Low Code? No-code? Examining the Difference and the Pros and Cons

Application development used to consist of finding the best platform for a specific task, picking the apt coding language, carrying out the coding manually, building, and finally deploying it. The process not just involved a lot of time, but also incurred high costs and called for hard-to-find skills. But there has been a continual quest for an alternative that would let businesses adopt a more agile and quick method of building and deploying applications. This heralded the arrival of Low Code and No-code solutions. Today, a growing number of apps are built by business users and non-tech folks.

Let’s understand the phenomenon better.

At first glance, Low Code and No-code may look almost identical. But of course, there are numerous details and capabilities that differentiate Low Code from No-code. This blog will address the differences, pros, and cons of Low Code and No-code for you to understand which best fits your organization’s needs.

#1: Low Code Development-

Low Code application development lets developers create solutions using some lines of code. It is ideal for developers with the knowledge of using a visual IDE environment. Low Code gives developers the chance to leverage their knowledge of coding languages to build applications without too much coding. They use blocks of pre-written code to avoid repetitions while building a custom app, bringing together solutions faster and more easily.

Low Code has an inherent simplicity about it that lets developers have apps up and running faster than “coded from scratch” solutions. But the catch is those working with Low Code require knowledge of the languages of the Low Code tools for building solutions that won’t be prone to security risks and compliance issues. Low code application development tools can be used in various industries including healthcare, education, transportation, retail, and finance.

Examples of Low code Development:

Retool, Mendix, and Appian are the leading examples of low code applications that come with some of the best features to build an application. 

Pros of Low Code:

Some of the perks of Low Code development include:

• Speed: Low Code allows you to build apps for multiple platforms simultaneously, and lets you showcase working samples to stakeholders in a day, or even in a few hours.
• Single-click deployment: A single click is all it takes to send a custom application to go to production. The launch day deployment process is no longer nerve-wracking.
• Added development resources: Solution-providing companies can have more skilled resources freed up faster when using Low Code tools.  The wait for specialized coders with relevant skills gets shortened which means more projects can be completed in less time and at a lower cost.
• Low risk & high ROI: Low Code tools often have robust features and cross-platform support already built-in, that enable quick integration. Solutions can be customized easily with less risk, giving companies more time to focus on their businesses.

Cons of Low Code:

• Low-code requires its users to have an understanding of coding and coding languages. This is definitely seen as a hurdle when it comes to utilizing non-technical employees.
• Low-code usually calls for dedicated developers to create applications. This is paradoxical and can work against cost reduction and low timeframe gains that it appears to offer when creating an application. 
• Opting for a Low Code vendor may lead to vendor lock-in. This can cause problems in the future, especially if developers have gotten very used to coding with that particular platform. 
• Although Low Code makes it possible to create a working application quickly, these tools may not be conducive to the development of more complex enterprise-level apps or apps that call for greater integrations.
• It’s harder to achieve scalability, enhanced quality, and high performance with Low Code. Also, it is not easy to change these parameters within the platform.

#2: No-Code Development-

No-code, as the name suggests, is a form of application development that allows regular people or nontechnical employees to develop apps without typing a single line of code. Using No-code lets any business user or employee in the company create an application that they need to carry out a task or solve a problem. No-code application development platforms enable nontechnical employees to build the applications that they need on a shared platform using a drag-and-drop builder and an easy-to-understand visual interface. 

No-code vendors pack everything they feel users may need to build an app into the tool. No-code solutions are very similar to popular blogging platforms, and eCommerce website designs that have prebuilt page elements that can be used to launch a blog or business in minutes. With no code, teams of business users get the tools they need to create applications without any development skills.

As of now, No-code application development was generally used for building applications for a specific use case or department. Now, there are newer platforms that can build more complex enterprise-grade applications capable of serving needs across an organization. No-code application development can be used in industries like manufacturing, retail, logistics, and finance, among others.

Examples of No Code Development Platforms:

Some leading no-code development platforms are ServiceNow App Engine, Appy Pie, Airtable, AppSheet, and Jotform Apps. Applications build using no-code app development include Goodgigs, My Nursery, Kuery, Chant, and Princeton Concessions.

• Quick building: No-code is great for building simple apps to solve a single business or even a departmental problem. No more waiting for IT to build and deliver it 3-6 months down the road!
• No technical help needed: It lets employees create and deploy applications independently without asking the IT department for help each time.
• Quick deployment: No-code application platforms are simple and easy to get started with, meaning anybody can start building applications quickly.
• High on ROI: These tools facilitate building applications at a fraction of the time and cost that traditional development usually requires. This helps businesses save on time and money in the long run.
• Community support: No-code application development platforms are made especially for citizen developers and have communities of similar users. This is extremely useful in resolving problems quickly. 
• Easy improvement: Applications built using No-code can be updated easily, which means that these applications can be improved whenever needed.
• Custom solutions: No-code application development platforms can provide employees with a safe area to develop applications to solve their unique problems.

Cons of No-code:

• The most critical downside to No-code is that it can result in shadow IT where people develop apps without proper supervision or consideration.
• These apps can lead to integration problems, security concerns, compliance issues, apps using more resources than necessary, and increased technical debt.

Conclusion – When to Use What

Low Code is good for developing standalone mobile and web apps and portals that require integration with other systems, and several data sources. These tools can be used for almost everything except highly sophisticated, mission-critical systems that integrate with multiple backends and external data sources.

No-code tools should only be used for front-end use-cases. Unless it’s for developing the simplest applications, that require little by way of customization, Low Code is a better option.

If you want to understand how to integrate these powerful platforms into your app development strategy and how to get started, talk to us!

Related Software Development Blogs:

1. Aspects of Software Development.
2. Software Development Models,
3. Software Development Metrics & KPI’s.
4. Cost For Building Mobile Application.
5. What makes Startup To Outsource Software Development.

Computer programs have become a pivotal part of everyday tasks. Creating software is following a set of actions or steps correctly. Software development is the process used by programmers to create programs that help make specific tasks more manageable. Several phases are included to make the software meet user needs and technical specifications. These phases are called software development life cycle (SDLC), and software development companies follow this process to standardize the development process. This article will explain all the software development factors, including their types, history, problems, process, tools, etc.

History of Software Development

Before beginning to understand software development, it is essential to know its brief history. Every software requires an operating system to run, as each OS comes with unique features and functionalities supported by the software. This section will briefly explain the history of operating systems and programming languages used in the process.

• Operating systems: Operating systems act as a link to communicate and control different computer hardware. Hardware without an operating system will perform only limited tasks without synchronization between other hardware. Before developing operating systems, hardware needs to have the correct specification to perform correctly. As the need for computers increased, the complexity of using hardware increased. GM-NAA I/O by General Motors was the first operating system used professionally. Initially, every manufacturer would create their OS for their products. IBM was the name that focused on creating operating systems where created OS/360, PCP, MFT, MVT, and DOS/360 for large systems, mid-range systems, and small systems. Since then, there have been many operating systems for each manufacturer and their products. Computer systems, video game consoles, and mobile phones had several different operating systems. With the rising development in this area, only three operating systems remained highly used in personal computers; Windows, Linux, and macOS. With only three major operating systems in the industry, software development’s primary focus has remained to create a program supported by any of these platforms, depending on the target audience.
• Programming Languages: Software development has always been linked with programming languages. Programming languages relied on math notation and obscure syntax in the early stages. Created by Konrad Zuse between 1942 and 1945, Plankalkul was the first programming language. 1980 was when extensive changes were made in how programming languages were used. Since then, several notable languages were developed including C++, Ada, Tcl, FL, MATLAB, Eiffel, and Objective-C. However, the biggest phase in the history of programming languages was the post-1990s, when the internet came into the limelight. With new platforms for computers combined with better opportunities, JavaScript has become extensively popular. Another language that is used by legions currently is PHP.

Branches of Software Development

Software is an inclusive term divided into several other areas or branches. As there are numerous types of devices and each having its operating system and software type, there are several branches of software development that should be explained for a clear understanding. Software development has six different branches, which are explained below.

#1: Software Engineering –

Software engineering is developing software by using the correct practices, methods, and principles that have been developed with experience. Almost every software made through software engineering is highly effective, efficient, and reliable at its job. Software engineering occurs not to create a need but to cater the organizational needs. In other words, software engineering uses a systematic and disciplined approach to developing and maintaining software.

Software engineering is not just about working on the software; the engineers work with several components of the hardware system. Furthermore, software engineering is a team activity, and there is minimal possibility of an engineer working solely on a project. The basics of software engineering are that it commences only after the detailed idea of what the software will be and what needs it will cater to is determined. Every action is taken cautiously in software engineering; it is highly secure and keeps the data safeguarded. Due to this reason, several organizations make software engineering part of their software development process.

#2: Computer Programming –

Every machine needs some instructions to perform the desired task. Computer programming is similar to where the programmer writes certain code to guide the computer in performing the task. This code acts as the instruction which is used by the created programs to accomplish the right job. Several programming languages like Java, C, C++, and JavaScript are used for building unique and effective computer programs.

A source code is necessary to build such programs. Computer programmers write the source code; the source code is the assortment of code written in a specific programming language that other programmers can use. Furthermore, this source code should undergo a process called compiling. This code is converted into a language understood by machines to execute the actions and understand all the instructions specified in the code. However, there are some languages that do not require compilation. Instead, they use an interpreter which will read and execute the code for the machine.

#3: Video Game Development –

With the rising trend of EAsports and the gaming industry, it is crucial to know about video game development. Video games are also a type of software that follows a certain code and reacts as per the input given by the user. Development of video games includes designing, developing, and releasing the game for the users. Game developers conceptualize the entire game, generate the code, design the code, test it, and the final release takes place if everything goes well.

Video game development may sound similar to regular software development, but the psychology is entirely distinctive. Rather than software built to fulfill specific needs, video games are created solely with the motive of entertainment and fun. The developer must consider the game mechanics, in-game story, difficulty levels, and rewards. There is no professional need for a game; it must be highly engaging to keep the users hooked. A game developer can either be a single individual or a major enterprise. Games with their unique universe and engine take several years or even more than a decade to complete.

Unlike past years where larger games were just limited to PCs or consoles, the mobile gaming industry has also been on the rise. Currently, PC, console, and mobile games are developed constantly to cater to the ever-growing audience. Developers can also use game engines like Unreal, Game Maker, and CryEngine that make the overall development process uncomplicated.

#4: Web Development –

Web development is the process of creating websites for the internet. Web designing, programming, publishing, and database management are part of the web development process. There are several different types of websites like blogs, personal, and e-commerce websites, where each has a unique style and features that set them apart. Web development is often classified into two aspects; frontend and backend.

• #1: Frontend Development – Also referred to as the client-side. Frontend development is the part where the user interacts directly with the website. This part of web development includes different factors like HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Bootstrap, and Frameworks. HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the markup language used for designing web pages. HTML is like a blueprint of a website, around which the entire website will be created. Creating a dynamic website is done with the help of JavaScript scripting language. Cascading Style Sheets or CSS is a designing language used to make the website visually appealing. Apart from that, Bootstrap is used to create responsive websites that can be accessed on different devices and platforms without hampering the user’s experience.
• #2: Backend Development –As the name suggests, the Backend is the part where the users are not involved or where they do not interact directly. Backend development is more about the technicalities of web development and is only meant for admins. Backend developers create a code to establish communication between the database and the website. PHP, a server-side scripting language, is used to design the website. Furthermore, Java and Python make the website scalable and integrate systems to the site effectively.

#5: Web Application Development –

A web application is highly similar to a website that requires an internet connection and a web browser. However, they are interactive applications and come with several additional features compared to websites. In web application development, the developer will create an application on a remote server, and the user will use the same on their device through the internet. Unlike traditional applications that require installation on the local system, they can perform all the actions without installation. The development process is similar to the website, where frontend development is done through HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. The back-end development will include creating scripts and interfaces using scripting languages. Moreover, a database is also created to store the developed web application data.

#6: Mobile Application Development –

Over 5 billion smartphone users make the mobile application industry among the most prominent industries. Mobile applications development has its roots in software development, but minor differences exist. Every mobile application is made specifically for mobile devices, and features are made to support both hardware and software of the smartphone. From adding filters to the photos to using augmented reality for gaming or architecture, this is all possible through a smartphone because of the mobile applications created for it. Mobile applications face the same issue, much like computer software requiring minimum hardware requirements to reach optimum performance. However, the difference lies in their scale.

While building a mobile application, the mobile developer has to keep the application in mind. Even though several mobile app types, the two most renowned are native and cross-platform applications. Native applications are made specifically for a desired operating system or platform (iOS and Android), whereas cross-platform applications are made for Android and iOS.

Professionals Involved in Software Development

Software development is a comprehensive term, making it difficult for a single individual to master all the practices. Different professionals are involved in different parts of the development stage and type. Below explained are the different participants of the software development process and their primary contributions to the process.

#1: Software Developer –

Software developers are the ones behind the creative work for a program. Many people believe that software developers have to write just the code. Undeniably, writing the code is part of their primary jobs, but that is not the only task they are responsible for. They are the ones who will determine the behavior of the software, how it will respond to the inputs given by the user, the features that will make the software better than others, creating a roadmap of how the entire process will take place, and understanding and solving the technical problems along the way.
They also test the software, identify the scope of future updates and improvements, and collaborate with other members to keep the software bug-free. Every software developer should be technically sound in Java, JavaScript, Git, DevOps, SQL, Linux, and Oracle.

#2: Software Engineer –

Though a software engineer may sound similar to software development, several distinctive features exist between the two. A software engineer uses an engineering approach to develop software. They apply engineering principles for designing, maintaining, testing, and developing the software. A software engineer is trained to learn the correct programming language, architecture, and platform that make the software effective, efficient, and reliable.

Their responsibilities include writing the code, optimizing the software, designing and maintaining the software, collaborating with other engineers, specialists, and clients, and testing the code. To accomplish these tasks, every software engineer needs specialized skills, including proficiency with coding languages, an in-depth understanding of database architecture, cloud computing, operating systems, version control, and object-oriented programming.

#3: Consulting Software Engineer –

A consulting software engineer is a highly experienced and senior developer who enterprises mainly hire for their advice. From strategizing the development process to designing the software, consulting software engineers collaborate with software developers to develop a program. In most cases, the software will solve a business problem or cater to a specific need. However, it varies with the business goal of the organization. Unlike developers, their primary task is to provide the proper guidance for taking the correct business decision regarding software development projects.

#4: Computer Programmer –

A computer programmer may also be called a programmer or a coder as they are responsible for one of the most crucial tasks of software development; coding. Programmers are the ones who write the entire code depending on the requirements either given by the developers or through their research. Sometimes their roles and responsibilities include understanding the client’s requirements, designing the program, testing it, and using the best industry practices while writing the code to ensure that the built software is secure and reliable. To make coding efficient, they collaborate with other coders and designers and understand the most effective ways of reaching the goals. Even after all these tasks, their foremost responsibility will always remain coding. Almost every computer programmer is skillful in numerous programming languages, including C, C++, Java, Golang, Rust, Scala, etc.

#5: Software Publisher –

Software developed for the masses should reach the masses at the right time. Launching or releasing the software in the market is also called publishing. Sometimes, small organizations may create extensively usable software, but they lack the skillset or sources to release it efficiently. This is the part where a software publisher comes into play. A software publisher is mainly a company that releases software in the industry. Publishers will license the software and aid the developers in reaching the desired target audience.

The primary duties of a software publisher are providing technical support to the product, marketing the software, creating demand for the program, translating software elements into a local language depending on the release area, and promoting the software locally. Sometimes a publisher can also develop software.

#6: Web Developer –

A web developer will create websites and add all the elements to a site, visual or functional elements. Their responsibility is to ensure that the website is easily accessible, easy to navigate, and performs excellently. Their core roles are designing the website’s user interface, adding media, writing the code for the website, testing, diagnosing any underlying issue with the website, and teaming up with other web developers and designers for effective web development. Web developers are of three types; backend, frontend, and full-stack. Backend developers are responsible for writing the code, creating the entire structure, and testing the website. Front-end developers take care of the website’s visual elements and physical layout. A full-stack developer possesses the skills of both the aforementioned web developers and can build an entire website on their own.

Problems in Software Development

Software development is a lengthy process, and depending on its complexity and the features it provides, it may take several weeks, months, or even years. Even though the entire process is thoroughly planned, the probability of facing hurdles or challenges still exists. Some issues can be ignored, but a few problems should be tackled initially to avoid tricky situations in the future. Here are the major problems faced in the software development process.

#1: Shovelware –

One of the most significant issues with the software currently is shovelware. Every user wants to use finished software. Shovelware is used for all such software programs released for the users but are incomplete or quickly developed with several quality issues. Sometimes, the software can be forced on the customer, also considered shovelware. The primary reason for shovelware is the developers’ lack of time and effort in building the software. Apart from that, pressure to release the software early can also be the reason behind the same. There are stances when smartphones and computers come with software pre-installed. Some may be removed from the system, but users may not uninstall some software from their device. Whether it can be removed or not, it is still forced on the user and falls under the category of shovelware.

#2: Software Bloat –

Many developers want to add every feature possible to a single software. Though this idea may seem excellent as a developer, the software is made by keeping users in mind. However, as the number of features increases, the requirement for better hardware increases. Software bloat or bloatware is software that comes with several unnecessary features that consume a lot of RAM and memory. Not only are such features not useful for the user, but they also slow down the performance of the software, hampering the user experience.
Bloatware may exist in a newly launched software or come with a newer program version. The software may become slower with the new version and require more memory and better hardware specifications. Still, the new additions bring minimal change to the system, forcing users to upgrade their physical systems to get the most out of the software. Program bloat and library bloat are the two types of software bloat. Whenever there is unnecessary lengthy code that makes the system slow is program bloat. Sometimes, libraries are used in the build script but are no longer required in the software execution. These libraries can remain in the project for a long time, causing bloatware in the program. This unnecessary library can make the program slower and increase maintenance efforts.

#3: Software Bugs –

A software bug is an issue in the software that reduces its effectiveness, causes it to crash, or makes it unstable. Bugs in software are mainly caused due to errors in source code or insufficient logic. These can be in the form of defects, errors, faults, or mistakes that may provide unsatisfactory results from the program. No matter the bug type, it is mainly caused due to human errors. Before the software launch, the desired team will run several tests on it to diagnose any bugs. If any bugs are found, they are fixed as soon as possible to ensure that the program is stable.

