Software Development in 2023: Trends, Processes, Challenges, and Tips

As more and more of our daily lives move online, the demand for expertise and knowledge in software development is coming at lightning speed. Software development is the process that relates to the creation of individual software programs by using specialized and specific computer programming languages. 

Software development remains a cornerstone of the global digital economy, vital for many businesses and services. The validation can be seen in the global revenue of the software market, which hit $608 billion in 2022 compared to $597.3 billion in 2019. Let us walk through the latest software technology trends that we will see in 2023.

Table of Contents- Part One

Why are Software Development Trends Important to Track?

15 Trends in Software Development

  • Artificial Intelligence

  • Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

  • Mixed Reality

  • On-Premise or Cloud-Based Services

  • Blockchain 

  • Code and No-Code

  • Cybersecurity (DevSecOps)

  • Microservices

  • Emerging Technology

  • IoT: Internet of Things

  • IoB: Internet of Behavior

  • IaC: Infrastructure as Code

  • K8: Kubernetes (Kube)

  • 5G/Wi-Fi 6 Technology:  Fifth-generation technology 

Preparing a Meaningful and Viable Trend Analysis

Synthesizing Trends so that They are Meaningful and Add Value

There Will Always Be Challenges to the Process

Why Are Software Development Trends Important to Track?

Trends add value when managed with your organization's strategic objectives in mind. Many CIOs spend too much time getting bogged down in constant trend chatter without a roadmap to how those trends will affect their enterprise. That is akin to running a race off the beaten path without a compass. 

No matter how large or small the organization, Mach One Digital provides clients with clear paths to technical solutions that help them glean the strategies to navigate through the deluge so clients can be both trend creators and industry disruptors.

Tracking Trends Help Meet Organizational Goals

Companies are shifting to virtual environments, shaping both U.S. and global economies. Software developers worldwide are expected to exceed 27 million in 2023, with the sheer volume of data and industry processes continuing to drive that growth. Unfortunately, just one of ten developers can deliver basic software in less than two months.

The typical software development project takes a company one to nine months to develop, with an average undertaking for custom software development of about four to five months. The costs range from a few thousand dollars to a million for complex software, while maintenance costs range from 15 to 20 percent of the original development cost.

This is a key reason that tracking software development trends can save your organization time, resources, and money. By following your industry's software trends, you can weed out unnecessary development that doesn't meet your company's short- and long-term goals.

It all starts with research - lots of it.

Software Trends Benefit Organizations

Research shows that tracking software development trends:

  • It helps your organization stay ahead of the competition

  • Mitigates risk through operational security 

  • Creates operational efficiency

  • Enhances ROI due to less budgetary waste

Some may argue that tracking software development trends do not follow the immediate needs of an organization. While true that trends provide insight and strategies, the insights relevant to medium or large corporations may be less relevant to the needs of a small business. Smaller businesses sometimes need more money or staff expertise to take the time to research trends, implement a roadmap to use those trends, and develop software. The scope of their software development may be limited to immediate operational needs. They likely do not have a CIO and outsource to a software development company.

Yet small businesses still have to be competitive, deal with cybersecurity issues, remain operationally efficient, and be on a budget. Although their focus may not be on emerging artificial intelligence or blockchain trends, smaller companies that track software development trends will find that knowledge will help leverage how they do business in their target market.

Trends Help Navigate Risk to Make Informed Decisions

Economists debate whether the U.S. is in a recession, but that is not the case with the rest of the world. Decision-making in a volatile global economy includes mitigating risk and finding strategies to encourage company growth.

Objectively applying software intelligence to make critical decisions about software assets and development resources requires navigating risk to make informed decisions that are both actionable and adaptable to change. Risk can only be assessed if the CIO knows the company's software portfolio, its baselines for future software development, and how to communicate that to the software development team throughout all the stages of the software development process. 

The Software Development Stages

Some CIOs may be practicing software developers, so tracking trends may seem little more than an administrative task you don't have time for amidst your daily duties. Here's a refresher on the software development stages:

  • Requirements Analysis and Resource Planning 

  • Design and Prototyping

  • Software Development

  • Testing

  • Deployment

  • Maintenance and Updates (Acceptance)

The Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) manages the development and lifecycle of applications or software. The SDLC process is geared toward the production of cost-effective, high-quality products.

This blog post's primary focus will be defining the trends, processes, and challenges that CIOs, CTOs, or CEOs must address in software development in 2023 and beyond. 

15 Trends in Software Development

Agile software development has matured enough that you could debate that it is no longer a trend but a necessary iterative methodology to meet the needs of most organizations. The 15 trends listed below are an eclectic mix of macro and micro trends that can be adapted to any size business strategy to meet organizational goals.  

  • Artificial Intelligence

  • Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

  • Mixed Reality

  • On-Premise or Cloud-Based Services

  • Blockchain 

  • Code and No-Code

  • Data privacy

  • Cybersecurity (DevSecOps)

  • Microservices

  • Emerging Technology

  • IoT: Internet of Things

  • IoB: Internet of Behavior

  • IaC: Infrastructure as Code

  • K8: Kubernetes or Kube

  • 5G Tech:  Fifth-generation technology 

Collect and evaluate the trends in your company and its current software portfolio. Dig deeper, look beyond what directly affects your organization now, and gather a roadmap of trends that project how software development will affect or transform your company.

