Application Development

Every morning we wake up to the sound of the alarms that we had set on our phones the other night. Spend some time shuffling and scrolling through those multiple applications that we have downloaded on our phones. Only then do we proceed to start our day. We all do that right? These applications have become such a big part of our lives. We rely on them for every little work or task, whether it is personal or business. It is like our lives are incomplete without these apps.

But have we ever put thought into how these applications are made? Or how they are developed or what process goes into their development, or who are those people who develop them? I guess not. Well, let me help you give a detailed step-by-step insight into all these things!

What is an Application?

Before going to the application development process, it is very important to understand what an application is. When we talk about applications, we do not exactly mean by those single-purpose apps that we use on our mobile phones. Rather we talk about the software programs that are designed or developed for users to complete multiple tasks. To put it in simple words, apps and applications are two different things. Although they both are software programs, their usage is different from each other. 

The software programs, or as we call them apps, that we use in our mobile phones are designed in such a way that they only perform one function. While with the applications we can perform various functions through just one software program. These functions can be either personal, educational, or business. Apps are only designed to be used on mobile phones whereas the applications are developed for their usage on desktops or laptops. 

A few examples of application software are as follows :

• Microsoft Office 
• Google chrome
• Yahoo
• Spotify 
• Zoom 
• Firefox 
• Photoshop 
• Skype 

An application performs a variety of functions for its end-user. These functions may vary from writing a report or creating a spreadsheet or manipulating an image or text to simply keeping records or developing a website. An application is developed to make users’ lives a little less difficult or more stress-free. They are designed in such a way that they fulfill users’ requirements. They also help users to solve their problems quickly and more efficiently than you as a human can do. 

What is Application Development?

Application development is nothing but a process that application developers (we will come to this later) use to develop application software. To put it in simple words, application development is a process that shows how an application is made. 

This application development process is divided into multiple stages like designing, building, and implementing. At first, the design of the application is finalized. After that, the developers start giving that rough design or layout an actual form of the application. Then the application is put to multiple tests to check if the application is suitable for the user. After going through all these phases, the application is provided to the end-users for them to use the app. A lot of effort is put into application development so as to provide the best outcome to the end-users. 

While developing application software, a variety of factors are put into consideration like

• What are the requirements of the end-user 
• For what purpose or function that application will be used in future 
• What is the size of the project 
• How efficient or experienced the app developer is in his work 
• Whether the app is user friendly or not 

Advantages and disadvantages of application software 

An application software (unlike a mobile app) is significantly responsive to a wide range of devices. The user can either access them on their desktops, laptops, tablets, or even mobile phones through browsers. They provide a high-end experience at a very affordable cost. 

Here are some major advantages of the application software:

• Application software provides better accessibility through multiple devices
• These applications work with any operating system, either android or iOS, Microsoft Windows, or any other system 
• The developers keep updating the applications in short intervals and these updates are easy to download and install too
• The application software is quite affordable and cost-effective in nature. 
• Application software do not require any authentication or approval by app stores or markets, so they are comparatively faster to get or buy

The following are the disadvantages of application software : 

• Application software provides limited access to some mobile apps features like camera, location 
• A little variation in a web browser can cause an issue in the usage of application software 
• Application software is wholly dependent on the internet for its accessibility. A user can not have access to these applications in case of no internet or low internet network situations 
• Users might have a difficult time finding them as most of the application software is not available in in-app stores or marketplaces. 

Types of application development 

Application Development is primarily of three types: 

• Desktop application development: this is a process where offline applications are developed that can run on your desktops without using any internet connection. This is a user-friendly, efficient and customized process of application development.

• Web application development: this is the type of application of development where those applications are built which are delivered to provide the user over the internet. These applications are sometimes contrasted with native applications which are specifically developed for a particular platform. 

• Mobile application development: this is particularly used to develop applications that are used only on mobile phones. These applications generally have a single purpose and can only be run on mobiles by their users. Hence they do not have any usage over other platforms or devices. 

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) 

Application Development is very closely related to the software development life cycle or SDLC. SDLC is a process that is used by the software industry to design, develop and test application softwares. It is a framework that defines all the tasks that are performed in the application development process. These tasks usually go from planning the application development to its implementation and maintenance. It covers every little stage that is important in the whole development process. SDLC is also known as the Software development process. 

To understand application development, we need to first understand how the software development life cycle works. 

SDLC is divided into seven primary stages which are as follows: 

1. Planning stage
2. Analysis stage 
3. Design and prototyping stage
4. Software development stage 
5. Software testing stage 
6. Implementation and integration stage
7. Operations and maintenance stage

Now, let’s understand these stages one by one: 

1. Planning stage: the software development process with developers making a detailed plan for their project. At this stage, the developers usually discover the nature, scope, and objectives of the organization. Understanding the objectives of the organization is considered to be a significant part of this process as it helps the developers identify the need and requirements of the organization from that software. Expectations of the client are clearly defined during this stage so that the developers would have a clear idea of what is desired by the client from the software. 