Lack of testing and rushing the program’s release can be the leading reasons why bugs may be overseen before the release. Fixing the bug depends on its severity and how it impacts the user experience and its core functionalities. If the bug is causing the app to crash or make it unusable, it should be fixed as soon as possible. However, if it is not hampering the overall user experience or not troubling the masses, many developers tend to leave the code as it is to save their time.

Software Project Management

It cannot succeed without proper management, be it a regular task or software development. Software project management is a methodology to plan and lead software projects to reduce failures and boost success rates. Failure of software can be due to numerous reasons like lack of user involvement, below-par risk management, inaccuracy in analyzing estimates, unrealistic project goals, and poor development practices. Software project management includes some of the best practices like improving interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, change management, risk management, release management, project planning, monitoring, and execution.

However, one of the most significant practices is software configuration management, which tracks and controls every change in the program. It also includes baseline establishment and revision control. Software configuration management allows the developer to identify the changes made to the program and who made them. One of the reasons this method is popular in software project management is its ability to be replicated. If the set configuration is suitable, the developer can replicate it on other hosts.

Software Development Strategies:

Offshore Software R&D: When it comes to the most widely used software development strategy, offshore software R&D is the one to hold this title. Presently, the global software industry is spreading rapidly. India, China, and Israel are the leaders in software development, and other nations can use the services from these or any other country. Offshore software R&D is the way of getting software development services from a developer located in a different nation from where the software will be used. This software development strategy is excellent for all those nations where software development service is not efficient or is highly expensive. Getting offshore software R&D will be cost-effective and provide software development services from the top nations.

Software Development Process:

To develop software, a proper process is created and followed. The development process can be divided into smaller and sequential steps to ensure smoothness and improvement in design and management. Every aspect is covered in the process, from planning and release to maintenance. Though every developer follows their unique process, the structure remains the same. This section will elaborate on the software development process in detail.

#1: Software Release Life Cycle –

All the stages of software development summed up are called a software release life cycle. Everything is included in the cycle, commencing from the initial development to the final release and maintenance. Below explained are the different parts of the software release life cycle.

1. Stages of Development:
   • Pre-Alpha: 
     All the activities are done in the development process before actual testing fall under the pre-alpha category. Software design, development, analysis, and unit testing are all part of the pre-alpha phase of the software release life cycle. Numerous pre-alpha version types exist in an open-source development environment.
   • Alpha: 
     Alpha is the first phase of software testing where developers use white-box techniques to carry out their testing. The developers may also use the gray-box or white-box testing technique to ensure that the software is tested correctly. Once the team does the testing, this software will be called Alpha software. Even though it has been tested, the alpha software is still far from the final release. Alpha software may contain issues that can make the program unstable for the users.
     • Feature Complete: 
       In most cases, every alpha phase will conclude with the software being declared as a feature freeze. In this situation, no new feature addition will take place in the software. Apart from that, feature-complete software is when all the features planned initially are added to the software but are not made final due to existing issues or bugs. Even after the software is declared feature-complete, it still has to undergo beta testing.
   • Beta Test: 
     Beta is the second phase of software development and begins when the software is feature-complete. As underlying bugs or issues are probable in a feature-complete program, beta testing is done to eradicate and fix many issues. Unlike the Alpha phase, where the testing is done within the organization, users outside of the organization will test the software. However, the testing is done by only a limited number of people to identify bugs in the program without hampering the experience of the masses. Depending on the availability, beta releases can either be public or private. Every beta tester will use the software like a reviewer or a user and report any issue they face while using it to the organization. In most cases, beta testers volunteer themselves for testing and charge nothing. However, it varies with the beta release and the software type.
     • Open and Closed Beta:
       Beta testing is either open beta or closed beta, where open beta will be available for legions of people, and they are free to join the testing program. On the other hand, closed beta is only made for a limited number of people the organization invites. It all depends on whether the software organization wants to release an open or closed beta of a program.
   • Release Candidate:
     A beta version that can become a stable release if there are no major bugs or issues found is a release candidate. This beta version can be a crucial candidate for final release without any major code addition. When the product is in the release candidate stage, every product feature is planned, designed, coded, and tested in multiple beta cycles. The release candidate will be considered code complete when the team gives the nod to the existing code, eradicating the possibility of adding new code to the software. However, code complete software does not hinder the developers from improving the code by fixing vulnerabilities.
2. Release:
   As the name suggests, a stable release is the software’s final release candidate, which is ready for its final release. This version of the software has cleared all the tests by different teams, and all the bugs are also fixed. Any remaining issues in the software are considered insignificant and can be accepted by the users. Once all the approvals are attained, the stable release of the software will be moved to production.
   1. Release to Manufacturing: Any software version sent to hardware manufacturers for bundling it into their future hardware version is Release to Manufacturing. Often, the RTM program is provided to the manufacturers before the general public so that the final release can be coordinated. In addition, this action allows the software organization and the manufacturers to diagnose any other issue or bug in the system. Even though RTM is a final release for the hardware manufacturer, it necessarily does not imply that the same version will be released for the masses.
   2. General Availability: General availability is the release phase when the software is released to the general public. Mainly, it is a marketing stage in the process where the desired team has completed all commercial activities. Activities including regulatory tests, localization as per the region, and worldwide availability of the software, among others, exist in this phase. The time gap between Release to Manufacturing and General Availability can be a few weeks to several months, depending on the software and the company.
   3. Release to Web: Web release or release to the web is when the software organization produces no physical media for software distribution. Instead, the internet is used for this purpose.
3. Support: Software developers and distributors often release patches or new updates called interim or maintenance releases which either add new features, bug fixes, or both. Currently, the biggest example of support for the software is multiplayer games which are updated frequently to keep them engaging and feature-rich. Antiviruses are another excellent example of developers giving extended support to the software. Mostly, these support updates are free but can be paid, depending on the software and the update type.
   • End-of-Life:When there is a newer version of the software that replaces the previous one completely, the software organization decides to put an end to the older version of their software. Any software whose support is ended by its parent organization officially is considered its end of life. Even though the software may not get any new features or updates from its developer, it does not mean that the software becomes unusable from the date it is declared discontinued or retired. The software will continue to remain functional until users want to use it. However, any existing bugs or vulnerabilities will never be fixed by the developer.

Activities and Steps in the Software Development Process

The aforementioned was all about the software release life cycle and explained how a developed software travels towards its release. However, there are several activities and steps that the development team has to make to accomplish their software goals.

• Requirement Analysis:Requirement analysis is one of the most crucial actions in a software development process. It is the part where the development team studies the project’s needs and understands the requirements of different stakeholders. Without a doubt, requirement analysis is a lengthy and tiresome process, but it is equally essential for the development process. The three primary activities involved in this action are eliciting requirements, analyzing requirements, and recording requirements. Depending on the software, the right requirement is picked among business, customer, functional, architectural, performance, non-functional, behavioural, structural, allocated, derived, and design requirements. As there are numerous requirement types, the issues that come with this task are numerous. The primary one is stakeholder issues where problems like lack of clarity among users regarding what they want, technically unsophisticated users, poor communication between users, and a lack of knowledge on the latest technology by the users. Apart from that, several developer issues also exist in requirement analysis.
  • Software Development Effort Estimation: Before the actual development of the software begins, the team has to analyze different aspects. Software development effort estimation plays a significant role in requirement analysis. It is a process where the experts predict the most effort necessary for the development and maintenance of the software. They try to predict estimates as close to the actual time required. These efforts can be used for further planning like budget, investment, pricing, and project plans.
• Functional Specification: The functional specification is a document that defines all the functions of a software system. Every function mentioned in this document should be added to the final software, and it should showcase the user’s requirements. This document is the next part of the requirement analysis. The functional specification is crucial because it allows the developers to determine what they should build in the software, lets the stakeholders know the features of the software, and provides testers with the desired information on the tests they need to perform.
• Software Architecture:Building software is like erecting a highrise which requires a robust structure. This fundamental structure is called software architecture in software development, which includes all the software relations, properties, and elements. Often experts consider it a blueprint of the program as it covers all the aspects and tasks essential for the development. Experts understand that making a structural change in software is not just tedious but is proven to be hefty. Creating a software architecture helps the development team make the right choices, saving a significant amount of development cost for the company. Having software architecture boosts communication between the team and ensures that the design components of the project are aligned. Moreover, it motivates the team to make early design decisions that influence the system’s overall deployment, development, and maintenance.
• Software Design: No matter what the task is, optimum planning is essential to make the idea succeed. In software development, creating an outline of a software artifact to meet the set goals of the software is considered a software design. In other words, it is the process of planning a software solution to eradicate all the challenges and problems that can arise during the development process. Activities like framing, creating concepts, implementing, commissioning, and altering the systems to stay in line with the requirement specifications are part of this software design. Software requirement analysis is a significant part of software design that elaborates the software engineering specifications. Sometimes, people may believe that software design and analysis are the same concepts. However, software analysis is only limited to minor problems in the process. On the other hand, software design is more oriented towards software capabilities, leading to several designs for solving a single problem. Not to forget that a software design is a model as well as a process that allows the developer to elaborate on different characteristics of the program.
• Computer Programming: Computer programming is a crucial element of the software development process. It is the process where programming languages are used for computing and accomplishing tasks including algorithm generation, analysis, profiling algorithms, and implementing the algorithms. Picking the computer programming language depends on the developer’s preference, and multiple languages can also be used to write the source code. Through computer programming, the machine is guided to perform a particular task with the given output. Testing, maintaining source code, implementing a build system, and debugging are tasks related to computer programming. Sometimes people refer to computer programming as software development, but programming is just a part of the development process. Programming is all about writing and implementing the code.
• Software Testing: Imagine installing software with a unique feature, and when you begin using it, all you can see is a black screen or unresponsive software. The reason why such scenarios happen is due to a lack of testing. Software testing is the process of analyzing the behaviour of the software under different situations and circumstances. Tester’s goal is to eradicate as many bugs and issues from the software as possible and make it stable. Different testing techniques and types have been developed in the past years to make testing highly effective. Installation testing, compatibility testing, regression testing, smoke, and sanity testing, functioning testing, continuous testing, beta testing, and alpha testing are some of the testing types. Not just the performance but the security of the software is also tested during this phase. Testers tend to follow the dedicated process as well as its hierarchy.
• Software Deployment: After the software is developed and tested rigorously, it is time to make it available to the general public. Deploying the software follows a chain of interrelated activities, and this process is referred to as software deployment. As every software is unique, the deployment of two software is never the same. However, the minor differences between the processes and developers follow a general process and customize it to fit their software needs. Here are the general activities followed in the deployment process.
  • Release:The release activity is the actions performed to prepare the movement of the developed software to the computers in which it will run. The release process begins just after its development completes and is often the first step toward the software deployment. It can also include creating a plan for the deployment process in some cases.
  • Installing the Software: Software installation can be done on simple as well as complex systems. Simple systems require implementing certain commands, scripts, and services that will execute the software on the system. However, the process in a complex system is entirely different. Installing the newly developed software in a system may require investigating the user about the features they want to use, the purpose of using, any preferences regarding the software, and any specific configuration. After software installation, the next step is activating the software for the user to start using it. Activation of software can either be through the backend or by entering the activation key by the user.
  • Uninstallation: Opposite of installation, the uninstallation of the software is done when the user no longer requires it. In some stances, uninstallation can be done to reconfigure the software system. When software is uninstalled, the system configurations and data saved by the software are also removed.
  • Deactivation: As the name suggests, deactivation disables the application either temporarily or permanently. Depending on the reason for deactivation, the developer can also block certain software features only. Mostly, deactivation is done before a major upgrade is released on the server. The software can be deactivated permanently when the developers decide that there are insufficient users or their future software can replace the previous version. This deactivation reason is also called application retirement.  
  • Update: Software developers release newer versions of the software to keep it feature-rich and engaging for the users. When software is updated, it takes the place of the previous version of the same system. The typical updating process begins by deactivating the previous version and installing the newer version of the software. However, this process does not remove the software data or any configuration.
    • Built-In Update: Many software comes with an install updates feature built-in. iOS, Linux, and Android are the three major operating systems that support this feature in their applications. Depending on the preferences set by the user, all such applications can be updated automatically or manually.  
  • Software Maintenance: Pushing frequent updates for bug fixes or to release new features to existing software is part of software maintenance. It is the process of altering the software post its release. Activities like eradicating unnecessary features, improving the performance, fixing errors, and optimizing the software are all part of software maintenance. Much like the software development process, the software maintenance process also needs in-depth planning. The plan includes the number of users who will get the update at once, features released in the upcoming update, budget, and geographical area where the update will be released.

Software Development Methodologies

#1: Aspect-Oriented Programming –

Aspect-Oriented Programming in software development is a way to increase the modularity of the software by enabling the separation of cross-cutting concerns. In other ways, this rise in modularity in the code can only be done by modifying the code. However, this programming paradigm adds advice to the existing code without changing the existing software code. Here, the modified code is distinctly specified through pointcut specification. In that way, behavior not necessary or not focused on the business logic can be integrated into the software without changing the code. JavaScript, ActionScript, COBOL, .NET Framework, Delphi, Groovy, Perl, and PHP are some languages that have implemented this programming paradigm either as an external library or within the language itself.

#2: Cleanroom Software Engineering –

Developed by Harlan Mills and his teammates, Cleanroom Software engineering is a software development process that focuses on creating reliable software. Unlike a general software development approach where the goal is to fix the problems after they are identified, here, the defect prevention approach is considered. Without a doubt, quality assurance is a significant part of a software development process, but it is performed after completing all the other phases. Rather than doing so, quality assurance is part of every phase in cleanroom software engineering. This model follows several principles and practices, which help assemble coding, testing, designing, etc. Even though the ultimate goal of this software development approach is to enhance software reliability and defect prevention, the overall process can also enhance productivity while reducing its development cost. The general cleanroom software engineering process includes management, specification, development, and certification steps. However, the process varies with the software requirements.

#3: Iterative and Incremental Development Model –

The iterative and incremental development model is made with two different concepts used collaboratively in a single software development process for an effective outcome. Incremental approach is all about breaking down the entire software development process into small bits and parts called an increment. These increments are built on the previous version of an increment where every change or improvement is made in steps. Doing so ensures that the parts are easily managed, and the development is made with minor errors.
In an iterative model, the software development actions are repeated systematically in cycles where a new software version is created after every iteration till the developer attains the desired results. The primary reason for using the iterative and incremental development model is to manage software development projects with utmost efficacy.

#4: Incremental Funding Methodology:

Every organization creates software to provide something to the users while generating sufficient return on their investment. The incremental funding methodology takes the return on investment approach for software development. Here the software is developed to prioritize customer valued functionality chunks called Minimum Marketable Features. This methodology considers several metrics, including initial costs, NPV, the time required by the software to attain self-funding status and return on investment.
With IFM, crucial parties like stakeholders, developers, and customers can answer significant software development questions that will help create the right strategies and deliver the most suitable software. In simpler terms, the incremental funding methodology uses several techniques and principles that will help the developers increase the overall financial returns of software development from its investment.

#5: Rapid Application Development –

The rapid application development model is about rapidly creating prototypes of the software and obtaining feedback from the customers quickly during the testing cycles. The software development project can be divided into several small modules assigned to different teams. Each team taking the RAD approach can work independently to get the feedback and make the necessary changes to the module accordingly. All these modules can be combined in the development process to build the software.
The RAD process includes four phases: requirement planning, user description, construction, and cutover. The process starts with creating a rapid prototype of the software and delivering it to the customer afterwards. The developers will then collect the feedback on the software, create an SRS document based on the validated feedback, and finalize the software design accordingly.

#6: Rational Unified Process –

Developed by Rational Software Corporation, Rational Unified Process is a software development framework that focuses on building reliable and high-quality software while predicting a time and budget. The process is divided into four different phases, where each phase includes all the six development disciplines. These disciplines are business modelling, requirement, analysis, design, implementation, testing, and deployment.
The phases of RUP are inception, elaboration, construction, and transition. Each phase has a primary objective or goal which should be completed before moving to the next phase of the process. This was a generic rational unified process, but several developers customized the same as the software requirements and their expertise. With the right implementation of this process in software development, the overall development cost and resource wastage can be minimized.

#7: Spiral Model –

One of the most significant models in software development, the Spiral model, is all about managing the risk during the development process. Undeniably, developing software comes with its risks, and the developers should try to minimize this risk by all means necessary. The spiral model helps developers handle risk by following a set approach during different phases of the process. The name spiral comes from its visual representation, which seems like a spiral with several loops. These loops are different phases of software development, and every process has a different number of loops depending on the project and the risks associated with it.
Each loop is divided into four different quadrants, which fulfil a different function. The first quadrant is called objects determination and identity alternative solutions’, which focuses on attaining the software’s requirements and objectives and creating alternative solutions for this phase. The second phase is called identifying and resolving risks, where all the different solutions are considered, and the most suitable option is picked.
Developing the next product version is the third quadrant among the four, which is about developing and verifying the identified features. The last quadrant is review and plan for the next phase, where the customers assess the current version of the software, and if everything goes well, the planning of the next phase is started.

#8: Waterfall Model –

Being the foundation of several software development models, the Waterfall model was among the most widely used models for essential software development. However, with rapid development in new models, the usage of Waterfall has declined rapidly. Nonetheless, it is highly simple and user-friendly. This model divides the development process into different phases where the next phase can only begin after completing the current phase.
In other words, the outcome of the current phase will determine the input of the next phase, making the entire development process sequential. A basic waterfall model consists of six different phases; Feasibility study, requirement analysis and specification, design, coding, unit testing, integration and system testing, and maintenance. Though this model covers all the major aspects of the software development process, the biggest drawback is the lack of a feedback path.

#9: Extreme Programming –

XP or Extreme Programming is one of the most crucial software development frameworks due to its ability to enhance the software quality and responsiveness. In this model, the developer picks and uses the best software development practices that have shown results in the past and pushes them to extreme levels for the utmost outcome. Practices like code review, simplicity, integration testing, design, and testing are part of extreme programming. Extreme programming is highly applied to software due to the dynamic software requirements of the customer.

