Software Development Assignment : Selection Of System Development Methodologies

Question

Task:To successfully complete the assignment, you should:

Identify factors that may determine the appropriateness of a particular development approach for an organisation or project – for example organisational size, team size and whether the system is mission-critical may be important. Use the unit readings and other literature you identify to do this.

Review the system development methodologies that Innovative Solutions use in terms of their characteristics, benefits and drawbacks:

• Rational Unified Process
• Scrum

Consider when the use of each methodology is appropriate.

Propose guidelines to help assist in the selection of which of these system development methodologies to use.

Create a report based on what you have found out. It should include some information about the factors that determine choice of methodology, some information about the methodologies, and MUST provide well explained guidelines. The report will be used by employees of the Innovative Solutions, so should be written in a style that will be accessible to them (i.e. not as an academic essay).

Answer

Introduction: Organizational development is the preparation of systematic transformation in the values & attitude of the work staff for individual as well as corporation growth. There are continuous changes taking place in the current industry irrespective of the field a company belongs to. With OD, employees will be able to respond aptly to those technological advances.

A highly functional framework, the utilization of SDM or Software Development Methodology assists the project teams in controlling & planning the expansion of IT procedures, Services & Products (Saarinen & Saarinen, 1990). The use of SDM in manifold instances enhances quality & productivity of system development. Every SDM will be different based on the nature of IT projects. Each methodology is directed towards particular projects that will position the brand in the highest rank for it to be competitive.

The objective of this particular software development assignment is to apprehend what system development methodologies are & the comparison of two different system development methodologies in context to a company named Innovative Solutions. Also, the software development assignment will review the possible approaches & factors that the employees can consider for the various development projects. This structure of the software development assignment will determine the criterion for assessment of the given two methodologies.

Factors affecting the selection of system development methodologies
The creator of finest utility software, Innovative Solutions is a software development firm whose services & products enlarge the prospects & innovation for their users. As the company’s goal to fabricate supreme quality applications, it is imperative for the organization to depend on System Development Methodologies. It is also quite important to have the best tools for forming the reports (TopITSoftware, 2020) However, with each different application or project, the particular development approach also changes that has to be selected correctly so that the clients gain benefits.

Emphasizing on the perspective of the employees holding positions like system personnel, functional managers, external consultants, information systems manager, etc; the factors that affect the implementation of System Development Methodologies are (Roberts, Gibson, Fields & Rainer, 1998):

• Clarification of primary requisites – Every software development has a beginning point which gets represented by the correct definition of the exact requisites from the very commencement of any project. A look on the iterative sessions can also be helpful as the users specify the initial requirements in details over here.
• Estimated development time & costs – The specifics of every project is different which is why the development time can vary as well. Hence it has to be chosen as per the urgency of the user. However, the development costs keep changing that depends on the operations in the execution of the requisites that go through transformation in the development stage.
• Requirement alterations during the entire development stage – Requirement & system changes can be brought along even in delayed life cycle stages as it has to be flexible enough to adapt to client requirements. But the cost becomes high in the later stages.

Reviewing two major system development methodologies
Innovative Solutions utilize two system methodologies depending on its characteristics, drawbacks & benefits. The Review of those two System Development Methodologies are as follows:

RUP or Rational Unified Process: A framework for finest project software development, the Rational Unified Process is a library equipped with the best practices in respect to the current industry that assists developers in small & big projects (Powell-Morse, 2017). The development of organization specific software carries out in four phases:

• Elaboration
• Transition
• Inception
• Construction

This type of methodology is appropriate for unwavering organizational environment just like Innovative Solutions. It also renders manifold applications for all users.

SCRUM: Organizations when developing technology products require assistance of a responsive software development structure that can be acquired through SCRUM methodology. It is also utilized for manifold complex projects. Client requisites are volatile which is why this flexible methodology is apt in arenas of maintenance & product development. The methodology can also alter software terms based on changing customer requirements.

When is the utilization of RUP appropriate?
Firstly, the disciplines whose performance is carried out within Rational Unified Process for Software Development are design & analysis, business modeling, deployment, project management, implementation & a lot more. This methodology can be adapted as per manifold factors like:

• The area of software operation
• Operating system size
• Skills of the development team
• Complexity
• Project organization method.

The projects that carry complex elements can be best apprehended with RUP methodology. The approaches for the adaptation of this methodology are (Lee, 2012):

• Adaptation in one step for every project
• Describing a subset of the structure to the company
• Adapting by taking the project categories into consideration

Project success is guaranteed as this methodology is based on contemporary software engineering practices like:

• Visual modeling
• Iterative development
• Verification of change control
• Requirements management

When is the utilization of SCRUM appropriate?
The software development projects that require quick turnaround times and carry tighter schedules must revert to SCRUM methodology. For instance, while fabricating ERP application custom reports, a SCRUM procedure will be required as reports develop over time for greater functionality as per user feedback (Murray, 2018). These are iterative processes. Some of the prescribed elements that make SCRUM lightweight are:

• Three meetings – Retrospective, sprint planning & daily scrum
• Three roles – Product owner, team & scrum master
• Three artifacts – Sprint & product backlog & burndown chart

SCRUM methodology is highly swift & responsive to client needs that makes it agile. It is an amalgamation of concepts & practices around which procedures can be developed.