Be evolutionary and revolutionary by focusing on the right trends at the right time while adapting to change. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that utilizes machines to do tasks that typically require human intelligence. It is defined as an emerging technology since AI has rapidly evolved through the years.

Applications: Early applications included machines that could play chess or checkers and reproduce language. Later iterations involved machine learning, where algorithms made predictions using data. Examples included news feeds and traffic prediction maps.

AI neural networks model algorithms after the brain by creating artificial neurons that send signals to each other so that the artificial neurons can talk to each other. Deep neural networks, called deep learning, use large amounts of complex, unstructured data to create rational outputs. Examples include speech recognition, virtual assistants, digital avatars, chatbots, and self-driving vehicles.

Trends:

  • AI in Software as a Service (SaaS)

  • AI-assisted coding

  • Predictive analytics

  • Proactive pharma and healthcare management

  • Large language models

  • Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3)

  • Information security

  • Data quality

  • Process discovery

  • Embedded applications

  • Biometrics

  • Exploring beyond narrow AI

Projected 2023 revenue: $500 billion worldwide (Statista)

Why AI is an important trend to track in 2023: Artificial Intelligence permeates nearly everything, with SaaS being the largest market segment in the Cloud. Narrow AI is currently the only operational AI. Predictive analytics will continue to use AI to assess the future to boost productivity and efficiency. As AI becomes generalized, the need for responsible use and security will be explored. 

Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented reality (AR) mixes the physical and digital worlds by embedding virtual images into natural environments. Arguably the most famous AR example is the game Pokemon Go!

Applications:  Marker-based AR (QR codes) and Markerless AR (GPS systems), Mobile AR (smartphones), HoloLens, face recognition, retail (virtual fitting rooms), and on-the-job training modules.

Trends: 

  • Retail

  • Navigation

  • Medical

  • Manufacturing

  • Training

  • Defense

Projected 2023 revenue: $21.07 billion (Exploding Topics)

Why AR is an important trend to track in 2023: Social media, gaming, on-the-job training, and e-commerce continue to gain steam in 2023. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

VR is a cyber environment that does not impose itself on the physical world. VR requires a headset to use.

Applications: Virtual reality is used in education, mental health, medicine, sports, marketing, 360-degree videos, and entertainment and fashion industries. It is also used in product development and personnel training.

Trends:

  • Military training and operations

  • Mental health treatments

  • Pain therapy management

  • Interactive training simulations 

  • Better industrial and manufacturing networks

Projected 2023 revenue: $16 billion (Statista)

Why VR is an important trend to track in 2023: Virtual reality is becoming an essential component of software development, implemented in daily operations, and providing interactive employee training.  

Mixed Reality (MR)

Utilizes AR and VR to layer virtual worlds over physical worlds to create places where objects exist and interact in real-time.

Applications: Enhanced, blended, and immersive environment apps (Skype, interior design, museum exhibits), holograms, environmental services, gaming

Trends:

  • 3D modeling in manufacturing 

  • Remote employee training  

  • Government training operations in public service and defense

  • B2C integration growth

Projected 2023 revenue: $2.8 billion (Cision PR Newswire)

Why MR is an important trend to track in 2023: MR allows the best physical and virtual worlds, enhanced by AI. Mixed reality scenarios include military training simulations, 

Cloud-Based Services

Cloud services offer premade tools that stack on top of existing hardware and infrastructure. There are private, public, and hybrid clouds. 

Applications: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), email, office tools 

Trends:

  • SaaS will continue to be a primary driver in cloud-based solutions

  • Edge computing has become more mainstream

  • Shifts toward web-based systems built on top of cloud platforms

  • Cloud platform market dominance will continue in 2023

  • Remote work 

Projected 2023 revenue: $592 billion - public cloud (Gartner)

Why cloud-based services are an important trend to track in 2023:  According to Zippia, 99 percent of all U.S. companies will employ at least one or more SaaS cloud-based solutions. As more employees work remotely, cloud-based services keep them connected and communicating.

Blockchain

Blockchain is an immutable shared digital database that stores blocks of information linked together in chronological order with cryptography. 

Applications: Cryptocurrency and other financial ledgers, supply chain management, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), food safety, healthcare, retail

Trends:

  • Software development security

  • Decentralized and regenerative finance

  • Increase in government applications

Projected 2023 revenue: $10 billion (ABI Research)

Why blockchain is an important trend to track in 2023: Different types of information can be stored on a blockchain, not just financials. Blockchain is considered an emerging technology. Software developers primarily utilize blockchain in their applications for transparency and security reasons.

Low-Code/No-Code (LCNC)

Low-code and no-code use a graphical user interface (GUI) with drag-and-drop features to automate software development. This makes application development doable for those with little or no coding experience. 