#10: Lean Software Development –

Lean Software Development is a framework used by the developers to optimize software development by using the right practices effectively. With this framework, software developers can eradicate unwanted steps in the development process that will save time and make the process uncomplicated. Furthermore, it focuses on a minimum viable product that prioritizes crucial functions for the process, removing the risk of spending time on inconsequential factors.
The LSD is based on seven lean principles for efficient software development, and those principles are:

1.       Eliminating the waste
2.       Fast Delivery
3.       Amplify Learning
4.       Builds Quality
5.       Respect Teamwork
6.       Delay the Commitment
7.       Optimizing the Whole System

#11: Scrum –

Scrum software development methodology is highly effective for smaller teams where their software development work is divided into goals. These goals or temporary blocks are short and range from two weeks to a month and are called Sprints. Every scrum team will analyze the overall progress through a daily scrum or time-boxed meeting. Once a sprint completes, the team will organize two more meetings to review the work, attain feedback, and implement the changes based on the received feedback.
Implementing this methodology in software development is to develop, deliver and sustain products in a complicated environment. The Scrum lifecycle includes six different steps:

1.       Sprint.
2.       Release.
3.       Sprint Review.
4.       Sprint Retrospective.
5.       Product Backlog.
6.       Sprint Backlog.

#12: V-Model –

Also referred to as the Verification and Validation model, the V-model is based on the waterfall model of software development. The processes in this model are executed consecutively, with each development activity having a corresponding testing activity. Akin to the waterfall model, the next phase can only begin after completing the previous phase. Visually depicted in the V shape, the Verification phases lie on one side of the V, and validation phases lie on the corresponding side. Coding rests at the bottom, joining the two sides of the model. The design phase includes requirement analysis, system design, architectural design, and module design. On the other hand, the testing phases include unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and user acceptance testing.

#13: Test-Driven Development –

Test-Driven development is a software development or testing method where the test cases are created rather than the code, which will specify the functions of the code. The code is written and tested based on the test cases. If the code fails, a new code is created to pass the test. However, the new code is only written if the automated test fails, preventing code duplication. Performing a TDD is a five-step process that starts by Adding a test, running all the tests, writing the simplest code, running tests, and refactoring code. The entire process is repeated for every new code added in the development process. The ultimate goal of implementing this approach is to make the code bug-free and stable for the users.

Agile Software Development Methodology –

The agile software development methodology is among the most widely used practices by the developers, including identifying requirements and improving the solutions through the combined efforts of cross-functional and self-organizing teams. These teams use practices like continuous improvement, adaptive planning, early delivery, recognizing existing problems, and evolutionary development. Agile software development is all about using its unique practices that expand to planning, designing, modelling, quality, testing, coding, risk management, and many others. These agile practices are cross-functional team, pair programming, self-organization, timeboxing, extreme programming (XP), an iterative and incremental development. Among these, XP and iterative and incremental development are already explained above, and the rest are elaborated below:

#1: Cross-Functional Team –

Software development is not just about coding or software features. Expertise in numerous different areas is required to develop reliable and efficient software. A cross-functional team is a group of people with expertise in different areas, including operating, finance, marketing, and human resources, that work collaboratively to develop the software. Even though a cross-functional team includes people from different levels of the same organization, it varies with the project requirements.
As there is the involvement of several people with different expertise, differences in opinion during decision-making are always observed. To avoid this issue, every team has a manager or a team leader who will be the final decision-maker. The inputs are obtained from every team member, but the final decision will always be of the team leader.

#2: Pair Programming –

Pair programming is an agile development technique where two individuals, called driver and navigator, work on a single workstation. A driver is responsible for writing the code, whereas a navigator will review each code line for any potential error. Both individuals may switch roles depending on the project requirements or preferences. Pair programming has become extensively popular because of its ability to detect mistakes effectively. A single person may overlook some errors in the code. However, when two minds are working on the same code, they review it differently and may point out issues that the other may have overlooked.

In pair programming, three different pairing variations are used: Newbie-newbie, expert-newbie, and expert-expert. The first one is a rare practice but may happen in a few organizations. Here, two new professionals with minimal experience work together to develop software. The expert-newbie is the preferred method for several entities as the expert gets a helping hand, whereas the newbie can learn from the expert. The last one is preferred for utmost productivity as two experts work on a single workstation.

#3: Self-Organization –

Self-organization or a self-organizing team is the one that does not rely solely on its team leader or manager to assign them work. Instead, they keep on looking for work and handle the responsibilities independently. Not only that but they lookout for the most efficient way of accomplishing their goal and find out the ways of improvement. However, discipline and using the correct principles is the way to fulfil this goal, and those principles are:

1.       Competency.
2.       Regular Growth and Improvement.
3.       Continuity.
4.       Trust.
5.       Collaboration.
6.       Ownership.
7.       Motivation.

#4: Timeboxing –

Timeboxing is the practice of setting a time limit for accomplishing a particular task. The teams implement cautious planning and estimation practices to minimize the risk of completing the activity. Teams practising timeboxing believe that instead of putting effort into a task until it is complete, it is efficient to determine a time limit and discontinue working on it after the limit is hit. Afterwards, the team will analyze the accomplished goals within the time limit.
Depending on the project and the team, the duration of a timebox may vary from a day to a few weeks. No matter what the outcome is, a crucial action by the team should be to stop their work after the time limit is reached and evaluate the outcome. The outcome can determine the effectiveness of the team and the areas where there is a scope for improvement.

Software Development Supporting Disciplines:

Software development is a perfect blend of different expertise for a common goal. However, certain disciplines are also there that the development team should master to get efficient results. Here are all the disciplines that support software development:

#1: Computer Programming

Computer programming provides the computer with a set of instructions on how the machine should respond to particular inputs given by the users. These instructions are written in a form of code by the programmers or coders and the language used in the process is called a programming language. There are several programming languages, and programmers try to learn as many as possible to expand their programming skills.
Writing the code is done on an IDE or a code editor. They write an assortment of code that other coders can also read and is called a source code. This code is then sent to a compiling process, where it is converted into a language that the computer or the machine can understand.

#2: Software Documentation

Documentation is an essential aspect of software development. It is a written text embedded in the software’s source code, which includes guidelines on how to use the software. However, the actual documentation content varies with the software and the user’s role. There are five types of documentation in software development; design, requirements, marketing, technical, and end-user. No matter the type, the purpose of software documentation is to act as a guide for the user.

#3: Software Engineering

Engineers are the ones who use specific techniques and the best practices to create or build something. The same applies to software engineering, which uses the same approach to develop or build software. The practices they use in the process have been developed by experts and are proven to provide the best results. A product created through software engineering is almost sure to deliver efficient and reliable software. Software engineers use specific tools to attain the desired outcome from software, not just the practices.

#4: Software Quality Assurance

Keeping an eye on the software development process and its phases to ensure that the process meets the set quality standards is called software quality assurance. The process includes all the phases and parts of the software development process like release management, software design, management, testing, source code control, and reviews, among others. The SQA happens after every phase of the development process to maintain the set quality.

Furthermore, it also covers compliance with the standards like SPICE, ISO 25010, or CMMI. Depending on the process, admins, developers, or managers can review the software and determine whether it meets the desired standards or not. Presently, SQA has become the standard method for ensuring that everything in the software development process is going as per the plans.

#5: User Experience Design

User Experience design is the process in software development that ensures that the software is user-friendly and gives the right experience to the users. User experience and user interface are often considered a synonym. Even though they are interrelated, UI is just a subset of UX. User experience design includes several areas like integrating a product, branding, features, and software usability.
There is no denying that the user interface plays a significant role in making navigation towards features easier for the user. However, the UX helps provide the best experience to the users while using the software. UX designers keep the user interface in mind and consider the efficiency and engagement of the software.

Software Development Tools:

Software developers use several developments or programming tools that help in creating, maintaining, debugging, and supporting the process. These tools may work collaboratively or individually to function as per the requirements of the software developer. The most frequently used development tools are the compiler, debugger, performance analyzer, graphical user interface builder, and integrated development environment.

#Tool 1: Compiler

Once a source code is written, the compiler will translate that code into another programming language understood by the machine. A compiler is also responsible for performing lexical analysis, preprocessing, code optimization, semantic analysis, and code generation. Cross-compiler and bootstrap compiler are two types of compilers where the former creates a code for a different processing unit or OS that the one on which the compiler is running. On the other hand, the latter is mainly a temporary compiler used for a better or more effective compiler.

#Tool 2: Debugger

A debugger is a programming tool that the developers use to test their created program. The developer will run tests on their created software through a debugger under a controlled environment that will help them determine whether the tested software’s outcome is satisfactory or not. The debugger will provide the developer with insights like memory usage, storage devices, test data, and CPU register.

#Tool 3: Performance Analyzer

A profiling tool is used to determine the actual performance of the software by running certain performance-based tests that will help a developer diagnose any underlying bottlenecks that might be hindering the software’s performance. Techniques like simulation methods, statistical actions, and event-based and instrumented practices are used to attain the desired results through profiling. In software development, the coders use profiling tools to evaluate the performance and find out the crucial code areas.

#Tool 4: Graphical User Interface Builder

Using a graphical user interface builder is an uncomplicated method of adding a graphical user interface to the software without writing code. The developer will use the drag and drop feature of a GUI builder, which will generate the desired programming code in the backend of the software. Most developers prefer GUI builders rather than adding the code manually because of the visual feedback that this tool provides and the feasibility of not adding any additional code. The GUI builder is specific for the programming language, so the developer should pick the code in which the software is built.

#Tool 5: Integrated Development Environment

Probably one of the most valuable software development tools, an integrated development environment combines all the frequently used tools in a single GUI. Tools like a compiler, source code editor, debugger, and interpreter are primarily present in an integrated development environment. IDE has combined several tools into one, eradicating the use of different tools, which makes it a preferred choice for developers. Rather than learning different tools, developers only need to learn IDE, and they are good to go. Furthermore, IDE helps the developers in managing their workflow.

Conclusion:

Software development is an arduous topic to talk. This article covered all the major aspects of software development, including the process, terminologies, team members involved in the process, tools, and disciplines. However, merely getting information may not be sufficient to build reliable software. If you want to have efficient and reliable software, you can connect with ThinkSys Inc for software development.

Whether it is mobile, or web software development, our team is proficient in building software of all types. 

What is a Technical Debt and How to Deal with it?

Often people take shortcuts while performing certain tasks due to several reasons. Without a doubt, it saves time and effort, but the repercussions of the same can be catastrophic. Sometimes, the same can happen in software development where developers take the shortcut to release the product early. Rather than thinking long-term, developers plan for short-term success which leads to issues in the future. Its correct term is Technical Debt and is highly common in the software industry. This article will elaborate all about technical debt, its different types, causes, how it impacts a business and the ways to manage it. 

What is a Technical Debt?

Whenever the word ‘debt’ is mentioned, a financial image forms in the mind. In the digital world, the term technical debt is when certain programming or coding decisions are made in the short term to boost the release of the product. In simpler terms, technical debt is the actions where the perfect coding is compromised to ensure rapid delivery of the software. It is often referred to as tech debt, design debt, or code debt.

Though they have minor differences, the core essence is the same as technical debt. The reason why it is called debt is that akin to financial debt where the borrower has to repay the debt along with the interest, the same has to be paid in software as well. 

However, the only difference is that this interest is not paid directly. It may not seem like a major issue in the beginning, but technical debt, when left unmanaged, can bring the power of computing to software. The commonest issue that this debt may bring is bugs in the software.

When there are too many underlying bugs in the software, the number of users will decline in the long run which might hamper the overall image of the program. Soon, the users will switch to other alternatives of the program and hence your software may soon become dead. 

With that in mind, a simple yet unmanaged technical debt could be as worse as making the software unwanted by the users. However, it does not mean that technical debt is all bad and nothing is good about it. When used in a manageable way, the same can help in making rapid changes in the software which can be loved by the users, hence making the software more usable by the users.

It could be said that much like the financial debt, the goodness or badness or a technical debt varies with the way how it is used by the users. 

What are the Types of Technical Debt?

There is no denying the fact that technical debt is an inevitable situation and will happen in every software development. The only difference is the way it is handled and what type of technical debt is existing in the development. Here are the different types of technical debt.

Type #1: Planned Technical Debt:

Sometimes, development teams plan to have a technical debt for certain reasons. In this case, in-depth research is done and all the consequences including the costs and risks are analyzed to minimize the undesirable outcomes. A planned technical debt requires a lot of precision to determine the outcome and the actions that the company has to make to manage the technical debt.

For instance, a company can prefer having a technical debt when they want to release their software within the deadline but are unable to do so if they prefer writing the perfect code. In that case, they may analyze the software and may delay certain features which are insignificant for the release. 

Type #2: Unintentional Technical Debt:

Opposite of the former, unplanned technical debt is the one that happens without any planning on intentions. Circumstances like rollout issues, improper practices, and lack of practice with new coding techniques could lead to an unintentional technical debt.

Sometimes poor quality code can lead to this technical debt type. It is often considered a highly risky situation as the developers may take a while to identify the technical debt and the software quality may hamper during that time. 

Type #3: Unavoidable Technical Debt:

Unavoidable technical debts are those that occur when the new business requirements are established, making the earlier written code outdated. Modifications in the business or changes in an existing technology for the betterment of the organization can lead to this debt.

These alterations are not just limited to the business, but the software as well. For instance, the addition or removal of a new feature or adding support to other platforms could lead to massive changes in the code which may ultimately lead to a technical debt that cannot be avoided. 

Technical Debt Quadrant:

Technical Quadrant is a technical debt model created by Martin Fowler which helps segregate the technical debt into four quadrants based on two different factors; whether the technical debt was deliberate or inadvertent, and was the decision prudent or reckless. 

1. Deliberate and Reckless: The first section in this model is deliberate and reckless where the technical debt is deliberate but the repercussions of the debt are not understood. Factors like long-term impact, approximate cost or expense, planning, and blast radius are not considered in this part which ultimately makes it fall in the reckless category. This category is mostly found in small-scale companies as they have to obtain rapid results.And, while achieving this goal, they end up being reckless while analyzing technical debt, resulting in poor results. Even though the debt was intentional, the outcome was not studied appropriately which could become an unsuccessful strategy for the software.
2. Deliberate and Prudent: Deliberate and prudent is the opposite of the former. Here, the technical debt is also intentional, but it is done in a planned way. The decisions made for the debt will be taken after analyzing all the considerations to take careful and effective action. In this section, the developers will consider risk management and create a plan of action to handle the consequences and reduce the damage to a minimum extent.
   The primary action here is to release the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) so that it reaches the customers as soon as possible. Furthermore, understanding their priority features and adding them rather than adding what the developers want in the software is the right course of action.
3. Inadvertent and Reckless: This is the part in the quadrant where the developers should be aware of the technical debt, but they aren’t. Even though no one can know everything about anything, certain things should be expected from a professional.
   Software developers should be able to understand the fundamentals of development and may identify common bugs in the program. However, recklessness or ignorance can lead to unwanted issues which could be avoided easily. All such issues that can be avoided by giving a bit of attention to the code fall under the inadvertent and reckless category.
4. Inadvertent and Prudent: Inadvertent and Prudent is the last part of the Technical Quadrant and the most complex one. Rather than doing or planning for the technical debt, this one is more about learning. Software development is all about innovation and learning new things. The motive of this part is to enhance the learning opportunities from the actions which will help in managing the debt and finding better ways to accomplish a task.

Causes of Technical Debt:

Technical debt can either be positive or negative for software but one thing is sure, it is caused by certain factors. These are some of the reasons that cause technical debt. 

1. Business Factors: In most cases, the software is created to support a business model or to align with the business ideas. However, the same business can hinder the right practice of software development. Due to business pressures, teams may have rushed to release the software quickly or with a minimal budget. When the process is rushed or the finance is limited, the code quality is bound to be compromised, hence leading to technical debt.
2. Development Process: There are stances when the concept is not documented properly. Due to this reason, the developers may start to have confusion during the entire development process. This confusion combined with a lack of test automation can lead to technical debt in the process.
3. Inexperienced Team: In software development, the more time a developer has spent working, the better chances of them finding the issues in the code. Sometimes, the existence of the technical debt is unknown, but an experienced developer can identify common issues. However, inexperienced developers may not follow the same path initially and may miss out on some of the issues. This is the reason why it is often said that there should always be an experienced developer in a team. Apart from that, lack of communication can also be the reason for technical debt in software.
4. Context Change: Sometimes, the technology or the requirements that were used earlier do not fit the software development process anymore. The only solution to that is changing the technology, process, or tools used earlier. This major change could result in technical debt.

How to Measure Technical Debt?

Before beginning to reduce technical debt, it is essential to determine how much technical debt you currently have. When it comes to measuring technical debt, the calculation of several metrics is necessary to have an accurate picture. Here are the different metrics for measuring technical debt.

#1: Cycle Time:

In general, cycle time is the duration or the time consumed to complete a task. In software development or programming, cycle time is the time between the first commit in the code section by the developer and the deployment of the code. A short cycle time showcases that the process is highly optimized which ultimately means low technical debt. On the contrary, a longer cycle time means a lack of code optimization and high technical debt. 

#2: Technical Debt Ratio:

Resolving an issue in the software will be done only through additional costs. The technical debt ratio is the measurement of the repair cost of software against the overall build cost. It helps in determining the quality of code. A lower technical debt ratio is preferred by the developers as it signifies higher code quality and a lesser probability of technical debt. The general rule of thumb is to aim for a five percent or less technical debt ratio. However, the preferred ratio varies with the developer as well as the project. 

#3: Code Churn:

Code churn is a crucial element in measuring the technical debt ratio as it helps in calculating the number of times a code line is deleted or replaced. In situations when a new feature is developed, there is a high possibility of code churn. However, as the product becomes older and several issues are resolved, the amount of code churn begins to reduce. If code churn still exists in high numbers, even after launch and bug fixes, it depicts that every iteration is coming with additional issues and errors. 

Best Practices to Manage Technical Debt

Knowing about the technical debt will help you make the right changes in the system or adopt the best practices necessary for improvement. Here are some of the best practices that assist in reducing technical debt. 

Practice #1: Understand that You Have Debt-

Oftentimes, companies have technical debt without benefiting from it or acknowledging it. Sometimes this debt can be beneficial and there comes a time when this debt is no longer beneficial for the company. Rather than just having technical debt without any benefit, it is best to acknowledge that the debt is no longer useful and should be reduced to make the software better. The sooner you understand that you have debt, the easier it will be for you to minimize it. 

Practice #2: Set Quality Standards-

One of the biggest reasons for unwanted technical debt is poor code quality. However, the reason is not incapable developers, but lack of quality standards in the code. Due to this reason, setting minimum quality standards will ensure that your code quality remains high which ultimately reduces the technical debt. 

Practice #3: Determine Your Right Approach-

To tackle technology debt, you should be clear on your approach to managing it.