The assumptions made by this approach regarding practicalities & priorities of the project to be completed depend on these factors:

• Reduction of scope takes place for attaining schedule
• Success is demonstrated with the attainment of planned scope
• Tighter constraint is a possibility depending on schedule
• Schedules are sometimes extended as well for obtaining scope

Guidelines to consider while selecting system development methodologies
Rational Unified Process: The aspects related to this methodology depend on a bunch of building blocks that demonstrate what has to be produced, the person in charge of the production, the method of carrying out the production & the time frame for completing the production.

• Workers – The duties of the work staff either as teams or individuals working on a particular project is important for producing artifacts
• Activities – By this it refers to the unit of operations that workers perform
• Artifacts – Tangible solutions that are derived from the procedures that range from code functions to life cycle models
• Workflows – It represents a series of activities for the development of artifacts

SCRUM: Tasks are always prioritized by utilizing the 30-days sprints by SCRUM methodology. A SCRUM master is the one who leads small teams. The teams work no particular activities independently and they are joined by the SCRUM master later for analyzing the progress. Choosing the apt master is vital for the successful completion of all projects. The selection criteria are:

• Servant Leadership personnel – A candidate who will be serving towards all clients is the apt one. He will take care of the fact that the priority of other people are met & served.
• Problem solving talent – This primary criterion in a person states that he has the required experience for helping solve any challenge for the team.
• Commitment – The master has to apprehend commitment so that he can offer the team with a favorable work environment for successful delivery of projects.
• Availability – It is the duty of the master to be available at all times for scheduling and facilitating meetings that incorporates daily standup & release planning meetings

Deciding on the apt systems development methodologies
As we know that System Development Methodologies are a bunch of practices utilized by a company for managing projects and meetings goals, Innovative Solutions must consider these factors before deciding on a particular methodology:

• Particular processes must be present for analyzing each methodology for guaranteeing that it fits the requirements
• Methodology selection can also depend on external & internal factors

Factors to be taken into account while selecting methodology:

• Cost & size of the project
• The structure of the company
• Strength, opportunity, weakness & threat in business
• Complexity of the project
• Overlooking if the internal infrastructure supports the specific methodology

Assessing methodologies: The next step includes a process development for discovering the drivers’ specific to the particular projects so that the best choice can be made. The drivers are:

• Timeline
• Stakeholder requirements
• Budget limitations
• Deliverables

Some RUP advantages

• Embedded with the adaptive abilities of managing changing requisites via life cycle development.
• Focuses on the requirement for accurate documentation & correct execution.
• Makes integration occur via development amidst construction phase in which the coding is taking place.

Some SCRUM advantages

• The ability of completing projects 40% faster than any other methodology. This is possible due to the availability of real time updates.
• Offers the team members an opportunity for bringing out their creative side as this development system comes in a self-managed shape (Novoseltseva, 2017).
• SCRUM provides the developers with the correct relevant information as it utilizes relevant metrics.

Conclusion
As Innovative Solutions deal with clients having massive in-house IT departments as well as clients having few in-house expertises, both the System Development Methodologies can be selected. In this software development assignment it is observed that the selection will mainly depend on the nature, budget & urgency of the project. Software development assignments are being prepared by our IT assignment help experts from top universities which let us to provide you a reliable assignment help melbourne service.

Referencing
Saarinen, T., & Saarinen, T. (1990). System development methodology and project success. Information & Management, 19(3), 183-193.

Lee, C. (2012). Rational Unified Best Practices (RUP): A Primer for the Project Manager. Retrieved from https://www.cprime.com/2011/07/rational-unified-best-practices-rup-a-primer-for-the-project-manager/

Lee, C. (2012). Rational Unified Best Practices (RUP): A Primer for the Project Manager. Retrieved from https://www.cprime.com/2011/07/rational-unified-best-practices-rup-a-primer-for-the-project-manager/

Novoseltseva, E. (2017). THE BENEFITS YOU GET BY DOING AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Retrieved from https://apiumhub.com/tech-blog-barcelona/benefits-of-agile-project-management/

Powell-Morse, A. (2017). Rational Unified Process: What Is It And How Do You Use It? [Blog]. Retrieved from https://airbrake.io/blog/sdlc/rational-unified-process

Roberts, T., Gibson, M., Fields, K., & Rainer, R. (1998). Factors that impact implementing a system development methodology. IEEE Transactions On Software Engineering, 24(8), 640-649. doi: 10.1109/32.707699

Saarinen, T., & Saarinen, T. (1990). System development methodology and project success. Information & Management, 19(3), 183-193.