Your Guide To Agile Software Development Life Cycles

Software development teams are known for using a wide variety of agile methodologies, approaches, and tools to bring value to customers. Depending on the needs of the team and the product's stakeholders, it’s common for teams to deploy and utilize a combination of software development methodologies.

Most dev teams combine methodologies and frameworks to build their own unique approach to product development. You’ll find there are plenty of overlapping principles from one methodology to the next. The key is choosing a system and working as a team to fine-tune and improve that approach so you can continue to reduce waste, maximize efficiency, and master collaboration.

In this post, we’ll outline and compare the following eight software development processes:

1. Agile software development methodology

2. Waterfall methodology

3. Feature driven development (FDD)

4. Lean software development methodology

5. Scrum software development methodology

6. Extreme programming (XP)

7. Rapid application development (RAD)

8. DevOps deployment methodology

1. Agile software development methodology

Agile is the most common term used to describe development methods. It’s often used as an umbrella term to label any methodology that’s agile in nature, meaning an iterative process that reduces waste and maximizes efficiency.

Most software development methodologies are agile with a strong emphasis on iteration, collaboration, and efficiency, as opposed to traditional project management. It’s like comparing jazz to classical music. 🎷

Traditional, linear management methods, such as the waterfall method we’ll cover below, are like classical music, led by one conductor who has a set plan for how the music should be played. The agile process, on the other hand, is more like jazz, which comes together through collaboration, experimentation, and iteration between band members. It’s adaptive and evolves with new ideas, situations, and directions.

2. The waterfall methodology

The waterfall approach is a traditional methodology that’s not very common in software development anymore. For many years, the waterfall model was the leading methodology, but its rigid approach couldn’t meet the dynamic needs of software development.

It’s more common to see the waterfall method used for project management rather than product development. At the beginning of a project, project managers gather all of the necessary information and use it to make an informed plan of action up front. Usually, this plan is a linear, step-by-step process with one task feeding into the next, giving it the “waterfall” name.

The approach is plan-driven and rigid, leaving little room for adjustments. It’s more or less the opposite of agile, prioritizing sticking to the plan rather than adapting to new circumstances.

3. Feature driven development (FDD)

Feature driven development is also considered an older methodology. Although it uses some agile principles, it’s viewed as the predecessor of today’s agile and lean methodologies.

As the name says, this process focuses on frequently implementing client-valued features. It’s an iterative process with all eyes on delivering tangible results to end users. The process is adaptive, improving based on new data and results that are collected regularly to help software developers identify and react to errors.

This kind of focused agile methodology can work for some teams that want a highly structured approach and clear deliverables while still leaving some freedom for iteration.

4. Lean software development methodology

Lean software development comes from the principles of lean manufacturing. At its core, lean development strives to improve efficiency by eliminating waste. By reducing tasks and activities that don’t add real value, team members can work at optimal efficiency.

The five lean principles provide a workflow that teams use to identify waste and refine processes. Lean is also a guiding mindset that can help people work more efficiently, productively, and effectively.

The philosophies and principles of lean can be applied to agile and other software development methodologies. Lean development provides a clear application for scaling agile practices across large or growing organizations.

5. Scrum software development methodology

Scrum is a system regularly used by software development teams. Like many software development methodologies, Scrum is agile, focusing on a value-driven approach. The Scrum process is based on empiricism, which is the theory that knowledge comes from hands-on experience and observable facts.

One Scrum takes place over a preset amount of time called a sprint. Usually, the time frame is between two to four weeks and the Scrum is at the beginning of the sprint. The goal of each sprint is to yield an imperfect but progressing version of a product to bring to stakeholders so that feedback can be integrated right away into the next sprint.

The specific goals of each sprint are determined by a product owner who orders and prioritizes backlog items (the artifacts that need completion). The sprint process repeats over and over again with the development team adjusting and iterating based on successes, failures, and stakeholder feedback.

Learn more about Scrum — the complete program planning solution for Jira.