• There are three major strategies to handle this debt and the first one is doing nothing. Even though it may sound like a lazy act, it is an excellent approach when the technical debt is beneficial for the product. The only thing that you should identify is the consequences of taking this approach. 
• The second is incremental refactoring where you need to work on every sprint to reduce the technical debt. Though it is highly effective in doing so, it is also an expensive way of reducing debt.
• The third approach is to replace the entire system. There are stances where legacy systems become highly complicated and fixing them by resolving minor issues is not efficient in the long run. Rather than fixing them, the best thing is to replace the system. Without a doubt, it will be hefty, but it remains to be the guaranteed way to manage technical debt in the long run. 

How Can ThinkSys Inc Help You In Managing Technical Debt?

ThinkSys Inc can help your organization in finding the right balance between managing and reducing technical debt. Our expertise in DevOps services combined with Cloud adoption, security issue detection, building, and many others will help in finding underlying issues in the code which will ultimately help in minimizing technical debt.

Furthermore, we are equipped with some of the best tools in the industry which will help in measuring this debt. Our practices like finding duplicate blocks of code, analyzing their pattern, and identifying bugs or problems in the code will be used appropriately in managing technical debt in your software. 

Technical debt will always be there in the process and it is not always bad. Much like traditional debt, how it is used defines its positive or negative effects. Managing the technical debt efficiently and using the best practices to minimize it is the way to get one step closer to a successful program. When technical debt starts to become unmanageable, it is best to reduce it to the minimum to avoid any negative effects on the program. 

Frequently Asked Questions

No matter what the task is, following a workflow allows the user to accomplish the task effectively. In the present times, almost everything is done digitally and through a certain type of software. Much like other tasks, creating software also has a set process that should be followed to build the software error-free and in the least time possible. The software process includes the development, implementation or coding, testing, and maintenance of the software. When done correctly, the created software could become the most effective and feature-rich in the industry.

Software is also divided into several categories, but the most significant parts of every software development lifecycle are software development and software testing. As there are different categories of software development, having the same model for every software type could not be highly effective. With that in mind, there are various software development models that should be followed for optimum efficacy for software development. 

Each software development model has a unique approach that supports the final agenda of the software. Some models are easy to implement whereas others may be a bit complicated for the developers. No matter what the type, the goal of every model is to make software development easier and more effective without compromising its quality. Below explained are the different types of software development models that are proven to be effective in software development.

Types of Software Development Models

Type #1 : Spiral Model –

Managing risk is among the most crucial aspects of every major task. The spiral model focuses on risk assessment and management in the software development lifecycle. As the name suggests, the graphical representation of this model appears to be in the shape of a spiral having several loops. Akin to other development models, this one also comes with several phases where each loop represents a phase.

There is no fixed number of phases for this model as the number varies with every project and the risks associated with it. Each phase is further divided into four parts where each part fulfills an essential function.

1. Find Objectives: Before creating software, its objective should be clear. The objectives are identified, explained, and analyzed in this part. Moreover, alternate solutions are also determined in case of any unforeseen circumstance. 
2. Determine Risks: This is the phase where the solutions are studied to understand the best outcome. The determined solution will be further analyzed for all the risks and the strategy is created to tackle the risk. 
3. Create the next version: Now that the risks are analyzed and the right strategy is created, the previously decided features are developed for the software. Moreover, these features are tested and verified as well.
4. Review: This is the part where every action done in the previous phase is reviewed and evaluated. Once everything is done, the work on the next phase begins with planning. 

Apart from risk handling, there are numerous other benefits of the spiral model of software development including requirement flexibility, customer satisfaction, and excellent results on large projects. On the other hand, its complexity, expensive pricing, complicated time management, and high reliability in risk analysis are some of the reasons why the spiral model is not preferred in some projects. 

Type #2: Waterfall Model –

The waterfall model of software development is among the most basic and easy models. In the initial days when this model was introduced, it was practiced widely due to its ease of use. However, as new models were introduced with better functionalities and practical solutions, the waterfall model was left behind. Even though it is not used directly, several other models are based on this software development model. 

The basic methodology of this model is that the software development process will be divided into different phases and the next phase can only begin after finishing the previous one, making it sequential. Requirement analysis, designing, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance are the different phases of this model.  

Being a basic model, it is easy to use, every stage is defined clearly, every step is well documented, and is suitable for small projects. On the other hand, there are certain limitations to this model. The first one is that there is very little scope of flexibility for error correction. If any mistake happens between the phases, there is no way to fix it until the entire process is complete. Moreover, there is no provision to skip, reverse or overlap any stages. Due to these reasons, this model is proven to be expensive and tedious.

Type #3: Validation and Verification Model –

Validation and Verification or V model software development is a linear model that goes downward till coding and begins moving upwards afterward and is derived from the waterfall model. The development model is planned in parallel where one side of the V includes verification whereas the other side is all about validation. Verification phases in this model include requirement analysis, system design, architecture design, module design, and coding. Every phase in this model has a corresponding testing activity or validation including acceptance testing, system testing, integration testing, and unit testing. The next phase cannot be executed till the previous one is completed.

V model ensures that the software quality remains top-notch through ample testing of modules. Early detection of errors in code, specifications, and architecture can be fixed which ensures that the software remains stable. However, changes in the code can be tedious and hefty. The model is highly effective when the project requirements are well documented, the team understands the technology, and the duration of the project is short. V model is a highly disciplined model that is uncomplicated to understand and manage. However, there are several drawbacks of this model including high uncertainty, ineffectiveness for long projects, and software becoming functional late in the development. 

Type #4: Iterative and Incremental Model –

The Iterative and Incremental model is divided into two parts with their respective names. In the incremental model, the process is segregated into small portions called increments where every portion is created based on the previous version. This approach ensures that the newer version is better and improved than the previous one. On the other hand, the iterative model makes use of iterations that are activities repeated systematically where a new version is built after every cycle till the desired program is built. 

In the majority of cases, both these approaches are used simultaneously to ensure that the created software is effective. The benefits of this software development model include reduction in delivery cost, faster software delivery, flexibility to make changes in the software midway, and the ability to create organized prerequisites. 

On the other hand, there are several drawbacks to this model as well. The first one is the actual cost of the program. Even though it may reduce the delivery cost, the overall cost is still on the higher side. In addition to that, it also needs the arrangement of cycles and requires a robust plan to make any alterations to the plan in case of any necessary changes. 

Type #5: Rational Unified Process –

Created by the Rational Corporation, this model is also known as the unified process model and is designed through unified modeling language. This model is a blend of the iterative and linear framework which lets you create working and flexible software. The entire model is divided into five phases; Inception, Elaboration, Construction, Transition, and Production. The first phase is all about organizing prerequisites, understanding the risks, and the scope of the software. In the elaboration stage, a working structure of the program is created that will reduce the risks. The third phase is more about creating the software by integrating codes and functionalities. The fourth phase is the transition where the software is moved to production and deployment. The production phase is the part where the created software is maintained and updated. 

Type #6: Prototype Model –

Every software is created for the end-users which is why understanding their needs should be the creator’s responsibility. The prototype software development model is based on the same psychology where the development team will understand the needs of users and create a program based on the information. The developers create a working prototype of the software and are continually developing and improving with the feedback its users provide. Upon the success of the prototype, the final software is put into production. 

One of the best things about this model is that it minimizes the alterations necessary by the development team as they already know what the user wants which ultimately saves a lot of time and effort. However, the downside of this is that it may drastically raise the overall production expenses. Moreover, after the final prototype is pushed forward for development, it will not accept any further changes, making it less rigid in the final steps.  

Type #7 : Rapid Application Development Model –

Also known as the RAD model, this one is similar to the prototype model. However, it is more about developing the program rather than just planning. Here, the developers will focus on delivering the project in small bits whereas the larger projects are also divided into small parts. Reusing the tools, code, templates, and processes is the highlight of this SDLC model. 

The model is divided into five different phases; Business modeling, data modeling, process modeling, application generation, and testing and turnover. 

1. Business Modeling: The first step is business modeling where the flow of information and distribution on business channels is identified and the product is designed accordingly. 
2. Data Modeling: Once the data is collected through the previous phase, it is processed into data objects relevant to software and business.
3. Process Modeling: The data process from the data modeling is altered to understand the data flow which will be implemented in the business.
4. Application generation: Upon collecting the data, the next part is to build the software through automated tools, and create prototypes based on data models.
5. Testing and Turnover: The last phase in this model is testing and turnover where the prototypes are tested in every part, reducing the overall development time. 

The reason why this model is preferred is that it can help in creating the software in a short span. In addition, it is highly effective when the software requirements are known, the risks are less, and the budget is sufficient to use automated tools. 

Type #8: Agile Software Development Model –

Probably the most widely used software development model, the Agile model is built on the iterative and incremental model. Being an adaptive model ensures that the software is delivered faster. The faster delivery is done by eradicating unnecessary activities that may consume additional time and adapting the process as per the project. One distinctive factor about this model is that it is not just a model, but a group of development processes that have certain similarities and differences. 

Type #9: Scrum

When it comes to the most far-famed Agile model, Scrum is surely the one to win the title. The iterations in this model lie between one four-week sprint where software engineering teams will analyze the last spring, make necessary changes to it and create a robust plan for the next sprint. Once a sprint activity is defined, there is no going back and the changes cannot be made. There are three different roles in the models. The first is the Scrum master who is responsible for arranging the meetings and eradicating any underlying hindrances in the process. The next is the product owner who creates the product backlog and handles the distribution. The scrum team is the last role that handles the entire work and organizes the tasks to complete the cycle. 

Type #10: Extreme Programming (XP) –

Unlike the Scrum model, the Extreme Programming model allows you to make alterations after the launch of iteration. The only condition is that the team should not work with the software. In this model, the iterations are between one to two weeks. The model makes use of development based on several tests, pair programming, CI, uncomplicated program design, and small releases. This model is highly useful when there is frequent change in customer needs.

Type #11: Kanban –

Kanban is the most unique model in all Agile models as it does not have any pronounced iterations. Even if there are any, they are mostly daily sprints. The entire model uses visualization of the details of the project which helps the developers in focusing on the crucial features during development. Here, the teams use the Kanban Board tool where sticky notes are utilized to keep the team focused and to highlight any scope of improvement. As there is no major planning, the model can be ineffective for long projects. However, this same feature allows the team to make changes whenever they want. 

Type #12: Lean –

The Lean model of software development is all about diminishing waste, optimizing production, and putting extra focus on new deliverables. All the unwanted processes are eradicated in the model to save development time. Moreover, it gives importance to all the essential functions of the software to keep it as feature-rich as possible. However, decision-making in this model is complex as the customers have to make their requirements clear. The model has seven principles and each one focuses on a special area. Those principles are eradicating waste, faster delivery, amplifying learning, optimizing the system, embracing teamwork, enhancing quality, and deferring commitment. The entire notion of this model is to optimize the process and resources. Using stream maps which leads to the eradication of waste due to duplicate efforts is also part of this model.

Type #13: Aspect-Oriented Software Development (AOSD) –

The software development process includes several approaches like object-oriented, procedural, and structural programming whose primary motive is to make the software stable and resolve all the underlying issues. Still, there can be a possibility of missing out on some issues. The Aspect-Oriented Software Development approach is implemented to minimize this situation as much as possible. This model addresses the issues that may be missed by the aforementioned approaches. This model uses systematic identification, representation, separation, and composition to make software development effective and reduce crosscutting concerns.

By ensuring an excellent modularization program design mechanism, AOSD drastically reduces the design, maintenance, and development cost of the software. Furthermore, it addresses the cross-cutting issues which ensure small-sized codes.

Type #14: Test-Driven Development –

In Test-Driven Development model, several test cases are created to understand the outcome of the code. Here, the code is tested rigorously in the test cases and if the test fails, the earlier written code is eradicated and new code is written. Afterward, the entire process is repeated till the test is passed. The reason why such a severe testing process is done is to ensure that the code remains bug-free and simple. New code is only written by the developers when a previous automated test is failed.

Developers write small codes during TDD tests to ensure that they pass the test and prevent code duplication. The TDD process begins with adding a test and moving forward to running all the tests to determine whether there is any failed test or not. In case there is a failure, the required improvements are made to the code to test it again. If everything goes written, the code will pass and the same process will repeat for other parts of the code.  

Type #16: Cleanroom Software Engineering –

In the traditional software development approach, quality assurance plays a significant role and is mostly done at the culmination of the process. The traditional method has worked wonders in the past, but it relies on eradicating the bugs and issues in the end. Developed by Dr. Harlan Mills, the Cleanroom Software Engineering method is all about performing quality assurance at every phase of the development process. The idea here is to prevent bugs from happening by testing in the initial stage rather than removing the bugs at the final stages. In addition, it removes the dependency of the team on expensive testing processes.

In most cases, a box structure modeling approach is used in this model where a box is used which is a container that stores information about the system. Mainly there are three types of boxes; Black, State, and Clear box. The black box identifies the system behavior, the state box identifies the state operations or data, and the clear box classifies the transition function of the state box. The reason why this approach has become widely popular is that it helps the team in delivering excellent quality software, boosts productivity, diagnoses errors in the initial stage, minimizes development time, and saves a lot of resources. 

Which is the Best Software Development Model?

Everyone wants to use the best software model for their program. However, there is not the best model that works for everybody. Rather, the model suits as per the requirements. Certain factors should be analyzed to understand which model will be best for you and your customers. 

The first thing that you should determine is the level of flexibility you need in development. The waterfall model is great for applications that need high stability whereas the Agile model is excellent for web applications where continuous changes are required. In addition to that, you should also keep in mind the end-users of your program before picking a model. For instance, if your end-users include a variety of groups with diverse features, Agile should be your choice. On the other hand, waterfall works great for a controlled group of users. 

Conclusion:

It is fair to say that no fixed model fits the needs of every software type. At ThinkSys Inc, rather than trying every model, the experts take the suitable approach by understanding the models and determining whether it will be best for you or not. Undeniably, making the right decision in software development is essential as it will impact not just the developer, but the end-users as well. With that in mind, the experts at ThinkSys Inc analyze the different features of the aforementioned models and take the right decision for your software. 

Talk to our Experts For any Software Development Related Queries

Software is only recognized if it solves a problem or reduces the efforts of the users. In a software development process, the entire software team puts in all their efforts to make sure that the created software meets what they were planning to achieve. Sometimes, the software teams accomplish the goals on time whereas, in some cases, they failed to achieve the desired results on time. In the majority of cases, the latter happens when the team ignores several metrics and performance indicators of the software development. 

Keeping an eye on the software development metrics and KPIs will identify how the development process is going and the results will highlight any missing elements along with the areas where improvement is required. Entry-level teams miss out on tracking the right software development KPIs and metrics due to which they remain indistinct on how their software development progress is going. To aid all such developers and their teams, this article brings all the primary metrics and KPIs of software development. 

Software Development Metrics 

Software development metrics are several attributes that are calculated to analyze whether the software development process is aligning with the set goals of the team members. These metrics will assist in identifying issues in the development. No matter whether the results are positive or negative, they are going to help the team in enhancing the overall development process. When the results are positive, the team will get better recognition, hence encouraging them to perform even better. On the other hand, if the results are negative, it will motivate the development team to fix the issues as quickly as possible to make the process better. Considering that fact, here are the foremost software development metrics that should be analyzed to boost the overall software development process. 

• Work in Progress: As the name suggests, work in progress is the software development task on which the team has started working on and is not in the pipeline anymore. Understanding the work in progress metric will allow the software development teams to have a clear picture of the amount of work finished by the team along with the actual amount of work pending. Furthermore, it will aid the team in managing the tasks more effectively and reaching their goals within the deadline. 
• Sprint Goal Success Rate: Software developers create a sprint backlog that has several items from the product backlog which the team will work on in the future sprint. Sprint goal success rate calculates the ratio of tasks fulfilled by the team in the sprint backlog. Sometimes the team may accomplish the task whereas there is a possibility of failure. Even if the team is unable to reach their sprint goals, the progress they have made in the process can be considered as done. 
• Defect Detection Ratio: Without a doubt, defects are inevitable in software. Even though they cannot be eradicated, they can be minimized to much extent through this metric. It is the percentage of the number of defects identified in the software before its release with the number of defects found after its release. The calculating formula is A/(A + B) where A is the number of defects found prior to releasing and B is the number of defects found by the users post-release. The higher number will depict that the development team was effective in diagnosing issues during the development process and before the actual release of the software for the users. 
• Peer Code Review: During software development, ensuring that the code quality is maintained throughout the process is necessary. Peer code review metrics will be done by experienced members of the development team who will keep an eye on the spot-check projects to make sure that code quality remains top-notch. In addition to the quality, the time consumed to write a code and fix an issue is also calculated in this metric. Peer code review will not only let the team know about their code quality but makes them aware of their actual productivity. 
• Version Control System History: Version control system history will depict the pattern of past productivity by the same team. In case the codebase has existed for a long time, using VC history tools like CodeScene will help in getting insight from this development metric. Such tools will monitor the version control history and determine hotspots in the software code. By looking at the areas where the most logical changes occur frequently, the development team can remember the nature to make the code better in the long run. 
• Meeting Release Date Targets: There is a timeline set for every software development including its release date. This is among the most crucial targets in software development as several other teams work collaboratively to meet the release date target. On the other hand, there are stances when certain features should be implemented in the software before release. As different managements are involved in the releasing process, appropriate communication between the development and the product management teams is necessary. When the software hits the release date targets, it showcases that the teams are not only productive in development but are coordinated with other teams as well. 
• Measuring Meeting Time: Without a doubt, a team needs coordination while working on a project and that coordination is achieved through Scrum meetings. If a software development team is having long standup meeting times frequently, it could be a sign of inefficiency in preparing Sprint stories. Furthermore, it could be a sign that the team requires extended time in meetings to discuss stories while backlog grooming. However, the number of team members participating in the Scrum meetings should be analyzed as well. When the entire team is not available in the meeting, the final results you will get may not justify the performance of the entire team. Moreover, assessing the meeting provides the right insight into the way how the development team is communicating in the meeting and its effect on the software development. 
• Quality Assurance Kickback Rate: Upon resolving an issue in the software, the developers will send the issue to the quality assurance team for evaluation. Sometimes, the quality assurance team may kick back the same to the engineers. Even though kickbacks can never be eradicated, a substantial rise in the number of issues can showcase a lack of efficiency within the team. Moreover, kickback of the same issue multiple times should also be monitored for better measurement of the QA kickback rate. 
• Adding New Features: The final phase of software development is operations and maintenance where the team keeps on adding new features to the software with each update. A productive and efficient team will not wait for the users to ask for new features. Rather, they must work on adding new features before the users expect them. Not only that, but the development team will remain constant in doing so to keep the software up and running. Measuring the rate of adding new features in the software will showcase how the development team is taking the right efforts to keep the software functional for the users. 

