Agile Software Development - Dissertation Example

However, from the development of software methodologies, some classical or pioneering methods evolved. These are now known as the traditional approaches to the development of software. The traditional approach to software development involves the “definition of requirements which leads to the architecture or design of the development process and implementation” (Dean and Gravel, 2009 p12). This is a basic model that was steeped in inconvenience and the ability to complete things according to a standard pace.

The Committee on Certifiably Dependable Software Systems criticized the traditional approaches to software development for lacking the basis for strong and rigorous analysis (2011). This is because these methods were very basic and depended on the software developer’s testing and validation without the inclusion of other external parties. Another criticism put forward against the traditional approach to software development is that it assumes that this approach is based on a set of rigidly defined assumptions that will be used as the guideline throughout the process (Kathleen, 2007).

This method usually lacks the flexibility that can help in the adjustment of the processes in the course of software development (Kathleen, 2007). Thus, if the assumption of a given process is not appropriate, the project is prone to failures as it proceeds. A textbook example of the traditional software development approach is the waterfall model which contains rigid steps and levels that the software developer goes through in the completion of a software development process (Segal, 2010). The inherent issues in these systems have led to the creation of more dynamic and flexible approaches to software development like the Agile Software Development methodology.

Projects that follow the Waterfall Approach are normally segmented according to the different phases, although some of these phases might overlap during the process. The Waterfall Approach maintains tight resource control, and operations remain limited to the provisions as identified in the requirement analysis.