6. Extreme programming (XP)

Extreme programming, also called XP, is a methodology based on improving software quality and responsiveness. It’s an agile approach that evolves based on customer requirements; the ultimate goal is producing high-quality results. Quality isn’t just limited to the final product — it applies to every aspect of the work, ensuring a great work experience for developers, programmers, and managers.

Decision-making in extreme programming is based on five values: communication, simplicity, feedback, courage, and respect. The specifics of XP can’t apply to all situations, but the general framework can provide value no matter the context.

7. Rapid application development (RAD)

Rapid application development (RAD), sometimes called rapid application building (RAB), is an agile methodology that aims to produce quality results at a low-cost investment. The process prioritizes rapid prototyping and frequent iteration.

Rapid application development begins with defining the project requirements. From there, teams design and build imperfect prototypes to bring to stakeholders as soon as possible. Prototyping and building repeat over and over through iterations until a product is complete and meets customer requirements.

This is ideal for smaller projects with a well-defined objective. The process helps developers make quick adjustments based on frequent feedback from stakeholders. It’s all about creating quick prototypes that can get in front of users for constructive feedback as soon as possible. This feedback is pulled into the user design so that development decisions are based on the direct thoughts and concerns of those who will use the product.

8. DevOps deployment methodology

The DevOps deployment methodology is a combination of Dev (software development) and Ops (information technology operations). Together, they create a set of practices designed to improve communication and collaboration between the departments responsible for developing a product.

It's an ongoing loop of communication between product developers and Ops teams (IT operations.) Like so many agile processes, it relies on continuous feedback to help teams save time, increase customer satisfaction, improve launch speed, and reduce risks.

The steps of DevOps deployment repeat, aiming to increase customer satisfaction with new features, functionality, and improvements. However, this methodology has some drawbacks. Some customers don’t want continuous updates to their systems once they are satisfied with an end product.

Software development made easy

Most software development teams use a combination of methodologies and frameworks to fit their team size, team dynamics, and the type of work being completed. The key is to use an agile methodology and work together to continually improve your systems as you learn and grow.

Easy Agile is dedicated to helping teams work better together with agile. We design agile apps for Jira with simple, collaborative, and flexible functionality. From team agility with Easy Agile TeamRhythm, to scaled agility with Easy Agile Programs, our apps can help your agile teams deliver better for your customers.

Book a 1:1 demo to learn more about our suite of Jira tools, or contact our team if you have additional questions. We offer a free, 30-day trial, so you can try out our products before making a commitment.

You can find dozens of product management tools that fit SaaS goals.

These tools vary in features, functionality, and pricing. However, one thing is certain: Product management tools are more supportive than ever before.

Find out what product management can best support your software development.

What are product management software tools?

Product management software tools help to guide software development teams through their workflow.

Product management tools can help team members conduct research, create assessments, do iterations, and plan their product launches. Some tools even support roadmapping product development, so they can support agile teams.

Development teams can use roadmapping tools to:

• Streamline product strategy
• Draw up their product plan
• Create their product roadmaps
• Develop user journey maps
• Manage backlogs
• Conduct research on customer needs
• Improve prioritization of product features
• Determine the length of their Scrum sprints
• Analyze data for their product research
• Do process mapping
• Manage product releases
• Improve how agile teams collaborate
• Create new products
• Deliver better products
• Message team members

Using product management tools are ideal when working with remote teams. It is also the solution to increasing collaboration across cross-functional teams.

Many or most of these product management tools also integrate well with existing software, so it’s no big deal to customize existing systems. You can also customize many of these product management tools to meet your product team’s needs.

Here are eight of the most recognizable product software tools available to start your new roadmapping journey.

1. Jira

Jira is typically seen as the best product management software tool for software development. However, many other industries use Jira for roadmapping and managing their projects. This popularity is due to the fact that Jira offers a free plan, but it goes deeper than that.

Jira is the ideal software management tool to use in managing Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall, and other agile methodologies. The user interface is intuitive, making it easy and convenient to use whether you’re a product manager for software or other products. Because it is also a convenient tool, you can use it to assign tasks and manage projects and product development.