Software Development Key Performance Indicators(KPIs)

A software development key performance indicator will help in understanding the way how the development process is working and whether the entire development team is going on track or not. Using the right KPIs is essential for not just attaining accurate results but to attain the actual depiction of the software development process. Almost every KPI is a quantitative measurement of the results obtained during software development. 

Measuring KPIs provide tons of benefits for the development team including better outcome, transparent business perspective, alignment of the process with the business goals of the software, and coordination within the team members. With the right understanding of the key figures through KPIs, the developers can accomplish their goals within the set timeline and the budget. Even though there are legions of KPIs for software development, measuring each one of them is not necessary and may consume unnecessary efforts. The section below focuses on the software development KPIs that bring the utmost value to the software as well as the development team. 

1. Lead Time: Lead time is probably the metric that takes the longest time to calculate. In this metric, the duration of the entire software development process is included, starting from the beginning till the very end. In other words, the lead time begins with the initial proposal of the software by the development team and culminates at the final delivery of the software. By understanding the lead time, the team can understand the actual time taken to complete the entire development process. 
2. Net Promoter Score: Without a doubt, every software is created for a customer. Sometimes the customer can be regular users whereas, they can be corporates too. No matter the customer type, the only thing matters is their satisfaction. If they are satisfied with your software, they are going to use it and your future products. However, if they feel like your developed software is not effective, they might switch to some other program. During the development, you use the Net Promoter Score that helps in measuring customer satisfaction.
   This metric showcases the number of customers who refer your product in their group. Through NPS, you will get a score between -100 to +100 where – 100 depicts that none of your customers are referring you whereas +100 shows that all your customers refer you in their groups. The correct way to calculate the right number is by considering promoter and detractor and ignoring the passive as they have little to no impact on the result. With the higher result, you can know that the developed software is effective in satisfying customers’ needs. In contrast, the lower score shows that certain changes have to be made in the final decisions to make the newly developed software better. 
3. Velocity: Velocity is among the foremost KPIs for software development preferred by experienced developers to analyze the work that can be accomplished by the development team within the given time or sprint. The primary reason why this metric is preferred by developers is its assistance in planning the future sprints as well as forecasting the number of iterations that may be required by a project. Velocity is measured in either story points or hours.
   In order to calculate the velocity of the team, it is essential to determine the average speed of the team. Imagine that a team completes 80 story points within the first sprint followed by 100 and 120 story points in the second and third sprint respectively. The average of these three sprints comes out to be 100 which can help in forecasting the time the team may take to complete the project. Putting it in a real software development scenario, if a project requires 600 story points, then the team needs six iterations to complete the development. The general rule of thumb is the higher velocity showcases better productivity by the software development team.  
4. Cycle Time: Cycle time is the time spent by the development team while working on a task. By calculating this agile software development KPI, you can analyze the efficacy of your team in the software development process. Furthermore, it will allow you to foresee the time the team may take to add any new features to the software. Apart from that, the cycle time will help in finding any slowdown or vulnerability in the development process that might be the cause of additional delay.
   The formula for calculating cycle time is X – Y where X is the culmination date of a cycle and Y is the beginning date of the cycle. To further expand the effectiveness of the cycle time indicator, a chart can be used which will display the time consumed on the tasks visually. Using a chart will help in comparing the cycle times and allow the team to have a better insight into the time spent on tasks. 
5. Code Coverage: Code quality plays a crucial role in the overall software development. Code coverage software development KPI is used by the development team to analyze the overall code quality. Certain software development lifecycles use test-driven development and continuous delivery and code coverage has been proven effective in measuring such SDLCs code quality.
   Here, the amount of successfully validated code lines in the test procedure is measured. Measuring the number of successful lines of code helps in determining the testing of the software code. Code coverage percentage is calculated by the following formula: CCP = (A/B)*100. A signifies the number of code lines executed by the testing algorithm and B signifies the total number of code lines in a system. The higher the code coverage score the code gets, the better it is in terms of being bug-free. The goal is to make the software error-free and code coverage allows the development teams to identify the compromises made on the code and fix the issues beforehand. Click here to know more about software testing metrics and kpis.
6. Cumulative Flow Diagram: Stability in the workflow is necessary for software to become effective. A cumulative flow diagram is one of the most significant software developer KPIs that covers the three crucial elements of a workflow and displays the result in a visual format. Throughput, cycle time, and work in progress are the three metrics covered in this diagram that showcase the stability of the workflow, allowing the development team to put some additional focus on enhancing the development process. Moreover, the diagram will provide insight on not just existing but previous problems which can be used to visualize the data and improve the overall workflow of the software development process. 
7. Sprint Burndown: Sprint burndown is one of the best KPIs for software development which displays the remaining time to accomplish an earlier planned task. Tasks in software development are divided and they should be completed within the given timeframe. Sprint burndown will help in providing the remaining time which can be used by the development team to determine whether they can complete the sprint within the deadline or not. In case the sprint burndown shows that the task cannot be completed by the deadline, then it is crucial to amend the process, and identify the vulnerabilities that led to delay in the process. Not only sprint burndown helps in tracking the overall progress of the development process, but also notifies the team about the hurdles in the process and helps them in knowing if they can meet the set target or not.
   The sprint burndown chart is created to track the performance of the team. The chart consists of the X and Y axis where X represents the story points remaining in the backlog whereas Y-axis represents time or day in the sprint. Furthermore, there are two lines in a graph where the first one is a dotted line and the other is a solid line which showcases the remaining work in the sprint and the actual state of the workflow respectively. When the dotted line is above the solid line, it depicts that the team is running behind the schedule and needs to make certain changes in the process to bring the workflow back to track. On the other hand, if the dotted line is below the solid line, the team is working efficiently and is running on schedule.  
8. Bug Rates: No software is entirely bug-free and certain bugs are always there in every software or program. However, the developers study the bugs and determine whether they should put the effort into fixing the particular bug or not. Bugs always affect the experience of the users which is why keeping a count is always essential. Bug rates KPI assists in tracking the number of bugs found in the software whenever a new update or a feature is added.
   Majorly, bugs the measurement of bugs is categorized into two parts; the total number of bugs and the severity of the bugs. The team can measure the total number of bugs and fix a maximum limit of bugs in software. Furthermore, the severity of the bugs should be minimal and should not lie within the medium to high range. In case the number of bugs is more than the fixed acceptable number or the severity of any bug is above the medium range, it is time to fix the code and make the necessary adjustments.  
9. Release Burndown: Release progress is another important metric that is measured by release burndown. This software development KPI identifies whether the team can release the final software within the specified deadline or not. Through this KPI, the developers can know how their team handles the backlog, foresee the sprint numbers that should be completed and the release date of the software as well. Release burndown is also a graph that displays data visually. There are X and Y-axis which show the sprints and story points respectively. By analyzing the visual representation of the release burndown, the development team can determine the expected finish date of the project. 
10. MTBF and MTTR: Mean time between failures and mean time to repair are two software development indicators that focus specifically on software failure. There is no denying the fact that software failure can happen anytime and to any software. However, it is the efficiency of the development team that will repair the software.
    Mean time between failures is the average time between two failures. On the other hand, mean time to repair is the average time consumed in repairing the software post-failure. MTBF can be calculated by total uptime divided by the total number of breakdowns. The formula for calculating MTTR is total downtime divided by the total number of breakdowns. Calculating both MTBF and MTTR will help in evaluating the overall productivity of the software development team. 

Conclusion:

Every software development metric and KPI is used solely to enhance the productivity of the team and reach the desired goal within the deadlines. These are the top metrics and KPIs that will help your team in optimizing the process and help you in precisely planning your process. ThinkSys Inc provides the experience of expert software developers who can help you in achieving the right results by identifying accurate software metrics and KPIs for your software development process. By studying the entire process along with your business logic, the experts at ThinkSys will set the correct KPIs that will align with the software to derive the best outcome.

If you want to attain the risk-free software, then ThinkSys Inc is your best entity to connect with. 

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3. Software Development Aspects.
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5. Cost Of Mobile Application Development 2022.
6. Top Web Application Framework 2022.

With the rising trend of using applications, every organization or individual wants to build an application to connect with people across the globe. Nothing in this world is free and that includes application development as well. As the demand for mobile applications rises, the pricing of the development team rises as well. When it comes to the exact cost of app building, it is always hard to define an accurate value and it mostly varies with several factors. 

However, the foremost thing that everybody would like to know is the cost of app development along with the different factors that influence the pricing. With that in mind, this article will explain all about the cost of building an application including global cost, types of app development, different features that impact the cost, and maintenance cost, among others. 

Cost of App Development Globally: 

As mentioned above, the accurate cost of application development varies with several factors including the location, application type, and features added in the application. However, in general, the cost of app development lies within $20k to $250K approximately. One of the biggest factors that will impact the overall development cost of an application is the location of the app developer.

With the above information, it is clear that the cheapest country for app development is India whereas the USA is the most expensive one. However, this does not imply that the most expensive country is the best or the cheapest is the worst. Several other factors influence the overall costing as well as the quality of the app development. Due to budget constraints, many organizations may prefer to outsource this task to developers overseas. Without a doubt, this is the right approach for plenty of users, but that comes with certain considerations as well. 

The foremost barrier that you may face is keeping a tab on the developer. When the developer is overseas, monitoring their work or getting an update might be a daunting task and may not be done frequently. Not to forget the communication gap due to language as well location. One noteworthy thing is that there is quite a difference between the costliest and the cheapest country for app development, but the quality benchmark is maintained in every nation. The final per hour pricing of developers of different regions differs based on several other factors which are discussed further.

Types of App Development and Its Cost:

Though certain mobile applications may seem similar, there are tons of differences between them that are unknown to the users. Mobile application development is divided into three types where each one costs differently from the other. 

1. Simple Application: The first one is a simple application, and as the name suggests, is uncomplicated to develop. In most cases, the entire development process of simple application lies between three to six months. Moving on to its overall cost, then these types of applications mostly cost somewhere between $40,000 to $100,000. 
2. Medium Application: The development of medium applications is a bit more difficult than the simple application which is why they take six to nine months for development. Furthermore, the cost of development rises from $100,000 to $150,000. 
3. Complex Application: The most time-taking as well as the most expensive application, Complex apps tend to require a lot of work than the former types. With higher complexity, the overall development time increases to over 10 months and the cost goes up to $300,000. 

Features of Application that Affect the Overall Development Cost:

Mobile applications become successful when they are loaded with not just features, but useful features. When you are planning to create an application, the features you integrate plays a significant role in its final development cost. Implementation of certain features can be uncomplicated whereas some features take several hours to integrate. Let’s dig deeper into different features of mobile applications and the difference they can add to the overall development cost. 

1. User Login: User login is an essential feature for an application that provides subscription-based services. Other application types like e-commerce, informational, or others may also have this feature to offer a customized experience to the users. In most cases, the developer has to add login options from email, and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Gmail. Additionally, adding a logout option along with forgot password is mandatory as well. Adding these features may take 28-48 hours and the development cost could increase by approximately $1600. 
2. Basic Messaging: Messaging functionality is not just limited to dedicated messaging apps. In the present time, e-commerce comes with messaging to share items with other users and music streaming applications also have such functionality to share playlists. The basic messaging features that can be integrated include online status, media file sharing, conversation details, and read receipts. Adding these features may consume over 160 hours that could cost nearly $6500 extra. 
3. Creating and Editing Profile: Creating a profile is essential if the application wants to provide a better and more customized experience to the users. The ability to add display pictures, their geographical location, and other necessary information are among the crucial features to add to an application. Furthermore, profile editing features like changing passwords, email, payment methods, and pictures are some additional yet essential functions for an application. Adding profile creating and editing features may consume somewhere between 55-80 hours which could cost around $3500 approximately. 
4. User Management: To expand the reach of the application, the admin should know certain insights about user engagement. Considering that fact, implementing features like seeing the number of users, creating, deleting, editing, and blocking users is essential for this task. All these features add up to 90-hours of additional development which can cost near to $3500.
5. Payment: If the application is based on a subscription model, having payment and management features are crucial for a better user experience. Features like view balance, previous transactions, recent transactions, and add payment method increase the development time and cost by 70 hours and $3000 respectively. Moreover, payment management features for the admin like payment refund and see received payments raise the development time by 44 hours and development cost by $1700 approximately. 
6. Maps: Having a map in an application will ease out the process not just for the user but for the admin as well, especially when delivery or pickup service is offered. With features like map search, pin location on the map, setting a pickup or delivery point, and detecting the current location of the user, the entire application will become more user-friendly and make it easier for the service provider to cater to users. However, adding all these services will increase the development time and cost by a whopping 100-hours and $4300 respectively. 

Factors Affecting App Development Cost:

A lot of thought is put into the development of an application. Analyzing several factors is done including the application type, its user interface, engaging elements, and budget, among others. However, there are certain external factors that should be considered before finalizing the overall model of the application as they directly influence the final costing. As the foremost consideration of every app development is budget, understanding different factors that could affect the pricing of app development is vital. Here we discuss all these aspects to make costs more transparent. 

1. App Development Complexity: As explained above, the complexity level of the application development directly influences the final cost. The simpler applications tend to be cheaper as compared to more complex ones due to the lesser time and effort put into the creation by the developer. The complexity level is not a mere clear distinction, but it depends on the features that the application offers. The general rule of thumb is the more features an application will have, the more complex the development process will become, hence increasing the cost. 
   • Simple Complexity: A simple complexity application is built without many efforts or benefits but offers all the necessary user interface solutions that an application should have. Furthermore, it will come with all the essential features, but with a limited or low-tech screen. Features like admin panel, login, signup, messages, profile making, and notifications will exist in such applications. However, it may not have data storage options and the number of screens may be limited to just three or four. All these basic features will define the app development complexity as simple. 
   • Mid-Level Complexity: The difference between a mid-level and simple complexity application is that mid-level complexity applications will have a more complicated development process as they will have features like API integration, customized user interface, real-time messaging capability, and more screens. Furthermore, in-app purchases, better security, payment interface, and location tracking will also be there in such applications. All such apps need data storage from multiple databases. Prior to building such apps, it is crucial to determine the stipulated customer reach to ensure whether the development cost is justified or not. Having all such features will ultimately raise the development cost. 
   • High Complexity: Mainly designed for large enterprises with legions of users, high complexity applications come with tons of advanced features. Mostly, big organizations want to offer an entirely customized experience which ultimately leads to rising development costs. High-complexity apps come with advanced features like chatbots, better animation, media processing, data sync, video chats, calls, online streaming (live and recorded), native features, and many others. One noteworthy factor in such apps is that they not only come with development costs but research costs as well. When an application is made for such a large audience, it is pivotal to undergo in-depth research on the target audience and plan for a better outcome. Infrastructure and maintenance costs of high complexity apps are much higher as well due to the large user base.
2. Business Model: Without a doubt, there are innumerable mobile applications in the current market, but only a few succeed in the long run. One of the major reasons for app failure is the lack of research and support of the overall business model. Before starting the development process, understanding the factors and features of the application that will help in generating revenue or supporting the business model is crucial. For instance, e-commerce should have add-to-cart, search, payment, and admin control features. Furthermore, understanding the elements that will help in driving user engagement as well as the overall business model is necessary to keep the application trending. Cutting short, it is the business model that will help in determining the features and UI changes that should be implemented, hence affecting the cost of the application development.
3. Application Platform: The platform is the operating system on which the application will run. When it comes to picking the right platform, you need to determine whether you need to develop a native application or a cross-platform application.
   • Native Application: Native applications are apps that only support either Android or iOS platforms. Before determining the right platform, certain considerations like the overall market share, prevalence, and device fragmentation are kept in mind. Even though there is hardly any difference between the app development costs of both platforms, the cost rises when the application is created for both Android as well as iOS. If you wish to have a native application for both platforms, you need to spend twice the money as the developer has to write code for both operating systems individually.  
   • Cross-Platform Application: In contrast to native applications, cross-platform applications run on Android and iOS platforms. These application types are faster to develop and launch which reduces the overall cost. Having multiple platform support in a single application means that your app will have a large number of users and you can target them effectively. Furthermore, the maintenance cost is cheaper than native apps as you do not need a separate team for each platform. When it comes to its impact on cost, then it varies with the requirements and the research. For instance, if your target audience is specifically Android users, then going for a native application is the right thing to do. Apart from development cost, the Google Play store will charge a one-time $25 developer fee to publish the application. On the other hand, if your target audience is iOS users, then you want to follow the Apple App Store publishing process where you have to pay $99 as an annual fee to the App store. With that in mind, it is clear that the final costing varies with the platform and the target audience.
4. Application Design: Application design is another substantial part of the development process which can increase or decrease the development cost. Having the right design will make the application usable, provide the best experience and become visually appealing. Below explained are the different parts of the application design that can alter the cost of development.
   • User Experience: Having an excellent user experience of an application ensures that it is easy to use for the users. It can be improved by designing the application, creating the screens, button placement, and improving the overall ergonomics of the application. Accomplishing all these tasks requires in-depth research and excellent code development which increases its cost. Keep in mind that the developer’s goal is to meet the business goal through the application without compromising the user experience of the application.
   • Visuals: Vision is considered one of the most important human senses as the majority of people try only those things which are visually appealing. In most cases, a user will only use the application if it appeals to them visually which is why developers try to add certain visual elements to the app. Similarly, these elements may vary depending on the application type, business goal, and target audience.

Development Team and their Cost Based on Location:

Many people have a misconception that mobile application development is a job of a single developer. However, the truth is that app development is a collaboration between several specialists who input their expertise in creating an application. The overall cost of the application development is hugely affected by the development team structure as well as their location. Here are all the significant members of an app development team and their approximate costs.

