New technology and innovations are emerging every day and businesses are struggling to keep up. By the time you’ve adopted one innovation, it seems like two more must-have tools have sprung up. This has increased the demand for the production of enterprise-ready applications, fueling infinite innovation and creativity featuring the latest trends.
For businesses that rely on apps to centralize their operations, streamline core operations, enhance operational ability, boost access to actionable insights, and offer customer support, the significance of fast delivery cannot be overemphasized.
In a fast-paced environment where the industry demands near-instant solutions, Rapid Application Development (RAD) is the agile approach that helps businesses create new products and functions to remain competitive. This article discusses the growing demand for RAD, its benefits and trends in the future of work, and how companies can achieve it through outsourcing.
According to a recent report by Markets and Markets, an ever-expanding user base that’s driven the development of mobile and web-based development applications is one reason the demand for the Rapid Application Development Market is expected to grow from $7.8 billion in 2018 to $46.2 billion by 2023 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 42.9%. [1]
Rapid Application Development (RAD) is an adaptive software development approach that focuses on quickly designing, prototyping, and developing to get user feedback in real time. The model differs from the traditional waterfall or linear sequential model that follows a logical progression of the steps of a project, just like water flowing over the edge of a cliff. Instead, the RAD approach integrates more flexibility by prioritizing development and building prototypes rather than logical, sequential planning.
With RAD, software developers can integrate multiple rehearsals and updates without going back to the drawing board based on constant user feedback, helping them to achieve faster and better results at the end of the day. Conceived in the 1980s, RAD has been around for a while now but was defined in 1991 as a potential substitute for the rigid waterfall design model.
The Rapid Application Development approach introduces flexibility that allows for numerous variations on how a single business challenge can be fixed, making the entire process cheaper. While it may appear more like a trial-and-error approach, RAD eventually beats the traditional super-detailed design and planning model since users tend to provide more realistic feedback from a model they’ve worked with.
The nuts and bolts of RAD are quickly-made prototypes, reusable code, frequent client feedback, and target usable software. The model considers that as far as clients are concerned, “seeing is believing.” Meaning they can only correctly know what you’re talking about when they see your software in action.
Just as a good chef will taste a new dish as they are cooking it, developers should plan continuous tests as they progress. Suppose your business is going to enjoy the astounding success of RAD. In that case, it will be necessary that you understand and be able to implement the following essential factors that are the drivers of the concept:
The success of RAD depends heavily on developer-client interaction, meaning that the end users must not only be interested but be able to participate in the development process fully.
Implementing RAD requires proper project management due to its slightly dynamic nature. Failure to have a clear-minded project manager could mean your desire to integrate RAD will likely spiral into too many constant changes that would render your software unready for the market. This, therefore, calls for flexibility and adaptability while focusing solely on results.
The success or failure of RAD depends on the availability of a team of highly-skilled and multi-talented developers who can quickly and easily adapt to constantly emerging situations. Since implementing RAD won’t work efficiently with teams with only the basic knowledge of the concept, you may want to consider outsourcing through Gigster’s fully managed teams to enhance your chances of achieving faster development cycles instead of trying to build your in-house team.
RAD promises prompt end-deliveries of software as it is highly iterative and reaches the target faster. The most significant advantage of RAD is enabling users to streamline their business operations, allowing them to be more effective and collaborative. Besides the obvious benefits, some of the other advantages of the concept include:
The RAD framework supports quicker adjustments since there’s room for midstream adjustments implemented as the development progresses.
Utilizing a repository of reusable components means fewer errors and shorter testing times. The final product will have gone through more tests, leading to fewer defects.
Whereas more resources could be spent on getting the right developers, RAD eventually becomes more affordable since you’re never going to rerun a project from the beginning to implement changes. Moreover, once an application is released, fixing anything after that is mainly faster and painless, while releasing newer versions is even quicker.
If you have a project requiring a shortened time to market and want to remain ahead of the market, then the RAD concept is right for you. RAD is what you need when:
RAD is your go-to solution when your project has a tight deadline and you must deliver something that must work immediately after deployment. Implementing RAD saves you the time required to go through the processes from planning to designing, often on a dime.
If you have a pool of users you can rely on for continuous feedback on your prototypes, RAD should be your go-to method as the concept builds upon constant feedback from past iterations.
Compared to other development models, RAD is relatively affordable since your only cost could be on outsourcing software development.
If you’re looking to develop a product quickly and need to build software quickly to accomplish it, then RAD may be the solution you’re looking for. Even if your in-house team isn’t familiar with RAD; outsourcing through Gigster gives you access to the right teams to successfully help you deploy RAD.
[1] markets.businessinsider.com. (2019). Rapid Application Development Market Worth $46.2 Billion by 2023 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarketsTM. [online] Available at: https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/rapid-application-development-market-worth-46-2-billion-by-2023-exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-1027964813