Product managers can easily keep track of workflows, agile team responsibilities, and tasks. You get to see where backlogs are building in Scrum or Kanban. You can also manage velocity charts, burndown charts, release burndown and sprint reports with Jira software.

You can also include software like Slack, GitHub, and others to round off your Jira product management tool.

Some of the key features you can anticipate in this software include:

• Visually capturing the product vision to develop better products
• Collaboration tools to keep teams on board in real-time
• Gantt charts to view project and product progress
• A Scrum or Kanban board
• User-friendly roadmaps
• Milestone tracking
• Portfolio management
• Comprehensive Agle reporting
• Extensive automation of the product management process
• The ability to connect codes with issues

In terms of pricing, small businesses often go for the free plan. Jira’s free plan allows 10 users to access roadmapping and other features simultaneously. The paid plan is about $7 monthly for each user.

Agile teams using Jira can benefit from Easy Agile Programs for Jira. It helps teams align on their goals, focus on features and epics, and view dependencies. However, all Easy Agile plugins work with Jira. They simplify everything from PI planning to creating personas and roadmaps.

2. Trello

Trello uses a card system to manage Kanban and other product development workflows. When the administrator sets up the Trello board, product teams get a visual representation of workflows. They can see user stories, who is responsible for tasks, and an overall view of workflow and product life cycles. All these features and others make for an excellent roadmap tool.

The disadvantage of this system is that it doesn’t have a calendar. Another drawback is it offers basic folders for task categorization. It will be difficult to use Trello for Scrum, for example, as you have limited access to folders and there are no subfolders. You can however access multiple user stories to streamline workflows for simple projects.

Despite these drawbacks, Trello does include workflow automation, courtesy of the Butler robot. This little robot feature enables you to set certain rules and calendar triggers so that you can automate repeating assignments. Trello is probably better suited to startups or tracking progress when you have a small salesforce.

Because the Trello platform is simple (but intuitive), team collaboration is convenient. Communicating via Trello is also user-friendly, helping product teams to immediately see who is doing what and task deadlines.

While Trello defaults to the Kanban methodology, you can use it for other project types.

Several features you can look forward to on Trello, include:

• Prioritization of tasks
• Tracking deadlines
• Gantt charts
• Kanban board
• Tools for Agile team collaboration
• Resource and task management
• Automation of workflows
• Tracking team member progress
• Various templates

Trello has a free plan where product managers can use up to 10 boards for each of their teams. You can also purchase the pain plan on a yearly basis, which costs around $10 per user.

3. Wrike

Wrike is as much a tool for streamlining workflows as it is for managing product development. Wrike is flexible, adaptable, and dynamic and is a tool designed for better product decisions.

You can use it for small product management, single client management, or as an enterprise-wide tool for product management. Wrike is also versatile enough to use in software product development or marketing. This platform also has a special tool for marketing, making it easier to manage salesforce operations.

Wrike is customizable, so you can include Gantt charts and Kanban boards to improve team member collaboration. Another function of this platform is its Work Intelligence AI tool which product managers can use for automation and predict product risk.

Wrike works well with Jira, Slack, GitHub, Dropbox, and several other tools. You can also customize other integrations to tailor Wrike for product management teams. If you want to add software which this platform doesn’t support, you can. You simply create the solution you need.

The most prominent features of Wrike are:

• The ability to integrate third-party applications
• Its comprehensive, versatile API
• Managing multiple template options
• Permission and access control
• Importing and exporting data
• Integration of spreadsheets and tables
• Convenient task management
• A user interface for dragging and dropping
• Categorizing and structuring product tasks
• Calendar and timeline control
• Files and documents management
• Tracking activities and progress
• Filtering of data
• Stats and reporting
• Shared or public workspace

Wrike offers a free plan for the use of simple features, but you need to pay about $9.80 a month for each user to access more complex functionality.

4. Productboard

Productboard is right up there with the likes of Zendesk. It provides one of the best features for gathering user feedback. As every software development team knows, user feedback can make or break product success. With this product, you can categorize customer feedback, turn this into valuable information and prioritize this feedback.