1. UI/UX Designer: An application is not just about the features it provides, but it’s visually appealing factors as well. UI/UX designers play a key role in building an excellent application with intriguing elements. An experienced UI designer will analyze several applications that offer similar features and create a blueprint. Furthermore, they will also understand what the user wants and create the final application design accordingly. The hourly wage of a UI/UX developer in the US is approximately $45 to $50 whereas the same services can be attained at $15 -$25 from Europe and India. 
2. Developers: A developer is a professional responsible for creating the application’s architecture, and functions. They work on different coding platforms and languages depending on their expertise. The number of developers required is directly related to the application’s complexity. When the application is complex, it may require a team of multiple developers. In addition, if the application will include payments and data storage functions, you may also require a backend developer who will handle the databases of the application. A cross-platform developer may charge $100 per hour in the US and $30-$50 in India and Europe. 
3. Project Manager: As the name suggests, the project manager is the professional who will manage the entire project and coordinate with all the team members. Every project manager is responsible for accomplishing all the tasks within the budget and ensuring that the project is completed within the stipulated deadline. $100 is the cost of hiring a project manager in the US and $35-$50 is the per hour cost of hiring the same in India and Europe. 
4. Quality Assurance Engineer: No matter how quickly the app is developed or how many features it comes with, if it is unable to maintain the overall quality, it will not sustain in this competitive market. This is the part where the QA engineer comes into play. This team member will ensure that the application’s final version maintains the set quality all the time. QA engineers monitor the technical documents, specifications, and testing of the application to accomplish their goal. Every QA engineer charges $50 per hour in the US and $20 per hour in India. 
5. Business Analyst: The major players in the industry work with an outsourcing agency for application development. Business analysts are the professionals who will keep an eye on the development costs and technical requirements when you hire an outsourcing agency. They will perform certain tasks like collecting all the requirements, diagnosing any underlying problems with the process, determining the project value, studying the competition, and many other tasks. In the US, you may pay $150-$200 per hour for a project manager whereas you need to pay somewhere between $30-$60 in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Maintenance Cost of an Application:

The cost of building an application does not end at just development, but it requires frequent maintenance as well. The maintenance cost can increase when there are plans to scale the application in the future. Even if there is no plan for expanding the reach, the maintenance cost will rise with each passing year. App maintenance will include several tasks including frequent bug fixing, support for the latest operating systems, enhancing performance, optimizing the code, support for third-party services, and adding new features. Always remember that application maintenance is a recurring task and will add up to the overall cost of the application. With that in mind, it could be said that the effective costing of app development cannot be determined without considering the maintenance cost. In general, approximately 20 percent of the total development cost is allocated for its maintenance. However, the exact amount varies with the future plans regarding the application.

Total Cost of Application Development:

Application development is a tedious and long process that can take somewhere between four to twelve months to complete. During this timeline, all the team members will perform their respective tasks. However, the number of hours and team structure varies with the application’s complexity which ultimately increases or decreases the total cost of app development. Simple application development will take nearly four months to complete. The team will include developers, QA specialists, business analysts, UI/UX designers, DevOps, project managers, and solution architects. Running the calculation on the hours required and based on per hour costs mentioned above, the approximate cost of developing a simple application in Europe could cost around $70K. 

Medium and complex applications take more than simple apps to complete and could be completed within six months and twelve months respectively. By undergoing the same calculations above, the development cost of a medium and complex application in Europe could be around $120K and $200K respectively. Keep in mind that these are only the approximate cost of the app development and the actual cost can vary with different aspects including the location, features, and complexity of the development process.

Options of Application Development:

Now that you have understood the estimated cost of application development, you should also be aware of the different options that you have to develop an application. The final cost will vary with the option that you pick. Here are all the different options that you have, allowing you to pick the right one as per your budget and preferences. 

1. Employ a Local App Development Agency: The first option that you will have for app development is to hire a local agency from your region. Doing so will help you in maintaining constant communication with the team. Furthermore, you can keep an eye on the work progress whenever you want. However, you need to keep in mind that the cost will depend on your location. For instance, if you are based in the US, your overall development cost will be high. 
2. In-House Team: Small companies prefer having an in-house app development team as they can work with the regular flow of ideas. Communication, quality, and budget will all be in your control, giving you a better reach towards development. When it comes to the cost of development, then you have to pay the salary to every member of the team. Though you will have excellent control over the process, the cost may be high as compared to other options.
3. Outsourcing Application Development: Outsourcing the app development process is the most suitable and preferred method by large-scale industries. Several Asian countries like China and India have the lowest development costs, making them highly budget-friendly. Moreover, these nations are proven to be efficient in app development, ensuring high-quality applications with utmost accountability by the developers. The best thing is that no matter where your organization is based, the cost will be highly affordable as you are getting the best service from the most reasonably priced regions. However, communication can be a tussle so make sure to define timings for communication and transparency in the process.

Things to Consider While Picking an App Development Company:

Outsourcing an app development company is undeniably a cost-effective way of application development. However, there are certain considerations to make before picking an app development company to ensure that both you and the company remain on the same page during the development process. Below are the factors that you should keep in mind while picking an IT company for app development.

1. Define Your Requirements: Before you go any further in getting the right app development company, defining what you are looking for should be the first thing to do. You need to determine your requirements, features you want, budget, platform, and the deadline to complete the development. Once you are clear on the goal, it becomes easier to find a company that aligns with your ideas. 
2. Pick All Rounder Companies: When you plan to outsource app development, you would prefer to have every service from a single company rather than working with multiple companies. Not only does it make it easier for you, but helps in maintaining communication as well. Make sure that you pick full-service companies who provide the expertise of all different professionals at the same pace; be it designing or developing the application. 
3. Monitor the Company’s Portfolio: A company’s previous work will give you an idea of what your work could look like. Research the company’s portfolio and lookout for some of the best applications that they have developed recently. Try to understand whether their apps look the way you want your app to be. If you believe that the company can help you bring your idea to the application, it may be a green signal to hire the company. 
4. Understanding their Privacy Policy: Data is the most sensitive thing in the present time. While working with an app development company, you will be sharing your data. Due to this reason, you need to make sure that you understand their data and privacy policy so that your data remains secure all the time. Apart from that, signing a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement with the company will legally bind them to keep your data secure. 

How ThinkSys Inc Develops Applications?

ThinkSys Inc is one of the pioneers in mobile application development due to its effective approach to the app development process. Starting by connecting with you, we begin the process by understanding what your expectations are regarding your mobile application.

• In this process, it is best that the client shares all necessary ideas and information about the application to ensure utmost collaboration. In this part, you will also attain an approximate cost of development. 
• The next step is the planning phase where our professionals will analyze your business and technical requirements and write the specifications. Furthermore, we will also create wireframes and make necessary alterations in the plans depending on your feedback. Planning is the phase where you will get in-depth details about the project regarding the development and completion estimate. 
• The third phase is the product development phase where the actual application creation work will take place. Our designers will follow the plan of action created earlier and start by designing the UI/UX of the application. Once it is done, the next step in this phase is the development and testing of the application. Here our developers will implement all the codes and test out the application to eradicate any underlying issues and bugs so that the application remains stable. When the application is approved after testing, it becomes ready for release. Whenever you want to develop an application or have a potential idea, just connect with ThinkSys to bring your application idea to reality.

Often, people get confused with a website vs a web application. The dilemma is surely common as they have numerous similarities like necessary access to the internet, running on browsers, and the need of writing back end and front end in the same programming language, among others. Even with several similarities, both a website and a web application have certain differences which the user must know before picking the one for themselves.

From a business perspective, they are both a tool for user engagement and connecting with the customers. Considering that fact, it is necessary to understand all the aspects of both a website and web application. This article talks about the difference between a website and a web application so that you could determine the right one for your business.

What is a Website?

A website is a collection of several interlinked web pages that are accessible around the globe and function under a single domain name. The development of a website can be done by a business entity or an individual, depending on the website owner. Accessing a website requires web browsers and can only be done through the internet.

Every website is hosted on a server and has a unique IP address. Websites come with multi-device compatibility as they can be accessed on tablets, desktops, smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, and many other types of devices. Though a website as a whole is compatible with any device having a web browser, the actual support varies with the web development and optimization for different devices.

Types of Websites:

There are majorly two types of websites used in the industry currently: Static and Dynamic.

1. Static Websites:
   Static websites are developed using languages including JavaScript, HTML, and CSS which are fairly easy to work on. No matter who the user is, static websites will always showcase the same content every time. They do not have any specific database to let the user interact with the website, hence giving them the name static websites.
2. Dynamic Websites:
   Opposite of the former, dynamic websites are based on advanced databases and language combined with the traditional JavaScript and HTML. As they have a database, they not only allow the user to have backend interaction, but also showcase different content to different users based on several factors including their inputs on the website, geographical location, and many others.

What is a Web Application?

A web application is a program that comes with interactive factors and distinctive features for the users. Though web apps are made by using common web technologies, the web application development method is quite complicated due to the additional features it provides. Web applications have the capability to store user data and provide the results as per the needs of the user.

Moreover, they can be customized by the users. Almost every app has the ability to create, update, read and delete app data whenever necessary or asked by the user.

Web applications are responsive and will adapt to the screen dimensions of the user. Every web application runs on web hosting and a database. Akin to websites, web applications are also of two types; static and dynamic. However, due to several features and responsiveness, the majority of the web apps are dynamic and need server-side processing as well. On the other, static web apps exist as well, but they come with very limited features which do not require server-side processing. Compatibility with different operating systems is not an issue with web applications as they support all the major OS including Linux, Windows, and macOS. Customizations like adding new features, and design is feasible in web applications too. Some leading examples of web applications are Amazon, Google Forms, and Facebook.

Website vs. Web Application(Web apps): Understand the Differences

Though they both sound similar, there are tons of differences between web apps and websites. With that in mind, here are the major dissimilarities between the two that will help you in choosing the right one for your business.

1. Integration:
   Integration with other software systems is done to bring additional features. Such integration can be done in both websites as well as web applications. However, it is more practiced in web applications as it is their core characteristic to have several features. Software like customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning are often integrated with web applications to extend its functionalities. On the other hand, the same can be done with a website that helps in providing a better experience to the users, but that is just an additional step. Unlike a web application where having such features is near to necessity, websites can skip external integration with software as it is not a part of its core features.
2. Objective:
   When it comes to a business decision, every decision should be done on the basis of its purpose. Talking about the purpose of a web application, then it is more about aiding the users in accomplishing specific tasks or making their tasks easier. These apps can be in the form of a writing assistant or a photo editing web application. The bottom line is that their primary task is to help the users. On the contrary, it is not the case with a website. In the majority of cases, the primary objective of a website is to spread information to the users. Though it varies with the website, in the case of a business-oriented site, the purpose is to spread information related to the business. Providing a certain feature to the customers can be done with a website, but that is a secondary task.
3. Interaction:
   Probably the most significant difference between a website and a web app is its interactivity. Interaction is one of the key elements in a web application. As mentioned above, almost every web application is dynamic which means that user input can change the way how the app displays the data. One of the biggest examples of web app interaction is the e-commerce goliath Amazon. The data displayed on the website including the prices, shipping charge, discounts, and time of delivery is hugely manipulated by the user. A single click will change the information on the web application. Another example is social networks like Facebook and Instagram which also show the data as per the logged-in user.A website, on the other hand, has a basic concept of providing text and visuals to the user where they can grasp the data. Though they can read and see the text or image on the web page, but cannot change the way it displays. However, that does not mean that websites cannot be interactive in any way. In the present time, hardly there will be a website that does not come with an interactive feature. For instance, an offline store may have a query form or a map that will provide them with the directions to its physical address. Though it may add interactivity to a website, it certainly does not make the entire website interactive. Just a few areas of the site will remain interactive, but the rest of the site will remain the same and non-interactive.
4. Hosting:
   As websites and web applications both need an internet connection to work, they both need a hosting solution. In the case of a web application, the hosting solution is a bit pricey. The reason behind the inflated price is that a web application requires more data to be stored along with additional components like a backend solution and a database for interactivity. In the case of a user using a web application, they need a decently powered computer system to run a web application effectively. In contrast, a website is simple and does not have any complexities. Due to this reason, the hosting does not require any large data storage or processing, making it inexpensive as compared to a web application.
5. Authentication:
   Whenever some sensitive data is involved, an extra layer of protection through the authentication of a user is added. Here, the user will select a login and password which will help them in gaining access to their data or user account. Web applications always have an authentication layer to protect the user’s data from any unauthorized access. In other words, authentication is mostly mandatory in web applications to secure the user account and data from any leakage.Websites mainly offer informative data with minimal customization or user data storage. Though the user may find an option to register a user account on both websites and web applications, the functionality will not be hampered in a website if the user is not registered. A great example of such a website is an articles site solely created for information. In case the website content is not subscription-based, the user doesn’t need to register on the website to gain access to the content. The only reason the user needs to register is when they want to leave a comment on the article. However, be it a registered user or not, the information provided by the website will not affect in any way.
6. Development:
   Much like software development, there is a certain process that should be followed in creating both a website and a web application. In the case of a website, the development team will start working on building the web pages. The major chunk of time is consumed in developing the overall content and architecture of the website. However, it all varies with the complex data added to the site as well as the number of pages. Furthermore, the website type plays a crucial role as well. If the website is dynamic, the process will become a bit long. On the other hand, a static website will not need much time as the primary task is to compile the pages.The development of a web application is a bit tricky as it requires different types of actions including creating user types, adding necessary features as per the needs, and enhancing the overall security, among others. However, building the final features of the application is the phase that takes the majority of the time. Apart from that, the final launch is also divided into two parts. The initial part is where all the basic functions of the web app are tested in the market and is known as Minimum Viable Product. This phase may take somewhere between two to eight weeks but may vary with the application’s features. The other phase is where scaling of the application takes place and may take several months depending on the users.
7. User Interface:
   No matter how many useful features are added to the web applications, if the app is not user-friendly, the users will not find the right features easily. With that in mind, having an intuitive user interface and user design is necessary for every web application to enhance its usability. Every web application having an easy-to-use user interface will be more successful in the long run.A website is more about the appearance rather than how easier it is to navigate on it. Though having a better user interface is not harmful to a website, a website doesn’t need to perform better. Having a better-looking website along with relevant information is what matters the most in a website.

Web Application vs. Website: Which One to Pick?

Even after knowing the major differences between the two, several people may have understood what they want. However, a few people may remain confused between the two. The answer lies in the purpose for which they are required. In case you want to promote your business goals or want to enhance the reach of your business, then the website will be perfect for you. However, if you wish to sell your product online, then you need interactive features that are available with web applications.

Moreover, if you want just a few web app features like user registration and adding widgets to the website, then a website will work just fine. However, giving an entire application with tons of features to the users is your goal, then a web application is the one for you.

These were the key differences between a website and a web application. Without a doubt, both are similar in certain ways and an experienced team is required in building both. If you are dubious about which should be preferred, then the expert guidance of ThinkSys Inc can help you in making the right decision. Our professionals choose the perfect option for your business depending on various factors like the business type, needs, expectations, and features, among others. The functionality and interactive elements in a web app are excellent whereas the information provided on the website is essential as well.

Connect with ThinkSys Inc Developers to discuss and commence your forthcoming project with utmost efficiency.

As the functionalities and features of new web applications increase, the process of creating them becomes complex. Having immense knowledge about web application development surely helps in the process, but there are certain tasks involved that require sheer information along with a lot of practice.

All such tasks can be made easier by using several tools and one of them is the web application framework. This article revolves around web application frameworks, how it helps in web app development, their types, and some of the best web app frameworks present currently.

What is a Web Application Framework?

The web application framework is software that is created to make web application development including web API, services, and resources easier and more effective. This software helps in building, and running web applications and eradicates the manual coding by the web developer. A framework provides dynamic and static templates, allows admins to assign various roles, and supports multiple databases. Cutting it short, it is a program used by developers to create a web application with ease.

Types of Web Application Frameworks:

Back in the day, web applications stored their logic on the backend and were created on servers. Though such web apps still exist, their number is extremely low. In the present time, the app logic has started to switch from server to client. The reason behind this switch is to enhance the communication between the web app and the direct user. With that in mind, there are two different types of web application frameworks; client-side and server-side.

• Client-Side Web Application Framework:
  Client-side web application frameworks are also called frontend frameworks. They majorly work on three technologies; HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. These frameworks are not about business logic but are focused on client interaction. Here the developer can create a better user interface due to its support for JavaScript. This technology allows the developer to build dynamic websites that support almost every web browser along with the interactive animated features that grab the attention of the user.
• Server-Side Web Application Framework:
  The server-side web application framework or backend frameworks help in creating a simpler version of web apps or web pages. Handling database control and management, HTTP requests, and URL mapping are some of the features of this framework. Every server-side web app framework runs on a server which means that every process goes to the server from the client in every stance. The downfall of this process is that request handling could come with unwanted lags and delays. However, unlike the frontend framework, it does not rely solely on plugins.

Why Using a Web Application Framework is Beneficial?

1. Enhanced Efficiency:
   Efficiency plays a crucial role in web app development. Rather than doing all the tasks by yourself, you can use the pre-created functions of these frameworks which will ultimately reduce the overall time you invest in creating the app. Your development team can focus on other significant tasks which will enhance the efficiency of your web app.
2. URL Mapping:
   The internet is all about website ranking. The higher the website ranks on the search engine result pages, the better traffic it will get. URL mapping is one of the primary optimizations for better SERP ranking. Web frameworks come with URL mapping that can index your website based on an appealing name which will push the ranking of your site upwards.
3. Cost-Effective:
   Undeniably, web app development comes at a cost. Some of the industry-leading frameworks are free to use. As they make coding easier and hassle-free, the overall cost of development comes down drastically. When the final cost is lesser, the user can get their hands on the app at a lesser rate as well.

The Architecture of Web Application Framework

Web application frameworks depend on the Model View Controller or MVC architecture. This architecture of the web application framework separates the interface and the app logic, making MVC architecture one of the most widely used in web frameworks. Below are the three essential components of this architecture.

• Model:
  The model communicates with the data-related logic and represents the data that will be transferred between the controller and view. Once it attains the data from the controller, it showcases how the new interface should be displayed to the View. It contains all the data, functions, business logic layers, and guidelines.
• View:
  A view contains all the data that will be displayed to the end-user. Being the frontend of the web application, it showcases the entire data in a graphical format including charts and graphs. This component attains input from the user and shares it with the controller component for further analysis. Afterward, it makes the necessary changes in itself depending on the instructions set by the Model component.
• Controller:
  The controller is the final MVC architectural component and it acts as an intermediate between the other two components of this architecture. The controller receives the input given by the user from the view component, processes the data, and notifies the model component regarding any modifications necessary.

