Summary of Approaches (1 Viewer)

[SadCeliac]

Do people agree with this summary?? I can't really tell the difference between prototyping and agile ngl...

Approaches
Structured
- Staged approach with lots of members split up into teams, managed by a manager
- Large scale projects
- Long timeframe
- Large budget

End User
- The developer is the user
- Small scale projects
- Small budget
- DIY and no real time frame because it is at the rate of the user
- No communication issues because the developer is the user

Prototyping
- Prototypes of the product are released to the public for user feedback
- Small scale project
- Small timeframe
- Small budget

Agile
- Versions are released and the product is developed iteratively based on user feedback
- Close communication between userbase and developers
- Small scale projects
- Smaller timeframe per version
- Smaller budget

RAD
- Product can be made using predeveloped modules
- Small scale projects
- Small budget
- Small timeframe

 

[dav53521]

I would say that Agile is not strongly associated with smaller budgets and small scale projects as quite big companies do use Agile even though SDD somewhat points towards structured being more associated with large development companies.

Also I'll say that Agile is typically more known for smaller teams of developers due to the nature of Agile and what the Agile manifesto states. Also I'll say that you should probably mention custom off the shelf software for end user and potentially RAD and you should also note that Structured is inflexible while agile is flexible which means that structured is better for products that won't have changing requirements while Agile is better for products with changing requirements. Plus iirc structured usually produces higher quality software in the eyes of the SDD syllabus or Sam Davis so structured is aimed towards products with low failure tolerances.

The difference between Agile and prototyping is that Agile an initial product is released and then improved upon while with prototyping a prototype is given to the user and then improved upon until the user is happy which is when the product is released.

 

[SadCeliac]

I would say that Agile is not strongly associated with smaller budgets and small scale projects as quite big companies do use Agile even though SDD somewhat points towards structured being more associated with large development companies.

Also I'll say that Agile is typically more known for smaller teams of developers due to the nature of Agile and what the Agile manifesto states. Also I'll say that you should probably mention custom off the shelf software for end user and potentially RAD and you should also note that Structured is inflexible while agile is flexible which means that structured is better for products that won't have changing requirements while Agile is better for products with changing requirements. Plus iirc structured usually produces higher quality software in the eyes of the SDD syllabus or Sam Davis so structured is aimed towards products with low failure tolerances.

The difference between Agile and prototyping is that Agile an initial product is released and then improved upon while with prototyping a prototype is given to the user and then improved upon until the user is happy which is when the product is released.

Great, thanks so much

 

[jc7726]

I would also add that it might help to know the different types of prototyping, i.e. conceptual and evolutionary

 

[SadCeliac]

I would also add that it might help to know the different types of prototyping, i.e. conceptual and evolutionary

Yeah I'm not too sure on those... What are they? I'm assuming conceptual is before making the actual product and evolutionary is an idea that evolves based on user feedback??

 

[brent012]

It's been a long time since i've seen the SDD syllabus, but in practice...

- Prototypes of the product are released to the public for user feedback

Not necessarily, a big reason for using prototyping is to explore requirements which are sometimes notoriously hard to elicit from customers. Alternatively, you might explore different tech stacks, frameworks, solutions etc. using a prototype before investing too heavily or to find out enough to more accurately estimate what is required.

As jc has pointed out, those could be "conceptual" prototypes in that the prototype is thrown out and the main outcome would be a design or information.

An evolutionary prototype on the other hand is where the prototype is refined and becomes the product. This has some similarities to Agile, but the biggest difference is Agile seeks to incrementally deliver usable software to the market. An evolutionary prototype instead prioritises getting feedback over delivering working software. I would expect an evolutionary prototype to focus heavily on the entire user interface and interaction, while Agile would focus on delivering a small subset of features at a time.

I'd be careful of saying this in an SDD exam, but prototyping (particularly throw away) can also be used with either the waterfall and agile model. In Extreme Programming (a form of Agile), it's called a "spike solution". In waterfall, it could be done as part of the feasibility study.

 

[SadCeliac]

It's been a long time since i've seen the SDD syllabus, but in practice...


Not necessarily, a big reason for using prototyping is to explore requirements which are sometimes notoriously hard to elicit from customers. Alternatively, you might explore different tech stacks, frameworks, solutions etc. using a prototype before investing too heavily or to find out enough to more accurately estimate what is required.

As jc has pointed out, those could be "conceptual" prototypes in that the prototype is thrown out and the main outcome would be a design or information.

An evolutionary prototype on the other hand is where the prototype is refined and becomes the product. This has some similarities to Agile, but the biggest difference is Agile seeks to incrementally deliver usable software to the market. An evolutionary prototype instead prioritises getting feedback over delivering working software. I would expect an evolutionary prototype to focus heavily on the entire user interface and interaction, while Agile would focus on delivering a small subset of features at a time.

I'd be careful of saying this in an SDD exam, but prototyping (particularly throw away) can also be used with either the waterfall and agile model. In Extreme Programming (a form of Agile), it's called a "spike solution". In waterfall, it could be done as part of the feasibility study.

Oh wow okay - that helps a lot - thank you! This definitely clears up confusion between prototyping and agile

 

[jc7726]

Oh wow okay - that helps a lot - thank you! This definitely clears up confusion between prototyping and agile

how did u go in ur trial

 

[SadCeliac]

how did u go in ur trial

I found it quite decent
Finished with 45 mins and just read through the paper a few times

Tbh I have no idea when I'm getting marks back because my teacher takes a week to respond to emails

 

[jc7726]

I found it quite decent
Finished with 45 mins and just read through the paper a few times

Tbh I have no idea when I'm getting marks back because my teacher takes a week to respond to emails

it would have to be back in a few weeks tho bc of the deadline

 

[SadCeliac]

it would have to be back in a few weeks tho bc of the deadline

Yeah true