Software development has changed a lot in the past decade. The software development industry is constantly developing, evolving, and transitioning at a rapid pace. Almost every day we read news of a technological update in one of the many areas of the IT industry.
Nowadays, we approach software development much differently than we did a decade ago. With new software tools and frameworks available things are running a lot smoother than they did 10 years ago. Workflows are faster, libraries exist for almost any conceivable action, and architectures and languages and more accessible than ever.
Here are the most significant changes in software development over the past decade. Let’s have a peek!
Waterfall to Agile Methodology
Waterfall and Agile are the two main methods for organizing projects. While the traditional “waterfall” approaches have been about following a sequence (when one phase is completed the team moves to the next), the “agile” methodology encourages the team to work simultaneously on different phases of the project.
As we embed ourselves firmly into the digital century, the high demand for new apps and software products is ever-growing. Nowadays, innovation can no longer wait for the traditional waterfall methodology in the software development process. As a result, the software industry has moved very quickly to the agile method. This approach was necessary to encourage communication and collaboration amongst software development teams.
Higher Automation Levels
It may be hard to believe that it took almost 40 years to create the first 500 million apps and it will only take 4 years to create the next 500 million. This rapid development can be partially attributed to an automated build pipeline that allows developers to increase feedback at all stages of the software development lifecycle.
Nowadays, the automation of software development has increased quality and predictability while reducing development costs and time.
The Cloud
Over a decade ago, organizations still relied on physical servers to host applications. Today, many companies around the world host their software on the cloud. In fact, if we look back, the cloud certainly was the game-changer that launched the app revolution.
In the past decade, we have been witnessing an explosion of demand for browser-based and mobile apps. With the growth of online shopping, food delivery, or alternative transport methods the demand for mobile apps has skyrocketed. The “cloud” has played an important role in this new development. With no servers to maintain, cheaper cost of service, and quicker speed to market, the cloud has allowed us to adapt and cater to the ever-changing needs of businesses quickly.
New and Improved Applications
Over a decade ago, most of the apps available were business or productivity based. With the rise of smart mobile devices, consumer apps have skyrocketed. Nowadays, almost everything software-related has its very own app.
With the help of the cloud, modern applications are flexible, scalable, and user-friendly. They can be easily updated and refined. In other words, modern software apps have become crucial in almost every business and industry.
Final thoughts
Software development has been around for a while now, gracefully changing the way we communicate, work, meet, travel, behave or live – and will continue to do so.
With each technological update, the software is getting easier to create and smarter to work with. There is no debate on the fact that software development will continue to change the world we live in. The only question is: how?