Top 9 Web Application Frameworks 2022:

1. Django:
   Based on the language Python, Django uses the convention over configuration. Being one of the most renowned backend web app development frameworks, Django comes with several techniques and tools that help the developers in building a secure website. Django apps are not just secure but are fast, reliable, and versatile as well. The built-in admin interface in this framework allows the user to manage users, models, and group permissions. Moreover, this administration interface eradicates the need for having a separate database admin. Django was first introduced in 2005 and since then it is used by several organizations like Instagram, Zapier, and Pinterest. Being in the industry for over a decade, Django has successfully created a vast community that is ready to help each other. While using this framework, there is a high possibility that the user may have an issue that has been resolved by someone from the community.
2. Ruby on Rails:
   Ruby on Rails is a tool based on the Ruby programming language. The tool is an open-source web development framework that comes with an assortment of code libraries that ensure that the user gets a robust solution for their repetitive tasks. Even though it is based on Ruby, it collaborates with other languages including HTML, JavaScript, and CSS for web app development. The tool is specifically designed for agile development support that boosts flexibility and productivity while web app development.Based on earlier discussed MVC architecture, there is a huge number of developers familiar with this architecture, making it a developer-friendly tool. The RSpec is an inbuilt testing setup in this tool that is simple to learn and is proven to be effective in testing necessary functions of the web application. One of the best things about Ruby on Rails is its automated deployment. No matter what the change you want to deploy, it will be applied to the production by adding a single line. However, there is a notable boot speed issue with this tool. Several developers have reported the slow boot speed of Ruby on Rails, but it varies with the number of dependencies on the framework. Though not a significant limitation, Multithreading in this framework can lead to issues with overall performance if the requests are not handled correctly.
3. Express:
   Express is another open-source backend framework popular for is a flexible framework for web app development on Node.js. This framework is designed for hybrid, multi-page, and single-page applications. Express is based on a JavaScript programming language for backend website and mobile app development. The comprehensive documentation that comes with Express provides tutorials and resources, making it easier for every developer to get the most out of this framework. Moreover, the vast community support combined with excellent routing makes this a great framework. However, it does not offer any security to the developer. Due to this reason, the developer has to put special focus on the security of their web application.
4. Angular:
   Developed by Google, Angular is an open-source JavaScript framework based on JavaScript. Though Angular can be used to create any application type, it is highly effective in creating single-page applications. Angular uses a document object model which is efficient in updating HTML pages. When it comes to testing, this framework comes with the Jasmine testing framework which can be used to write numerous types of test cases for effective web app testing. Furthermore, the two-way data binding feature available in Angular ensures that any change you make in the web page elements is reflected on the desired user interface elements of the web app as well.As Angular comes with a lot of unique and useful features, it might not be the framework suitable for beginners. Anyone willing to develop a web application using this framework needs to invest a lot of time in learning it. Moreover, the dynamic applications are known to be a bit slow and laggy as they have a large size.
5. CodeIgniter:
   CodeIgniter is a renowned PHP framework created by EllisLab. Specifically made for creating dynamic websites, the MVC architecture of this framework is effective in building web apps with utmost performance and high scalability. Model-view controller-based system, form and data validation, session management, image manipulation library, and query builder database support are some of the valuable features of CodeIgniter. The integrated safety modules including CSP and sensitive escaping provide extended security from XSS and CSRF attacks. Starting with CodeIgniter is uncomplicated as well. The developer only has to connect the framework with their database and they are good to go.Codes have to put special focus on maintaining or updating the code as this framework lacks support for modular separation of code. Even though CodeIgniter provides several libraries to support custom web app development, the libraries provided are not as comprehensive as other PHP frameworks present in the industry.
6. ASP.NET:
   Microsoft is one of the leaders in the tech industry and they also have a framework for web-based applications called ASP.NET. The framework is an open-source cross-platform framework that can be used to create services and web applications with .NET. ASP.NET supports Linux, Docker, Windows, and macOS for better usability. The authentication system of this framework comes with template pages, libraries, and a database that can help in enhancing security. Users also have the option to use external authentication like Twitter, and Google to log in as well.ASP.NET expands the functionalities of .NET which means that you not only get features of this framework, but you have access to the entire .NET ecosystem for your web app development. However, this framework does not support several content management systems or coding platforms like Java, making coding a bit complex for the users.
7. Laravel:
   Another open-source PHP framework, Laravel follows the MVC architecture which uses the prevailing components of several frameworks in building a web application. Due to this functionality, Laravel reduces the overall development time drastically.
   Laravel’s own Eloquent object-relational mapping makes database abstraction easier. Its ORM is compatible with SQL, MySQL, SQLite, and Postgres server. With Laravel, you can create real-time apps powered by WebSockets with PHP, Node.js, and serverless solutions. Every framework gets version updates frequently. Laravel also releases version upgrades but it is known to come with some troubles for certain users. Apart from that, weak composer and slow development are some other issues with this web app framework as well.
8. Meteor:
   Meteor is capable of building reliable and scalable desktop, mobile, and web applications based on JavaScript. Being in the industry for over a decade, this web app framework is used by legions of industry leaders for their web applications. One essential factor about Meteor is that a developer can create an app for almost every device including Android, iOS, and web without shedding a sweat. The large community created by this framework ensures that you can rely on it for any issue you might face. The pre-built packages offered by Meteor are surely great for web app development. However, relying too much on the same can lead to conflicts within developers.
9. PLAY:
   If you want a framework that can help in building web applications with Scala and Java, then Play is the one for you. Play is an easy to use developer-friendly framework where you only need a web browser and a text editor to begin web app creation. Akin to several other frameworks, this one also follows MVC architecture along with hot code reloading, and convention over configuration. The Play uses an asynchronous model built on Akka that helps in making the web application scalable. Due to extensive features, Play might require hours of learning and practice before you can build the web app. As a developer, you may have to go through vast documentation too. However, the learning curve is worth all the efforts as Play is one of the best frameworks in the long run. In simpler terms, Play could be time-consuming for you, if you want a framework for the short term whereas it is highly effective in the long-term usage.

Conclusion

Web application developers should have a clear idea of the different aspects of the technology. Even though a web application framework is not mandatory for developing a web application, having the right framework will make the entire process easy and less troublesome. With several frameworks following the MVC architecture, using these frameworks will indirectly give you the advantages of this architecture in your web applications.

However, assistance from a professional development team is always advised. ThinkSys Inc has a team of experienced developers who will provide you with the guidance you need in determining the right web application framework. Our team will study and understand your requirements to pick the framework that suits your needs for the best web app development experience.

Talk to Our Experts to Choose Right Framework For Your Web Apps

Related Blogs:

1. Website vs. Web Application.

2. Web Application Architecture.

3. Native vs. Hybrid vs. Progressive Web Apps Development.

4. Latest eCommerce Web Trends.

5. Start Caring About Progressive Web Apps.

Understanding the Fundamentals of Web Application Architecture

The internet is all about browsing websites and attaining the desired response. The number of internet users in the present decade is the highest and the number is rapidly growing due to advancements in technology. For the users, the entire process is simple, but everything major happens behind the scenes. Every time a user sends a request, it goes to the server which processes the request to take all the necessary actions. Afterward, the response is sent to the browser to provide the result to the user. However, websites are different from web applications in several ways.

Web applications have an in-depth architecture that has several complex components. Each component plays a significant role. This article explains all about web application architecture along with its components, trends, best practices, and types.

What is Web Application Architecture?

Any application software that runs on a web server and its responses are provided via a browser interface to the user. Unlike computer-based software programs, web applications do not run on any operating system of the device. A web application architecture defines the interaction between systems, applications, and databases components together.

Whenever a user sends a request to open a web page, the server will send the file to the browser. Afterward, it uses the files to showcase the page and the user can interact with the page. The functionality of the web application is also similar to website, but the difference lies in the code parsing.

In a web application, the code may or may not have any dedicated specifications on the response depending on the input received by the user. Due to this reason, a web app architecture comes with sub-components and external applications of the application.

In simpler terms, a web application architecture is a structural framework that determines the interaction between different web components (client and server).

Components of Web Application Architecture:

Web application architecture comes with two types of web application architecture: Structural components, and user interface app components.

• Structural Components:
  As the name suggests, these components make the structure of the application. These components include the client or web browser, database server, and web app server which are directly responsible for functions deciding the user interactions within the application. In the majority of cases, JavaScript, CSS, and HTML are used to create these components. However, it all varies with the web app developer.
• User Interface Components:
  The other one is the user interface components that contribute to the visual interface of the app. However, unlike structural components, that do not interact with the architecture, but are limited to displaying the web page. These components include a dashboard, widget, settings, notifications, and many other visual elements that help in making the user experience better. In other words, these components are directly responsible for the UX or the web app.

Web Application Architecture Layers:

Every web application architecture is built based on a layered architecture. However, it all depends on the app scale. Large applications may have four to six layers whereas small applications may have three layers. Each layer functions independently and its components are closed. Below are the four commonest layers of web application architecture.

1. Presentation Layer:
   The presentation layer aids in communication between the browser and the user interface of the application that eases the overall user interaction. Every presentation layer is created through JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and its frameworks.
2. Business Layer:
   The business layer helps in processing the browser requests, performs the business logic of the requests, and shares the same back to the previous layer. This layer primarily determines the business rules of the web app.
3. Data Access Layer:
   The data access layer is used to access data from XML, binary files, and other types of storage. In addition, it also helps in creating, reading, updating, and deleting operations.
4. Data Service Layer:
   The final one is the data service layer which ensures data security and stores the entire data. This layer safeguards the data by separating the app business logic from the client-side.

Types of Web Application Architecture :

With different types of web applications, the architecture differs as well. The right architecture will allow the developer to get the best outcome from the web application and fulfill the app’s purpose as well. Here are all the various types of web application architectures.

1. Single Page Application Architecture:
   Single Page Application architecture or SPA offers smoother app performance than websites and provides an interactive experience to the users. This architecture contains a single page with content elements, allowing users to load just a single page but with better interaction with the app.Rather than loading a new page with every request, it loads the relevant web page and updates the same whenever the information is requested by the user. Web applications based on this architecture send requests just for the required parts of the web page rather than loading new pages. Gmail, Google Maps, PayPal, and Pinterest are some of the industry-leading single-page applications.
2. Multi-Page Application:
   Sometimes when the websites are very large, making use of the SPA architecture does not seem effective. In that case, organizations prefer to go with a multi-page application where the page is reloaded to send data to the server through the browser rather than updating just the relevant information.With this architecture, large websites can be loaded easily with the utmost information. Multi-page application architecture is majorly used in eCommerce websites and applications. Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay are among the biggest examples of multi-page applications.
3. Microservices :
   Many large sites use monolithic web application architecture which comes with the main issue of tightly coupled components. The alternative to this is using microservices architecture which separates the app into individual components that are not dependent on each other. With that in mind, it is not mandatory to develop each component in the same programming language.As the developers do not have to develop each component, it provides them with larger flexibility to pick the language/ technology as per their preference. This flexibility for the developers allows them to be more productive while completing the process in the least time possible. The top companies using this web application architecture include Etsy, Netflix, Uber, and Twitter.:
4. Progressive Web Apps:
   One of the best things about progressive web apps is that they are compatible with every device. Whether it is a desktop, a tablet, or a smartphone, these apps can adjust to any device with ease. Rather than the app store, these apps can be shared and found just through their URL.Furthermore, there are several other perks of having these apps including a user-friendly experience, lightweight, ability to be added to the home screen, and offline working capability.Trivago, Pinterest, Starbucks, Telegram, and Treebo are the top companies with progressive web applications. Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure are the top providers of serverless architectures in the industry.
5. Serverless Architecture:
   The last on this list is the serverless architecture which is different from the traditional way of software functioning. In the traditional method, the execution of the code is stored and managed by the app developer or organization.On the other hand, in serverless architecture, there is no need to have physical servers as the entire execution of code is managed by cloud service providers. Here the web applications are created and deployed on the third-party cloud servers.One key feature of this architecture is that it eradicates the issues related to physical servers.
   Function-as-a-Service and Backend-as-a-Service are two types of serverless architectures. The former emphasizes more on events where it breaks the app into small functions that focus on code whereas the latter is more about frontend development tasks.

Working of a Web Application :

Even though there are several types of web applications available, the basic web application component codes are common. There are two different types of codes used in a web application; client-side code and server-side code.

• Client-Side Code:
  Also known as frontend, the client-side code is mainly written in JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. These codes are stored in the browser as well. In other words, this code is responsible for user interaction of the site.
• Server-Side Code:
  SSC or server-side code functions on the backend where they are responsible for controlling the entire business login. Furthermore, this code will respond to every HTTP request received from the user. The programming languages used in writing server-side code are Ruby, Java, and Python, among others.

Web Application Process:

1. The first thing a user does is input their request to the web server by using a web application or a browser.
2. This request is forwarded by the webserver to the most suitable web application server.
3. Afterwards, the web application server completes the task requested by the user and produces the right results.
4. Once completed, the earlier generated results are sent to the user along with the demanded information to the webserver from the application server. The web server responds to the user’s request and displays the information to the user.

Web Application Trends of 2022:

Web applications trends are changing every year and a developer should be aware of such trends so that they can keep up with the industry leaders. These trends allow the developer to create a web app that the users want, making their created web app more usable and generating better traffic. Below are the web application trends of 2022 that every developer should know.

1. Progressive Web Applications:
   Progressive web apps or PWAs have been widely used in web app development for a very long time, but it is not going anywhere soon. Even though it runs on the browser, it provides users with the native mobile app experience. With a great conversion rate, user engagement, and less maintenance cost, one thing is sure progressive web applications will be a lasting trend in the industry.
2. AI Chabot:
   AI Chatbots are based on quick learning AI that acts as a human to solve common queries of the users. They understand the user behavior and respond accordingly. The best thing about this is that these bots can function 24X7 without any human intervention, making it a potential web app trend of 2022.
3. Blockchain:
   Blockchain is considered among the safest technologies in the present time as the contracts running on these networks cannot be changed. Moreover, its peer-to-peer architecture provides a ledger with high decentralization and transparency. Data can be transferred on different networks without the need for any mediators and it is stored in a public or private network. Using open-source systems is also possible as it can minimize potential cyber threats.
4. Virtual Reality:
   Virtual reality has gained immense traction in the last few years due to the increasing number of technology and internet users. It is speculated that the number of VR users in 2022 will be record-breaking. As the trend of remote working is on the rise, VR is sure to become one of the biggest trends in web app development.
5. Serverless Architecture:
   In the present time, organizations want to handle the least amount of tasks possible. As web applications need physical servers to run, serverless architecture is becoming highly popular. It eradicates the use and maintenance of such servers by the organization. However, every server is managed by third parties which ultimately reduces the development costs and enhances data security.
6. Single-Page Applications:
   SPAs are one of the recent trends in web applications. Based on JavaScript, this architecture loads an HTML page in the browser and updates the page content whenever required. The reason why this is going to become trendy in 2022 is that it updates the page content with relevant information without refreshing it, making it faster and more effective. Moreover, they consume less space on servers and are proven to be highly cost-effective.

Top Web Application Frameworks 2022:

Every web app should be created effectively and by keeping its users in mind so that it could be successful in the long run. Web application frameworks do the same by helping the developers in understanding and meeting the user’s demands and creating the app effectively. Not just the architecture, but the right web framework plays a crucial role in development as well. Below mentioned are the top web application frameworks that you should know about.

• Django.
• Play.
• Angular.
• Laravel.
• Express.
• ASP.NET.
• Ruby on Rails.
• METEOR.
• Spring.
• CodeIgniter.

Best Practices for Web Application Infrastructure:

To get the appropriate outcome from web app architecture, it is essential to use the best practices. These practices ensure that the created architecture is the right for the application. Let’s dig deeper into these practices which will help you in your web application architecture.

• Know the Goals:
  Before you begin working on the web app architecture, the first thing that you should be clear about should be your goals. Communicate with your team members regarding these goals and create a blueprint of the architecture that will help you in achieving the goals. These goals could be the timeline of the web app or the features that you want to include in it.
• Understand your Limitations:
  Even the experts will have certain limitations while working on technology including web app architecture. Due to this reason, it is not always possible to attain successful results when the limitations are not measured. Considering that fact, you should always be aware of your technical limitations and tackle them accordingly so that you could set expectations that you can achieve within the given resources.
• Fix the Problems as they Arise:
  Many developers make the mistake of waiting for the web app to release before they can fix the issues. Not only does it become complex to fix the errors, but can hamper the reputation of the app as well. The best practice is to fix the issues as soon as they arise so that it does not hinder the app’s performance.
• Be Unique:
  Without a doubt, there are tons of successful web application architectures. Sometimes developers shortlist some successful apps’ architecture, replicate the same and add certain customizations for their app architecture. However, they forget a crucial factor that an architecture that has been successful for another web application doesn’t need to be suitable for their app as well. Due to this reason, their app may never become successful. The right practice is to create an architecture based on your business logic and goals.

How ThinkSys Inc Help Your Web Application Grow?

Web application architecture is directly related to the success of the web app. Using the right practices combined with following the right trends is the key to staying ahead of the competition. ThinkSys Inc has a team of professional and qualified web application architects who will analyze your requirements, the challenges, and the limitations that might come in the way.

With the proper study of your web application requirements, our professionals will determine the crucial parameters on which the right architecture will be decided. Furthermore, the business needs of your web app along with your technical needs will be examined to give you the right web application that aligns with your business. If you want to dig deeper into our service then,

Feel free to connect with our professionals who will guide you with the entire process.

The software development industry is constantly evolving with new technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain. Innovative solutions are revolutionizing the way products are designed and tested. Independent software vendors (ISVs) are also pushing their boundaries with new development methods to create products that keep customer requirements in focus. This innovation is driving massive growth in the software industry too. The global ISV market is estimated to be worth 4,077 billion USD by 2027, up from 1,573 billion USD in 2019 with a CAGR of ~13% from 2019 to 2027.

Every year, new technology and product development trends define the course of software development for ISVs.

Here are 7 top trends that ISVs should consider for growth in 2022:

Trend #1: Cybersecurity and 5G –

With each passing year, cybersecurity threats keep growing in the digital domain. For most businesses, the risk of a data breach increases with work from home models, so the most important trend that ISVs should consider is cybersecurity. The first step is to fix the possibility of any cloud breach by adopting strong security practices in cloud configurations.

As big data is in focus, ensuring data security will also be a priority in 2022. As 5G promises to bring faster connectivity, ISVs must concentrate even more on cybersecurity.

Trend #2: Low-code Software Development Trends –

Simplification is a trend for ISVs to consider in 2022. Accenture writes that low-code or no-code software development will drive the development of 75% of new apps. This democratization of coding will ensure the low-code software development market hits $187 billion in revenue by 2030, according to Forbes.

