Curriculum Vitae and Cover Letter

As we all know CVs and cover letters are important components in applying to a job. Regardless of the educations, knowledge or the vast experience possessed by a person which can be even overly suited for the particular job, if these 2 elements are not presented in a accurately, none of the companies will hire for the job. Therefore it’s important to gain knowledge in what exactly these documents are and how to write an appropriate CV and a cover letter

Cover letter

As stated by Prospects UK (2013), a cover letter is known as the precedence of a CV, which helps to highlight the contents of the CV. It mainly emphasized on the strengths and abilities of the applicant and highlights as to why that job is necessary and give proof and emphasis to why the company should actually hire the applicant. It is a document demonstrating the writing skills and styles of the applicant and a way of making a statement about oneself. University of Kent (2014) states that in accordance with a survey done in US, 42.9% of employers requested for cover letters from candidates. Details such as skills from the job description, clarity, additional details from the CV, personal vision and uniqueness are investigated through a cover letter by the employees.

Writing a cover letter should be done after much thought. When considering the length University of Kent (2014) states that surveys show 46% of employers preferred half page while 24% employers stated that the shorter the better. Hence marketing and proving the worth of oneself within the limited space is definitely a challenging mission. The following image describes some tips when writing a proper cover letter.

Figure 1 - Tips for writing a cover letter (University of Kent, 2014)

Binghamton University (2014) state that in order to write a strong cover letter, knowledge about organizational background and highlighting important words and phrases should be done. The acceptable format of writing a cover letter is illustrated in the image below

Figure 2 - Format of a cover letter (Bingham University, 2014)

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

University of Kent (2014) describes CVs as an “outline of a person’s education and professional history”. CVs are a marketing tool designed to market the applicant by valuing and selling the skills, abilities, strengths, qualifications, and experience to the employer. It is a way of providing proof and confidence for the employers in order to hire the applicant. Similar to the cover letter, CVs too should be written contributing much thought and in an appropriate format.

Although according to the requirements of the employers or applications the information included can be changed, according to Prospects UK (2013), a typical CV should cover the following areas

·         Contact details – name, address, phone number and email

·         Knowledge – educational and professional qualifications, institutions attended and dates

·         Skills and competencies – ability to do team work, communication skills, language skills etc.

·         Work related experience

·         Referees – 2 non related referees

University of Kent (2014) states that when choosing referees, an academic referee (tutor, project supervisor) and a former employer (if applicable) should be selected. However it’s important to ensure that the referees included are people who know you well enough to give positive feedback about you. University of Kent (2014) further states that the references are usually used after the first interview and not for initial screening and interview.

In order to accomplish in writing an excellent CV, University of Auckland (2014) states some general principles that can be followed.

v  Should not exceed 2-4 pages. Keep it concise

v  Use clean, plain white paper for printing the CV

v  A clear, comprehensible and a professional font styles, sizes and colors should be used

v  Check and recheck for spelling and grammar

v  Avoid using slang, casual words and abbreviations

v  Attach the CV from the top left corner to make photocopying easier

v  Include exceptional details and achievements about you

v  The important details should be prominent and easy to find

As stated above, there are certain areas that is needed to be covered by the CV. However when considering the structure of writing the CV, the author discovered that there are many ways in writing and the dependency of the style is based on factors such as country, industry/company, pre-stated requirements etc. As per given by the lecturer, the following is the structure of writing a CV.

·         Introduction to yourself (name, contact details)

·         Objectives

·         Experience – employment, past projects

·         Skills

·         Achievement (can include school achievements if it is directly relevant)

·         Personal values/quotes that represent you

·         School attended and Ordinary Level and Advanced Level results

·         Involvements in school clubs/societies/activities

·         Other bio details (civil status, gender, nationality, NIC number)

·         Referees

The following image was distributed among the students which contained some interesting facts about CVs.

Figure 3 - Interesting Facts on Resumes (Yong, 2013)

References

Binghmton University. 2014. WRITING COVER LETTERS. [e-book] New York: Binghamton University. Available through: http://www2.binghamton.edu/career-development-center/quick-reference-guides/cover-letter.pdf [Accessed: 21 Jan 2014].

