Enterprise app development is often slow because of its complex requirements. It needs careful planning, strong architecture, and thorough testing to ensure the apps are stable and secure. These apps need to manage lots of data and work smoothly with existing systems. At Ronas IT, we specialize in enterprise-level application development services and have tackled various projects requiring rapid application development. Through our experience, we've discovered several strategies that significantly speed up the app development process and will share them in this article.

Why is the process of enterprise application development so slow?

Creating enterprise apps is a complex task that requires detailed work on each step. One reason that slows down enterprise app development is its complexity. Businesses need apps that handle many tasks and data. This means developers must build stable and flexible systems. Managing large amounts of data and ensuring security adds more layers of challenge.

Another reason is that new enterprise apps need to integrate with other software that the business already uses. If these systems are old, it can be hard to connect them with new apps. Moreover, enterprises handle sensitive information, so apps must be secure and stable. Developers spend time testing every feature to ensure the app is reliable.

Despite these challenges, there are ways to speed up application development. Let's explore them further:

How to speed up the application development process

Speeding up enterprise app development is possible with the right strategies. Here are some effective ways to do it:

Choose the most suitable methodology

Choosing the right software development methodology is key to rapid enterprise application development. Each methodology has its strengths and challenges. Here's a look at some popular ones:

Agile methodology

Agile is flexible and emphasizes collaboration and adaptability. It breaks software development into sprints, allowing teams to work on small parts of the project at a time. Agile allows for frequent feedback and adjustments, which helps quickly respond to changes in requirements. This methodology suits projects that need to be flexible and evolve over time.

Rapid application development methodology (RAD)

RAD software development focuses on rapid prototyping and quick feedback. It prioritizes functional software over detailed planning and involves users in the development process. With RAD methodology, developers build prototypes fast, gather user feedback, and refine the app in short cycles. This approach reduces application development time but works best when requirements are clear from the start.

Waterfall methodology

Waterfall is a traditional software development methodology that follows a linear, sequential approach, where each phase must be completed before moving on to the next. It involves thorough planning and documentation. While it provides a clear structure and is easier to manage, changes can be costly and time-consuming. Waterfall is best for projects with well-defined requirements that are unlikely to change.

Kanban

Kanban focuses on visualizing the workflow and limiting work in progress. It uses a board to track tasks and their statuses, making bottlenecks visible. Teams can adjust priorities and redistribute workload as needed, ensuring continuous delivery. Kanban is flexible and can be applied to projects where tasks are variable and need constant reprioritization.

Scrum

Often used within Agile, Scrum divides application development projects into fixed-length sprints. It includes roles such as Scrum Master and Product Owner who oversee progress and ensure stakeholder collaboration. Scrum allows for rapid iterations and adapts well to changing requirements, but requires disciplined adherence to roles and processes.

Agile and its subset, Scrum, are ideal for projects that need flexibility and frequent iteration. Rapid application development model works well for fast-paced projects with clear initial requirements. Waterfall is suitable for projects with stable needs, where changes are unlikely. Kanban is best for teams looking to improve workflow efficiency with visual task management. You can also use a combination of some methods to make them fit your project.

At Ronas IT, we often use Scrumban, which combines Scrum and Kanban methods. This approach helps us work with clear plans while staying flexible to changes as we develop. It's been a successful method in many of our application development projects because it balances flexibility with predictability.

Use proper tech stack

Choosing the right tech stack is critical for rapid application development. The tech stack includes the frameworks, programming languages, libraries, and tools used to build the app. Here's how you can select the best tech stack:

Start by understanding the app's needs, including performance, scalability, and functionality. Different projects have different demands, and the tech stack should align with these requirements. Ensure your tech stack can handle growth and updates, you need scalability for high user volumes and data loads. Choose frameworks that have strong developer communities and rich ecosystems that can provide support, tools, and libraries to speed up application development.

Don't forget about the skills and experience of your development team. Using a tech stack that your team is already comfortable with can reduce the learning curve and increase development speed. Here are the frameworks we use most recently to create reliable apps fast:

Frontend frameworks

• React: Known for its flexibility and efficiency, React is great for building dynamic user interfaces. Its component-based architecture allows developers to reuse code, allowing for rapid application development. React is perfect for applications that need robust UI and seamless user experiences.
• Angular: Angular offers a comprehensive web development solution for single-page applications. It provides out-of-the-box features like two-way data binding and dependency injection, reducing the setup time and helping deliver complex applications quickly.

Backend frameworks

• Laravel: A PHP framework that simplifies backend development with elegant syntax and built-in features like authentication and routing. Laravel's extensive library set and intuitive design can accelerate application development.
• Next.js: Though primarily a frontend tool built on React, Next.js offers full-stack capabilities with server-side rendering, making it suitable for developing server-rendered, static, or hybrid applications, improving performance and time efficiency.

Mobile development frameworks

• React Native: For mobile app development, React Native allows developers to use a single codebase for both iOS and Android platforms. This cross-platform capability significantly cuts down on development time and resources while maintaining high performance.

Cloud services and infrastructure

Cloud platforms provide scalable infrastructure and tools for rapid application development. They offer flexible resources on demand, which reduces the time spent setting up environments and managing servers. Cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud provide scalable infrastructure and services that eliminate the need for physical servers. They offer ready-to-use services for data storage, authentication, and more, which can be easily integrated into apps, saving time on setup and maintenance.

Third-party integrations

Integrating third-party services like payment gateways (e.g., Stripe) and communication APIs (e.g., Twilio) can speed up enterprise app development. Such integrations provide ready-made solutions for complex features, reducing the time needed for development. Instead of building everything from scratch, developers can focus on unique business needs.

