In the twenty first century software developers have continued to refine the methodologies utilized to produce effective software. Two of the most commonly used methodologies are the Agile and RUP methods. In general, Ideal perfers the Agile process but in many cases, we employ a mixture of both.
The basic difference between these two methodologies is flexibility vs. rigidity but there is more to the story:
There are 4 phases to RUP:
The Agile Methodology is driven by a modular process, wherein requirements are divided into modules and each module essentially becomes a project on it's own. Within this modular process, all phases are carried out for each module, including the requirements analysis, design, coding, testing and documentation of each module.
The following graphs help to illustrate these two methodologies: Graphs provided by Damnish Kumar, Software Architect, HTP, Inc.
In a perfect world, all software would be built using the RUP methodology, however, defining requirements in an ever-changing business world, in advance of developoment, is nearly impossilbe. Clear-headed project managers realize that changing requirements are inevitable and they plan accordingly. On larger projects, there are various means of planning for and accommodating changing requirements, but on smaller projects flexibilty is key.
At Ideal, we strive to reduce the timeframe of projects by asking the right questions during the requirements phase and then listen intently to the answers. In the end, all that really matters is that the clients expectations are met and Ideal delivers software that fits the business like a glove. This is a goal we have met on each and every project.
Why Invest in Custom Software?
The challenge of software is to make businesses more profitable by improving productivity and by allowing users to perform tasks that would otherwise be either difficult or impossible.
Word processing software replaced the typewriter and although users were not enabled to necessarily type faster, the benefit of other features such as saving files, editing, printing mulitple copies and spell checking greatly increased productivity.
Your business is full of processes, such as order processing and scheduling, but there is nothing so generic about these processes as word processing. They are unique to your business or your way of doing business.
Good software will further enable your staff to complete these processes and as important, empower them to do more - not just in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality and capability.
Custom software is often the only solution to the unique processes within your business. You do things your way and off-the-shelf software knows nothing of those ways. So, typically, businesses like yours attempt to fit the proverbial round peg in a square hole, sometimes achieving better results than others.
This scenario rarely unfolks without aid from manual processes that support the off-the-shelf software you've chosen. Sure, the software was cheap, but employees and lost productivity are expensive.