Applications: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), the Hololens, 3D modeling, virtual retail, and product marketing

Trends:

  • Low-code applications will continue to make up the market 

  • Low-code/no-code shortens the development process

  • Hyper automation

  • Add more functionality to low-code/no-code

Projected 2023 revenue: $26.9 billion in the United States, growing to $65 million by 2027 (Ailoitte Technologies)

Why low-code and no-code are important trends to track in 2023: "Low-code hyper automation and composable business initiatives will be the key drivers accelerating the adoption of low-code technologies through 2026." (Gartner)  Smaller businesses and start-ups benefit from low-code/no-code as they tend to have lower budgets and less technical expertise. Larger organizations benefit from faster prototyping and reduced expenses. Organizations requiring fast prototyping and testing of products benefit from LCNC.

Cybersecurity (DevSecOps)

Cybersecurity protects an organization's computer systems and critical data from internal and external attacks. Cyberattacks aim to conduct corporate espionage, exploit, damage, or steal company data. DevSecOps adds security to the DevOps' development and operations software lifecycle.  

Applications: Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) security, firewalls, bot, virus, and malware identification

Trends:

  • Securing remote employees

  • Building cyber resilience

  • SaaS security solutions outpacing API solutions

  • DevOps container and microservice security

  • Controlling IoT, supply chain, and ransomware attacks

  • Continued cybersecurity legislation 

Projected 2023 revenue: U.S. revenue $70 billion is, with global revenue edging $190 billion in 2023 and $266 billion in 2027 (Statista and Global Market Insights)

Why DevSecOps is an important trend to track in 2023: Worldwide, 64 percent of companies were hacked in one way or another in 2021. There were 22 billion breached records. The average lifecycle of a data breach is 11 months, with the cost of a data breach amassing $4 million in 2021.

Microservices

Microservices is an architecture that creates single-function modules with well-defined operations and interfaces. Microservices are simple in action, different than Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in that microservices are a software development methodology while APIs are interfaces.

Applications: Breaks down tightly constructed monoliths, microservice domains, containerization  

Trend:

  • Observability tools so that software systems are supported throughout the entire SDLC

  • Migration from monolith architecture to microservices should reach over 90 percent of organizations

  • Synergistic serverless architecture and microservices

Projected 2023 revenue: $838.6 million (2022), expected to reach $1.7 billion by 2028 (MarketWatch)

Why Microservices is an important trend to track in 2023: Microservices provide agility, flexibility, and scalability. Easy to deploy, the small, quick-to-build microservices are reusable and resilient, allowing developers to choose the best tool to solve specific issues. Plus, there is less downtime as each module is contained, so the entire system does not need to shut down should one fail. 

Emerging Technology

Emerging technology has taken root in organizations but has yet to reach its full potential. Many confuse emerging technology with future technology that is not here yet.

Applications: Serverless architecture, deep automation, narrow AI 

Trends:

  • Lean Software Startups

  • System of Systems

  • Internet 3.0

  • Increased remote work

Projected 2023 revenue is hard to define as developers often differ on what constitutes an emerging technology.

Why emerging technology is an important trend to track in 2023: Many emerging technologies, like the IoT, AI, and blockchain, already have planted firm roots in the software development industry. Other emerging technologies like the metaverse and Wi-Fi 6 have sprouted but have yet to emerge fully. 

Software developer jobs are expected to increase to nearly 30 million by the end of 2023 as emerging technologies increase the need for skillsets mired in newer programming languages like Elixir, Swift, and F#.

IoT 

The Internet of Things (IoT) is more than smart consumer products. The IoT connects embedded devices with Internet connectivity, sending and receiving data.  

Applications: Edge computing, asset tracking, business-to-consumer smart devices, SaaS, the application possibilities abound

Trends:

  • Standardization of IoT 

  • Security labeling of IoT products

  • Metaverse (bridging of physical and virtual worlds)

  • Digital twins for both retail and manufacturing

  • Virtual hospital wards or healthcare IoT

Projected 2023 revenue: $650 billion (Investment Monitor)

Why IoT is an important trend to track in 2023: There will be a projected 30 billion connected devices worldwide and 20 billion in the IoT. 

IoB

Quickly becoming an integral component of the Internet of Things, the Internet of Behavior (IoB) is about personalization. Considered an extension of the IoT, the Internet of Behaviors utilizes the data gathered in the IoT to predict consumer and organizational behavior to add value to the user experience.

Applications: Tailored advertisements, user experience, research and development, wearable technology, progressive web apps (PWAs)

Trends:

  • Increasing trust in the security of private information

  • Minimizing avoidance of the IoT and the IoB (the "ostrich effect" of putting heads in the sand) 

Projected 2023 revenue: $571.2 billion (Precedence Research)

Why IoB is an important trend to track in 2023: Gartner predicts that the IoB will follow 40 percent of consumer behavior by 2023. Tied together with biometrics and AI, the IoB will track artificial emotional intelligence.

IaC

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a tool for setting up and managing infrastructure, whether on-premise or in the cloud. IaC makes infrastructure management more scalable and reduces configuration drift. IaC makes managing configurations easier by using code instead of manual processes.

Applications: DevOps, networks, virtual machines, load balance

Trends:

  • Increasing IaC tools

  • IaC lifecycle security

Projected 2023 revenue: $359 billion by 2027 (Yahoo! Finance)

Why IaC is an important trend to track in 2023: Infrastructure automation technology, like the IaC, will be utilized by 60 percent of all organizations in 2023 as part of their DevOps toolkit, increasing productivity by 25 percent (Gartner).