Prospects UK. 2013. Cover letter samples and writing advice | Prospects.ac.uk. [online] Available at: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cover_letters.htm [Accessed: 21 Jan 2014].

Prospects UK. 2013. CVs and cover letters: How to write a CV | Prospects.ac.uk. [online] Available at: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/how_to_write_a_cv.htm [Accessed: 21 Jan 2014].

University Of Auckland. 2014. How to write a great CV - The University of Auckland. [online] Available at: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/for/current-students/cs-career-planning/applying-jobs-starting-work/preparing-cv.html [Accessed: 21 Jan 2014].

University Of Kent. 2014. How to write a successful covering letter. [online] Available at: http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/coveringletters.htm [Accessed: 21 Jan 2014].

University Of Kent. 2014. How to write a successful CV. [online] Available at: http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv.htm [Accessed: 21 Jan 2014].

Yong, J. 2013. The Anatomy Of A Great Résumé - DesignTAXI.com. [online] Available at: http://designtaxi.com/news/355860/The-Anatomy-Of-A-Great-R-sum/ [Accessed: 21 Jan 2014].

Personal Branding

The topic for the day was personal branding. At first the students were asked as to what a brand was. Some answers given were that a brand was an identity, a symbol of recognition or a definition of something. When viewing the definition for brands it clearly says the same; that a brand is an identity or a symbol of a product, service or a business. However IPO (2014) states that a brand is a “promise of an experience” and is an assurance to the customers of the nature and standards of products or services. Thus branding does not simply limit to an identity or a symbol but a reputational asset which is invaluable.

Thus as stated by Montoya (2014), personal branding can be defined as a “clear, positive idea that comes to mind whenever other people think of you”. It is a professional alter ego which influences others perspective of a person. A personal brand is a definition of a person, his values, personality, actions etc. Montoya (2014) further states that a personal brand tells as to who you are, what you do and what makes you different to others.

There are many ways to create your own personal brand, to market yourself. As discussed during the lecture, the following are some of the ways to market you

·         Personality – proper behavior, attitudes, way of handling things etc.

·         Networking/social groups – the way a person deal within a group, as a team, how well you communicate

·         Presentation of oneself – how confident you are, how you present yourself in the presence of others etc.

·         Attire – the way you dress, dressing with an effort in accordance with the occasion and place shows the respect towards the other party

·         Curriculum Vitae – the CV of a person is a way of marketing themselves to the potential employees

Brogan (2014) and Clarks (2014) states different elements that should be consisted in a personal brand which helps in marketing yourself such as

Ø  Self esteem

Ø  Being yourself

Ø  Offer value – what can you offer, why should someone hire/recruit you

Ø  Build a destination – a way people can reach you and know about you such as phone number, email, web profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter), blogs etc.

Ø  Share your ideas

Ø  Be innovative

Ø  Build and learn constantly

Ø  Communicate well with others

Building up a personal brand is not easily achievable over-night. It takes time, effort, transparency and should be always consistent. However when a personal brand is achieved, it can derive many benefits as stated by Montoya (2014)

ü  Create credibility

ü  Added perceived value

ü  Greater recognition

ü  In business context, increased earning potential and continuous flow of business

ü  Association with a trend

ü  Enhanced prestige

ü  Top of the mind status

Recruitment Process

Creating a pool of candidates for a particular job post in a company can be stated as recruitment. It invites applications from candidates who are seeking a job placing in the company. University of California (2014) states that recruitment process helps in the initial screening of the CVs, in order to gather potential candidates to the company. If the CV of a candidate is accepted, it leads to an interview, where the company officially meets the recruiters for the first time. Hence the interviews are a critical factor in determining the acceptance or the rejection from the job opportunity.

