Methodologies of interest

Although some have been briefly mentioned earlier in this chapter, this section looks at several methodologies that are either suitable or specifically designed for software development. The descriptions of these methodologies are meant as an introduction to their suitability rather than as a detailed instruction manual for their execution — of which there are dedicated.

Waterfall model

The waterfall model is a structured process for developing software that for the most part emphasises on progressing from one stage to the next in a logical order, and reverting back to a previous stage when the current stage cannot be completed to a satisfactory standard. Its focus is on creating the design specification upfront before coding implementation begins — a process that works in ideal environments that never change and where clients are able to perfectly communicate their requirements upfront. The relationship between each stage of the development cycle is represented in...