Productboard lets you track their feedback during the lifecycle of each product via a portal. This portal supports idea exchange and management, which team members use as inputs to increase product value. This software tool is also great for collecting use cases and understanding user behavior to create the right products for customers.

You can use Slack and email with the Productboard, but if you want additional software integration, you must arrange this yourself. Fortunately, the API in this product is user-friendly to make this happen.

The main features of Productboard include:

• Storehouses for product feedback
• Customer segments that are particularly dynamic
• The ability to prioritize and categorize customer feedback
• Transforming feedback into valuable insights
• A powerful system for value assessment
• Roadmapping tools that you can customize
• Prioritization of tasks

You can get an annual Productboard basic plan at around $20 a month for every user.

5. ProdPad

ProdPad takes the user experience into consideration. It has a lean roadmapping function that you can use to highlight goals and objectives. You can experiment with this product software tool to include user feedback in product development. ProdPad is also known as being among the best product management software tools on the market.

The product roadmap tools are simple to use and include color coding for roadmapping. ProdPad has an easy drag-and-drop feature, privacy settings, and you can use the priority checkpoints as you need.

Development teams can access an ideas management feature to create priority charts. Here, they can see how backlogs influence impact and effort charts in workflows. You can also simply import data from other sources to boost new product development if necessary.

One more feature that characterizes ProdPad is the ability of team members to see associations between user ideas and product development. They can also develop customer lists to question further about their product experiences.

You can collect use cases and understand user behavior better. You can then use all this information as inputs for new product development.

Features that you can expect from this product management tool are:

• Idea generation and capture
• Capture and storage of customer feedback
• Integration with apps that support customer feedback
• Integration with other third-party apps
• Priority charting of ideas
• Lean product roadmaps
• Product roadmapping based on objectives
• Creation of customer portfolios

You can purchase ProdPad’s Essential Plan at about $149 per month for annual billing. This plan allows you to use three administrators or editors for product planning.

6. Asana

Asana is also a useful management platform. You can use it as a solution to roadmap workflows. Asana is popular among small business startups and larger enterprises.

This management solution is cloud-based. It enables team members to share their workspace and assign and track tasks and work progress. Asana is also an excellent platform for team members to collaborate.

You don’t get much customer support with Asana. And, although not ideal for complex team management, Asana has many redeeming features, some of which include:

• Excellent team messaging and collaboration
• Ideal for outlining detailed goals
• Efficient for managing multiple tasks and team members
• A user-friendly dashboard
• Tracking of milestones
• Automation
• Several templates option
• Project planning functionality
• Multiple analytics and reporting options
• Managing resources
• Tracking of time and expenses

Asana has a free plan if you can cope with limited features. Paid plans begin at approximately $10.99 per month for each user. The company bills annually.

7. GLIDR

There are multiple management solutions for streamlining product workflows. GLIDR offers one more platform from which to achieve product software development goals. You can develop detailed product plans that meet customer expectations. GLIDR highlights the customer experience, so places their feedback at the forefront of the best product deliverables.

You can manage product research, use cases, and user behavior on this platform. You can then create product specs, link ideas, create viable user stories, prioritize features, and much more.

GLIDR provides several board view options that help software developers to create themes from ideas. You can also categorize ideas by their status, fill in timelines, or show these ideas on Kanban boards.

Other helpful functions include the ability to integrate apps such as Intercom and Zendesk with GLIDR. You can also link Jira and Trello with this product management software.

Product managers and teams can use GLIDR to streamline their workflows, track product progress, create reports and transform roadmaps into the best products possible.

The primary features of GLIDR include:

• Product canvasses
• Public roadmapping
• Options for research and experimentation
• Trend scores to rank ideas
• Prioritization of features
• Activity feeds
• Progress tracking and monitoring
• User-friendly dashboards
• Reporting that you can export via PDF format

You can test GLIDR for free for 14 days. Then, the cheapest option is about $8 per person, per month for a team of five people. GLIDR bills annually and has three other plan options that give you access to more features.

