Modern Software Development Best Practices

July 5th, 2023 by inflectra

Software development has become the driving force behind innovation and success in the digital era. Organizations must embrace best practices that optimize their development processes and deliver superior software products to thrive in this dynamic landscape. From planning to deployment, we'll explore techniques, features, and strategies that empower teams to build robust and scalable applications. Let’s uncover actionable insights to accelerate development cycles and ensure success in today's competitive environment.

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Defining "best practices"

Best practices are established guidelines and methodologies that streamline processes, reduce risks, and improve the quality of software products. They encompass planning, collaboration, quality assurance, security considerations, deployment, ongoing improvement, and more. By following best practices, teams can make informed decisions, improve collaboration, minimize errors, and ultimately deliver software that meets (and surpasses) customer expectations.

Biggest shifts in development

The field of software development has experienced significant shifts in recent decades, marked by evolving best practices, mindsets, methodologies, and approaches. These shifts have propelled the industry forward from traditional models to agile methodologies and the integration of DevOps practices. By understanding and embracing these changing dynamics, software development teams can adapt, improve efficiency, and deliver software products that align with the demands of the modern digital world.

Rise of Agile development

Agile methodologies have revolutionized the software development industry by emphasizing iterative and collaborative approaches. The increased popularity of frameworks such as Scrum and Kanban marked a shift from traditional waterfall models. There are many incentives for teams to incorporate agile trends into their development. Agile promotes cross-functional teams, adaptive planning, and continuous evaluations, enabling faster feedback and adaptability to changing requirements. This leads to teams delivering software in shorter cycles, improved customer satisfaction, and constant learning.

Shift to cloud computing

The adoption of cloud computing has completely transformed how software is developed, deployed, and accessed. By leveraging cloud infrastructure and services, development teams can reduce costs, scale resources at will, and streamline collaboration. Developers can also deploy applications more efficiently and provide seamless updates and maintenance to end-users rather than managing infrastructure.

Implementation of automation

Test automation has become crucial to the software lifecycle, particularly in streamlining repetitive tasks or test cases. Automated testing, deployment, and monitoring tools allow teams to accelerate the development timeline, reduce human errors, and achieve higher-quality software. By automating tedious and time-consuming processes, teams can free up resources for more strategic and value-added activities.

Learn more about modern software testing and the importance of automation here.

Growing importance of security

As technology becomes more pervasive, the importance of security in software development has grown exponentially. The rise in cyber threats and data breaches necessitates robust security practices throughout the development lifecycle. Implementing secure coding practices (such as input validation), vulnerability assessments, conducting regular security audits, and ensuring secure data handling are all essential to protect sensitive information and maintain user trust.

Best practices for modern software development

In the fast-paced and competitive realm of software development, adopting best practices is essential for teams and organizations to thrive. From project planning to deployment, here are some of the most foundational best practices that empower teams to succeed in their projects.

Best practices in software development list

1. Start with use cases

Use cases are scenarios that describe how users interact with the software. By starting with use cases, development teams can clarify the end user's needs, define required functionality, prioritize features, and align development efforts accordingly. It provides a clear roadmap for development, ensuring that the software stays on target, addresses the most important user requirements, and delivers value.

2. Define your requirements & scope of work

Clearly defining requirements, expectations, and scope of work is another critical step for establishing a successful software development project. It involves capturing functional and non-functional requirements, identifying stakeholders' needs, and setting realistic project goals. Clear requirements help avoid misunderstandings and scope creep, and ensure that the development team focuses on delivering the intended functionality.

3. Use a Scrum or agile methodology

As mentioned earlier, Scrum and other agile methodologies promote iterative development, frequent feedback, and collaboration. They break down work into sprints, prioritize tasks, and involve stakeholders throughout the process. Agile methodologies enable teams to respond to changes, adapt quickly, and deliver working software in shorter cycles, fostering customer satisfaction, transparency, and continuous improvement.

4. Keep code simple

Writing simple and clean code improves maintainability, readability, and collaboration among developers. Simple code is easier to understand, debug, and modify, reducing the risk of introducing errors or bugs. It follows coding best practices, uses meaningful naming conventions, and adheres to design principles, which results in efficient and maintainable software.

5. Implement version & access control

Version control systems like Git allow teams to track changes to source code, collaborate effectively, and manage different versions of the software. Version control provides a centralized repository, facilitates branching and merging, and enables efficient collaboration. It also allows for easy rollback in the event of a security breach or concern. A step further, access control ensures that only authorized individuals have the necessary permissions to modify or access code, protecting the integrity and security of the project.

6. Work in pairs

Pair programming originated from the Extreme Programming (XP) methodology and involves two developers collaborating on the same code. It promotes knowledge sharing, improves code quality, and helps catch errors early. By working together, developers can review and critique each other's code, share insights, and make improvements, leading to higher-quality software and reduced defects.

7. Don’t wait to test

Unit testing involves testing individual components or units of code. By performing unit tests early in the development process, issues can be identified and fixed promptly. It enables rapid feedback, facilitates faster bug fixing, reduces the cost of fixing them later, and more, enhancing overall software quality. Early testing also helps identify fundamental design flaws and ensures that subsequent development stages are built on a solid foundation.

8. Document issues & progress

Thorough documentation plays a crucial role in capturing important information about issues, progress, and decisions made during the development process. It serves as a reference for team members, enables knowledge transfer, and helps project managers track and manage the software's evolution. Documentation ensures that important details are not lost and provides transparency and accountability for all stakeholders.

9. Avoid feature overload

Prioritizing quality over quantity is important to avoid feature overload. While it may be tempting to quickly and repeatedly push out new features, adding too many can introduce complexity, increase maintenance efforts, and degrade overall software quality. By focusing on balancing essential features and maintaining simplicity, teams can deliver a more reliable, stable, and user-friendly software product.

10. Use the right software for development

Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that you select an appropriate software tool for development and testing that enhances productivity and efficiency. Tools like IDEs, testing frameworks, and project management systems automate repetitive tasks, streamline workflows, and improve collaboration. Choosing the right tools ensures the team can work effectively, adhere to best practices, and deliver the software quality your users expect.

Improve your software quality with Spira

Inflectra's Spira family of applications is the ideal solution for modern software development, aligning with the best practices we’ve talked about today to empower teams. With flexible pricing, seamless integration, and intuitive workflows, Spira simplifies the software lifecycle. It promotes clear requirements, effective planning, rigorous testing, and integrated progress tracking.

Still not sure? Try a free 30-day trial to see firsthand its impact on your software development!