Software Engineering methodology vs. Software Development methodology
Software Engineering methodology vs. Software Development methodologyThis blog describes the distinctions and similarities between software engineering and software development methodologies, because in practice these two terms are often used interchangeably. Both of them contribute to the software creation process in order to design and build high-quality, reliable, scalable, maintainable software systems, but despite this there are significant differences between them.To understand differences and overlap between Software Engineering and Software Development methodology it is necessary to explain the software engineering and software development process first.What is Software Engineering?IEEE in its standard 610.12-1990 defines Software Engineering as systematic and disciplined process that involves all activities (tasks) for software development.These activities are:
Planning: fundamental process of understanding why an information system should be built and determining how the project team will build it. The phase includes two steps: feasibility analysis (technical, economic and the organizational) and project management that help the project sponsor to decide whether system development project will be proceed or not.
Analysis: during the analysis phase, a study of the current system and its problems is done first, after that the users’ and stakeholders’ requirements are gathered and specified. The requirements specification are the basis to develop a set of business analysis models that describes how the new system will operate.
Design: The main activities in this phase is designing of basic architecture for the system that describes the hardware, software, and network infrastructure that will be used. Also, the interface design specifications are done that describe how the users will move through the system and also the forms and reports that the system will use.
Implementation and testing: During this phase the system is developed and tested to ensure that it performs as designed. Development is the process of writing the code for the system in order to translate the requirement specifications into functional software. After development, the system undergoes thorough testing to ensure that it works as expected.
Deployment: During the phase of deployment, the system is deployed into the live or production environment. Also, data migration from an old system (legacy data) may need to be transferred to the new system. This involves cleaning, validating, and ensuring data integrity during the migration.
Software Engineering is mainly used for large projects of software systems rather than single programs or applications. Software Engineering enables system’s complexity to be reduces by dividing the large system into small sub systems that can be solved independently. During the process of Software Engineering, clear documentation, including code comments, API and design documents are generated, that helps engineers and future developers to understand the system. Software Engineering process generally focus more on upfront planning activity, extensive documentation and careful project management that often increase the overall project costs and duration.Software engineering includes a variety of techniques, tools, and methodologies that enable software developers to create high-quality and maintainable software that meets the needs of its users.What are Software Engineering Methodologies?Software Engineering Methodologies are approaches that guarantee successful project completion by during Software Engineering process. An important feature of these methodologies is that they tend to focus on the entire software lifecycle, from planning and design to deployment.Key Software Engineering Methodologies:
The Waterfall Model is one of the oldest methodologies that support linear, sequential approach in software development. This means that each phase in software lifecycle, from Planning, Analysis to Deployment is completed before moving on to the next. Once a phase is finished, it cannot be revisited. The weakness of this methodology is inflexibility in changing software requirements
The V-Model (Verification and Validation) methodology is an extension of the Waterfall Model, where each development phase is tested to ensure correctness and improvement of software specifications. But, like Waterfall, this methodology also showed lacks of flexibility for adapting to changing requirements.
The Spiral Model is an iterative approach that combines elements of software design and prototyping. It encourages building prototypes throughout the development cycle in order to emphasizes risk analysis. Spirals are small, manageable phases generated by project division, whit a specific objective like analysis, design, testing etc. The Spiral is more flexible than Waterfall and V Model because it helps managing project risks, and incorporation of user feedback.
Family of Unified Process methodologies support development process for larger development teams. They have a strong focus on use cases by which software requirements are specified and on choosing the best software architecture. In order to provide an early check point where the project can be cancelled due to a large number of failures or continued, the highest risk tasks are done first.
Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a formalized process for handling large projects. During SDLC, object oriented analysis and design are typically used that provides many abstract conceptual model like use cases model, relational data base model, user interface etc. Also, multiple types of software testing are employed. In SCLD, different management teams participate who are specialized to handle requirements, implement software code, deploy and monitor software products.
What is Software Development?Unlike software engineering process that emphasizes structured engineering principles to all phases of software life cycle, software development is a more focused on building functional software through coding and implementation the actual features and functionality. Software development is continuous process, as software often needs updates and improvements to stay relevant, secure and performant.Main stages of software development are:
Requirement Gathering and Analysis: Understanding the needs and of users or stakeholders and definition of functional and non-functional requirements
Design: Creation software architecture (different software components and theirs interaction), database design and user interfaces (UI)
Implementation (Coding): writing the actual code by using of programming languages like Python, Java, C++, or JavaScript in order to make the software function
Testing: ensuring the software is free of bugs or issues by including various testing methods like unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT).