K8 (Kubernetes/Kube)

The portable, extensible, open-source system, Kubernetes (K8 or Kube), manages the auto-deployment and scalability of containerized applications by grouping those applications into logical units for agile management and discovery. Kubernetes runs in diverse environments securely as containers are isolated from other software.

Applications: Sensitive data storage, healing failed containers, balances and stabilizes network traffic when overwhelmed

Trends: 

  • New cost-management optimization tools

  • Taking K8 to edge computing

  • Deployment of multi-cluster Kubernetes

  • Usability improvements

  • Policy-as-Code (PaC) maturity

Projected 2023 revenue: $590 billion by 2027 (Yahoo! Finance)

Why K8 is an important trend to track in 2023: K8 is the global authority on container development, providing the modules (building blocks) for building developer platforms while preserving user choice and flexibility. Third-party container services are deployed by 88 percent of businesses. 

5G/Wi-Fi 6/6E

Fifth-generation (5G) technology and Wi-Fi 6/6E work together. The short-range Wi-Fi 6/6E works indoors, while the wide-range private 5G works indoors and outdoors. Public 5G works in very long-range outdoor environments (Cisco)

Applications: Telecommunications

Trends:

  • Exploration of 5G to Wi-Fi 6 in both healthcare and education

  • Low-latency manufacturing operations

  • Complementary networking growth

Projected 2023 revenue: $2.5 trillion from 2023 to 2025 (Technology Trends)

Why 5G is an important trend to track in 2023: Around 16 million technology jobs will be added as 5G and Wi-Fi 6/6E emerge to complement each other. 

Preparing a Meaningful and Viable Trend Analysis

No one can keep abreast of every trend with the potential to affect their organization. What makes one trend resource better depends on what you seek to bring value to your organization. 

Validate the trends that make the most sense to your organization by asking:

  • Does a mix of macro trends and micro trends fit our organizational needs?

  • Does this trend affect my organization, and in what ways?

  • How does tracking this trend benefit my organization's business model?

  • What implications would implementing facets of this trend have on the software developers?

The old saying "what gets measured, gets managed" is also true for trends. A subjective approach to trend analysis should be coupled with mathematical trend analysis and predictive analytics. This creates specific data, adding value to your company's unique needs. This does not mean that macro-data is not helpful. On the contrary, macro-data offers a great starting point to springboard into sector-specific data, whether an organization is for-profit or not-for-profit.

Trend Resources Worth Checking Out

Daily resources include industry-specific news. Choose up to three that make sense to review. Software developers may want to browse the following:

Refer to community input. Finding a strong, healthy software development community keeps you in the loop regarding new software development trends and issues and is a great way to network. Most importantly, you can bring project issues to the table and build on what other developers have already discussed regarding trends.

Here are a few communities worth looking into:

You can always build your community if you are still looking for a resource that works for you. Use social media (as your company policy allows), WhatsApp, or hivebrite to get started. Find your niche, and your audience will follow as you generate relevant content for a few months. If you attempt to build and maintain a community, you may need an assistant to manage it as it grows.

Watching or listening to podcasts like ChangeLog as a trend resource can also double as a learning venue. Apple's HTTP 203 tends to be more general but offers expert developer insights.

Stream a conference if you cannot attend one in person. Attending in-person conferences provides valuable networking experiences and opportunities for spontaneous feedback regarding trends.

The key to getting the most out of trend research is flexibility, openness to new ideas, and the willingness to adapt a trend to meet your software development and organizational goals. 

Synthesizing Trends So That They Are Meaningful and Add Value

Timing is everything when it comes to trends. There will always be a cultural lag where technology outpaces society. Paradigms change—technical debt ebbs and flows. Software development is either staid or competitive.

Which trends you should give the most credence to depends on the processes and challenges you apply them to. Recommendations that drive organizational value create an environment where technological challenges are met and navigated.

The Synthesis

  • Once you have selected the trends that are meaningful to your company's goals, choose the key findings that will add value to your organization. 

  • Highlight key takeaways from your insights.

  • Limit or work to eliminate confirmation bias and keep your synthesis focused.

  • Establish recommendations from those takeaways and create actionable solutions based on the time, budget, and scope of the project you are applying the trend synthesis.

  • Share your findings with stakeholders.

Synthesis involves finding meaningful links that allow raw data to be gleaned into viable recommendations that add value to your project. Often trend analysis is simply research that leads to subjective conclusions. But once you add numerical data to those trends, you have a solid basis for presenting those trends to stakeholders.

The first time you complete a trend analysis and its subsequent synthesis, you will get a baseline to examine trends continually, making tracking trends easier. 

There Will Always Be Challenges to the Process

No matter how many trends you track and apply to your organization, there will always be software development challenges to overcome. Trends can help put those challenges into perspective so they can be addressed with clarity and purpose.

Trend research, analysis, and synthesis can improve your software development processes by speeding up development, testing, and deployment. But it is not a one-off accomplishment, and then you are done. For its fruits to be sustainable, you must maintain a schedule where trends are tracked daily, weekly, quarterly, and annually.

