How to Choose Software Development Methodology for Your Business

I’ve been working with software development for over 20 years now and often talk with customers about software development methodologies. It’s a common misconception that one could launch a product without software methodologies at all. While I believe this might be true, it only works for certain projects, and there are risks connected to it.

For example, over 47% of software projects are not delivered on time, because of poorly set directives, and that’s a frequent risk if you decide to go further without any methodology. In my hands-on practice, I’ve worked with projects that required Waterfall and Agile methodologies, and with all the confidence in my heart, I can claim that those projects were as different as possible.

So, in this blog post I’ve decided to pay closer attention to the technical side of software methodology choice. I will discuss their differences and compare them to one another. Together, in this blog post, we will discover the risks of not having a software methodology, and whether you can launch a project without any of them at all.

What is a Software Development Methodology

Software methodology is, first of all, a structural approach to developing and maintaining software projects. It includes a certain framework of guidelines, techniques, and processes that allow the team to ensure both the quality, and efficiency of their work. Software methodologies also enable work consistency, helping the development team to see the milestones of their work and general direction.

The best example would be the recipe we use in a kitchen—a set of directives that includes the steps, tools, and resources needed to complete the dish. Software methodology works in a similar manner, providing a structured plan for creating a software solution. It directs specialists to their tasks, outlining the necessary steps, components, and resources and the expected outcome of the workflow.

Which methodology you use for your project usually depends on factors such as project size, team, time constraints, and flexibility level. I will discuss more factors, when describing different types of software methodologies, but for now, let’s focus on their differences. Based on my experience, I will explain the methodologies I have used in my hands-on practice and review the differences between them.

Most Popular Software Development Methodologies: Agile and Waterfall

During my career, I’ve encountered the most Agile and Waterfall methodologies. I’ve worked on software projects that needed more control of Waterfall or extended flexibility of Agile.

According to GoodFirms, the latter is the most used software development methodology, and it is no wonder it is an umbrella methodology that can be divided into different frameworks.

However, both Waterfall and Agile remain among the most popular methodologies used and lead the market.

Waterfall Software Development Methodology

Waterfall is a software development framework that follows linear and structural workflow to create a strict organizational structure during the development process.

It’s linear and demanding, exhibits strict control over participants, and builds a relatively rigid structure. Every stage of the Waterfall-bent development process has a very distinguished goal that needs to be achieved before the development can move to the next stage.

In a way, when you think of the Waterfall development model, you need to think more about a ladder than an actual waterfall. Developers must complete each step before proceeding to the next one. Steps usually include:

1. Requirements analysis,
2. System design,
3. Implementation of development,
4. Testing,
5. Deployment,
6. Maintenance.

This approach does not allow process elements to happen simultaneously; it requires precision and carefully formed structuralism. The team necessary for the Waterfall development process must have a vertical structure. When I worked according to this methodology, we always had developers, QA engineers, designers, team leads, and a project manager.

Pros and Cons of Waterfall Software Methodology

This carries certain downsides and upsides in equal proportion. On the one hand, we have the pros:

• Full documentation of each development stage, including every step taken by the team;
• Easier transfer to a different team or developer if needed;
• Very structured and straightforward resource planning that allows for improved budgeting and time management;
• Full transparency of the development process;
• Clear workflow structure, easy to follow for both the team and the client.

However, there are certain downsides to Waterfall. Risks and challenges you might encounter while working with it:

• Fully formed and approved system requirements are needed to proceed to the initial stages of the development;
• Integrate changes into the work process or requirements is a complex process that requires more time and material resources and might result in changing the development course completely;
• Low flexibility delays risk mitigation and problem resolution as it deters the detection of any bottlenecks;
• The customer has no means to identify the quality of work before the entire project is finished.

Which Businesses Will Benefit from the Waterfall Software Development Methodology?

Such software development methodology can be suitable for different projects, but all of them must meet the following criteria:

1. Have very clearly defined requirements;
2. Exhibit unyielding trust in the team;
3. Be capable of hiring highly skilled management and development specialists;
4. Require close to no control from the customer side.