Deployment: releasing the software to users in the form of a website, desktop application, mobile app, or other delivery methods
What are Software Development Methodologies?Software Development Methodologies are structured approaches or frameworks used to organize, plan, and execute the software development process. They typically define the processes, roles, responsibilities, and tools that are involved in the development lifecycle.Key Software Development Methodology is Agile MethodologyIn the Agile Manifesto in 2001, Agile is described as an iterative and incremental approach to software development that divides the development process into small, manageable chunks called sprints (typically 2-4 weeks). Agile focuses on delivering a minimum viable product quickly that will be improved over time based on user feedback and changing requirements.Agile provides multiple benefits over the previously used waterfall methodology in terms of flexibility, customer satisfaction, collaboration, and quality. It is particularly useful for projects with rapidly changing requirements or in environments where speed and adaptability are critical. But, Agile also has some weaknesses: its emphasis on flexibility can lead to an absence of detailed documentation and clear long-term planning; it is difficult to predict timelines, costs, and resource requirements accurately; it encourages frequent changes based on continuous feedback, which can result an uncontrolled increase in the scope of the project as new features or changes are added over time.Agile works well for small to medium-sized projects or teams, but it can be challenging to scale effectively to larger, more complex projects or organizations.There are three frameworks to implement Agile’s principles.
Scrum Framework: It is one of the most popular and widely adopted Agile’s frameworks, particularly for software development projects. Scrum uses time-boxed iterations – sprints, during which a specific set of tasks or user stories are completed to deliver an increment of software. Sprint is one of the core elements of Scrum, and it allows teams to focus on a limited set of features or work items within a defined period. The sprints are followed with regular meetings (daily standups, sprint reviews, sprint retrospectives) to ensure progress and address any issues early. In Scrum Framework roles such as Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team are emphasized.
Kanban framework: Unlike Scrum, which organizes work into sprints, Kanban focuses on continuous delivery and managing work as it flows through various stages of completion. A visual representation of the workflow is Kanban board which is often divided into columns such as “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” Each task or work item is represented as a card on the board that moves across these columns as the task progresses. One of the key principles of Kanban is limiting the number of work items in progress at any one time. By monitoring and improving how work moves through the Kanban board, teams can identify areas for improvement and reduce delays in the process.
Extreme Programming (XP):frequent release development methodology in which developers work in pairs for continuous code review. XP encourages a collaborative environment where developers work closely with customers and focus on test driven development and delivering high-quality code. XP can be difficult to implement in large teams or organizations.
Key Differences Between Software Engineering and Software Development MethodologiesBoth Software Engineering and Software Development methodologies play vital roles in creating high-quality, reliable software, but also exist difference between them. By understanding those differences we can conclude which methodology should be used in which situation.
Primary difference is scope and approach: while engineering methodologies focus on designing and building scalable, maintainable systems, development methodologies focus on delivering functional software incrementally in order to respond quickly to users’ feedback.
Also exist a difference in the flexibility of responding to changing user requirements. Engineering methodologies assume that requirements are fixed at the beginning of the project and had the goal to manage system complexity and risks. On the other side Development methodologies, especially Agile, focus on flexibility and quick responding to customer needs, new requirements, and emerging technology.
One more difference lies in the fact that Engineering methodologies generally focus more on upfront planning, a structured approach with extensive documentation, risk analysis, and careful project management, opposite to Development methodologies that prioritize iterative work, users’ and stakeholder’s feedback and continuous testing and improvement.
The biggest difference is that Engineering methodologies address the entire lifecycle of a software system, from requirements gathering to system deployment while Development methodologies are more focused on the creation and delivery of software function, often with regular releases and user feedback.
We can conclude that the choice of methodology depends on the project nature.
Engineering Methodologies should be used when a structured approach to large-scale, complex systems is needed, that require careful planning, risk management, and long-term reliability.
Development Methodologies should be used when the focus is on flexibility, fast iterations, customer collaboration, and delivering working software quickly.
