Adaptive Software Development
Adaptive Software Development stands on five objectives. These objectives provide a well-defined pathway to develop better and efficient software.
The first objective breaks the belief that complex problems can only be solved using optimized solutions. The second objective is to provide models/frameworks to implement adaptive principles. The Adaptive Software Development life cycle is based on a framework that consists of concepts that provide you a detailed path for the phase-wise development of adaptive software. The third objective deals with collaboration. The collaboration is done to find the solution to the problems. The collaboration must be done on an Interpersonal level, Cultural Level, and Structural level. The fourth and the last objective gives a pathway to implement adaptive techniques on large projects.
Adaption is the ability to brings changes as per the prevailing conditions. Adaptation is the ability to alter the work plan in order to accommodate emerging conditions. Adaptation work as a trade-off between speed and flexibility. Adaptive Software Development is useful for software projects that require high development speed, and the change rate of the software under development is high.
Adaptive software development is based on three components. These three components are – the Adaptive Conceptual Model, the Adaptive Development Model, and the Adaptive Management Model. The Adaptive Software Development model is based on theories of Complex Adaptive System theory. The Complex Adaptive System theory is based on agents, environments, and emergent outcomes.
Adaptive Software Development is based on three components – Speculate, Collaborate and learn. Adaptive Software Development is an iterative model.
The life cycle of the Adaptive Software Development model focuses on adaptation leaves behind the concept of optimization. The adaptive software development model is an iterative process. Adaptive Software Development focuses on the uncertainty that prevails in the development of the software and changes that arise in the software development process. In Adaptive Software Development, software under development is not managed on the basis of predefined predictions and strategies that are rigid and can not be changed.
Adaptive Software Development is component-based rather than task-based. Adaptive Software Development puts stress on components and the characteristics of these components. Each of these components is developed by executing required tasks. Developing components of adaptive software is based on strategies that are process-driven.
The adaptive Software Development life cycle has many benefits. The first benefit is that it keeps on evolving. The evolution process is based on continuous feedback received from customers. The second benefit is that customer requirements keep on changing and to accommodate these changes in the software under development is easily done when software is developed using the Adaptive Software Development model framework. The third benefit is that the software under development can easily maintain the software product quality. The fourth benefit of Adaptive Software Development is that the chances of software failure are reduced to a large extent. The fifth and last benefit of Adaptive Software Development is the customer has the belief that software may undergo change if the requirement changes.
Speculate-Collaborate-Learn
The Adaptive Software Development Life Cycle consists of three phases – Speculate, Collaborate and Learn. The Speculate, Collaborate and Learn phases are non-linear and overlapping. The phases are kept non-linear and overlapping to handle uncertainty.
Microsoft corporations are using the Adaptive Software Development model framework to develop, maintain and manage the software.
Speculate
When the process of software development is complex and keeps on evolving then making a plan to develop software is not so fruitful. To develop software within the timeframe experiments related to software development must be avoided. Making plans to develop software and manage project tasks is a deterministic approach. Thus making plans to develop adaptive software is not a fruitful approach.
Planning is the way by which the desired objective is achieved but planning does not leave the scope of exploration. Instead of Planning, Speculation is done. In Speculation alternative path is ready. Speculation is based on the probability of uncertainty. Adaptive software keeps on working to attain significant and meaningful solutions. The adaptive software development life cycle keeps on speculating by focusing and de-focusing on activities. The focusing on activities can be done by speculating on a mission and by creating, maintaining, managing the Adaptive Software Development Life Cycle plan.
Collaborate
Collaboration is done to produce good and impactful products. Collaboration in adaptive software development is done to develop complex applications and most of the complex applications are evolved rather than built. Since the complexity of the developed application is high it requires a high volume of data processing and great analyses that can be applied to the problem. To correctly apply the outcome of analysis conducted on collected data requires in-depth knowledge of software development characteristics. This in-depth knowledge of software development characteristics is achieved by collaborating with experienced professionals.
The collaboration is managed with a balanced technique of project management. Collaboration gives birth to emergence.
Learning
An Adaptive Software Development framework regularly grows its knowledge level. The learning phase is responsible to maintain the knowledge level. In the learning phase, technical reviews are conducted regularly, projects are evaluated on a regular basis and customer feedback is taken regularly, feedback is taken through focus groups and using other mechanisms.
Adaptive software development is an iterative process, to be effective this iteration should be small but optimized. Keeping a small and optimized iteration helps developers to reveal and remove mistakes before they become a hurdle in the software development process.
The developers and the customers both are involved in the development process and both share their experiences to improve the learning phase and develop effective and efficient software.
The analyses conducted in the software development process are shared in each iteration.
The adaptive software development life cycle is based on characteristics such as adaptive software development is based on mission, adaptive software development is based on features, adaptive software development is based on an iterative process, adaptive software development is time-boxed, adaptive software development is risk-driven, and adaptive software development is fault-tolerant or it can be said that it is change tolerant.
Adaptive software development is a collaborative process and is based on customer feedback. The adaptive software development has small iterations. Adaptive software development supports object-oriented development and the development model is component-based.
The most noticeable tract of adaptive software development is that it helps developers to work on emerging challenges. In the adaptive software development process, feedback is regularly taken from the customers that are incorporated regularly in the software development process.
Adaptive software development does not have a well-defined software development startup plan due to which the software development process is not target-specific. As adaptive software development is based on iteration it is not possible for all software developers to focus on the software development process with the same level of intensity. In an adaptive software development framework, changes are frequent thus it leads to in-efficient documentation.
Adaptive Software Development is best suited for software products that keep on evolving. It is also best suited for agile development.
Adaptive Software Development must also be considered if the release of the software is the priority and fast pace development is required.
