It’s always valuable to keep the development process simple. In order to accommodate all the changes that happens while the program is being developed. In the event the incremental model of software development is extending for a lengthier time period, there are chances that the hardware and the software options chosen for the computer software might become obsolete at the conclusion of the development practice.
Linear Sequential Model
It is also called a linear sequential model, classic life cycle or waterfall model. It suggests a systematic, sequential approach to Software Development that begins at a systematic level and progresses through communication, planning, modeling, construction, and deployment.
Gathering Requirements
The first and foremost step is to know thoroughly about the demands of customers and other stakeholders. It is to assure all the necessary information is gathered. The client is also made aware of the Software Development Process. Penning down all requirements decides about the specific development process.
If you are not so sure about your client’s requirements, then probably you would end up in developing a product which is not going to satisfy your customer happy. This is not only a loss but also a time-wasting activity. Probably you would need to restart with developing the product from the start.
In today’s world, satisfying the customer is one of the fundamental goals to achieve. If your customer has positive feedback to your performance, only then you can have good respect in the present global market. Of course, your new customers would be reviewing your profile and the remarks of your former customers to assure your working capability.
It is the most important step of waterfall methodology because there is no retrieval or stepping back to alterations once the development has been started. The Waterfall methodology is most appropriate for projects which have a very clear picture until the last stage. It does not lend itself particularly well to projects where the requirements are not clearly understood at the outset.
Planning
This development step contains the making of the idea, gathering suggestions, deciding timelines, technical procedures and working schedules. It demands the proper research about the product value, the targeted audience of the product, and its symmetry to your client’s business requirements.
Linear sequential model of Software Development is the best option for smaller projects. Thorough planning is the demand of waterfall methodology. If the issue raises, there might be chances of restarting the development process from scratch.
To assure the marketing efficiency of the product is also part of the planning. Of course, you don’t want to build a product which has no compatibility with market demands and earning no return on investment.
By keeping your customer’s demands and market value of the product can help you in creating a milestone for your project. Be clear about the planning and time schedule to keep your development team on track so you can have the fruitful implementation and in meeting the deadline.
As a way to proceed with the start-up phase, the project should make sure that all individuals directly and indirectly connected to the project (like the independent reviewer) clearly understand the goals of the project and the effect it is going to have upon them.
Modeling
At this step, there is a need for a proper map to Project Development. Having all requirements, info, and ingredients to construct the product, then it’s time for you to have a timeline to better understand the demands and design to achieve these requirements. This stage will help you to choose the employment of the technologies and services you will be needing in the development process.
The central focus behind this road map is to have the understanding to build a robust infrastructure and user-friendly application. A mock-up model of the project will guide you with the vision about the inner structure and the user interface of the product. It will also help you in choosing the user-friendly and attractive design the application to target the maximum relative audience. Effective and healthy planning is an essential step to plan out how time and money is going to be spent on the project.
Construction
The entire process is broken into sequential stages. It’s vital to finish each phase successfully as a way to move onto the next one. All kinds of testing methods are essentially carried out during the validation approach.
Testing
Software Testing is a procedure of finding defects to guarantee that the system being developed meet the requirements. This process assures quality and optimized efficiency. You need to run tests on every form, every script, run a spell-checking software to remove every possible typo. Use code validators to examine the code follows the latest web standards. The valid code is important, for example, if cross-browser compatibility is important for your website.
After the continuous testing, it’s the right time to upload it to the server. The file transfer protocol software is used to achieve the purpose. After the successful deployment of the files, you need to run another test to assure all files are installed accurately.
The possession of automated testing, test data management, and several other testing tools will help you to have meticulous continuous testing and check app performance to assure the final product is fulfilling all requirements.
Feedback
Your website is more about service than the product. After the successful delivery and execution of web application, it is the time to collect feedback, reviews and the results. The feedback is very important to detect all possible problem at end-users face. After then, the highest priority is to fix those errors as rapidly as they can be removed.
The delay will affect the targeting of the audience, and producing effective results. After all this hard work you don’t want all your efforts, time and money going in vain. The essential part of maintenance is to keep your website up to date, rapidly loading and remain user-friendly. If your CMS works efficiently, then it will help you with regular updates, preventing bugs and security risks.
Advantages of Linear Sequential Software Development Model
1. Cost Effective
Since the projects are easier to complete under waterfall project management. That’s is the reason they likely take less time in execution and in meeting the deadline successfully. There are very few chances of finding bugs, errors or complicated problems during the planning, designing, testing and the final end of the project.
The companies merrily go for the linear sequential methodology for smaller projects. They take less time, fewer developers and fewer resources to complete.
It is also less pricey because the companies don’t need to use expensive technology and machinery to complete such software programs.
2. Suitable for Different Geographical Positions
Communication and remote projects become a major hurdle for larger and complicated projects. Waterfall projects are smaller and flexible ones are highly applicable for remote geographical positions. As such products can be developed by a smaller team and don’t need much communication to resolve the errors.
3. It’s Linear
It has linear sequential patterns which make it flexible to follow the Waterfall Methodology. The sequential projects don’t need much changing once the project has started the development. The main point is sticking with the developing plan. There are likely good chances to finish your work within the timeline and all other criteria. The linear also makes management and development easier.
