In the world of project management, “agile” is the du jour method.
For decades, project management teams have clung to the traditional approach of rigorous planning, process, and documentation. Agile management reverses this approach, and it’s no surprise that it has become more popular over time. According to a 2017 study by PwC, agile projects are 28% more successful than traditional projects.
And project managers have taken notice, especially among teams in industries like software development, where technology, goals, and objectives are ever-changing. Rapid Application Development (RAD) Methodology.
What is Agile Application Development?
Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a popular agile project management strategy in software development.
The main advantage of the RAD approach is the speed of project execution, making it an attractive choice for developers working in a fast-paced environment such as software development. This rapid speed is due to RAD’s focus on minimizing the planning phase and maximizing prototype development.
By reducing planning time and emphasizing prototype iterations, RAD enables project managers and stakeholders to accurately measure progress and communicate in real time on progress on issues. subject or change. This leads to greater efficiency, faster development, and effective communication.
You can break down the process in many ways, but in general, RAD follows four main stages.
State 1: Planning requirements
This phase is equivalent to a project scope meeting. Although the planning phase is condensed compared to other project management methods, it is an important step for the ultimate success of the project.
During this phase, developers, customers (software users), and team members communicate to define the project’s goals and expectations, as well as current and potential issues that need to be addressed. resolved during construction. A basic breakdown of this stage includes:
Find the current problem
- Identify project needs
- Finalize the requirements with the approval of each stakeholder
It is important that everyone has the opportunity to assess the project’s goals and expectations and provide input. By getting support from all key stakeholders and developers, teams can avoid miscommunication and costly change orders in the process.
Phase 2: User Design
Once the project is defined, it’s time to move straight to the development phase, evolving the user’s design through multiple prototype iterations.
This is the core part of the RAD methodology and what sets it apart from other project management strategies. During this phase, the client works directly with the developers to ensure their needs are met at every stage of the design process. It’s almost like customizable software development, where users can test every prototype of the product, at every stage, to make sure the product meets their expectations.
All errors and problems are resolved in an iterative process. The developer designs a prototype, the customer (user) tests it, then they talk together about what works and what doesn’t.
This approach gives developers the flexibility to adjust the model as they go until they reach a satisfactory design.
Software developers and customers learn from experience to ensure no risk slips through the cracks.
Step 3: fast construction
Phase 3 takes prototypes and beta systems from the design phase and converts them into working models.
Since the majority of issues and changes were resolved in the extensive iterative design phase, developers were able to build the final working model faster than they could with a project management approach.
