What are the three software delivery models?

In the fast-paced world of technology, where innovation is constant and market demands are ever higher, software delivery has become a cornerstone for companies of all sizes.

The way software is developed and delivered has evolved significantly over the years, giving rise to various delivery models. Among these, three have emerged as undisputed leaders: the waterfall model, the agile model and the DevOps model.

We are going to explain each of these models in depth, highlighting their characteristics, advantages and challenges.

Software delivery models for your company

1. Waterfall Model

The waterfall model is one of the most traditional approaches to software development. In this method, each phase of the software development life cycle is carried out sequentially and linearly. This means that before moving to the next phase, the previous phase must be completed in its entirety.

Typical phases in the waterfall model include requirements definition, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance.

This software delivery model helps:

• Structuring your processes, they explain in an Adobe article.
• Organize tasks.
• Set up Gantt charts and schedules.
• Monitor project progress.

Although the waterfall model offers a clear and easy-to-understand structure when delivering software, it has its limitations. Inherent rigidity can make it difficult to adapt to changes in customer requirements during the development process. Additionally, problems are often detected at later stages, which can be costly and time-consuming to correct.

When to use the waterfall software delivery model?

• When a project does not have ambiguous requirements.
• A project with a clear picture of how things will proceed from the beginning.
• With clients who seem unlikely to change the scope of the project once it is underway.

2. Agile Model

“Just as agile project management brings an iterative approach to project management, agile delivery is an iterative approach to software delivery in which teams build software incrementally at the beginning of a project rather than shipping everything.” once upon completion”, they explained in a GitLab article.

Continuous collaboration with stakeholders, adaptability to change, and frequent delivery of software increments are the cornerstones of the agile approach. This model allows companies to respond quickly to changing market demands and provide value more quickly and efficiently.

The key principles of the agile software delivery model are:

- Collaboration: “Agile approaches help teams keep the focus on team members by allowing communication to occur fluidly and naturally as the need arises”, they added in the same GitLab article.

- Customer focus: The top priority of agile teams, as stated in the Agile Manifesto, lies in "delighting the customer through early and consistent delivery of valuable software." In short, this translates into providing superior quality products to customers in record time and that includes efficient software delivery.

- Prioritization: Prioritization empowers teams to provide maximum value to customers in the shortest time imaginable.

- Iterative development: Tasks are fragmented into smaller components, which can be repeated and improved throughout the software development cycle.

3. DevOps Model

The DevOps model is a natural evolution of the agile approach, which focuses on close collaboration between development and operations teams. DevOps seeks to remove barriers between development (Dev) and operations (Ops), fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous automation that benefits software delivery.

DevOps teams work together from the beginning of the development lifecycle to deployment and monitoring in production.

Process automation, continuous integration, and continuous delivery are key elements of the DevOps model. This not only accelerates time to market, but also improves software quality and end-user experience by enabling quick fixes and continuous updates.

Features that make this software delivery model stand out:

• Close collaboration.
• Continuous automation.
• Continuous Integration.
• Continuous monitoring.
• Resilience and scalability.
• Integrated security.
• Quick feedback.
• Flexibility and adaptability.

Each software delivery model has its advantages and challenges. The waterfall model provides structure but can be inflexible, while the agile approach offers flexibility but can be challenging to manage on large projects. On the other hand, the DevOps model combines the best of both worlds, encouraging collaboration and automation to deliver high-quality software quickly and efficiently.

The choice of software delivery model will depend on the specific needs and characteristics of each project. Successful companies are those that can carefully evaluate these models and choose the approach that best suits their objectives and context. In a world where technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, the ability to choose the right model can make the difference between success and obsolescence.

Do you need a team that guarantees efficient software delivery? At Rootstack, we have +12 years of experience supporting companies in their digital transformation. Contact us!

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