Developing an application is nothing short of art, albeit it is digital. However, the craftsmanship, strategies, techniques and tools involved in the development of software products is truly something to behold. That is thanks to the on demand app developer, as they are the ones that bring these visions to life. With each progressing day, the need for more apps is getting bigger due to the increasing number of people using smartphones.
That is quite evident, as shown in research, which states, “There are nearly 9 million mobile apps in the world today, divided across Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.”
These apps are developed using a certain software development methodology. Every project is unique, and developers use different development techniques as well as a certain approach to software development. Among all the approaches, the rapid application development approach stands out as far as quick development and mobile application delivery are concerned. But what is the RAD approach, and how does it differ from tRADitional software development methods? Therefore, in order to find all the answers, we will look at rapid application development in this blog. So, without any further ado, let’s get straight into it.
What is Rapid Application Development?
RAD, which is also called Rapid Application Development, is an Agile development methodology. Moreover, RAD is a development methodology that emphasizes rapid prototyping and can provide feedback quickly instead of long periods of planning and linear execution. Furthermore, the hybrid app developer uses the RAD model to create functional software in a matter of weeks or months rather than years. Rapid app development emphasizes flexibility and adaptability, with the user being involved throughout the development process. It uses an iterative systems development life cycle, whereby prototypes are continually refined and changed based on user feedback. This way, RAD ensures that the final product meets the end user requirements. This strategy of RAD really works in favor of projects that are under severe time constraints or where requirements are not well defined.
Furthermore, RAD uses reusable components, visual programming, and auto-code generation that make it faster for development. By emphasizing quick delivery and incremental improvements, RAD ensures organizational responses to the market remain agile, development costs stay as low as possible, and the final delivered product comes very close to user needs and expectations. The rapid prototyping and iterative nature of RAD allows this method to become the go-to option for developers to speed up the development process. This method first took the shape of the Spiral model. Moreover, it is also known as the James Martin RAD method, as it is thanks to him and other programming pioneers like Barry Boehm and James Kerr that this method was realized for rapid development and prototyping.
Phases of Rapid Application Development Process
RAD is particularly useful for low code mobile app development. However, the rapid application development method has four main phases for mobile app prototyping. Therefore, these rapid application development phases are as follows:
Plan and Define Project Requirements:
The first stage of the RAD process involves gathering key stakeholders so they can describe the RAD project vision, scope, objectives, and constraints. Moreover, the project team of an offshore mobile app development company identifies basic requirements, potential roadblocks, and a rough timeline. Unlike the waterfall model or the traditional development working model used to develop software, RAD focuses on this phase to keep it brief and flexible.
This planning phase of RAD serves to capture essential elements rather than exhaustive documentation. Furthermore, stakeholders prioritize features and set realistic expectations when early in the development. Also, this phase of RAD involves assembling the right team, allocating resources, and setting up the development environment and production environment. The goal of RAD is to create a solid foundation for rapid prototyping while being agile enough for adaptive software development changes.
Create Prototype for User Design and Input:
This is a very critical phase. Therefore, at this rapid application development stage, developers quickly create working prototypes based on the initial requirements. These prototypes are by no means perfect but rather serve as tangible representations of the proposed mobile app solutions. Users interact with these early versions, providing instant feedback on functionality, user interface, and overall user experience.
From this hands-on approach, developers identify possible problems early on, and the development process is aligned with the expectations of users. Furthermore, prototypes are iteratively refined, incorporating user suggestions and addressing concerns. This stage also involves a frequent cycle of prototypes and feedback. All of this allows the products to get closer and closer to the desired results.
Rapid Construction & Feedback Gathering:
This rapid application development phase is where the development takes place. From insights gained with prototyping, the developers of software development and consulting firms work on building the full-fledged application. This RAD development process includes coding, testing, and integration of various components.
Furthermore, RAD emphasizes the use of reusable components, automated tools, and parallel development to speed up the rapid application development process. Furthermore, there is a continuous cycle of feedback sessions with users during this phase so that evolving products will align with the user needs. Also, this ensures any changes are made quickly to maintain the agility of the project. This stage involves several iterations in order to refine and expand the functionality of the application.
Product Finalization & Implementation:
The final phase is the finalization of the application. This includes polishing the app through rigorous testing and making it ready for deployment. Furthermore, developers focus on optimizing performance, enhancing security features, and ensuring scalability. Software engineering and testing experts conduct user acceptance testing to ensure that the final product totally meets all requirements and works as intended in real-world scenarios.
