The purpose of a software application is to make a user's work easier.  It is there to serve the user and not the other way around.  Often times applications are overly complex and can contain a large amount of functionality that many users may never take advantage of while critical functionality they do need is left wanting.

At Knowledge Architects, we take a user-centric approach to application design making sure that we understand up front the goals and work of the user and how the software design needs to automate or augment their efforts.  We use this understanding to properly frame the success criteria it must meet and the correct development approach to use.

There are a variety of software development life cycles (SLDC) techniques or models to consider when developing an application including the:

Waterfall model

Spiral model

Top-down model

Bottom-up model

Hybrid model

Rapid prototyping model

Object-oriented model

Agile model

At Knowledge Architects, we assess which model best suits not only the problem but the environment by which the problem is constrained.  Each model has its tradeoffs and these tradeoffs must be weighed against the requirements and constraints of the problem to ensure a proper match is made before development starts.