Enterprise Software Development- Definition and Development Models
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has paved the way for businesses to go online. Whether it’s daily work or other business processes, everything has now turned into its digital counterpart. Due to the severe hit to revenues and profits, companies optimize their operations and skimming down the resources needed to complete them.To do this, most of the management of a business is deriving their decisions through enterprise resource planning software. While some pretty well-known ERP software programs out there can be integrated with an enterprise of any size, you can even get one built for your company. So, what does that entail? Read on.
ERP Software - Definition
ERP software is a business software used to streamline business processes, help in the reduction of costs, and plan a product procedure from start to end by factoring in the resources available.The aim is to digitalize the processes that have been manual so far and also help in removing redundancies in data storage and access.
ERP Software Development Models
While it might sound like an easy task, like any software, it takes its due diligence, time, and resources to develop a custom ERP software for any company. The first step is deciding which model the developer will adopt. The model chooses how different aspects of the software interact with the customers. Here are the top development models:
- Waterfall
- V-model
- Incremental model
- Spiral model
- RUP
- Agile/Scrum
- Kanban
The waterfall model is a development model that was in the progress of one stage based on the completion of the stage before. So, if the first stage is not complete, the second stage cannot begin. This model can be used in small or midsize projects whose demands do not change from start to end.
The V-model also stands for verification and validation model. It is similar to the waterfall model. However, it offers a very high level of quality and also takes a lot of time. In this, every stage is tested, verified, and validated for its functionality before moving forward. This is the reason why it is also one of the costliest development models out there.
The incremental model is a method in which more features are added in each stage of the development process. This is often combined with the iterative model because it allows you to develop the model in parallel with other steps and bring it together in one go at the end. This type of development is used in goal-oriented enterprise software programs that comprise various components.
The spiral model is the one to use if you want a thorough risk assessment of the software viability. In most cases, this is also the type of development that utilizes customer feedback and input at all stages of development. Use cases fall in the scope of large, complicated projects or have varying sets of requirements at every step.
The Rational Unified Process (RUP) amalgams the waterfall and the iterative and incremental models. The software development is done in 4 phases- inception, elaboration, construction, and transition. The development uses customer feedback; however, the extent of involvement largely depends on the project’s scope. Thus, while it offers some degree of flexibility, it still has ground to make up to reach the more famous agile, scrum, and Kanban levels.
Simply the most famous and most adopted development model. The Agile/Scrum approach develops the software in sprints. Then the management re-evaluates the stage on the parameters of future scope, customer adoption, and overall use case scenarios. Practically applicable for any software size, it can deliver the final project in a matter of weeks. The development teams that use agile methodology have a 64% success rate, compared to just 49% for the waterfall model.
The Kanban model fastens the process by offering a visual approach to the entire development process. What this helps with is prioritizing the tasks that need the most attention during the development. In some cases, independent and parallel development also happens, which can be compiled later to form the final ERP software.
Conclusion
ERP software programs are going all out to relay the foundation of how to optimize business processes. While they work off of human information, they still manage to outperform many experts due to the complexity it can process.So, whether you want to get custom-made ERP software or an existing one, you can rest assured that your business will definitely get more streamlined than before.