Making sense of trends can be time-consuming. Many organizations outsource that research to a third-party company expert in trend gathering and synthesis. The Mach One Digital team provides complete and professional solutions that take you from initial concept to product resolution. That includes the trends that add value to your company's software development objectives and goals.

Table of Contents- Part 2

The Processes of Software Development

  • The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

  • SDLC Best Practices

  • The Methodologies

Choosing Waterfall or Agile Development

  • The Waterfall Software Development Methodology

  • The Agile Software Development Methodology

Choosing Incremental or Iterative Development

  • The Incremental Software Development Methodology

  • The Iterative Software Development Methodology

Choosing V-Shaped or Spiral Development

  • The V-Shaped Software Development Methodology

  • The Spiral Software Development Methodology

The Right Methodology Mitigates Obstacles

Challenges in Software Development

  • Communication silos

  • Lack of motivation and development expertise

  • Data privacy issues

  • Deciding on legacy system modernization

  • Limited software development infrastructure

  • No roadmap

3 Tips to Help the Software Development Process Run Smoothly

Mach One Digital: Strategic Leadership and Technical Solutions that Grow with You

The Processes of Software Development

The software development process aims to create unique programmed software to meet business goals and objectives. As with any well-laid plan, putting things in order is essential when kicking off a new project. Companies risk overbudgeting, delays, and costly failures without a pre-defined plan. Businesses are turning towards strategies that follow the Software development life cycle to minimize risks and reach their full potential. 

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) enables software developers to take an idea for a software product and turn it into an actual product using a comprehensive set of rules and practices. Below is a list of the steps. 

Planning: In this stage, it is crucial to perform a requirement analysis to recognize potential ambiguous and incomplete requirements before they cause problems that burden your system. You will determine the scope, project feasibility, required resources, timeframe for project development, and projected costs. 

Implementing: Design and prototypes begin to be developed, and the programming begins. Many consider the implementation stage the prototype stage. This is commonly called the pre-alpha stage. Features and their functionalities are explored and developed during the alpha stage. The beta version is a more fine-tuned version of the design and prototypes where bugs are identified and hidden issues come to light through testing.

Testing: Coding is complete as the rigorous testing stage gets into full swing to verify and validate the project and to ensure that quality assurance requirements are met. It is the end of the software development stage of the product life cycle. Testing is conducted from a user's perspective, not only the developer's.

Deployment and Maintenance: Deploying the finished product to a live server is the next stage to deploy the code to the live server. Maintaining and enhancing code promptly ensures software is built after following complete guidelines.

The continuous process of The Software Development Life Cycle provides developers with clarity, open communication channels, and a more concise workflow for better cost efficiency and project management. The Software Development Life Cycle provides a necessary counterpoint - that balance - to that volatility that often erupts in software development.

Software Development Life Cycle Best Practices 

  • Adopt the KISS practice: Keep It Simple Stupid. Simplicity keeps the focus on the value that the project will bring.

  • Test during every step of the software development process.

  • Be upfront and realistic about your budget and resources.

  • Make sure all stakeholders understand the project standards.

  • Outsource as needed. Outsourcing repetitive tasks open up your development team.

The Methodologies

Many older-school software developers use the terms process and methodology interchangeably. The methodology is the umbrella term, followed by processes and workflows. There's no universal SDLC; however, there are six standard methodologies: 

  • Waterfall

  • Agile, including DevOps

  • Incremental

  • Iterative

  • V-Shaped

  • Spiral

Don't reinvent the wheel. There are many frameworks (methodologies) for your build already established by others. Each framework has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the project requirements. Which methodology you choose affects how your software development project progresses (or not). Choosing the wrong methodology can lead to the following:

  • Missed schedule and cost deadlines (slippage)

  • Communication silos or team miscommunication 

  • Wasted time on tasks with no project value 

  • Team burnout

  • Budget overruns over the norm

Can you develop software without choosing a process or a methodology? Sure, if you like risking failure and flying by the seat of your pants. Planning for issues to come up and then dealing with them is a forward-thinking policy that should be a platitude on every wall. Planning is mitigating risk, not averting it. Whatever method you choose to accomplish it is up to you.

Choosing Waterfall or Agile Development

The traditional, predictive waterfall method works best for straightforward projects with linear requirements. Agile's adaptable method works best for fluid requirements that require many iterations before a product gets out the door. 

The Waterfall Software Development Methodology

There are six stages of the waterfall software development method that must be completed before moving on to the next stage:

  • Requirements: Gathering assumptions, dependencies, risks, costs, timelines, and metrics about what needs to be designed and how that design will function in the software being developed.

  • System design: The architecture phase lists all the software and hardware requirements, layouts, and scenarios, while data models are divided into logical and physical design categories.

  • Implementation: The phase where coding and unit testing takes place.

  • Testing: This functional and non-functional test phase checks for Common Weakness Enumerations (CWEs) or faults in the software using documentation developed in the design phase. If changes need to be made, this phase reverts to the implementation phase.

  • Deployment: Software launch on internal servers or to the marketplace where the software is accessed and used.

  • Maintenance: Provides software support and maintenance, ensuring it runs smoothly.

