Top 7 Software Development Methodologies Every Business Should Know
                     Top  7  Software  Development  Methodologies  Every
Business Should Know
“Sprint,” “Scrum,” “Waterfall”,  and so many other technical terms. You have outsourced your
software or app development project to a team, but now, being a non-technical person, you find
it hard to communicate with the development team. Worry not! You’re not alone. 
These days, business founders need software, web, or  app development services without
extending their  in-house team and prefer  to hire a custom software development  company.
However, when it comes to communicating with the development team, these founders often
get puzzled. But no more!
You have come to the right blog today, as we share with you the basic software development
methodologies in very simple language. After reading this blog, you will be able to save more
time,  control  costs  better,  and  communicate  with  higher  confidence  with  the  development
company that you have just hired. 
What is Software Development Methodology
Software development methodology is a roadmap that defines how the team would plan work,
develop features, perform testing, handle feedback, and deliver the final product. 
Choosing the wrong development methodology can cause delays, increase costs, and lead to
unnecessary  rework.  However,  on  the  other  hand,  the  right  methodology  can  make
development much smoother.
Meet A Software Development Team That Understands You Well!
We’re Ezulix, a custom software development company in Gurgaon that works with businesses
of  all  sizes,  scales,  and industries.  Founded in the year 2015 and established in 2018,  our
decade-long experience taught us one simple thing: clients who understand the development
process usually ask better questions and make faster decisions!
And for that, they need to understand the software development methodologies. So, let’s dive
in-
1. Agile - The Approach
Agile software development is the latest methodology that focuses on developing a software
solution in small stages, rather than developing the entire product all at once.  
For instance, let’s consider a Food Delivery App. Instead of waiting six months for the complete
application, the development team may first start with Minimum Viable Product (MVP) features
such as- 
● User Registration & Profile Creation
● Secure Login with Multi-Factor Authentication
● A Simple Search Bar (Supporting Textual Search Only)
● Multi Restaurant Listing
● Delivery Tracking Feature
● Review & Rating 
As a business founder, you can review the MVP app and later on introduce more features as
upgrades. As a result, your product keeps improving throughout development.
Agile  works especially  well  when your  requirements are highly  volatile.  Therefore,  startups,
SaaS businesses, and companies building new digital products as experiments often prefer it.
Its biggest strength is flexibility. However, Agile also needs regular communication between you
and your development team.
Scrum & Sprints - The Framework Under Agile Approach
Scrum is an Agile framework that gives the makes the development process more structured.
Teams divide work into short phases called “sprints.” 
A sprint often lasts two to four weeks. During each sprint, developers focus on a limited set of
features. After that, they review the completed work and plan what comes next.
For example,  an eCommerce company may use one sprint to work on a smooth checkout.
Then, later on, they can introduce the next sprint to work on effortless order tracking.
During Scrum, you, as the client, will  also need to attend daily stand-up meetings for sprint
planning, sprint reviews, and retrospectives. 
Therefore, the Scrum framework gives you more control over your project. 
2. Waterfall Approach
Waterfall is a traditional and age-old software development approach that focuses on step-by-
step development. 
The Steps include: 
● Requirement  Gathering:  The  consulting/sales  team  collects  your  business
requirements.
● UI/UX  Design: Then,  they  involve  the  UI/UX  team  that  works  on  the  user  flow  &
software design. 
● Software Development: As soon as you approve the UI/UX and user flow, the software
engineers start building your solution.
● Testing: Once the engineering team finishes the coding part, testing begins. 
● Deployment: When the software passes all the quality standards, the team deploys the
solution on compatible infrastrastructure. 
Unlike Agile, teams generally complete one major stage before moving to the next.
For  example,  imagine  you  need  a  software  solution  that  must  follow  strict  compliance
requirements. The team can document the requirements first,  approve the design,  build the
system, and then test it against those requirements.
Therefore,  Waterfall  works  great  for  government  projects,  compliance-heavy  systems,  and
projects with clear requirements.
However,  it  is  a  time-consuming  process  that  demands  the  business  owner  to  be  patient.
Additionally,  it  is  not  a  flexible  approach;  therefore,  changing  something  halfway  through
development can become expensive. So, Waterfall works best when you are clear with your
requirements.
3. Kanban Approach
Kanban makes work easy to see and manage.
Picture a simple board with columns such as “To Do,” “In Progress,” “Testing,” and “Done.” As
team members work on tasks, they move them from one column to another.
Simple, right?
Unlike Scrum, Kanban does not depend on fixed sprints. Instead, work moves continuously.
For  example,  a  software  support  team may receive  bug  fixes,  small  feature  requests,  and
maintenance tasks every day. Kanban lets the team prioritize these tasks without waiting for the
next sprint.