Therefore it is important to have a good preparation before facing an interview. Preparation can be done

ü  Practically – organizational background, travelling, attire, time

ü  Mentally – why is the job important to you, justification for the CV

ü  Psychological – presenting yourself without being nervous and scared

Before preparation, it is important to determine the purpose on an interview in interviewer’s perspective. According to University of California (2014), the following are some aims of an interview for an interviewer

·         To determine the preparation with respect to the organizational background and the related industry

·         Communications skills

·         Leadership potential and teamwork

·         In depth review of the qualifications

·         Comparisons of applicants’ strengths and weaknesses with each other

·         Determination of life goals, self-awareness and work ethics of the candidates

Therefore in order to obtain the satisfaction for the above criteria, the prior preparation should be done effectively

      Preparation about the organization

It is critical to have a clear understanding of the job that is being applied to, knowledge about the industry, organizational background etc. so that it shows the interest of the interviewee regarding the job being applied to. Knowing information about the responsibilities of the job, skills required, average salary in the industry, organizational background etc. will help in effectively communicating with the interviewers as well as help in negotiating factors such as salary and outcomes of the job. Sources such as company website, articles, information gained from employees can help in obtaining this information (University of California, 2014)

      Time and travel

It is important to arrive early to an interview in order to avoid possible delays that can occur. The mode of travelling too should be determined so that timing can be set accordingly. When selecting a mode of transport it is advisable to avoid public transport which are crowded and slow if possible in order to prevent unnecessary delays and complications

      Attire

Attire is an important element to be considered before and interview as it should be well fitting and appropriate. According to VirginiaTech (2013), wearing proper attire communicates the respect for the organization and the occasion and the understanding of the industry that you are applying for. The following are some guidelines for men and women in relation to attire in accordance with VirginiaTech (2013)

Women	Men	General
·         Suits can be of pants or skirts. Pants should be creased and tailored and skirts should be of conservative length ·         Light colored blouse/shirt with small patterns. ·         Jewelry – avoid chunky and colourful jewelry. A conservative watch, simple necklace, earrings are acceptable ·         Wear comfortable yet professional shoes, preferably closed toe pumps of a suitable height ·         Makeup – should be light and conservative. Avoid bright and dark colors	·         Suit jackets and pants should match ·         Suitable suit colors include navy, dark grey ·         Avoid ties with extreme colors and patterns and tying techniques ·         Long sleeved shirts ·         Clean and polished pair of shoes (Black, Brown) and belt to match ·         Dark socks of mid-calf length ·         Jewelry – a conservative watch, avoid earrings.	·         A 2 piece matched suit in conservative colors is known as the best and safest choice ·         Expensive clothing is not required. But quality should be present ·         Cleanliness person wise and clothes wise is important ·         Clean and trimmed fingernails ·         Conservatively styled hair ·         Use of perfumes/colognes should be done sparingly

Table 1 - Interview Attire (VirginiaTech, 2013)

      Interview questions

Questions asked at an interview play a major role in the selection process. The interviewer may test a wide area through the questions asked, which can be either based on the CV or based on general information. Therefore it is advisable to prepare a verbal resume, a justification for the CV as well as be aware of other question criteria asked. The following are some common questions asked at an interview according to American University (2014) and University of California (2014)

Ø  Tell me about yourself?

Ø  Why did you apply for this position?

Ø  What are your major strengths and weaknesses?

Ø  Where do you see yourself in (5 or 10) years?

Ø  What are the contributions that can be obtained from you to the organization?

Ø  What are the reasons for leaving the current/past job?

At the end of many interviews, an opportunity is given for a round of questions to be asked by the interviewee. It is important to be aware of the types of appropriate questions to be asked. University of California (2014) and American University (2014) presents certain appropriate questions to be asked as follows

·         What are the expectations from the job holder?

·         What type of work environment will I be in?

·         How are employee performances evaluated?

·         What are the significant changes or challenges that I might have to encounter?

·         How are the employees trained?

·         What are the opportunities for progression within the company?

It is important to avoid direct question related to salary, benefits, vacations etc.

      Psychological preparation

Mental preparation is an important factor which will help to face an interview calmly and confidently. Nervousness and fearfulness can lead to forgetting facts and inability to answer properly which will be a disadvantage for the interviewee. Preparation through mock interviews conducted with the help of others, practicing appropriate answering methods will help to a great extent in facing interviews successfully (University of California, 2014)

      End of the Interview

It is vital to clearly understand when the interview has come to an end. If the interviewer expresses conclusion of the interview, clarify the situation by asking whether he/she has any more questions to ask. At the conclusion of the interview express the interest in the position to create an impression of the enthusiasm. Finally it is important to thank the interviewer before leaving for the time spent and offer a firm handshake. (Foothill College, 2014)

References

American University. 2014. Interview Preparations. [online] Available at: http://www.american.edu/careercenter/Interview-Preparations.cfm [Accessed: 20 Jan 2014].

