5 Software Development Methodologies Frequently Used in 2022

A software development methodology is a set of methods for driving the development cycle, including practices, techniques, and regulations that make development works efficiently. These software methodologies are different, and each has unique characteristics. So, you can find the same process to reach the final product but in various software development styles. In this post, Kapsys will give you a deep insight into software engineering methodologies. But first, we need to know what are software development methodologies and why is it important to be well-informed about these methodologies.

What are Software Development Methodologies?

Software development methodologies are used to manage the development process. They include rules, techniques, and guidelines that make development as efficient and effective as possible. Agile, Waterfall, Scrum, DevOps, Lean Startup, Kanban, and XP are the most common software development methodologies.

Why Is It Important to Be Well-Informed About These Software Development Methodologies?

Every business has its unique structure, management style, purposes, and objectives. Each methodology has various goals as well as strengths and drawbacks. It's essential to consider the project type, budget, deadlines, and so on while choosing your methodology.

To compose the product and deliver a good result, it's essential to understand the workflow and communication channels with an outsourcing software company during the development cycle. Otherwise, the final product will leave much to be desired. Here are the most popular approaches used by software companies in 2022.

Methodology #1: AGILE

The first methodology of the software engineering methodologies that enhance your effort to reach your business goals fast is Agile.

What is Agile?

Agile supports business processes made up of several different methodologies. Agile is one of the software development methodologies that is based on flexibility, openness to change, and the ability to adapt to client needs. Otherwise, you will have the antonym of Agile, a fixed, inflexible development process.

How does Agile work?

It starts with iterations, which break down the software development process into smaller parts. Each iteration takes 2 to 4 weeks and is delivered to the client. If the customer agrees, the second iteration phase begins, and the next iteration of the development process depends on the previous one. Agile lets you control many projects simultaneously and quickly create high-quality software products.

Methodology #2: DevOps

A different technique of software development styles here to make your way to the planned shorter is DevOps.

What is DevOps?

DevOps includes the main principles of communication and collaboration. As usual, we used to isolate companies' development, quality assurance, and operations teams away from the rest of the work teams. Thus, it is somewhat difficult to connect and communicate during the development process. Hence, achieving a satisfactory result takes a lot of time and effort. So, this software development methodology drives you towards an easier way to reach your goal.

How does DevOps work?

DevOps is an evolutionary method that combines all departments involved. It streamlines and speeds up the software product's release by removing obstacles among operating departments. DevOps is one of the most promising software development methodologies. You can use it to innovate quickly and to develop highly reliable software products. Big companies have increasingly implemented this methodology in a broad scope of domains. The developers, QA, and operations teams cooperate throughout the product lifecycle, from design to testing and support. Then, the groups have overlapping responsibilities and are aware of those of the other groups.

Methodology #3: WATERFALL

The waterfall is a great and effective methodology of the top 5 software development methodologies.

What is Waterfall?

The Waterfall methodology is one of the basic, classic software development styles. Waterfall is a sequential process where each step must be completed before moving on to the next. It is based on the idea that the final result will be successful if all steps are done correctly.

How does Waterfall work?

This approach is based on the idea that each stage should be developed independently of the others. It assumes that there will always be some kind of problem during the development process. Therefore, the developer must start working on the project before he knows how long it will take him to complete his task. The process follows a pattern and just moves forward. This means there is no way to change a previous step of this software development methodology. Hence, the lack of flexibility is the main drawback of this methodology. Plan-driven teams in companies with traditional workstyles use the waterfall. 

Methodology #4: KANBAN

The Kanban software style is a unique software development engineering methodology enabling you to communicate easily with different teams.

What is Kanban?

This Kanban is based on the Agile philosophy, in which these both software development methodologies highlight flexibility, high levels of communication, and engagement in client results. This methodology applies to visualize the product's development lifecycle on either a physical or digital board. You can utilize Kanban as a technique or a different mechanism in confluence with various methodologies.

How does Kanban work?

The Kanban method shows where bottlenecks are in a project and helps team members monitor the entire process. Before developers work on software development projects, they develop a solid plan for their development life cycle. Then, they divide those tasks among the development team members. To do this, they divide the physical or digital board into columns labeled "To Do," "In Progress," "Done," and so on. In any case, you can only move from one stage to the next if you've finished with the current one. Each task passes through all columns of the product life cycle, and a team member does not start a new job until they complete the previous task.

Methodology #5: SCRUM

Scrum is proper for dynamic schemes. You can use the software development methodology in all other business domains, not only in software development.

What is scrum? 

Scrum is based on Agile as it is on Kanban. This very one of the software development methodologies ensures flexibility, close collaboration, and high-level teamwork. Scrum includes tools, roles, and meetings that work together to streamline and simplify the software development process.

How does scrum work?

Scrum works like this:

• First, the product owner creates their needs according to importance.
• Then, Scrum Master communicates with the product owner and uses all the client's points to create a project plan. They lead the Scrum team, drive all development processes according to Scrum management, and support communication among Scrum team associates.
• After that, the Scrum team is 5–9 developers and testers; they assemble the development process.
• So, the developers divide the Scrum development process into smaller blocks known as sprints.
• Finally, the work scope should be around 2–4 weeks and involve developing testing and analysis.

Software Development Methodologies: Conclusion

Your choice of methodology that you will adopt in your company's software development process depends on many factors. You should consider these factors to have a successful and effective method. Hence, these factors include budget, lead time, work priorities, expected goals, management style, and more. Of course, all of these factors affect the quality of the final product. Kapsys can help you gain better insight, prioritize your work, and turn your ideas into reality through the different software development methodologies. In addition, we can build an effective team of developers for you.