Why you would use the waterfall method:

  • Small projects

  • Static requirements

  • Tight deadlines

  • Software requirements clear

  • Budget defined

The waterfall method is often used by smaller organizations that need custom software rather than business-wide development.

The Agile Software Development Methodology

Agile is a decidedly hands-on, face-to-face communicative approach to software development. Iterations, called sprints, utilize customer feedback within each iteration. The customer must approve any changes before the team moves on to the next sprint. 

There are six stages of the agile process method:

  • Concept: Map the project objectives to create a baseline for measuring iterations against business needs. 

  • Inception: The planning stage where team members are identified, funds allocated, and initial requirement discussion is.

  • Iteration: Usually two to four weeks, iteration (sprints) consists of user stories, work reviews, and feedback.

  • Release: Quality assurance testing, training, documentation development, and iteration production.

  • Production: Deployment on customer servers.

  • Retirement: End-of-life may include migration.

Each sprint builds a deliverable feature that, with feedback and discussion, gradually adds functionality and new features.

Why you would use the agile method:

  • Reduces technical debt

  • Adaptability and flexibility 

  • Collaborative, dynamic, and transparent teams

  • Allows continuous updates and integration

  • Working products at the end of each iteration

  • User-focused testing that provides customer value

  • Better control of the entire workflow process

Agile works well for both smaller custom projects and business-wide development. It only works well for projects with tight budgets and timelines. Agile frameworks include Scrum and Kanban.

Choosing Incremental or Iterative Development

Often, software development needs a middle ground between waterfall and agile workflows. The incremental and iterative processes create chunks of software before exposing them to users for feedback before proceeding. But what each release makes is very different.

The Incremental Software Development Methodology

More closely aligned with agile, the incremental development process creates a minimally viable product with core functionality before adding new features based on feedback. Each iteration is rigid and must pass through four phases:

  • Requirements

  • Design

  • Coding

  • Testing

Why you might choose the incremental method when there are:

  • Clear project requirements 

  • Complete high-risk features that need to be built within each increment

  • Demands for early product release

  • Software engineers without adequate training or skill sets

Since feedback comes earlier in the process, validation comes more quickly. The incremental method is used more for web applications and companies needing quicker product turnaround, requiring a solid plan and design. 

The Iterative Software Development Methodology

The iterative differs from the incremental because it is more closely aligned with the waterfall method. Its process allows more flexibility than the waterfall but follows a stricter workflow.

The iterative workflow:

  • Analysis

  • Design

  • Development

  • Testing 

All these phases will repeat until product release. 

Why you would use the iterative method:

  • Predefined requirements that may change

  • Easily measured progress

  • Longer, more complex projects needing short iterations

  • Flexibility

Ongoing management is required as iterations bring constant learning through observations and the presentation of new ideas within each sprint.

Choosing V-Shaped or Spiral Development

The V-shaped method is also called the verification and validation method, with the left side of the "V" for verification (design/development) and the right side of the "V" for validation (quality assurance). The spiral methodology is risk-driven as a prototype is built before product development.

The V-Shaped Software Development Methodology

V-shaped software development is a variant of the waterfall that allows testing during the workflow instead of waiting until the end. The verification side of the "V" corresponds to the same validation position on the opposite side of the "V."

The V-shaped workflow:

  • Requirements 

  • Specifications

  • High-level design

  • Low-level design

  • Development

  • Unit testing

  • Integration testing

  • System testing

  • Acceptance testing

Why you would use the V-shaped method:

  • Tight schedule

  • Smaller project

  • Clear scope and static requirements

  • Communication optimization

  • Risk minimization and cost savings

  • Quality assurance 

Much like the waterfall workflow, the V-shaped process does not allow for early customer input or feedback and has a fairly rigid structure. Adapting the V-shaped method employs a more agile approach called V-Model XT.

The Spiral Software Development Methodology

The Spiral software methodology creates a prototype before development begins. It's sometimes called the evolutionary prototype model.

The Spiral workflow's four quadrants:

  • Planning

  • Risk assessment

  • Development and validation

  • Evaluation

Why you would use the Spiral method:

  • Focus on high-risk analysis to reduce risk

  • Large projects with high amounts of documentation and validation

  • Unpredictability and complexity

  • When long-term development is not feasible

The Spiral methodology is rarely used due to the time and cost associated with it. It can be coupled with features of the agile method to make it more efficient if it has to be used.

The Right Methodology Mitigates Obstacles:

Every software development lifecycle process mandates understanding what you want to build and why before designing, developing, and testing it. 

Key factors in choosing a software development method:

  • Software requirement flexibility, speed, and project size

  • Understanding what the end-users want and need

Paring down the project's information will help you choose the methodology for the build. Sometimes it takes work to organize information into manageable chunks to glean the understanding you need to choose a particular method.

Visuals can help perceive requirements.

Take a cue from writers and other creatives and create a storyboard or visual representation of the project requirements and all pertinent information. Make an outline or a table. Whatever works for your team makes perceiving the data at hand easier.

Challenges in Software Development

Once you choose the method, expect challenges. Clarity must consider company culture and personalities that can challenge even the most prepared software development team. The goal is to plan so that every stakeholder understands what they're doing and why. 