Brogan, C. 2014. Personal Branding for the Business Professional. [e-book] Available through: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/img/broganbranding.pdf [Accessed: 20 Jan 2014].

Clarks, D. 2014. Brand you 2014: five personal branding tips for the year ahead. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2014/jan/06/brand-you-2014-personal-branding-tips [Accessed: 20 Jan 2014].

Foothill College. 2014. How to Market Yourself Effectively. [e-book] Foothill College. Available through: http://www.foothill.edu/career/documents/How_to_Market_Yourself.pdf [Accessed: 20 Jan 2014].

IPO. 2014. Intellectual Property Office - What is a brand?. [online] Available at: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/tm/t-about/t-whatis/t-brands.htm [Accessed: 20 Jan 2014].

Montoya, P. 2014. What Is Personal Branding?. [e-book] Available through: http://www.petermontoya.com/pdfs/tbcy-chapter1.pdf [Accessed: 20 Jan 2014].

University Of California. 2014. Human Resources: Recruitment & Selection Hiring Process. [online] Available at: http://hr.ucr.edu/recruitment/guidelines/process.html [Accessed: 20 Jan 2014].

University Of California. 2014. Purpose of the Interview — Human Resources. [online] Available at: http://www.hr.ucdavis.edu/sdps/career-management-toolkit/take-action/interviews/purpose-of-the-interview [Accessed: 20 Jan 2014].

Virginiatech. 2013. Interview appearance and attire | Career Services | Virginia Tech. [online] Available at: http://www.career.vt.edu/interviewing/interviewappearance.html [Accessed: 20 Jan 2014].

Project Proposal discussions

A main component of the ARMPD assignment consists of the Project Proposal that shoyld be submitted. We were advised to devise this proposal targeting our final year project (FYP) so that it will be convenient and we can be prepared for the next year. Therefore much thought and effort were given in order to select the ideal project for everyone.

The lecturer requested the students to investigate into potential organizations or areas for a suitable problem and sessions were held to discuss and to obtain feedback. For about a week, every student brought forward the ideas that they discovered in order to obtain an approval. However none of the students managed to satisfy the necessary criteria for the ideas to be stable and to be continued further. However feedback was given by the lecturer as to the methods of determining and improving the problems. Similar examples, past project ideas were discussed in order for the students to obtain a correct idea to pursue and investigate into issues.

The author too researched and investigated into areas where a potential problem idea existed. The author visited several companies such as a glove manufacturing company, jewelry manufacturing company, sports good exporting company and a transformer manufacturing company. However none of the problems managed to be successful

Company	Area investigated/ problem discovered	Reasons for futility
Glove manufacturing company	Document management and transfer which was done through outdated methods	Inexistence of a focused problem and effects to the company, less scope, common idea
Jewelry manufacturing company	Manufacturing process which was manual at present	Too trivial as there are many off the shelf systems available as remedies
Sports goods exporting company	Order management and document transfer which was done through outdated methods	Inexistence of a focused problem and effects to the company, less scope, common idea
Transformer manufacturing company	Determining customer and order stability in the future	Less scope as the company already possesses the ability to determine forecasts

After the initial discussions, students were given a deadline in order to submit a draft problem statement. Before submission of the draft, a sample problem statement format was given and some class activities were conducted so that the students were trained to write a correct problem statement. These statements were read and corrected by the lecturer and feedback was given for improvement. 

The author further investigated and finally managed to obtain a problem in the glove manufacturing company pertaining to the production process. The production scheduling was inefficient leading to delay in delivery of goods. Therefore the author produced this as a problem statement which was evaluated by the lecturer and feedback was given, where a lot of issues were advised to be dealt with.