Up your game with Easy Agile

One way to up your product management software game is to take advantage of Easy Agile resources. You can either use our Jira apps to integrate with existing product management platforms or give your existing system a boost.

Select from apps for Kanban Workflow for Jira or boost product development performance with User Story Maps for Jira.

Up your game with Easy Agile Roadmaps for Jira to guide your team to product success or use our Programs for Jira for Program Increment Planning.

Whichever apps you choose (all of them?), you can improve product team management with the best product management software available.

There is a HUGE difference between managing a single project versus the kind of project management large organizations require for aligning multiple projects, teams, and departments. Project portfolio management at the enterprise level is a whole other beast that requires reliable and scalable enterprise project management software (EPM software) that meets the needs of your business.

There are so many effective enterprise project management software tools available today that making a decision can become overwhelming. How do you know which platform is best for your business, and how will your project teams and teams of teams perform based on the project management system you choose?

Learn more about the top enterprise project management tools, including what to look for and what features are available for the most popular EPM software.

Looking to achieve team alignment at scale?

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What to look for in enterprise project management software

Since each organization has different needs, there’s no single best EPM software. It depends completely on the features you’re looking for, what the team needs, and personal preferences.

Here’s what to look for and keep in mind when choosing an enterprise project management solution:

• Messaging and collaboration tools that aid communication among team members and among various business teams and departments
• Calendars for tracking due dates and deadlines
• Customizable automations
• Gantt chart capabilities that provide a visual representation of project progress, due dates, who’s working on what, and how tasks are connected
• Other project views, such as calendars or Kanban boards
• Time tracking and timesheet capabilities
• File sharing with varying degrees of functionality, including user permissions or enabling versioning
• Accounting and expense tracking
• Ways to analyze data with metrics and dynamic reporting and features
• Intuitive, user-friendly interfaces that are easy to implement and onboard
• Integrations with other enterprise-level software, such as Salesforce, Dropbox, Slack, etc.

Easy Agile Roadmaps: Align your team around the vision for a product and how they'll sequence features for delivery to customers.

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The best enterprise project management software

Below we’ve outlined the benefits of six of the most popular EPM software products. Know that there isn’t one right answer, and in the end, choosing the right tools depends on your business needs, how your teams work, and the features you need to work at your best. The following software products are robust and scalable so that you can utilize them across your entire enterprise and continue to grow your business without outgrowing your resource management software.

1. Jira

Jira is ideal for software development teams and those utilizing other agile tools and processes, such as the Scrum framework. Jira helps enterprise teams design workflows, monitor capacity, and identify dependencies before any slowdown occurs. This ensures work continues rolling out smoothly and stakeholders and users are delivered continuous value.

The benefits of Jira include:

• Using @mention alerts and other collaboration functions to align tasks
• Creating clear action items
• Visibly tracking work with customizable workflows
• Prioritizing tasks based on what’s most important
• Distributing work evenly across the team based on capacity
• Identifying potential bottlenecks before they occur
• Creating user stories for a customer-centric approach
• Addressing product issues
• Viewing product release statuses
• Using automations to reduce repetitive work
• Accessing real-time metrics and data
• Integrations for the tools you already use, such as Confluence, Bitbucket, Slack, Microsoft Teams, GitHub, and many more

📣 Jira is one of our favorite agile resources. We’ve developed a suite of Jira plugins, including Easy Agile User Story Maps for clear visualization of the customer journey and Easy Agile Programs for Jira, a complete PI Planning solution for agile teams.

2. Asana

Asana is among the best enterprise project management software and has over a million paid users, including Amazon, PayPal, and Airbnb. Asana Enterprise gives enterprises access to its full suite of work management features, admin capabilities, and data control, allowing large companies to scale quickly and securely.