Challenge: Communication Silos

Communication silos can singularly derail software development projects. Functional teams, assigning roles within the software development cycle, and internal role conflicts can create communication silos in agile scenarios. 

Working to eliminate communication silos with DevOps

Software development creates change within the departments of an organization, whether it's code refactoring, developing proprietary software, or fixing bugs. Incessant change creates the potential for instability caused by communication silos. Employing DevOps can break down those silos. Don't expect every silo to be eliminated immediately; balancing departmental focus and a more holistic view of organizational goals takes time.

Depending on the size of your organization, this can be easier said than done. Humans are notoriously territorial, primarily if they have held certain company positions for a time. Larger companies may need interdepartmental liaisons or mediators to overcome resistance to change. Smaller companies are no strangers to silos either. Communication silos can negatively affect collaborative processes, morale, and productivity. 

Using DevOps to direct teams to common objectives and goals, sharing metrics and workloads, and allowing everyone to communicate project status updates enables team members to find value in their organizational roles. People tend to be more receptive to change when they feel that what they have to contribute to the common good is valuable.

Challenge: Lack of Motivation and Development Expertise

Software development takes creativity. Many IT departments, however, are comfortable with their routines and ways of approaching development. Many developers also lack confidence and motivation regarding upping their skillset or don't like the fast pace of change. This lack of development expertise can hold back company objectives and goals.

Reasons for lack of motivation and development expertise include: changing company culture and attitudes, feeling too old to learn something new, dislike of interruptions in daily routine, general stress, and non-challenging work.

How to eliminate the lack of motivation and development expertise

Find clarity. Have a clear vision of project details, design goals, and how the vision affects the organization holistically. Eliminate communication silos. Engage in a reward system for quality work. Taking classes to up skill sets can reward developers with renewed confidence and motivation. Realizing that years of experience don't equate to expertise can change staid mindsets.

Challenge: Data Privacy Issues

Data privacy challenges vary from organization to organization as internal priorities differ and regulations offer guidelines governing more objectives than mandates. Sensitive data gets handled differently in different systems. Outdated computer software doesn’t provide the same level of protection as a fully optimized software platform, as data can be hard to track on an operational level. How can you protect sensitive data if you don't know where it is - worse yet if you don't know about it in the first place? 

How to mitigate data privacy issues

Think of data as inventory. If a store does not have an inventory system, it cannot call up and reorder what it has out of stock. The same holds for critical data. Your organization's sensitive data needs a home where it resides throughout its lifecycle so you know where it is and can manage it from when it is created to its disposal.

Most software systems today have dynamic components. They are dynamic, not passive, and automated to synchronize data privacy. Data inventory processes include tracking, continuous integration, and delivery with real-time verification. Your sensitive, critical data should be protected when it is called to limit data exposure. That includes keeping data retention policies current so that data removal complies with company policy.

Data remediation to reign in manageability

Most organizations house unnecessary data that mingles with their sensitive data, making it unmanageable, especially for those systems that have expanded off-premise to a third-party provider and/or the public cloud. You build a tighter perimeter around your sensitive, critical data by eliminating unnecessary data.

Challenge: Deciding on System Modernization

Businesses' continuing use of outdated systems is still a common practice, despite the need for modernization to remain competitive. Systems that lack modernization is slow and often difficult to use, are prone to error, and can impact work quality, security, and delivery. Maintaining these systems often results in extended downtime affecting companies of all sizes, especially small-to-medium businesses (SMBs). Downtime can cost a company millions, depending on its size. What used to be calculated in downtime hours is now calculated in minutes - if not seconds - as more companies migrate to the public cloud.

Change can be unsettling when deciding to upgrade or completely modernize applications. Modernization usually entails significant time and monetary resources that many organizations still need due to recent inflation and supply chain issues.

Addressing application and software modernization forces businesses to rethink digital transformation

Whether digital transformation has been on your organization's radar or not, if your system is no longer sufficient for your software development projects, it is time to decide on modernization. You can overhaul the entire platform and start from scratch, which is costly in downtime and investment. You can keep to the status quo and fix critical needs as they come up. Also, you can create a new application over the one that no longer works for your organization which can get very complex and time-consuming.

If that isn't feasible, you may be able to accomplish partial refactoring, which simply enhances the code you already have to be more efficient for your organization's needs. The choice should be made with your organization's digital transformation objectives and goals in mind.

Challenge: Limited Software Development Infrastructure

Software development infrastructure (a software platform) refers to the tools, processes, and environments used to create, test, deploy, and manage software applications for a particular system. Common components of a software development infrastructure include an integrated development environment (IDE) that incorporates several types of management systems:

  • Source control management

  • Code quality management

  • Application performance management

  • Dependency management

Continuous integration, deployment, and containerization tools round out the components. Various components exist and vary according to a particular organization's infrastructure needs. 

Address common infrastructure issues by centralizing processes to the cloud. 

Issues common to limited software development infrastructure include the following: 

  • Limited or no scalability

  • Limited functionality

  • Money and time costs

  • Security vulnerabilities

Anticipating software development infrastructure issues will help you better address these common issues as they come up. Consider going to a cloud-based solution so your developers can focus on code development, not updating infrastructure.

