Are there weaknesses in software development methods ?

Are some areas of computing infested by phonies ?


If it’s not true, there’s no harm done, we can simply state it is not true.


"When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it - this is knowledge." -- Confucius ...


But I noticed this loopholes:





Ideally good quality work is done, and an accurate record is kept of versions numbers.





Real possibility that a person might simply be asked to generate a list of version numbers. Then software might be reissued as per the list of version numbers.


Minimal checking that the software works.


Fallacy. Using a concept of version numbers that would work if it is an accurate list of version numbers of tested and otherwise agreed software.


But in this case the version numbers might not be accurate. No testing whatsoever might have been done.

Are there weaknesses in software development methods ?
Have you learned something of Software Engineering? This subject will resolve you the issue. OO and Structured Programing are the two major methods. OO requires you to do some more research, but it will not create you a lot of trouble on the maintenaince. Structured programming is much easier in making the software product, however, if the requirements is changed, there will be a lot of work for you to do. For OO, you need to know Encapsulation, Inheritence, Polymorphism, and .. (i can't remember). All in all, create the class based on your case study. Actually, you need some research work on the topic for which the software is being designed. Hope my message can help with this.





I have searched the book, there are about four software development model applicable to your case, they are


-iteration and incrementation


-waterfall life cycle


-Rapid-prototyping lifecycle


-Synchronize and Stablize


, Sprial Model is good one, which needs the risk analysis, but it is not suitable to your case as it is only used by giant software development project.
Reply:When you speak of software development methods, are you referring to development languages, styles, or what the industry actually calls methodology -- Waterfall, Incremental, Spiral, and Prototyping? If so, then I would say EACH methodology has weaknesses which are often related to the TYPE of development effort and the developer/project team choosing the WRONG methodology for their effort. For example:





Waterfall's weaknesses are as follows:





* Lack of flexibility


* Requires a complete set of requirements at project start


* Design flaws not discovered until the Testing phase





Incremental weaknesses amount to:





* Lack of finalized requirements when work begins


* Interfaces defined earlier rather than later


* Tendency to push difficult problems to ensure positive project view early on





Spiral weaknesses are:





* Difficulty coordinating larger teams


* Tendency to not document iterative phased work fully


* Can result in a never-ending project if poorly managed





Lastly, prototyping has the following weaknesses:





* More applicable to new, original development efforts versus modifications to existing applications


* Often results in poor documentation (project and application)


* Tendency to push difficult problems to ensure positive project view early on (as with Incremental)





Hope this helps!