A Comprehensive Guide to Software Development in 2023
Published on August 29th 2023
What is Software Development?
The term software development refers to the process of designing, creating, testing and maintaining various software applications. It is the process that programmers use for developing computer programs. It consists of applying different techniques and principles from computer science, engineering and mathematical analysis. The main aim of software development is to create software that is reliable, easy-to-use and efficient.
Software development is generally performed by software developers, programmers, and software engineers. Their roles keep overlapping and interacting with each other across different development departments.
Primarily, software developers are focused on writing the codes. Apart from that, they also drive the overall Software Development Life Cycle – SDLC. It comprises working with cross-functional teams, turning requirements into features, and conducting software testing and maintenance.
There are three main reasons of performing software development as mentioned below:
- To meet particular demands of a client, business, or an organization. (Custom software)
- To meet the requirements of a specific group of users. (Open Source or Commercial Software)
- To meet the needs for personalized use. (Personalized Software)
How does Software Development Work?
- The software development process starts with the requirements-gathering phase. In this particular phase, the requirements of software application are gathered from various stakeholders.
- After that, these requirements are analyzed and used for creating a software design.
- Once the software design is implemented in code, it is then tested to make sure that it meets the requirements.
- As the code is verified, it is then deployed to the production environment.
What are the Types of Software Development?
There are different types of software development as listed below:
Application Development
Application Development is all about developing a computer program for helping users, organizations or businesses in making proper use of functionalities. This is a standard application that executes traditional duties on operating systems.
Application Development languages: Java, C/C++, C#, Python, and much more.
Mobile Development
Mobile Development or Mobile App Development refers to the process of creating applications that work on mobile devices. These applications work on different mobile devices such as iPhones, Android, and Windows 10 platforms.
Mobile Development Technologies: Android, Swift, Objective C, HTML5, Java, C#, JavaScript, etc.
Web Development
The term Web development is all about developing a website for the internet. This particular process starts from developing a single static page to complex web applications. It also involves developing thousands of interconnected web pages organized by a web developer.
Web Development Technologies: HTML, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby and Rails, ASP.NET, Django, C/C++, etc.
Software Tools Development
This software is not used by customers, but it is of great importance for the software development industry. Here, the tools are built for software developers to test and code. Software Tools Development not only helps in development and testing, but also helps developers in maintaining the industry standards in their development.
Tools Development Technologies: Java, Python, C++.
API Development
API Development is a program developed for acting as a piece of puzzle across different operating systems. They let 3rd party developers interact with functions or tools related to API. Basically, APIs are meant for specific platforms and every API has the programming language of a device it is designed for.
Data Science
No matter how much data you have, it is of no use until you actually know what to do with it. This is where data scientists step in the picture, they know how to find value from simple data. Besides this, they also make sure that the data is presented in the correct form to be used in AI applications.
Data Science Technologies: MATLAB, Python, C/C++, etc.
Embedded Systems Development
Embedded Systems Development is meant for specific systems that your device works on. This software development type deals with the coding skills that are meant for embedded systems like Arduinos and Raspberry Pi.
Embedded System Technologies: Embedded C, Assembler, Python, Arduino, and Java.
Security Software Development
Security Software Development is performed by white hat hackers and cyber security experts for the betterment of companies and their data.
Backend Development
Back-end Development is all about behind the scenes of a system. The back-end is the server side where data is actually stored. One of the main features of back-end development is database management. It also acts as the backbone of an organization for storing large important data files.
Backend Development Technologies: Python, Java, C, C++, MySQL, dBase, and Oracle.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing makes use of a network of remote servers to store data and access services rather than personal devices or local servers. Here, the developers work on software for powering cloud storage applications. Some big examples of cloud computing software are Amazon Web Services (AWS) and GitHub.
Cloud computing Technologies: Java, XML, R, Erlang, Google’s Go, Clojure, etc.
Why is Software Development important?
The main reason behind software development’s importance is its ability to help businesses in differentiating from one another. With this, businesses become more innovative, offering feature-rich products, and improving customer experience. Software development is of great importance as it is used in almost every task. In this digital era, the software is the one that stores, integrates, and centralizes the data for accessing it. With software development, you can be assured about the security and protection of your data.
Business Promotion
Software development has the ability to take your business to the next level. It can be of great help in promoting your business and advertising about your brand. It helps your brand to be visible in front of the entire world.
Boost in Sales
If you are digitally present through software development, then you will definitely see a boost in your sales. It is extremely important to know your customer’s thoughts on your brand, products, and services. With an online platform, it will be easier for your customers to reach you.
Effective communication
With software development, you can communicate directly with your existing and potential customers. It is also considered to be one of the best ways to advertise your brand.
Increase in customer engagement and satisfaction
Marketing software can be helpful in increasing customer loyalty and offering better customer engagement. It is essential for businesses to have a good marketing strategy for providing better customer satisfaction.
What is the Software Development Life Cycle?
The term Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) refers to the process used by software development companies for designing, developing and testing high-quality software. SLDC is meant to create high-quality software software that meets all business requirements and customer expectations. SLDC life cycle is a framework of defined tasks executed at every step of the software development process.Why is the Software Development Life Cycle important?
There are several reasons that make software development cycle important as stated below:- Software development life cycle will help in deciding your end goals.
- It can be of great importance to meet all your client requirements.
- This development cycle makes sure accurate and on-time delivery to the client.
- It has the ability to track your project progress without any hassle.
- With a software development life cycle, you will get complete testing for your project.
- It also offers flexibility to your project, making it a successful one.
- Last but not least, it can be of great help in minimizing the risks of the project.
How to Hire Dedicated Software Development Company?
There are several ways of hiring a dedicated software development company. It depends on the varied requirements of a specific software development project. There are several other factors that could affect your decision such as technology, time zones, project duration, etc. You can pick a software development company on various criteria as mentioned below. Hiring as per Job Roles A successful dedicated software development company needs the right people to fit the job role. If you want to make your software development project successful, you must pick the right people for the right job roles. Such hiring process will provide you with a robust combination of software developers, designers, QA, testing, and managers for your business. Hiring as per Framework and Database You need experienced software developers and teams for leading software development projects that work on specific frameworks. Hiring a dedicated software development company will be helpful for making your project a successful one. Hiring as per the Hiring Model Every software development company offers different hiring models to their clients. There are various models available for you such as onsite, offsite, and dedicated development center. Uncanny is one of those software development companies that offers various types of software development services.Conclusion
Software development has become quite popular and important among business owners. It is power-packed with several features for taking your business to the next level. We hope this blog on software development will help you understand it in detail and adapt it for your business. Uncanny is a top rated software development company known for its reliable solutions. We have an experience of more than a decade helping you get the top 1% talent for your business. Our engagement models allow customers to improve their development team by hiring dedicated software developers. If you have any questions or queries regarding this topic or blog, please feel free to share them in the comments.