As the next step, the project proposal draft was submitted in accordance with the problems taken by the students. Here too a sample format was given to the students as a guideline. The process of discussing project proposals was an unpleasant task as none of the students had managed to submit a proper report. After much stern advices and reproach from the lecturer in order to rectify our mistakes, students were able to struggle into arrive at an acceptable project proposal which helped in carrying on with the rest of the assignment.

The author’s project proposal was rejected spot on by the lecturer as it wasn’t up to standard. Many comments and criticism was provided and guidelines on how to proceed were communicated by the lecturer. This helped the author in drafting an acceptable proposal which can be used to build upon and worked ahead.

Even though at the beginning of the module the students were aware of the gravity of writing an appropriate project proposal which is FYP standard, the difficulty of that task wasn’t felt till it was actually done by the students. However the author thinks that it is indeed a good foundation that such a task is done before the actual FYP proposal is submitted so that students have more time to attain a solid ground and produce satisfactory and quality work.

Software Development Methodologies

A software development methodology can be simply stated as a “structure imposed on the development of a software product” (Faridani, 2011). This structure comprises of tools, procedures, techniques etc. which helps planning, designing, validating and managing the actions being done in building up a system. According to Rico (n. d), development methodologies date back to 1960’s where it was 1^st introduced through flowcharting method. The following diagram gives a brief aspect at the evolution of development methods.

Figure 1- History of development methods (Rico, n. d)

As it can be seen, the development methodologies have considerably changed over the time. The reason for this can be stated as the ever changing technological aspects and the requirements which become complicated over the time.

Types of development methodologies

Use of development methodologies varies with the type of the project that is present. It is important to choose the proper development methodology for the project in order to be a success. If the wrong methodology is used, the whole project can be a failure leading to unaccountable losses. The following are evaluations of some methodologies which can be used in deciding the appropriate methodology for use.

Structured System Analysis Development Methodology (SSADM)

According to Government CIO of Hong Kong (2012) SSADM is a structured methodology which dates back to 1980’s. It is data driven and consists of structural standards, technique guides and document standards. As stated by University of West England (n. d) the development objective is to integrate 3 views which help in completion and accuracy of the model. These 3 views are;

·         Data Flow Diagrams – shows all the data and information used by the system

·         Entity Relationship Models – shows the way information is stored and the relation among them

·         Entity Life Histories – shows the changes of information within its lifetime

Government CIO of Hong Kong (2012) describes about the different stages in SSADM methodology

1.      Feasibility – assesses the business case to develop a system and to determine the effectiveness of fulfilling requirements by the system. Provides current system description and data flow models, requirements catalogue, constraint lists etc.

2.      Requirement Analysis

·         Investigation of current environment – investigates completely the current environment and its problems. Provides business activity model, user catalogue, requirement catalogue etc.

·         Business systems option – provides possible options which will fulfill the requirements in order to help the project team to decide on the best option

3.      Requirement specification – detailed specifications of the data and process requirements of the selected option. Provides requirement system description, function definitions, work practice model etc.

4.      Logical systems specification

·         Technical systems option – defines possible physical implementation to the system and helps users to select the optimum option. Provides application style guide, sizing model etc.

·         Logical design – defines user dialogues, update processes and enquiry processes. Provides process models and report layouts

5.      Physical design – prepares the physical data and process design. Provides optimized physical data design, program specifications and process data interfaces

In order to carry out proper analysis and the outcome as a whole, SSADM uses 3 key tools. Scottish Qualifications Authority (2007) describes these 3 tools as follows;

Ø  Logical data modelling – identifies, models and documents data requirements. Consists of logical data structures (LDS) which represents entities and relationships

Ø  Data flow modelling – models and documents the data flow of the system. Consists of DFDs which represent process and functions, data stores, external entities and data flows

Ø  Entity event modelling – identifies and documents the events influencing each entity in the sequence that they occur. Consists of entity life histories for each entity.