In my opinion, Waterfall would be best suited for enterprise-size projects with a very definitive list of requirements that don’t require much customer intervention.

It would also work amazingly well for software migration or updates, as it would provide the customer with clearer deadlines and estimates. If that’s not your first rodeo with a certain project type and the team, Waterfall would also work, as this would practically nullify the downsides of the methodology. We’ve worked with Waterfall on a number of projects that required updates or migration services. For us, it usually has been a short-time cooperation, but the Waterfall methodology helped us ensure its completion with the highest quality possible.

Agile Software Development Methodology

Quite different from Waterfall, Agile follows a different approach, breaking up the development into steps—sprints in this context. Such an approach allows greater flexibility, performing certain tasks simultaneously and practicing an iterative approach.

Agile is a sprint-based method of workflow framework that breaks the large process into smaller tasks. The main goal of Agile software process methodologies is to achieve both flexibility and transparency, implementing high customer engagement into the development process.

When you think about Agile workflow, it looks more like a wheel spinning, and each new spin brings new objectives and a prioritized list of tasks. Usually, Agile methodologies include four—or two-week-long sprints that start with defining the sprint goals and end with the result evaluation.

This workflow provides more opportunities to implement changes or tweaks into the work process and allows for easier workflow building. Steps for Agile methodology include:

1. Requirement analysis,
2. Development,
3. Testing,
4. Deployment,
5. Review.

In Agile, development is cyclical, and usually, after a review comes a new iteration for the next stage of the process. The team might vary, but it has a horizontal structure and usually consists of an Agile team of tech experts responsible for the execution, a product owner who communicates with the stakeholders, and, in some cases, a Scrum master who coaches the team.

As I mentioned before, Agile methodologies include several different frameworks. The ones that I’ve been working with the most are Scrum and Kanban, and they can be applied in different contexts for different projects depending on their needs and requirements.

Scrum Framework

This type of Agile software development methodology focuses on iterative development. It breaks down the process into smaller sprints, which is the essence of all things Agile, and aims to have feasible results for each sprint.

Sprints usually last one to four weeks. Tasks enter the sprint and are segregated between teams and responsible developers. Between different iterations of the process, a customer might be a part of the workflow by directly communicating with the team members and making changes, requests, or alterations.

Basically, with Scrum, the development team’s focus is concentrated on the smaller objective instead of the bigger outcome. It enables greater flexibility, making this sub-type most efficient for products that require frequent updates or have unspecified requirements.

Kanban Framework

Kanban is more of a visual method for project management and software development. It tracks tasks on visual boards, helping to visualize the workflow and enhance its efficiency. The workflow includes iterative sprints.

However, it also allows the team to split the focus on each individual task until it’s completed. Usually, the workflow goes like this: the task enters the sprint from the backlog and goes through several columns that signify progress stages. For example, the stages can simply be called In Progress, Fixing, and Done. The task migrates from one column to the next but can iteratively return to previous ones if it needs additional fixes or changes.

This type of Agile methodology is perfect for software products that require maintenance or entail a long-term complex development process. This is why we picked it for the Pi-1 project that we’ve developed with our team. Visualization greatly helped us think through every step, and our experienced team could easily handle ownership over every assigned task. Plus, it’s a nice addition to having a customer who is ready to always keep their hand on the pulse of the workflow.

Pros and Cons of Agile Software Methodology

All of these methods, as any other that belongs to the Agile framework, have their own upsides and faults. Among the benefits of Agile methodologies are:

• Transparency of the workflow that enables quick search for mistakes or bottlenecks;
• Faster time-to-market with an opportunity to launch an MVP and support the product at the later stages;
• Customer engagement is at a high level at all the development stages and allows the client to see the progress with each completed sprint, thus making the corrections if needed;
• Reduced risks of failure as the process can be constantly monitored by the customer;
• A higher flexibility level enables changes to be made during any stage of the project development.