Therefore, it works well for maintenance, support, and projects where priorities change often.
4. Lean Development Methodology
Popularized  by  the  Lean  Startup  philosophy  by  Eric  Ries,  a  popular  American  writer  and
entrepreneur,  lean  development,  aka  Minimum  Viable  Product  (MVP)  development,  is  an
approach  that  focuses  on  building  only  necessary  features,  avoiding  the  ‘extra’   and
‘unnecessary’ ones. 
In simple words, Lean development says: do not spend months building features that users may
never need.
Let’s consider another example! Suppose a startup wants to launch an online learning platform.
Instead of building 20 features immediately, the team may launch an MVP with features like: 
● Video Lessons
● User Accounts
● Payments
● Behavioural Analysis
This approach saves both time and money. More importantly, it  helps businesses test ideas
before making a bigger investment.
Therefore, Lean development works especially well for startups, MVPs, and businesses testing
a new product idea.
5. DevOps Methodology
DevOps  works  a  little  differently  from  the  other  approaches  on  this  list.  It  is  not  just  a
development  methodology.  Rather  brings  development  and  IT  operations  together  through
collaboration, automation, and continuous delivery.
For  example,  let’s  suppose you are about  to  launch a SaaS product.  You need to release
product  updates  multiple  times  in  a  month.  In  such  a  case,  if  you  choose  DevOps,  your
development  partner will  automate the testing and deployment  processes.  It  speeds up the
entire process.
Therefore, DevOps is a suitable method for those projects that need frequent updates, such as
SaaS products. 
Grand View Research also identifies the growing popularity of the DevOps approach. In one of
its reports, it values the global DevOps market at $18.1 billion in 2026. Furthermore, the same
report projects it to reach about $37.2 billion by 2030.
6. Rapid Application Development (RAD)
Rapid  Application  Development  (RAD)  is  another  software  development  methodology  that
focuses on building working prototypes first. Later on, the team improves the prototype based
on user feedback.
Instead  of  spending  weeks  planning  every  detail,  the  team  creates  something  users  or
stakeholders can actually see and test.
Let’s consider one more example. A company building an internal HR portal! It may first create a
basic prototype with limited features like leave requests and employee records. 
The internal users may use the app for a couple of days, and offer their feedback on user
experience. 
This  way,  RAD  saves  development  time,  while  also  optimizing  the  user  experience  along.
Therefore, RAD works great for those projects that require user feedback.
However, it may not suit every large or highly complex system.
Which Software Development Methodology Should You Choose?
Choice of a software development methodology is different for different organizations. There is
no single ideal approach. 
Therefore,,  your  choice  should  depend  on  your  requirements,  budget,  timeline,  project
complexity, and development flexibility that you expect. 
As we already discussed above, we can sum up that-
● Agile or Scrum is good for early-stage startups that are experimenting with a new digital
product and require continuous upgrades. 
● On the contrary, Kanban may work better for businesses that want stronger hold on their
project. 
● Additionally,  Waterfall  -  the  traditional  method  can  make  more  sense  where
requirements are well-defined and the client has enough patience.
Among software companies in Gurgaon, you may find teams that prefer one methodology for
almost  every project.  However,  your development  process should fit  your business,  not  the
other way around.
Therefore,  before  development  starts,  ask  your  technology  partner  about  which  software
development approach they usually follow. 
Then,  evaluate  whether  it  fits  your  requirements.  Remember,  that   good  team will  always
explain why their chosen methodology align with your goals, timeline, and budget.
Considering Artificial Intelligence Integration
You might also need to consider the AI integration case. If  you are about  to launch an AI-
powered  software  solution,  then  you  may  not  need  traditional  and  common  software
development approaches. 
For  example,  machine  learning  products  often  need  repeated  testing  because  model
performance depends on data and real-world results. 
In such cases, an AI development company in the USA and a custom software development
company in Gurgaon can bring different skills together, especially when a project needs both AI
expertise and complete software development support.
Final Thoughts
We’re  hopeful  that  now  you  will  more  more  confident  while  engaging  with  a  software
development  team. Terminologies like Agile,  Scrum, Waterfall,  Kanvan,  Lean,  DevOPs, and
RAG  will  no  longer  feel  alien.  So  now  on,  confidently  ask  relevant  questions  to  your
development team before the process begins. 
Furthermore, do not pick a software development methodology which is used by the majority.
Rather, choose an approach that matches your project goals and expectations. 
Additionally, whenever handing you software project to an external team, never forget to duscss
your requirements clearly. Ask them what approach they recommend, why they recommend it,
and how they will measure progress. These steps will make your software development journey
much smoother.