Waterfall methodology suits better for the smaller projects where demands are clear and understandable. Every step in the waterfall software development has a start and end point. Hence it’s flexible to share buildup report with stakeholders and clients. The determined preplanning on demands and design before writing a code eliminates the risk of bugs and delay.
The linear sequential model in software engineering requires proper documentation for each developing aspect. It is important to enhance the understanding of the logic behind the code and evaluation. This linear sequence creates proper trails for the clients to have an insight into a specific phase.
4. Less Time Taking
A standard problem is to reach timeline goals, at the expense of conducting business growth activities. The unexpected errors and delay waste resources, money and time. Waterfall Methodology projects don’t require much changing as they follow a linear sequence. That’s is the reason they are delivered on time.
5. Maximized Customer Satisfaction
The linear sequential projects are not too complex to meet the demands of the client. Every Project Management Methodology gives a high preference for the happiness of the customers. The client is being aware of each process, confidential about feedback, preference for each demand.
Waterfall methodology is the best approach to follow, if the customer is clear regarding the needs of the software, as the linear sequential methodology is less time taking and less costly.
6. The Quality Deliverable
Every Software Development Methodology has the objective to deliver quality development process to create a robust product. Which has the power to efficiently meet the market’s demands? It is true to believe, that 100% of results cannot be achieved. The realistic approach and refined precision can be acquired through focused competency, unification, teamwork, and management.
7. No Pre-Knowledge is required
The waterfall project management is a flexible one to go with as it requires no beforehand knowledge and pro-training to begin the development. The linear sequential methodology is also a rigid model; the particular deliverable and reviews make it easy to manage and develop.
8. Secured Mechanism
No technical project is ever without risks. It’s the nature and intricacy of the project that is most likely to learn the effect of the risks on the total success of the undertaking. Bigger projects will call for additional heights of consultation to assess the extra company and technical requirements.
Waterfall Project Management ensures privacy and security. It supports sturdy security during the execution of the program.
9. Flexible Management
The control over the entire project along with criteria and team is rather one of the toughest things in project administration. There’s an appeal for the entire team to have a good comprehension of their own development and management practice. The management change ought to be well structured so as to achieve goals and missions.
In the current dynamic business era, there’s a hearty demand for competitive and intuitive organizations. For the reason, the management failures can make development process worse and uncontrollable. Waterfall projects require fewer teams and less complicated management to control project development.
10. Easy to Change
The project starts with a simplistic design and afterward it is shaped by short development cycles. It allows the general project design for variations when the need comes up.
11. Efficiency
The efficient project management strategy and the successful execution of the project develops a good relationship with the clients for future projects. It also has a positive impact on the team in gaining experience and specialized to handle complex and technical activities.
It’s especially appropriate for the development projects in complicated environments where there’s a need to receive concrete results quickly.
Disadvantages of Linear Sequential Software Development
The biggest drawback of the waterfall development strategy is that you cannot step up to the next phase until the current phase does not complete. You also cannot recede back to the prior step until the entire development life cycle concludes. The major disadvantage of the waterfall is the inability to modify something in the event the stage ends.
1) It is Rigid
It is going to be a slow development if your client isn’t sure about the wishes for the developed product. Since the changes are difficult in the linear sequential methodology. The alterations can break the sequence. There is no possibility of going back to the previous stage. There is no question of skipping the current stage and moving up to the next level.
2) No Centrality of the Client
There isn’t much room for the clients’ assessment at each development process. Since waterfall methodology is rigid, you cannot go back or move ahead to correspond to clients’ wishes. If the finalized product, turns out to be opposite to client’s requirements then the whole development process is a proven time-wasting phenomenon. The stage of finalizing product is too late to assure the marketing value of the product as well.
The satisfaction of the customer is the topmost priority of the current era. Because it’s their satisfaction which is going to elevate your actual position as an application development company in the market.
3) The Absence of the Central Authority
There are individual subcontractors channeling the cords of development. There is no superior authority is for to the team.
4) Time Management
Today, time is money. The delays and mismanagement issues can arise in waterfall methodology due to the absence of collaboration, teamwork, and mutual development.
5) Lack of Intuitiveness
Since its rigid development model doesn’t invite the taste of intuitiveness and creativity. The linear sequential method doesn’t have space for continuous evolution. You cannot do many alterations but just to follow the sequence.
6) Lack of Unification
The subcontractors work as individuals, not as a singular dynamic team. There is no tendency to have unity, mutual teamwork, and commitment to development. The lack of coordination delays the development and can cause some serious issues.
7) Localization
All individual subcontractors only care about their own profit, efforts, and talent. If something goes wrong, there isn’t mutual teamwork to remove the error.
8) No Easy Change
Once the product is on the testing stage. It is very likely impossible, time taking and expensive to go back and fix it according to the clients’ demands or fix the issues. There are dominant chances to start the project from the beginning to implement the desired changes.
9) Risk Involving Development
Waterfall software development cannot start without gathering all relevant details and requirements. Sometimes the clients are not sure about their own requirements for their product. Especially Waterfall approach also doesn’t offer space for customer’s feedback and the customized product. Therefore It is also a not suitable model for complicated, big and object-oriented project development.
10) The software cannot be delivered until late
The linear sequential project has to go under focused planning In the meantime several initial stages before the actual development start. The client cannot have the real picture of the product until the development software is in a late-lifecycle. If anything is not according to the demands, the entire procedure would begin from the start.