The downsides of the Agile methods are usually associated with the methodologies being too flexible and much less controlled on the development side than Waterfall. Several challenges that you might encounter if you opt for Agile methods are:

• Risks of overstepping the budget or resource estimation, as the process becomes too flexible to predict;
• Risks of reworking one of the scopes due to unclear requirements or too many changes being made in the process;
• Quality decline due to emphasis on simplicity and speed;
• The risk of the time and resources being overspent on everyday communication.

Which Businesses Will Benefit from Agile Software Development Methodology?

Agile methodologies are very versatile and flexible and can be applied to different projects as long as they have several or all of the same determining criteria:

1. Complicated requirements or multifaceted structure;
2. Undefined requirements that need to be changed or perfected during the process;
3. Software created for fast-changing industries that need a lot of updating or maintenance;
4. Projects that require a high level of customer involvement.

Agile methodologies, being much less rigid than Waterfall, would work best for software created for startups or niches that need frequent updates, such as e-commerce, content management platforms, and gaming software.

They also work well for software that needs a rapid launch, as Agile allows the development team to create an MVP and continue working on the final full-fledged software version without hindering the process.

Waterfall vs Agile: Which Software Development Methodology to Choose

Sometimes, it becomes more difficult to understand which software development methodology would fit your product development best, and for this reason, I’ve compiled all my knowledge into this table. I hope it would enable you to easily distinguish between Agile and Waterfall methodologies, and find the one choice that would be ultimate for your business.

I believe that different projects require different software process methodologies. So, in the table below, I would like to review which ones would suit different requirements and assign methodologies to hypothetical ideas. However, it’s all extremely exclusive and unique for different projects, and it’s had to predict the right methodology without knowing the specifics.

If you’re interested in any other types of software and wondering what would work for your business, you can text me. Together, we will determine what best suits your needs.

How to Choose the Software Development Methodology for Your Business

To choose a software development methodology, you could follow seven simple tips that will help you figure out which methodology works best for your business. In my practice, these tips helped me and my team figure out the best work process organization strategy with fewer mistakes and enhanced the effectiveness of our workflow in general.

Estimate the Project Size

You need to evaluate your project to understand whether your product is complex and large or less dependent on the changes. Large projects usually involve full-fledged software solution development for one or several platforms, while smaller projects might be an MVP, prototype, update, migration, or other services of that ilk.

A larger project would most likely need an Agile approach

It would enable it to:

• remain flexible with development
• iterate quickly,
• avoid risks, bottlenecks, and mistakes,
• change the project size
• hire additional developers,
• add a new feature to the software in the process.

Smaller or more rigid projects need a Waterfall approach

Such a structure would the projects to

• clearly understand the resources,
• estimate the budget,
• follow the constraints,
• untie your hands for other tasks.

Evaluate the Development Time

Now, you need to think about time to market and whether your project is time-sensitive. If you need to launch a new product as quickly as possible, remain on the wave of innovation, and constantly monitor the market, Agile methodologies are what you’re looking for.

If your objective is less tied to time and more to limited resources or the need to handle everything over to the development team, Waterfall would be better.

Experience of the Team

Team experience can also influence the choice of software development methodology. The Waterfall methodology would be more suitable for teams with less experienced members who need more control. It would help team leads to perform better overview and management of the software development process and ensure that the time resources of each team member are spend correctly.

Agile is more suitable for more experienced teams where each member is ready to be responsible for their work and does not need supervision. Not taking this factor into account might result in unnecessary control over teams that would perform better with a bit more freedom, limiting flexibility. On the contrary, it might enable less experienced teams to mistreat their time.

Be Aware of Time Constraints

Agile methodology usually needs more time to complete the project fully but less time to reach the market. If you’re searching for quick time-to-market and could settle for later iterations, this is your way fo develop applications. When I worked with Agile methodologies, we always performed post-release maintenance, and those projects usually stayed for long-term development.