The benefits of Asana include:

• Choosing the project view that suits your style, including calendar, lists, boards, and timeline
• Organizing and assigning tasks with lists that show teams what they need to do, which tasks are the priority, and when work is due
• Mapping work to manage and align overlapping, dependent, or unscheduled tasks
• Automating routine work
• Utilizing boards and real-time charts to visualize workflows, determine potential bottlenecks, and keep work on track
• Over 200+ integrations

3. Wrike

Wrike is enterprise management software that’s been named a Forrester leader, meaning it’s software that has been thoroughly evaluated by experts and is strongly recommended. Wrike enables users to customize dashboards, workflows, request forms, and more. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate results through smart automation and project risk prediction. You can customize the features you need to streamline and prioritize projects and tasks with interactive, drag-and-drop Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and purpose-built workflows.

The benefits of Wrike include:

• Organizing file management by enabling versioning
• Sharing tasks among team members
• Utilizing visual proofing and automated approval systems to streamline feedback
• Keeping on track with visual timelines that align everyone’s tasks
• Eliminating silos with clear visibility across departments
• Utilizing advanced communication tools, such as voice commands, smart replies, and document processing
• Generating reports from real-time data

4. Monday.com

Monday.com is a top enterprise project management software that features customizable, visually intuitive, and simple-to-use layouts designed to illuminate the order in which tasks should be completed. It’s also highly scalable, which is why it’s software that’s preferred by large, well-known enterprises such as Adobe, Uber, and Coca-Cola.

The benefits of monday.com include:

• Getting started quickly with customizable templates
• Tracking hours, timelines, and documents
• Easily seeing notable deadlines and overdue tasks
• Automating repetitive tasks to avoid human error
• Accessing multiple views, such as calendar and Kanban
• Supporting your company’s preferred methodology (lean, agile, and more) with templates, automation, and integrations
• Integrating the platform in a few clicks with your existing tools, such as Jira, Slack, Google Drive, Trello, and more

5. Celoxis

Celoxis is a wide-ranging, web-based platform that enables effective collaboration and project portfolio management. It is particularly helpful for enterprises working with distributed teams operating in different time zones as well as for organizations that want to use EPM software to collaborate with stakeholders directly.

The benefits of Celoxis include:

• Viewing task management in multiple formats, including Gantt and Kanban
• Building dynamic project plans
• Collaborating with @mentions, comments, file sharing, and more
• Connecting with stakeholders through portals for collaboration, discussions, and file sharing
• Monitoring issue and bug tracking
• Assigning work based on capacity, availability, and skills for simplified resource allocation budgets, receivables, and profitability across multiple portfolios
• Utilizing version controls
• Producing analytics and interactive data
• Over 400 integrations with other business applications

6. Trello

Trello originally came on the scene as a simple and collaborative digital Kanban tool. It’s the traditional To-do, Doing, and Done format packaged in an intuitive platform that’s now used by over one million teams worldwide. The visual appeal of Trello is offered to enterprise-level organizations with additional features designed for large teams and multiple departments.

The benefits of Trello include:

• Emphasizing work with visual boards
• Editing with intuitive drag-and-drop
• Choosing from a long list of customizable views, including timelines, tables, dashboards, calendars, and maps
• Ensuring everyone’s voice is heard with a voting feature
• Viewing which cards haven’t been seen in a while with a card aging feature
• Setting up advanced permissions for increased security (bulk deactivation and invite restrictions)
• Archiving items that can be brought back in motion if needed
• Using automations for fewer clicks

Find a platform that can grow with you

What matters most when choosing enterprise project management software is that you move beyond basic project management features to a system that will allow you to manage a portfolio of complex projects across a number of different business teams. You need to be able to grow with your platform as your business scales and evolves.

Choosing software that doesn’t work for your team, hinders productivity, or needs to be changed down the line is a costly mistake that can derail your projects, potentially damaging both team morale and customer perception. If you’re still not sure which platform is best for you or whether it’s worth making the switch, we encourage you to reach out to project managers and industry leaders for honest feedback on what it’s like working with each platform at the enterprise level.

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For more articles from us surrounding agile methodologies, the Scrum process, how-to guides, and more, follow the Easy Agile blog.