By simplifying the software development process, smaller companies can move into the software without much investment, and larger companies can update legacy apps and processes and evolve faster. Low-code development relies on a graphical user interface without (or less of) any coding involved. This approach can open opportunities for companies in 2022 as they develop faster and cheaper apps.

Trend #3: Aligning with the AI trends – Decision Intelligence –

ISVs have considered artificial intelligence in software development for a long time now, but the trends are ever-evolving. Decision intelligence is the latest trend towards developing decision-making techniques that will impact various industries in 2022, as per Gartner.

Decisions drive businesses, and the decision intelligence enhancements of AI assist organizations in making faster, more accurate decisions. Its various tools can help every sector differently. For retail, it can help optimize the inventory of local stores while in healthcare, it can help make clinical decisions based on research and data. The possibilities with decision intelligence are endless, and we will definitely witness new integrations in 2022.

Trend #4: Hyperautomation –

According to Gartner, hyperautomation is the approach of organizations to automate the majority of their processes using technologies like robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), virtual assistants, and low-code application platforms (LCAP). It also forecasts that 50% of coding will rely on automated systems in 2022, resulting in hyperautomation.

On average, developers spend 40 hours every week writing and maintaining codes. Hyperautomation can help coders finish about 90% of their work with a single click, saving them hours. This massive increase in productivity and reduction in time investment can enhance the working life of all employees. With the rising popularity of cognitive automation technologies, the combination of hyperautomation with decision intelligence will be trending in 2022.

Trend #5: Financial services-ready Public Cloud Computing-

PwC notes that expenses on cloud services rose by 39%, increasing to $29 billion by the first quarter of 2020. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, small and large businesses equally depended on cloud-based services for remote operations and work flexibility.

In 2022, cloud services are expected to go beyond reliability and scalability. ISVs should consider strategic collaboration opportunities to develop financial services-ready public cloud platforms. Recently, setting this new trend, IBM collaborated with Bank of America to launch its own financial services-ready public cloud platform.

Trend #6: Blockchain –

Since its primary use as a distributed ledger for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, blockchain has kept the market stirred up, but it has still not become mainstream. Although some companies are now experimenting with blockchain, we may witness a wider blockchain implementation in 2022.

Blockchain has already proven its potential in the financial sector and is now entering other verticals like supply chain, manufacturing, healthcare, government, and others. The remote working model requires businesses to opt for decentralized technologies that can simplify strategic operations and transactions. Blockchain can potentially reduce costs, improve cash flow, and lower the transaction completion times for businesses – large or small.

Trend #7 : The Continuous Delivery trend in Software Development –

The modern delivery cycle has left no room for gaps between Dev and Ops, and continuous software delivery prompts the developers to deploy their code for production as and when desired.

DevOps is now a software development norm, but continuous delivery is going to take the center stage in 2022. It ensures deployable, clean code and gives a cost-effective solution to crucial release reporting. It also reduces labor by fixing all the loopholes before the release itself.

Apart from these trends, cross-platform software development, accessibility enhancement with the Internet of Things, use of immersive technology, escalation of edge computing, and the growth of Python and JavaScript continue to be widely popular in the ISV market. These top trends only project where the software development industry is headed in 2022. Developers can focus on polishing their skills in these domains, and companies can look for ISVs that have evolved with these trends.

Since the beginning of 2020, we have helped companies progress towards a primarily digital world. Science-fiction films have left the cinema halls to actualize themselves in our present world. To realize the potential of true digital transformation in 2022 and grow with the modern world, connect with us at ThinkSys Inc.

Get in Touch Now

You are a programmer responsible for developing a business-critical application with requirements that strongly emphasize the importance of security and seamless functionality. Which platform will you choose for application development? Well, to ensure you meet all these requirements and efficiently create a dynamic application that is highly scalable, secure, and user friendly, you need a powerful programming platform. And we would like to recommend Adobe ColdFusion, the leading web programming platform, popular among the developer community for its diverse applications in various industry verticals.

For the past two decades, ColdFusion has been revolutionizing the world of software development by helping programmers create dynamic web apps and web pages that deliver results and propel success. Leveraging the mark-up programming language,CFML, ColdFusion facilitates rapid development, as it does not require complex coding and allows programmers to build modern web applications easily.

Today, this rapid web application development computing platform has been completely reimagined to help you build applications that are highly secure, flexible, content-rich, and data-driven.

But what is New in ColdFusion 2021? 

Since its introduction, Adobe has constantly released new versions of ColdFusion to effectively cater to the continuously evolving needs of the market and businesses.

Adobe recently released the latest and modernized version of ColdFusion, ColdFusion 2021, on Nov 11th, 2020, with new and improved features available in all its editions: Standard, Enterprise, and Developer to provide next-level flexibility to its users.

ColdFusion 2021 is a completely reimagined version of Adobe ColdFusion and is super secure, simple, and easy to scale. It offers a modular, secure, and containerized approach for building applications that can run across multiple cloud providers or on-premises.

Moreover, the platform was modified/upgraded to support microservices for better app scaling under load and allow you to focus on work rather than worrying about other details.

Except, that’s not all.

The platform went through various other changes and improvements to facilitate smoother and hassle-free application development. Some of these new features and functions of Adobe ColdFusion 2021, which play a critical role in its popularity among developers today, are:

• Lightweight Installer:

The all-new lightweight installer helps you get up and running in minutes by automating repeatable installations of only the services you need. It provides you complete control over what you install at all times.

• ColdFusion Package Manager:

ColdFusion 2021 offers a new ColdFusion Package Manager that allows you to continuously integrate small pieces of code and deliver applications quickly and seamlessly. Moreover, it enables you to only install services that your application requires.

• Cloud Storage Services:

  With ColdFusion’s new cloud storage services you can now access multi-cloud services using the same syntax and interact with different databases through a single line of code. Get expandable, elastic, and cheaper raw storage for fast data access, with AWS S3 and Azure Blob.

• Messaging Services:

  Now easily eliminate the complexity of message-oriented middleware with messaging services offered by ColdFusion 2021 with Azure Service Bus and AWS Simple Notification Service/Simple Queue Service. Access messaging queue services and transmit any volume of data across applications, keeping track of whether your messages are delivered or not.

• No-SQL Database:

Get a built-in productive interface to NoSQL databases to effectively optimize the scale-up architecture offered by AWS DynamoDB and MongoDB and handle large volumes of data. Moreover, it enables you to store unstructured, semi structured, or structured data and allows easy updates to schemas and fields.

• Single Sign-on:

To offer next-level ease of signing on, ColdFusion now offers the convenience of having one set of credentials across multiple applications with SAML. It offers users a single point of authentication, which helps organizations get a birds-eye view of user-level access into the ecosystem at all times.

• Core Language Changes:

To enhance the development experience of ColdFusion developers, adobe has introduced new changes in its core language CFML, including new language constructs, parallelization in Array, Struct, and Query functions, new encryption methods, extended tag support, enhanced script functions, support for new operations, and more.

• Performance Monitoring Toolset:

This is an application monitoring suite that helps developers gain effective insight into how applications perform at run-time. Performance Monitoring Toolset supports clustered environments, analyzes thread dumps, helps users identify bottlenecks, captures and persists data in real-time for business transactions, and more to help businesses resolve issues effectively and protect applications from common performance pitfalls.

• Multi-Cloud RDS:

Now you can leverage ColdFusion’s ability to seamlessly integrate with Amazon RDS and Azure database services to enhance your database availability. It helps users to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud swiftly, all at a lower cost.

• ColdFusion & AWS:

To effectively tackle its licensing cost issue, ColdFusion integrated with AWS to reduce the server costs by more than half. By using the ColdFusion server on AWS, you can eliminate high upfront costs and reduce the ongoing costs by paying only for the cloud resources used.

Hence, in the past few years, ColdFusion has gone through various enhancements to ensure a better development experience for ColdFusion developers. These new changes not only help reduce stress, inefficiency, security, and project lifecycle costs but also simultaneously increases project velocity and innovation.

So, whatever your ColdFusion requirements are, we at ThinkSys Inc are here to help you get the right results with the right services and solutions. We have the best ColdFusion resources, experience, and knowledge needed for creating an industry-grade product that resonates with your brand and message and helps you scale new heights of success.

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Or check out our full-stack ColdFusion services and solutions here. 

The COVID-19 pandemic tested organizations. Business leaders had to respond quickly and businesses had to be adaptive, flexible, and creative to survive. Those organizations with Agile practices in their operating models were able to manage the impact of the COVID-19 crisis better than their peers. Agile methods also helped enterprise product companies adapt to the pandemic. Let’s see how Agile played a key role for organizations during the pandemic.

Understanding Agile:

As per Bill Gates, “Success today requires the agility and drive to constantly rethink, reinvigorate, react, and reinvent.” Agile helps achieve just that.-Click to Tweet

It is a practice that promotes continuous iteration, planning, learning, improvement, and collaboration throughout the product development cycle. Agile is about concurrent development and testing to promote accelerated outcome delivery.

It emphasizes four core values –

• Focus on the team and individual interactions rather than tools or processes.
• Focus on working software rather than extensive documentation.
• Focus on collaboration with the client rather than negotiating the contract.
• Focus on quick adaptation rather than strictly following a plan.

Agile methods helped organizations to recover from the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis by:

• Building a resilient leadership.
• Creating a central response.
• Partnering with stakeholders.
• Creating an inclusive communication strategy.
• Upskilling of the workforce.
• Adopting new digital ways of working.

1. Building resilient leadership:
   As per Capterra, about 71% of companies (about 7 in 10) use Agile approaches in one way or the other. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Agile helped organizations adapt to the challenges and build resilience through crisis planning and business continuity.A key aspect of developing resilience included identifying critical processes and developing back-up plans. Those organizations proved resilient that displayed the following characteristics during the pandemic –
   • Establishing a common purpose across the entire company. Through clear communication, the organizations were able to engage and motivate employees to work towards a common purpose.
   • Enabling rapid decision-making. Organizations reallocated existing resources against new priorities to act as rapid-decision-making bodies. These entities were composed of senior decision-makers who met daily and quickly reallocated resources as part of the COVID-19 response.
   • Ensuring clear accountability. Organizations created networks of local teams with specified roles. These local units had clear accountability in terms of what they were responsible for. It also led to several organizations reducing hierarchical barriers by bringing central teams in direct contact with local operational teams.
   • Creating a flexible culture to empower employees. Many organizations used the crisis as an opportunity to develop a culture where employees can make a positive difference.
   • Using technology. To adapt to the new normal of remote working, many organizations quickly secured access to technology tools for collaboration, communication, and continued work. Technologies like the cloud, enabled seamless work.
2. Creating a central response:
   During the COVID-19 crisis, organizational leaders established cross-functional teams to deliver a coordinated response. Creating a multidisciplinary central response office helped organizations adapt as the conditions changed. Daily meetings with these cross-functional teams helped guide executives on where to focus their efforts. These central response offices also helped identify gaps and strengthen the core capabilities of organizations to manage challenges. It helped organizations create a collaborative, open, and inclusive virtual work environment.Some key aspects of a central response included –
   • Consistent messaging across the organization.
   • Sharing updates on the latest public advisories from health officials.
   • Providing consistent guidelines to managers.
   • Managing multi-channel communication.
   • Setting the governance to enable cross-functional teams to work together.
3. Partnering with stakeholders:
   Identifying various stakeholders like customers, staff, investors, media, etc. was critical in minimizing the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Identifying and partnering with all the stakeholders helped organizations protect people and find new ways to serve customers. Organizations also figured out ways to reach out and collaborate with stakeholders by using alternative channels or online tools.Some key aspects of this step included-
   • Identifying stakeholders to understand the effect of the pandemic on employees and partners of supporting organizations.
   • Providing direct support to contractors and employees that were impacted by COVID-19.
   • Creating tailored solutions to help resolve the specific needs of each impacted group.
4. Creating an inclusive communication strategy:
   Organizations had a focused approach to connect with employees to effectively lead them during periods of uncertainty. Since the employees felt anxious and confused because of conflicting information received from various sources, it was essential for organizations to create an inclusive communication strategy. The communication strategy put in place was based on a clear understanding of internal and external audiences.Some key aspects of this step included the following –
   • Having a dedicated hotline for inquiries from employees.
   • Bringing in a medical expert to facilitate Q&A sessions.
   • Developing a one-stop solution for all the information, FAQs, policies, etc.
5. Upskilling of the workforce:
   During the lockdown, employees across levels had to adapt to change. Agile organizations used this as an opportunity to upskill their workforce. This helped ensure that the employees have the knowledge and skills to meet future demands. Organizations also promoted and enhanced digital learning to benefit the workforce.Some key aspects of this step included the following –
   • Leadership training
   • Role-based and process-based training
   • Cybersecurity training
   • Wellness sessions
   • Training on adapting to the virtual work culture
6. Adopting new digital ways of working:
   The new normal comprises virtual interactions among employees. A slew of technologies and tools have come up to support remote work including VPN infrastructure, video calling applications, and access control mechanisms, etc. During the peak of the pandemic, organizational leaders adopted Agile working principles to support organization-wide remote work deployment.

Conclusion

As per McKinsey, the companies that fully adopted an Agile model before the pandemic outperformed those that didn’t. Enterprise product organizations that embraced Agile ways of working were able to pivot effectively, release more relevant product functionalities, and build stronger relationships with their enterprise users and customers. They were able to redesign, refresh, and redeploy their products for maximum impact and success.

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The TIOBE Programming Community index indicates the popularity of programming languages. Updated monthly, it is based on various factors, such as the number of skilled programmers, search engine results, etc.

As of April 2020, Python is ranked #3 in the index. In 2006 it was ranked #27. Similarly, in 1996, JavaScript was ranked a lowly #33, but since 2001, it has consistently made it to the Top 10. Currently, JavaScript is ranked #7.

Why are these languages so popular? Or rather, why do they continue to be so popular despite periodic assaults on their value proposition and pronouncements of their demise?

According to TIOBE CEO Paul Jansen, “we need something simple that can be handled by non-software engineers, something easy to learn with fast edit cycles and smooth deployment. Python meets all these needs.” And everyone who loves dynamic website pages is a fan of JavaScript – even if they don’t realize it!

Python and JavaScript: A Lookback

Python.org describes Python as “an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level programming language with dynamic semantics.” Some of the world’s most popular websites are based on Python: Reddit, Spotify, Netflix, Instagram, and…. Google!

As a general-purpose coding language, Python can be used for more than web, web app, or web API development – unlike HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Therefore, it is also used for:

• Scientific research and computing.
• Systems automation.
• Data Science.
• Machine Learning.

Python allows disparate code to interoperate, giving rise to the semi-affectionate term, “glue language”. Python is regularly revised with new features to satisfy the evolving requirements of development teams.

What’s cool about the JavaScript story?

W3Schools calls JavaScript the “Programming Language for the Web.” This lightweight interpreted scripting language allows programmers to implement complex features on web pages, such as dynamically updated content, multimedia, animated images, etc. It can update both HTML and CSS and helps to extend the functionality of websites using third-party scripts.
Unlike Python, which is used to develop the back ends of web applications, JavaScript can be used for both the back and front ends of web and mobile applications. Do, no cool pop-culture references, but a cool language for sure.

Why does the World swear by Python?

• Code Reuse:

Python supports modules and packages, making code reuse possible, which shortens development cycles. Programmers don’t have to start from scratch if the reused code will perform the same (or similar) function in the new application. They can, instead, write code to create unique, value-adding functionalities for the final product. Thus, code reusability helps to create better software, faster.

• Built-in Functionalities:

Python’s built-in data structures, pre-built libraries and frameworks, and features like dynamic typing and dynamic binding also make it a very attractive proposition for rapid application development. Python is most commonly used for scripting and automation. However, it can also be used to build high-quality software, whether the requirement is for standalone applications or web services. Python also provides all the functionalities required to create REST APIs, comprehensive, data-driven sites, and more.

• Versatile applicability:

Although Python is not the “fastest” language, it is still extremely versatile in terms of supported use cases. For instance, it is the preferred language for building Machine Learning applications related to speech recognition, financial services, or streaming entertainment services (think Netflix). Python also offers several built-in libraries for scientific computing and data science, for use cases related to astronomy, bioinformatics, statistical analyses, and even psychology.

• Easy to use, adopt and update:

Python has a highly readable and straightforward syntax. It also follows indentation rules and doesn’t use enclosing braces. Being a dynamically typed language, developers don’t have to determine variable types. The interpreter will infer these types, and all checks will be made at runtime. Since programmers don’t have to worry about complexities, they can learn it easily, and start writing programs quickly.

Why the World Swears by JavaScript

• Great for client-side scripting and fast results:

The core client-side JavaScript language offers a very useful functionality that is massively popular in the world of web development today: the ability to build Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). APIs make it easy to interconnect programs that would otherwise be difficult to do. Since the code is executed on the user’s processor instead of the webserver, it saves bandwidth and reduces the load on the latter. Moreover, fast processing ensures that results are available almost instantly, so pages load faster for the user.

JavaScript is also useful for writing server-side code – using platforms like Node.js – to provide and store resources needed by the client, and to respond to client requests (via HTTP) to deliver dynamic content to the user. In that sense, it keeps company with other programming languages like PHP, Python, Java, Ruby, Perl, and ASP.NET.

• Easy to learn and implement:

Like Python, JavaScript is also an easy language to learn. Its syntax is close to English, and it uses an HTML DOM model that allows the language to quickly access, change, or react to all the elements of an HTML document. It can also change all the CSS styles on the page. This makes it a powerful language for creating dynamic HTML.

• Requires no compilation, is browser- and device-agnostic:

Since JavaScript is an interpreted language, not a compiled language; it does not require a compiler. The user’s browser reads the code, interprets it as HTML tags, and then runs it. JavaScript runs on many browsers out-of-the-box. It also runs on every device, unlike desktop or mobile applications that run only on specific devices or operating systems. This advantage makes it easy to write cross-platform apps.

• Easy to debug and test:

For such a powerful language, JavaScript is surprisingly easy to debug and test. All modern browsers come with a built-in JavaScript debugger that can be turned on or off as required. Many open-source, user-friendly testing tools are also available, including Cypress.io, Chrome DevTools, and Mocha.

Conclusion

Software is everywhere – websites, mobile apps, devices, machines, vehicles, factories, and everything in between. Today’s developers and programmers are spoiled for choice when it comes to learning and implementing programming languages. And given the many benefits, it’s not surprising that the legions of Python and JavaScript fans keep on growing!