The Ultimate Guide to Software Development

We are currently surrounded by a plethora of software running non stop to make our lives easier. Every small gadget possessed by you, functions through an operating system which is built using software. This is why software development is not just an option but a necessity to digital business and enterprises. According to a recent study released in August 2021, over 605 billion USD is spent on enterprise software development globally.

This is because software development plays a significant role in promoting business, improving sales and services, analyzing data and bringing innovative and customer-centric products and services to market. Therefore, if you are looking for technical and business insights on software development, we have the ultimate guide for you. 

Let’s start with the basics.

What is software development?

What is software development is one of the most asked questions of the modern times. While there are a number of software development definitions, on a universal level, it can be defined as:

Software development is a set of information technology based activities which are centered around the process of creating, designing, developing, and maintaining software. 

In order to understand what software development means, it’s important to know the meaning of software. It is a set of programs or instructions which tells a computer what to do.  

There are four primary types of software – 

System software – These software provide core functions like disk management, operating system, hardware management etc. They typically fall in the category of the operational side of the software category.  

Programming software – These give developers the tools to write code on and build more software applications. Some examples of this can be – compilers, text editors, debuggers, and linkers, etc. 

Application software – These software help people perform tasks. Referring to both web and mobile application development companies, examples of these software types can be – security apps, social media apps, office productivity suites, eCommerce apps, etc. 

Embedded software – These software are used for controlling devices and machines that are not your typical computer – automated robots, cars, etc.  The software type is mainly connected through the capabilities of Internet of Things (IOT). 

What are the different roles in software development?

Programmers – They write the source code of the computer program which then enables specific tasks such as displaying texts, merging databases, performing searches, etc. Programmers mainly interpret the instructions they get from engineers and software developers and use programming languages like Swift or C++ to perform them.

Software engineers – The role of a software engineer is to develop systems and software that solve problems. They make use of modeling tools and languages to build solutions that can be applied to problems. While on one hand, software engineering adhered to scientific methods, they should find solutions around real world applications.

Over time, the responsibility of software engineers have grown with products becoming more intelligent through sensors, software, and microprocessors.  

Software developers – When compared to software engineers, software developers have a less complex role as they can be thoroughly involved in a single project area.

However, they are crucial when it comes to driving the complete software development life cycle. They work across the core teams to convert their requirements into features, manage the development processes and teams, and perform software maintenance. 

What are the different software development models?

In the software development domain, there are a number of methodologies or approaches that make the process – from ideation to digital product development easier. For a software development company, it is very important to select a methodology that would best meet the project’s time and resource requirements. 

Agile

It is undoubtedly one of the most famous business software development processes. Agile focuses on keeping users’ satisfaction at the core instead of focusing on rigid processes and documentation. 

The approach enables software developers to work on all the phases of software development simultaneously, in complete cohesion. 

Waterfall

It is a fairly straightforward linear approach in which the software development stages are attended to in a sequential manner. Each stage is completed before teams move to the next stage, for example, all the project requirements and technicalities are gathered before the project enters the design stage. 

The fact that every stage must be completed before moving to the next makes waterfall development methodology easy to understand and implement.   

Rapid Application Development 

It is a four step methodology that consists of gathering project requirements, prototype, test, and implementation of the suggestions. Unlike the linear models, it focuses on creating prototypes with the current requirements and testing them among real customers. The customer feedback then dictates whether the product should be taken to the production phase or should it be relooked at on the features front. 

Lean development 

This software development process concentrates on the development of easy to change software. The model is in many ways a lot more focused on strategy compared to other methodologies. 

The goal of lean software development principles is to build and deploy software in half the time, on a limited budget, and little to no workflow.