By automating repetitive tasks, companies save time and money as project cycle times decrease. By being free to deliver high-quality software, teams also increase project security. Security increases as the proverbial "too many cooks in the broth" boils down to centralized processes.

Challenge: No Roadmap

Every software development project needs a strategic roadmap to get the project from point A to point B. Different roadmaps commonly follow internal, external, single, or multiple project roadmaps.

Internal roadmaps concentrate on product value.

Internal roadmaps provide c-levels and engineering teams with specific details about the project, its intended audience, business strategy, and value to the customer. It will also cover ROI expectations, project features, and testing. The bottom line is communicating product value to c-levels and software teams.

External roadmaps concentrate on customer benefits.

External roadmaps also called product roadmaps, provide those who need to be in the loop day-to-day with a breakdown of project deliverables and their benefits. They are usually customer-oriented but can be used internally as well.

Single and multiple product roadmaps concentrate on product evolution and direction

Product roadmaps include:

  • User stories that guide roadmap strategies. 

  • Timelines 

  • Clearly-defined objectives and initiatives

  • Features 

  • Releases (product demonstrations)

If you are working on multiple products, roadmaps act much like a visual representation of how products will evolve. Many applications provide stakeholders with a framework that keeps everyone in the know and on track.

How to Create a Roadmap

Roadmaps are only helpful if they are followed. You don't want to build a short-term roadmap when your project is long-term or visa-versa. However, you could create a hybrid emphasizing short-term tactical mapping and the long-term "why are we doing this?" Long-term concentrates on vision over tactics.

  • Short-term roadmaps: 3 to 6 months (tactical)

  • Long-term roadmaps: can plan 2 to 5 years or more into the future (strategic)

Your audience:

  • Short-term roadmap: product team

  • Long-term roadmap: leadership and investors

The functionality:

  • Short-term roadmap: project management execution

  • Long-term roadmap: buy-in and funding for the project

Tactical considerations and strategic initiatives can be challenging to map out. Every roadmap should include five steps adapted to your particular challenge.

Step 1: Define the Purpose of the Product

The purpose of this step is so that everyone works toward a common goal. Why is it needed, and how will all stakeholders benefit from its development, especially customers?

Step 2: Understanding the Objectives and Key Results of the Product Development

  • Objectives help define the goals that set direction. Where are we going?

  • Key results measure those objectives. Are we getting there?

  • Initiatives are tasks that drive development. How do we get there?

Step 3: Develop Cross-Functional Teams 

Cross-functional teams bring diverse backgrounds and expertise to software development and its various roadmaps. Also called multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary teams, they work toward a common goal despite their differences.

Step 4: Defining the Features That Will Support Your Strategy

This research-intensive step assesses what features you need to consider to support product stratagems that will help it stand out in the marketplace. For instance, will the application that you are developing work not only in today's market but in future markets?

Step 5: Testing the Waters Before Release

The final step on your product roadmap should be to test, test, and test before your Beta release, during, and after so you can see what features work and what don't before releasing the final product.

3 Tips to Help the Software Development Process Run Smoothly

Tip 1: Establish a Baseline

Examine the software portfolio for its modernization, maintenance, and digital transformation baseline. 

Tip 2: Consider Open-Source Software, Cloud-Based Solutions, and Agile Development to Save Costs

Software development budgeting's traditional approach is the "envelope system," where specific amounts of money are allocated to specific spending categories. The "down-to-the-last-penny," zero-based budget system may not suffice when today's software development climate is anything but linear and predictable.

Tip 3: Optimize Your Software Development Infrastructure

A straightforward, easy-to-follow process (guide) will keep your infrastructure running smoothly and developers happy, especially if they are newly onboarded. Consistency and standards are key. Many companies automate the entire process with a third-party specializing in infrastructure solutions for management purposes keeping guesswork out of the equation. 

A well-designed framework breaks down departmental silos, reduces costs, and improves quality and efficiency.

What Will the Future Bring?

Many emerging technologies are working to springboard us into the future of software development. Web 3.0 is in its infancy. Blockchain will continue to grow from immutable financials to managing supply chains and marketing. The Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Behaviors (IoB) will continue to expand, personally sending the cloud over the edge (computing) where it meets a location-specific horizon. 

Artificial intelligence and augmented reality will continue synthesizing the physical and digital worlds. Applications like 3D printing will revolutionize packaging, medical applications, and art. 

Mach One Digital: Strategic Leadership and Technical Solutions That Grow With You

Mach One Digital provides comprehensive leadership, technology, and strategic and operational solutions for all sizes of businesses seeking digital transformation to gain an edge in the marketplace.

Some of the industries we work with include:

  • Education

  • Manufacturing

  • Distribution 

  • Transportation and Logistics

  • Healthcare

  • Financial

  • Multi-level Marketing

  • Real Estate

  • B2B and B2C Retail

Our scalable software solutions provide a clear path to your company's goals because our teams work with you. We have a team of professionals with the knowledge to carry out your plan for mobile applications or system integrations. We provide enterprise-level e-commerce, SaaS, and custom platforms that take the mystery out of software development processes. 

Schedule a discovery call with us, and we will help you understand what you need to know and how you need to be doing it.


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