2. Analysis stage: this is the stage where the developers start collecting required data or facts or any other information for the software development. The data can be collected through various mediums like documentation, interviews, observations, or simply questionnaires. The developers set out a list of all the required questions and ask the organizations to fill in the answers to those questions. This stage is also used by the developers to analyze the current software that is being used in the organization. This is mainly to understand what the software lacks so as to improve it in the proposed software. This helps the developers to find the solutions for those shortcomings in the current software. It is necessary to analyze the existing system so that the new system would not have to face the current issues. 

3. Design stage: this stage is mainly used to put all the analysis, that was done in the previous stages, into a concrete form. The developers collect all their ideas and analysis and facts and information and use them to form a design for their software. Layouts are prepared to give shape to the developer’s ideas. Then the desired features and operations are set out in detail. 

4. Development stage: After preparing the design, the developers go onto the development phase. All those plans and analyses are put into action now to give a concrete structure to the design of the software. This is the stage where developers start writing codes for their software which helps in building the software. Here the developers use coding guidelines and tools prescribed by the organizations. Multiple programming languages like C++, JAVA are used to write the codes. 
5. Testing stage: software development process is not just about developing or building the software. The developers also need to test the software developed to see whether it is user-friendly or not. Because if the user is not able to access the software with ease then there is no significant point in building it. At this stage, the developers usually check for the bugs or issues present in the software. If any bugs are found then the developers proceed to find solutions for them. It is very important that the software gives a great end-user experience and meets all the quality standards and expectations of the user. The time to be taken on the testing stage depends primarily on how skilled the developers and their team are.

6. Implementation and integration stage: After completing the testing and removing all the bugs or other issues from the software, the developers proceed to the implementation stage. The overall design of the software starts coming out at this stage. The information system is integrated into the software. And eventually, the software gets ready to be out into the market and to be used by the end-user.

7. Operations and Maintenance stage: the primary objective of the SDLC process is to ensure the maintenance of the software after it reaches the end-user. This stage is more like an after-sale service. The end-user uses the software to perform their tasks and other activities. In case they face any difficulty or issue, they reach out to the developers who provide them with the solutions for that. The developers also make sure to provide any required update or change to the software at particular intervals. This stage is basically to detect and remove the bugs that couldn’t be found during the testing or implementation of the software. 

Application Development methodologies (or SDLC methodologies)

The following are the main methodologies or types of Software development life cycle or simply application development: 

• Waterfall model: this is the oldest method of application development. It is a linear and straightforward method. It requires the developers to finish one stage of application development before going on to the next stage. This method works very efficiently however it is vulnerable to delays and can lead to big issues for developers. 

• Iterative model: this model focus on continuous testing and introducing improvements at frequent intervals so as to provide a better end product to the market. 

• Spiral model: this model is comparatively more flexible than other models. In this model, the software passes through four main phases continuously in a metaphorically spiral motion. It is more advantageous for projects that are large in size. 

• V-model: this model is quite similar to the waterfall model. In this model, a testing stage is incorporated with the development stage to find potential bugs or issues and resolve them at an early stage. This method is incredibly disciplined and illuminates shortcomings of the waterfall model

• Big bang model: this model does not require a rigorous process to be followed. It is highly flexible in nature and it is mostly used to develop ideas when the customer is not sure of what exactly they desire in their new software. This is mainly used to develop smaller projects. 

• Agile model: this is the most popular and well-known methodology of application development. This model is extremely fast in working and utilizes small but incremental changes before the launch of the software. This requires more iterations and many more tests compared to other models. This helps the developers to resolve small issues right when they arise. 

The above are all the methodologies that are used in application development. However, only three methodologies are most commonly used in the application development process which are: 

• Waterfall application development, 
• Agile application development, and 
• RAD (Rapid Application Development). 

Who is an Application Developer?

An application Developer is generally a software Engineer who designs, creates, and tests an application or software. An Application Developer is a person or a whole team that specializes in the application development process. He plays a vital role in the development process and is also responsible for developing a high-quality software program while also managing the developers’ team.

About Udaypur Group 

Udaypur Group is a digital marketing and software development company. We work predominantly in the application development sector. We provide the best quality application development services to our customers. Here you can get an excellent and wide range of services at the most affordable price. These are all the services that you can receive on Udaypur Group: 

• Application Development 
• Software development 
• Website development 
• Website designing
• Graphic designing 
• And many more 

We have served over 1000 happy customers till now and we wish to continue that in future as well. We are fully committed towards our work and customers and aim to grow more and more in the industry. 

Our work methodology is superior in quality. We follow the Software development life cycle process to build our softwares. 

If you are looking for online application developers to build your new, affordable, user-friendly, and feature-rich application or software then visit our website now! We assure you of the best-in-class service experience throughout the process along with the maintenance of your software.