Waterfall methodology needs more time than Agile to hit the market, but only because it requires full completion of each stage. Therefore, there will be no iterations until the project is completely done, you will know precise deadlines, but there will be close to no way of changing or fixing anything in the software development process.

Evaluate the Requirements for Flexibility

While both Agile and Waterfall methodologies are great, it’s drastically important to know your requirements for the new project to choose between them. I’ve mentioned before that changing the requirements with the Waterfall methodology would be challenging or even close to impossible, so if you think that your project would need an additional iteration or feature later, it’s better to opt for Agile.

Otherwise, if you know that the requirements are unlikely to change, Waterfall might be more beneficial for you as it is more predictable and allows you to manage resources clearly. While with Agile, there’s a constant risk of adding something extra to your budget, Waterfall will limit you to only the requirements you set in the very beginning.

Review Risk Tolerance

If your project might be prone to risks, it’s better to go for Agile. This would be relevant for fintech software, as the field requires business owners to follow compliance rules and be closely tied to customers’ sensitive data. Here, Agile would allow to mitigate risks by constant monitoring and iteration.

Certain projects are not as prone to risks, and then Waterfall comes to the rescue. Low-risk probability would nullify the need for constant monitoring and enable you to sit back while the project is being created. Then, the Waterfall is the optimal solution.

Choose the Engagement Model

Ultimately, everything boils down to how much you are willing to alter your budget. Working under a fixed-price engagement model with Agile methodology would be extremely uncomfortable, if not impossible. So, if this engagement model is crucial for you, you should choose Waterfall.

On the other hand, if you’re ready to be flexible, and time-and-material is the model you’re planning to go with, Agile would be perfect for your business.

How to Launch a Project Without Any of the Software Development Approaches

After over 20 years of experience in the software development field, I would say that the absence of software methodology is only applicable to small projects. These might include creating a prototype, software created for personal use, small patches or updates, or software projects with strict time and budget constraints. In those cases, software development methodologies might be redundant and ineffective.

If you’re looking for a way to launch a project without any of the software process methodologies at all, here are the steps you need to take:

1. Define the clear objectives for your project.
2. Define the work scope and break it into smaller tasks.
3. Prioritize tasks according to their importance or time sensitivity.
4. Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of all the parties involved in the development.
5. Set realistic deadlines and create a roadmap based on them.
6. Maintain open and transparent communication between the team members.
7. Review the work done and adjust your process if needed.

However, there are downsides to mistakenly thinking that your software does not require any software methodology. If you’re ready to take the leap of faith, be sure you’ve consulted your experts beforehand and ensured that your project does not require any special work organizational structure. Otherwise, you might encounter some of the risks that I’ll be talking about below.

Risks of Not Using the Software Development Methodology

The steps described above would help you bring some order into your development process if you decide to go further without the development methodology, but they will not replace one. You might encounter the following risks if you proceed with such an endeavor:

1. Scope creep. An uncontrolled number of tasks might make your project unfinishable, creating numerous new tasks to replace the few of the old ones.
2. Poor execution quality. If there’s no way to check the workflow and the work itself and no regulation for this process, there might always be a risk that the job will simply be done poorly.
3. Missed deadlines. You can plan and even create the roadmap, but it would be extremely challenging to keep up with the deadlines when there’s no structure.
4. Increased costs. This unpredictability makes it increasingly difficult to determine the cost of an end product, leading to exceeding the budget.

Final Thoughts

Software development methodologies are important for driving some order into development. Despite seemingly being small and insignificant, methodologies can drastically change the outcome of your project and the way your team works.

You can, of course, try to launch a project without turing to any of the software development approaches at all, but then the risks greatly outweigh the benefits. Hence, it’s better, and probably easier, to research your own product and make a choice between Waterfall, Agile, or other software methodologies I haven’t talked about in this article.

If you want to make this choice easily, I would be happy to assist you. You can also contact any other representative of the DashDevs team; all of us have seniority on the market, over 500+ products launched together, and vast experience in fintech. Don’t hesitate to reach out!