Advantages and disadvantages of SSADM

Advantages	Disadvantages
Has an intense focus on analysis and design	Its incomplete due to the absence of testing and development phases
Well defined techniques and documentation involved helps future changes	As it’s structured and sequential, it’s difficult to retreat to make changes
Reduces error rate of IS through quality levels	Due to the sequential process time is wasted
Delivers the system on time	For some conditions it’s too large to handle
Uses common skills thus reducing costs of training of specialized skills	Consistent checks cannot be carried out due to various description methods

Table 1- Advantages and Disadvantages of SSADM (ITC InfoTech, n. d)

Rational Unified Process (RUP)

Introduced by IBM, RUP is a framework that delivers best, industry-tested practices for software and development projects. This framework was in order to overcome the inefficiencies of the traditional/waterfall methodology which was recognized as risky and that which idle key team members for long time periods. RUP sets milestones to be achieved during the process and each step is compared against these set milestones to check the progress (ITInfo, 2014).

As stated by IBM (2003) RUP can be defined as an iterative, incremental, architecture centric and use case driven approach. It is known as iterative development happens in repeated cycles (includes processes such as prototyping, testing, analyzing and refining a product or processes) and allows the developer to develop in various parts within the cycle and continue progressively through the development phase. As development increments gradually in the development phase it is said to be incremental. As the whole system is drawn at large and then the components are taken individually to analyze closely derives the fact that it is use case driven while the focus given from early stages for the architecture of the application where working prototypes are created to identify problems derives the fact that it is architecture centric (Staffordshire University, 2008).

The following diagram depicts the iterative approach of RUP

Figure 2 - Iterative Approach of RUP (IBM, 2003)

RUP consists of 4 phases and 9 disciplines that are followed in order to complete a development project successfully. The following diagram shows how these disciplines are involved in the different phased of RUP

Figure 3 - RUP Lifecycle (Staffordshire University, 2008)

The phases of are described below in accordance with Staffordshire University (2008) and IBM (2003)

·         Inception – this is the initial phase where customer requirements are gathered and an initial business case is drawn using use case diagrams, project plans and business processes. Based on these the initial costing is done and budgets are set in order to check the feasibility of the project.

·         Elaboration – this phase involves in mitigating risks where lists the probable risks that can be encountered during the process and prototypes are drawn to overcome these.

·         Construction - this is the phase where the system is developed and coding is done. The use cases are broken to smaller segments and development of prototypes for each part is done (beta versions)

·         Transition - here the implantation and testing are done. The system is integrated so that the performance can be evaluated and refined. The users of the system are given proper training and quality checks are performed. 

Advantages and disadvantages of RUP

Advantages	Disadvantages
It’s a complete methodology that covers the entire development spectrum	Highly complex process which can lead to confusions of the users
As activities are done in parallel, time is saved and resources are utilized to maximum	Is not suitable for small time projects as it will be costly and complex
More user involvement throughout the project	There are excess number of models involved
Aims to diminish risks before facing them	As it only uses UML which isn’t constructive, it can worsen inconsistencies.
Uses rich modelling language (UML)
Helps to accommodate the changing requirements of clients
Can be highly reused (codes etc.)

Table 2- Advantages and Disadvantages of RUP (Ramsin, n. d)

Due to the identification of weaknesses of RUP, an extended version of RUP was introduced known as EUP (Enterprise Unified Process) which introduced 2 new disciplines and phases. It also uses modelling methods such as DFDs along with UML (Ramsin, n. d). the following diagram depicts the EUP disciplines and phases

Figure 4 - EUP lifecycle (Ramsin, n. d)

Agile

Agile methodology focuses minimizing risks through development of software within short time periods (1-4 weeks) known as iterations. Similar to mini software projects these consists of all tasks involved in releasing the final project (analysis, design, coding, testing etc.) and project priorities are re-evaluated at the end of the each iterations. (ITInfo, 2014)

The agile methods are principle based known as the agile manifesto which has been introduced by the agile alliance which is shown below

Figure 5 - Agile Manifesto (Williams, 2007)

There are different types of agile development methodologies such as scrum, DSDM, crystal, XP

Scrum

Scrum focuses in increasing productivity through teams, which recognizes that empirical challenges cannot be addressed in the traditional method of process control and maximizing teams’ ability to respond in agile ways for the challenges faced. Scrum teams are self-organized and self-directed and are committed to a specific goal where they have the authority and independency to determine the process of achieving it. (ITInfo, 2014).

