methodology

The Waterfall methodology is one of the oldest surviving SDLC methodologies. It follows a straightforward approach: the project development team completes one phase at a time, and each phase uses information from the last one to move forward.

While this methodology does make the needs and outcomes clear, and gives each stage of the model a well-defined starting and ending point, there are downsides in Waterfall’s rigidity. In fact, some experts believe the Waterfall model was never meant to be a working SDLC methodology for developing software because of how fixed it is in nature. Because of this, SDLC Waterfall methods are best used for extremely predictable projects.

4. DevOps

DevOps is used by some of the biggest companies out there, such as Atlassian. A hybrid of Agile and Lean, DevOps evolved from the growing need for collaboration between operations and development teams throughout the SDLC process. In DevOps, both developers and operations teams work together to accelerate and innovate the deployment and creation of software. There are small but frequent updates and DevOps encourages continuous feedback, process improvement and the automation of previously manual processes.

DevOps methodology saves time and improves communication because both operations and development teams get to know about the potential obstructions at the same time. However, DevOps may open software to more security issues, as this approach generally favours speed over security.

5. Spiral

As one of the most flexible SDLC models out there, the Spiral model is used by the world’s leading software companies. Spiral enables project teams to build a highly customised product. Spiral methodology passes through four phases repeatedly until the project is finished: planning, risk analysis, engineering, and evaluation.

The biggest difference between Spiral and other methodologies is that it is focused on risk analysis, with each iteration it focuses on mitigating potential risks. The model also emphasises customer feedback, and as the prototype build is done in small increments, cost estimation becomes easier.

6. Iterative

The Iterative model is all about repetition. Instead of starting out with a comprehensive overview of the requirements, development teams build the software piece by piece and identify further requirements as they go along. As a result, each new phase in the Iterative model produces a newer, more-refined version of the software under development.

Iterative allows developers and testers to identify functional or design flaws early, and can easily adapt to the ever-changing needs of the client. Like Spiral, Iterative suits larger projects and requires more management and oversight to work well.

7. V-model

Similar to the waterfall methodology where testing is done at the end of a project, with the V-model, testing happens at every stage of development. The next stage of the V-model starts only when the previous stage is entirely finished.

As part of the V-Model, a software tester has to verify if the requirements of a specific development phase are met. They also have to validate that the system meets the needs of the user, customer or other stakeholders, which includes both verifications and validations.

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Agile SDLC model is a combination of iterative and incremental process models with focus on process adaptability and customer satisfaction by rapid delivery of working software product. Agile Methods break the product into small incremental builds. These builds are provided in iterations. Each iteration typically lasts from about one to three weeks. Every iteration involves cross functional teams working simultaneously on various areas like −

• Planning
• Requirements Analysis
• Design
• Coding
• Unit Testing and
• Acceptance Testing.

At the end of the iteration, a working product is displayed to the customer and important stakeholders.

What is Agile?

Agile model believes that every project needs to be handled differently and the existing methods need to be tailored to best suit the project requirements. In Agile, the tasks are divided to time boxes (small time frames) to deliver specific features for a release.

Iterative approach is taken and working software build is delivered after each iteration. Each build is incremental in terms of features; the final build holds all the features required by the customer.

Here is a graphical illustration of the Agile Model −

The Agile thought process had started early in the software development and started becoming popular with time due to its flexibility and adaptability.

The most popular Agile methods include Rational Unified Process (1994), Scrum (1995), Crystal Clear, Extreme Programming (1996), Adaptive Software Development, Feature Driven Development, and Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) (1995). These are now collectively referred to as Agile Methodologies, after the Agile Manifesto was published in 2001.

Following are the Agile Manifesto principles −

• Individuals and interactions − In Agile development, self-organization and motivation are important, as are interactions like co-location and pair programming.

• Working software − Demo working software is considered the best means of communication with the customers to understand their requirements, instead of just depending on documentation.

• Customer collaboration − As the requirements cannot be gathered completely in the beginning of the project due to various factors, continuous customer interaction is very important to get proper product requirements.

• Responding to change − Agile Development is focused on quick responses to change and continuous development.

Agile Vs Traditional SDLC Models

Agile is based on the adaptive software development methods, whereas the traditional SDLC models like the waterfall model is based on a predictive approach. Predictive teams in the traditional SDLC models usually work with detailed planning and have a complete forecast of the exact tasks and features to be delivered in the next few months or during the product life cycle.

Predictive methods entirely depend on the requirement analysis and planning done in the beginning of cycle. Any changes to be incorporated go through a strict change control management and prioritization.

Agile uses an adaptive approach where there is no detailed planning and there is clarity on future tasks only in respect of what features need to be developed. There is feature driven development and the team adapts to the changing product requirements dynamically. The product is tested very frequently, through the release iterations, minimizing the risk of any major failures in future.

Customer Interaction is the backbone of this Agile methodology, and open communication with minimum documentation are the typical features of Agile development environment. The agile teams work in close collaboration with each other and are most often located in the same geographical location.

Agile Model - Pros and Cons

Agile methods are being widely accepted in the software world recently. However, this method may not always be suitable for all products. Here are some pros and cons of the Agile model.

The advantages of the Agile Model are as follows −

• Is a very realistic approach to software development.

• Promotes teamwork and cross training.

• Functionality can be developed rapidly and demonstrated.

• Resource requirements are minimum.

• Suitable for fixed or changing requirements

• Delivers early partial working solutions.

• Good model for environments that change steadily.

• Minimal rules, documentation easily employed.

• Enables concurrent development and delivery within an overall planned context.

• Little or no planning required.

• Easy to manage.

• Gives flexibility to developers.

The disadvantages of the Agile Model are as follows −

• Not suitable for handling complex dependencies.

• More risk of sustainability, maintainability and extensibility.

• An overall plan, an agile leader and agile PM practice is a must without which it will not work.

• Strict delivery management dictates the scope, functionality to be delivered, and adjustments to meet the deadlines.

• Depends heavily on customer interaction, so if customer is not clear, team can be driven in the wrong direction.

• There is a very high individual dependency, since there is minimum documentation generated.

• Transfer of technology to new team members may be quite challenging due to lack of documentation.