When it comes to mobile app development, the way you approach an app idea has a great impact on how the outcome would be. As you might be familiar with, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ development process that every app development company should follow. A lot many types of application development methodologies are existing in the market, prevailing based on different factors such as app requirements, features, and the direction of the workflow. However, when it comes to picking the best mobile app development methodology, the two that typically dictate in the market are Agile, Scrum and Waterfall.

AGILE METHODOLOGY:

The characteristics of Agile Methodology makes an easy job for mobile app development so that the mobile application outcome is adaptable after its release.

According to their manifesto there are 12 principles listed

  • Customer satisfaction by early and continuous delivery of valuable software
  • Welcome changing requirements, even in late development
  • Working software is delivered frequently
  • Close, daily cooperation between business people and developers
  • Projects are built around motivated individuals, who should be trusted
  • Face to Face conversation is the best form of communication
  • Working software is the primary measurement of progress
  • Sustainable development, able to maintain a constant pace
  • Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design
  • Simplicity — the art of maximizing the amount of work not done is essential
  • Best architectures, requirements, designs emerge from self-organizing teams
  • Regularly, the team reflects on how to become more effective and adjust accordingly.

Benefits of Introducing Agile into Your App Process:

  • The agile mobile app development methodology emphasizes frequent communication and teamwork, which maintains the workflow and enables in delivering the result-oriented app.
  • Testing is done at the end of each phase which means an earlier encounter with the bugs and mitigating them. At last, you get a high-quality app with the agile process.
  • The application goes into the hands of the users much earlier, even before the launch. This is helpful to determine their response towards the app and therefore, reduces the chances of building an app nobody wants to try even.
  • The short application development cycles increase the flexibility of the process. You can easily add, remove or update any feature at any point of the development cycle or even when the app is already in the market.

WATERFALL METHODOLOGY:

Waterfall Methodology is pretty much like construction and manufacturing workflows; waterfall methodology is a sequential design process. This means that as each of the eight stages (Conception, initiation, analysis, design, construction, testing, implementation and maintenance) are completed, the developers move on to the next step.

This process is completely sequential, only after a step is completed the next step will be implemented, a developer cannot go back to a previous step.

If a developer wants to go back to a previous stage, it should all start from the beginning.

There is absolutely no room for errors or changes, so a project outcome and an extensive plan must be set in the beginning and then it should be followed carefully.

Advantages of Considering Waterfall for App Development

  1. The foremost benefit of the Waterfall approach is that it is quite simple and easy to comprehend and implement.
  2. Since app development phases are processed and completed one at a time it is quite easier to determine deliverables and manage the rigidity of the model.
  3. As explained in the last pointer, it is not possible to move to the next mobile app development phase without completing the existing one. This clears the doubt regarding maintaining definite stages and improving the review process.
  4. Waterfall methodology enables one to easily get an estimate of mobile app development cost breakdown and timeline. 
  5. Above all, this app development procedure involves documentation, making it easier to go with the flow.

RAD:

Rapid Application Development or RAD is actually an agile project management strategy which is quite popular in the case of software development or application development.
The major advantage of this particular approach is the faster project turnaround that makes it a much more attractive choice for the app developers that work in a fast-paced environment like app development. This particular rapid pace is quite possible by a focus on minimizing the entire planning stage as well as maximizing the prototype development in RAD.

By means of reducing the entire planning time as well as emphasizing the prototype iterations, it allows project managers to measure the entire process accurately as well as communicate in real time on different evolving issues as well as changes. This leads to greater efficiency, effective communication and faster development.

Some of its advantages are:

  • It allows you to break the entire project into much smaller and more manageable tasks.
  • The entire task-oriented structure duly allows the project managers to easily optimize the efficiency of the team by assigning different tasks as per the specialities and experience of the members.
  • Clients can work on the entire working product being delivered into a much shorter time frame.
  • The regular communication, as well as constant feedback among the team members, increase the overall efficiency of the design as well as build process.

Considering all these points, it’s difficult to categorise which method is the best, but it seems like Agile has better understanding of app development like no other. But let’s just understand where it is actually needed in a few points

  • Agile will be very much useful when you need rapid production.
  • Your clients will be able to change the scope of the project, anytime they need to.
  • If you do not know how the final product should look like you should definitely go for agile.
  • If your developers are talented, and you think they are adaptable and they think independently, definitely agile is the thing for you.
  • It’s really helpful for Mobile App Development, because the expectations and standards are rapidly changing, and Agile is easily adaptable.

Both the mobile app development approaches are good to consider for one or the other situation. So, the best way to decide the right option is to look into the requirements first, where PlusInfosys can help you proof-read the needs and suggest you with best app methodologies.