When it comes to assessing the quality of software developed by a company, it’s crucial to understand that it’s not solely about whether it’s functioning properly. Software quality encompasses more than that!
Many companies are opting for the waterfall development model to achieve better results in their processes.
However, when it comes to these types of methodologies, there are common conflicts regarding their understanding. This is because there are distinctive factors that should be considered in comparison to agile processes.
It’s worth noting that before delving further into this topic, you should check out the content of the article “What is Agile Methodology and How Can It Benefit Your Company?” The article is entirely based on efficient ways to leverage agile methodology to streamline internal processes in your company and contribute to shorter and more consistent timelines.
On the other hand, the waterfall development is a sequential model where the process can be seen as a more constant “flow” through the adoption of requirement analysis phases. This includes project planning, implementation, testing, integration, and software maintenance!
To delve into this topic and gain more insights into software quality, continue reading the following sections of the article to understand what needs to be considered in your company’s processes.
What is software quality? – Understand the difference between traditional (waterfall) and agile software development!
What does your company prioritize: Agile development or Waterfall development? Reflecting on this is crucial!
Over the past few years, both systems development models have been influencing companies to change the way they define their strategies.
In fact, each of them has a crucial point, and choosing the one that best fits your company can be important in shaping business rules.
Check out the key characteristics of each one below:
Agile Development: Created with the aim of making software development processes more flexible and adding agility so that teams can adapt to any kind of change. In general, this methodology tends to be more adaptable, with a foundation that helps teams deliver results more quickly.
Unlike traditional methods, it is not necessary to present all types of resources to consolidate a potential change.
Waterfall Development: This is considered an older model and is also seen as more established compared to the previous methodology.
In summary, this method involves creating tools through well-defined and distinct stages, occurring sequentially in a “waterfall” format, such as analysis, design, coding, testing, and maintenance.
It is known for having a more rigid structure, offering few opportunities for changes that may arise in the middle of an ongoing process!
It’s worth noting that this model is gradually losing ground to agile methodologies, primarily due to being considered less flexible.
Furthermore, the waterfall model tends to involve less communication with the client, as it typically occurs only at the end of each stage, which can be a drawback.
In other words, in essence, the client can only see the results and determine if everything aligns with their expectations at the end of each stage.
What does quality software need to provide?
Quality software must ensure a broad capacity to meet implicit and explicit needs:
Explicit needs: These are defined according to proposed requirements and can be established based on the conditions under which a product can be used, indicating its objectives, performance, and functions. In essence, these factors relate to the quality of the development process.
Implicit needs: Even if not expressed in a document, they are crucial for users – also known as usability qualities. They aim to enable users to achieve goals with effectiveness, safety, productivity, and satisfaction in their daily use!
In essence, quality software should always meet the customer’s needs and not just be used to avoid potential bugs. Additionally, it should comply with the rules and requirements of a company.
The key point is that the testing phase is always one of the most complex aspects for companies, and this is something that should be integrated into the culture and core of all operations to ensure true effectiveness.
As evident from the discussion so far, software quality should also be attributed to intuitive maintenance and rely on intelligent and effective development processes!