This phase also prepares documentation, user manuals, and training materials. Furthermore, the successful RAD implementation includes data migration, integration of the system with existing systems, and user training. Furthemore, this phase plans support after implementation to help resolve any issues that arise after deployment. Also, rapid application development and agile approach allows developers to roll out updates quickly and enhance the app after initial release.
Benefits of Rapid Application Development Methodology
The Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodology offers numerous benefits for both businesses and development teams. Its iterative approach highly minimizes total development time, which enables companies to bring products to markets sooner and gain a competitive advantage. Moreover, the RAD framework emphasizes user involvement in all process stages, ensuring that the final product closely aligns with user needs. Therefore, the product leads to higher user satisfaction and adoption rates. The flexible nature of the rapid application development method allows the accommodation of changes in development without the risk of project failure due to changing requirements.
Furthermore, the rapid application development method fosters close collaboration between developers and stakeholders. Therefore, it makes the developmental process more cohesive and fruitful. Another advantage of the rapid application development method, apart from faster output, lies in potential cost reduction and better code quality with the help of reusable components and automated rapid application development tools. So, all in all, the rapid application development method improves productivity, reduces time-to-market, and increases the chances of success of a project.
Disadvantage of Rapid Application Development Model
While Rapid Application Development (RAD) offers a lot of benefits, it also has its fair share of downsides. The rapid application development method’s speed-first philosophy, on some occasions, can lead to compromises in system design and overall quality. Furthermore, this model is more oriented to smaller and modular systems. Therefore, it can be a bit hard to handle large and complex projects using a RAD model. Also, frequent iterations and constant user involvement can consume a lot of time and lead to increasing costs. Therefore, developers need to manage time and resources when using agile methodologies, no matter which one it is.
How is RAD Different from Agile Software Development Approach
Even though Agile methodology shares a lot with rapid application development regarding their nature in iterations and focus on flexibility, there are a few differences between them. The rapid application development method is used for rapid prototyping and emphasizes visual development tools. It focuses on quickly creating a working version of the product. On the other hand, Agile gives more attention to incremental development with regular releases of functional software. Rapid application development usually involves stronger user collaboration in the first stages than Agile.
This way, the rapid application development approach provides steady user involvement during the development process. In most cases, the iteration period of RAD does not exceed more than a week and usually lasts a few days. This is not the case with Agile because its sprints can last for a few weeks. Moreover, RAD practices heavily focus on reusable components and the automatic generation of code compared to Agile practices.
Which Projects Are Suitable for RAD Methodology?
The rapid application development approach is more suited for projects with clear requirements and defined user interface. In contrast, Agile is more suited for projects with changing requirements. Furthermore, Rapid Application Development excels where speed is necessary and if there is stiff competition within this market, or similarly, for some very time-critical business needs.
Developers incorporate RAD for the projects that require frequent changes based on user feedback or changing market needs. However, RAD is not suitable for large mission-critical systems or projects with complex algorithms and large backend processing. Basically, it is best used for projects where prototyping can effectively show the functionality of a joint application to stakeholders.
Partner With a Development Firm to Develop Your App With RAD Method
You can hire mobile app developers from a RAD-experienced professional development firm. This way, they can use the enhance the overall process of developing an app to a great extent. RAD requires expertise, and firms like Linkitsoft have the required expertise in Rapid Application Development methodologies. Moreover, they are proficient with advanced tools, and best practices to accelerate your project timeline while maintaining quality. Furthermore, these firms offer skilled teams to work on quick prototyping and iterative development. Both of these are two major success factors for rapid application development.
Also, experienced firms like Linkitsoft have established frameworks and reusable components, which make the development even faster. Their experience in managing user feedback and bringing out changes effectively can result in a fine-polished end product. Furthermore, outsourcing the development project to an offshore development firm will bring greater skill sets to your disposal. This way, you can undertake different aspects of mobile app development with quite ease. Therefore, this partnership with Linkitsoft will deliver a more polished and user-focused application quickly. It will have less risk than an in-house development using RAD methods.
Final Thoughts
So, there you have it. That is all there is to talk about in terms of rapid application development. We hope that the benefits and phases of rapid application development we have discussed can help you out with your development cycle and make it fast. If you are looking to hire top developers to develop your app on the iOS and Android development platform using rapid application development, you can consider Linkitsoft for the job. We have more blogs like these listed on our website. So you can check them out as well.
