13 Tech Leaders Share Their Favorite Software Development Life Cycle Methodologies

The Forbes Technology Council Post
Featuring 7Factor’s Founder, Jeremy Duvall
This story originally appeared on Forbes.com August 10, 2021

The industry experts of Forbes Technology Council are seasoned leaders who have experience with the many SDLC options, and each is clear on how the method they have chosen for their team is the most efficient and effective path for them. In this article, 13 of them share the software development life cycle methodology that gets their top vote, and why.

1. Agile

We use a modified Agile methodology that allows us to gather as much current-state and future-state workflow as possible. We then plan our Agile sprints. There is no question that for us and our clients, an Agile approach for configuring and building software releases is the quickest way to achieve ROI and user satisfaction. Users can also learn the new system in bite-sized stages. – Tammy Hawes, Virsys12

2. Agile + DevOps + Six Sigma

We’ve created a hybrid of Agile, DevOps and Six Sigma. Fundamentally, you need to create software that continually enhances your company’s process and keeps you ahead of the competition. The only way to do that is if you combine development and operations, marry it with business goals and focus on being agile and making the thousand improvements to push the needle forward. – Leibel Sternbach, Fusion Capital Management

3. Agile + Waterfall

For small and medium projects that need fast results and a predictable budget, we find that a hybrid Agile and Waterfall method is the best blend. Agile reduces the in-house resources the client needs to devote to the project and brings a working product to market more quickly, while incorporating Waterfall whenever possible helps the client with budgeting decisions during the project. – Micheal Goodwin, Server At Work

4. BizDevSecOps

BizDevSecOps is the most effective way of keeping up with the needs of the modern digital business, especially when paired with artificial intelligence and automation. Organizations can’t afford lengthy deployment cycles or miscommunication between siloed teams. BizDevSecOps solves this by bringing everyone together around shared goals to drive more rapid and effective innovation. – Bernd Greifeneder, Dynatrace

5. Continuous Delivery

Our preferred method is Continuous Delivery. We even call it Continuous Momentum, because often Continuous Delivery is conflated with delivering to a test environment. We want that momentum to be oriented toward production. – Brandon Dewitt, MX

6. Evolutionary Architecture + Agile

Building solutions based on Evolutionary Architecture principles and Agile practices has proven efficient. Solutions need an architecture that enables incremental change over time. The late decisions and abstract design principles of Evolutionary Architecture don’t impact self-organizing Agile teams as they follow Continuous Delivery practices, automated infrastructure provisioning and data migration. – Chandrasekhar Somasekhar, Cleareye.ai, Inc.

7. Extreme Programming

Of the many different Agile methodologies out there, the one that I like the most is Extreme Programming. Beck’s methodology not only embodies the spirit of Agile methodologies but also includes strong technical and quality aspects. XP provides a very comprehensive view of software development—it provides guidance not only on life cycle management but also on development practices. – Marcelo Tribuj, Truelogic Software LLC

8. Kanban

I prefer Kanban because it’s adult Scrum. Kanban requires accountability and mutual trust that’s rooted in a deep partnership among product development, engineering and any adjacent teams. When you don’t have that, communication failures result in useless daily meetings and controls that don’t add any value, degrading the process. Kanban mandates trust across business units and creates alignment. – Jeremy Duvall, 7Factor Software

9. Lean

Emerging from the Japanese manufacturing method of Lean Production, the Lean SDLC model makes it to the top of my list. I’m biased in its favor because I’m a big proponent of increasing efficiency in everything. This model focuses mainly on efficiency, productivity, eliminating steps that don’t add any value, swift deliveries and ensuring quality at every step. – Vikram Joshi, pulsd

10. SAFe With DevSecOps

Hands-down, SAFe with DevSecOps gets my vote. Having worked in the software industry the last couple of decades, I’ve seen and used everything from Waterfall to Agile and several others in between. SAFe is like a gourmet buffet of Waterfall, Agile, Lean, Six Sigma and DevOps. SAFe with DevSecOps thoughtfully collates all the pragmatic best practices of these methodologies with structure and flexibility. – Bagirathi Narayanan, Citrix

11. Scrum

My beloved long-time choice of methodology is Scrum. I believe it’s the most popular option around the globe due to its high transparency at all levels—customers know what the team is building, managers know what is planned and so on. Especially now when so many of us are working from home, Scrum can help you stay in touch and be on the same page, leaving space for the implementation that will work best for you and your team. – Nadya Knysh, a1qa

12. Test-Driven Development

Test-Driven Development is the most effective software development process for creating quality software. Extreme Programming and Scrum are very powerful methodologies, but if you don’t keep testing and quality at the heart of the development process, the team will not reach its optimal performance. It shifts the focus of the developer from writing code for the quality assurance team to writing code for the customer. – Patrick Emmons, DragonSpears, Inc.

13. Value Stream Management

Value Stream Management provides enterprises with visibility into their software delivery portfolios and identifies key objectives for senior management. It also analyzes software delivery within an organization to identify how the work flows from idea to operation. This allows organizations to determine what to improve and how—whether it be through automation or otherwise—and provides a way to measure outcomes. – Bob Davis, Plutora