Rapid Application Development – All you need to know

It is not easy to change a building design when it is on / off construction such as how you build a skyscraper or any tall building for that case. But you can change any software design even if it reaches the completion stage. We all know that software design and development involves many stages, in which testing plays an important role that shows whether the coding execution is proper or not; thus, the success of software design is usually measured.

Redesigning or making frequent changes in software design was a tough task when a project reaches the testing stage, in previous days. With the introduction of rapid application development technology into the industry, you can change or restructure your software coding design and development process at any stage of execution. The functions and features of rapid prototypes make sure that your end product is never affected.

From this blog, you can gain complete knowledge of RAD, how to work on RAD and how it has improvised the standard of software development. There are several Mobile app development companies in the USA, knowing the benefits of implementing RAD, which has incorporated the RAD technology and creating innovative software designs that meet client expectations.

What is Rapid Application Development?

Rapid application development is a software development model that simplifies complex unresolved designs and testing cycles and prioritizes rapid prototyping for such cases. With RAD, you can change and execute coding any number of times and perform testing cases a plethora of times. You can change the entire software development from scratch every time you make any change in the coding part. It does not impact your expected output of the software design and application development.

How RAD differs from the waterfall model of development?

The waterfall development model failed to execute the program when in the testing phase, it could not change the core functions and features of the software, whereas RAD was successful in performing the same. Hence the software may or may not fulfill your requirement.

How does RAD work?

RAD involves four steps of software execution. The first stage begins with requirements planning, followed by User design, in which you set the prototype, test and refine repeatedly until you get a perfect solution as per your software design. In the third stage, the construction part happens where you integrate the entire coding part into one sequence, verify, test, integrate testing and debug; finally, perform cutover that transforms your client’s current process into a new process.

• Set the requirements: RAD does not follow the traditional method of defining requirements. Instead, it has a predefined template that has a broad requirement analysis with which it automatically generates the requirement sheet without the intervention of end-users.
• Design the prototype model: Prototypes are like website themes where you place dummy content in the theme you design and present it to the client for an idea or to choose their preferred one. Similarly, developers create multiple prototypes, which are unfinished, as fast as they can and present it to the client and they can go with convenient prototypes of their choice.
• Obtain feedback: Keep getting feedback and analyze what went right and what went wrong, until you get a final product out of your trials. RAD provides such type of flexibility to developers to change or redefine coding before obtaining the final product.
• Accomplish software development: In this stage, you will finalize features, functions, aesthetics, and interface of the software with the client and ensure stability, maintenance, and usability of the product before you deliver it to the client. Otherwise, it may put you on a rework at the same time a bad situation too.

Pros and Cons of RAD

• You can alter the requirements at any time, but it requires a strong tea collaboration
• It boosts your coding level by energizing and prioritizing customer feedback but cannot work in a huge team
• It provides quick reviews but requires highly skilled developers to iterate on the same
• It cannot work without user requirement throughout the project life cycle although reducing the time invested in the development
• It yields more productivity with fewer people, but it works well on projects that have less development time
• The time between prototypes and repetitions is short, but at the same time, it is more complex to manage
• Integration happens from the project’s inception provided the systems are modularised using RAD

When is the right time to use RAD?

There are three situations defined when you can bring in RAD into your software development process.

When your prototypes are reliably workable?

Feedback plays a significant role in the success of RAD. In accordance with the previous iterations, if you can receive sufficient feedback and you can work upon, then RAD is the perfect model to follow.

When you have got enough funds?

In fact, RAD is very inexpensive when compared to other development models, but sometimes it can be expensive too in the form of hiring efficient resources. To maintain RAD, you need highly skilled developers for whom you should pay a good salary. In that manner, you can implement RAD if you can allocate a portion of the amount to developers’ salaries.

When do you expect quick project completion?

If the requirement of the project is huge or if you are working a tight deadline to deliver the end product, then RAD is the best platform to choose for. As specified previously, RAD can easily break a long requirement plan into simplified processes so that developers can create many prototypes and set the requirement properly. In turn, this leads to the early completion of the project.

Conclusion: 

Adapting to RAD is the best software plan if you have it in your mind. Before you incorporate technology, it should not be just your decision or adaptation; the entire team should accept it with effective coordination, the final product is delivered to the client, without having a second thought.

Author Bio:

Rose is a senior editor at Top Firms. She has been a technology blogger for 9 years. She is a badminton champion at the national level.