According to Williams (2007), scrum teams produce 3 main documents called Product Backlog (contains functionalities needed to be developed and the defects to be fixed), Sprint Backlog (daily updated list of features, enhancements and defects scheduled for sprints/iterations) and Sprint Burn Down Chart (graphically displays hours remaining to complete sprints)

Williams (2007) further describes about the different roles in a scrum team which consists about 7 members

·         Product owner – creates product backlog, determines the next sprint and reviews system at the end of the sprint  

·         Scrum master – conducts daily scrum meetings, fortifies product goals, sprints, scrum values and practices, provides resources and engage in development

·         Developer – a scrum team member

The scrum process is depicted in the diagram below

Figure 6 - Scrum process (Williams, 2007)

DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Model)

This is another method that is based on the fact that nothing is built perfectly at once and considers software development as an investigative attempt. It revolves around 9 principles which focuses on high user involvement, frequent delivery of products, reversible changes during development, integrated testing throughout the cycle etc. (ITInfo, 2014)

DSDM (2014) states that it is independent of vendors and covers the lifecycle of the project providing best practice guidance for projects of any size or in any business area. DSDM (2014) also indicates that techniques such as Facilitated Workshops, Modelling and Iterative Development, MoSCow Prioritization and Time Boxing are used to develop systems.

The DSDM development process, which is comprised of 7 processes is shown below

Figure 7- DSDM process (Clifton & Dunlap, 2003)

Crystal

As stated by ITInfo (2014), this method focuses on people, interactions, skills and communications as they are believed to be the core effects on performance and states process as secondary. This is a family of methods which includes crystal clear, crystal yellow, crystal orange and crystal red and follows 2 principles;

·         Incremental cycles shouldn’t exceed 4 months

·         Reflection workshops should be held after every delivery.

(Williams, 2007)

Advantages and Disadvantages of agile methodology

Advantages	Disadvantages
Easily adaptive to changes	If the customer isn’t clear about the requirements, the whole process will be off track
High user involvement ensuring customer satisfaction	More helpful for management than for developing
Less documentation required	Difficulty in maintaining the varying changes due to lack of documentation for the developer
Reduces development risks due to continuous delivery of working software	Wastage of resources if the working software produced constantly is not approved
High quality software within the shortest time

Table 3- Advantages and disadvantages of agile methodology (Sharma et al, 2012)

 \

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

As stated by ITInfo (2014), RAD focuses on developing applications faster and in high quality by;

·         Using focus groups for requirement gathering

·         Prototyping and user testing of designs

·         Reusing software

·         Keeping meetings and communications informal

RAD follows object oriented programming to a certain extent where it uses languages such as C++ and Java. It uses minimal planning and which enables faster software development and adaptability to changes (RAMSOFT, 2012). The following diagram shows RAD methodology

Figure 8- RAD process (RAMSOFT, 2012)

Advantages and disadvantages of RAD

Advantages	Disadvantages
Faster development	Due to time boxing, features of applications maybe lesser than other applications
Ability to measure progress	Lack of scalability
Changes can be easily accommodated	Needs highly skilled developers
Higher reusability of components	Complex management

Table 4- Advantages and Disadvantages of RAD (TutorialsPoint, 2014)

Choosing an appropriate software development methodology

When using a development methodology to be used in a project, it is highly important that the correct and the suitable methodology are used in order to obtain the optimum results. Not every methodology is suitable for any project; the usability of methodologies differs in accordance with several factors. As stated by Geambasu et al. (2011) the following are some facts to consider for choosing a suitable methodology

v  Nature of the project

v  Flexibility and incorporation of requirement changes in the project

v  Obtaining functional forms of the system during development

v  Development costs and feasibility

v  User involvement and communications between developers and customers

v  Duration of the development

v  Constraints and drawbacks

References

Clifton, M. and Dunlap, J. 2003. What Is DSDM? - CodeProject. [online] Available at: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/5097/What-Is-DSDM [Accessed: 11 Jan 2014].

DSDM. 2014. What is DSDM? | DSDM CONSORTiUM. [online] Available at: http://www.dsdm.org/content/what-dsdm [Accessed: 11 Jan 2014].

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