At Ronas IT, for rapid application development, we use top enterprise-ready solutions that can meet SOC2 certification standards. We ensure quality through automated testing, maintaining over 95% coverage for critical modules. For security, we prioritize trusted enterprise solutions like GCP, AWS, Azure, RDS, Cloud SQL, Auth0, Cloudflare, Kubernetes, and GitLab. Finding the right balance between development speed and security is key. By using secure, ready-made solutions, we significantly reduce development costs and time while maintaining high security standards. We are not limited by technology choices; if a task benefits from a non-standard stack, we are open to using the best solution available.

Use additional tools

Apart from application development languages and frameworks, there are other technologies that can be used to speed up the process. Here are some rapid application development tools that you can use:

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs)

IDEs like Visual Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, and Eclipse provide developers with environments that support coding, testing, and debugging. These tools offer features like code completion, real-time error detection, and built-in testing frameworks, which accelerate the development process and reduce errors.

Version control systems

Tools such as Git and Subversion track changes in the codebase and improve collaboration among team members. By using version control, developers can work on different parts of the project simultaneously and merge changes efficiently, speeding up the software development cycle.

Project management tools

Applications like Jira, Trello, and Asana help teams manage tasks, track progress, and prioritize work. They enhance communication and collaboration, ensuring that everyone is aligned and focused on the most critical tasks, thus speeding up application development.

API management tools

Solutions like Postman and Swagger streamline the creation, testing, and management of APIs. These tools enable developers to design robust APIs quickly, ensuring efficient communication between different components of an app and other systems.

Collaboration and communication platforms

Using tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams allows team members to discuss tasks no matter where they are. This helps to quickly address issues, share updates, and cooperate more effectively.

Choosing the right mix of solutions tailored to the project's needs can enhance productivity, reduce software development time, and ensure high-quality outcomes.

Start with an MVP

Creating an MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, is an effective strategy to rapid application development. By concentrating on essential features that address the core problem, development becomes less complex and is completed more quickly. Launching with just these features allows you to test ideas and make necessary changes early, before diving into more complex application development. You can add more features and improve your app with future iterations.

Furthermore, the approach minimizes the risk of investing in unsuccessful features, ensuring a better chance of success and a reliable final product. Overall, adopting an MVP approach for rapid application development helps bring enterprise apps to users faster and conserves resources while reducing risks.

Automate processes

Automation can significantly speed up application development by streamlining repetitive tasks and reducing manual intervention. Here's how automation can enhance the development process:

Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) Pipelines

CI/CD is part of the DevOps approach — a combination of development and operations practices that make software creation and management more efficient. It focuses on automating tasks, bringing teams together, and continuously delivering updates to keep applications high-quality and reliable.

CI/CD tools like Jenkins, Travis CI, and GitLab CI automate the process of integrating code changes and deploying them to production. These tools quickly identify integration issues, run automated tests, and ensure code quality, enabling faster and more reliable releases.

Testing

Manual testing is slow and prone to errors. Automation speeds up the process by running tests quickly and efficiently. Automated tests can be repeated as often as needed, ensuring the app remains stable throughout rapid application development. Automated testing tools like Selenium and JUnit run tests quickly and consistently, catching bugs early.

At Ronas IT, we use the test-driven application development approach which means writing tests for the code before actually writing the code itself. This way, we automate the testing process and ensure 95% test coverage.

Code generation

Automation tools can generate boilerplate code, reducing the time developers spend on repetitive coding tasks. This frees up developers to focus on more complex parts of the app that require creativity and problem-solving.

Infrastructure management

Tools like Terraform and Ansible automate infrastructure provisioning and management. By automating server setups and configurations, development teams can deploy environments quickly and consistently, minimizing downtime.

Monitoring performance

Automated monitoring tools like New Relic and Datadog track app performance in real-time. They help quickly identify issues and optimize performance, ensuring the app runs smoothly without manual checks.

By integrating automation into various stages of rapid application development, teams can enhance productivity, reduce time-consuming manual tasks, and deliver robust enterprise apps more swiftly.

Get a bigger team

The size of a development team can significantly impact the timeline of a software development project. Balancing the right number of team members is crucial for ensuring efficiency and timely delivery.

Small teams might struggle with large or complex projects due to limited resources and expertise. They may become overloaded with tasks, which can delay the project if the workload exceeds their capacity. Larger teams can handle more tasks simultaneously and bring a wider range of skills and expertise to the table. This can be beneficial for complex projects that require diverse technical knowledge, rapid development, and high productivity.

Bigger teams can divide the project into smaller, manageable tasks and work on them in parallel. This parallel processing reduces bottlenecks since various components of the app can be developed, tested, and perfected simultaneously, leading to faster progress. Having more developers makes the rapid application development project stronger against disruptions. If someone is unavailable, others can easily step in to keep things moving. This backup system helps ensure the project stays on schedule, even with unexpected challenges.

At Ronas IT, we adjust the team size according to the project needs. For example, if we develop an MVP with our regular sized team, it can take us about 3 months. For projects with tight deadlines, we provide a bigger team and finish the MVP in just 1 month. It increases the app development costs but you get your product faster without compromising on quality.

Wrapping up

Achieving rapid application development is not just about speed, but also about making smart choices that enhance efficiency and quality. By employing the right methodologies, best practices of software engineering, using automation, selecting the appropriate tech stack, and fostering the proper team dynamics, enterprise app development can be both swift and robust. Integrating rapid app development methods such as Agile and Scrum, using established frameworks, and incorporating DevOps practices not only accelerates the process but also ensures high standards are met. Using rapid app development methodologies becomes a working model to deliver enterprise applications that meet business needs and user expectations.

Use modern tools and environments to speed up the software development life cycle. Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) like Visual Studio and IntelliJ help developers write, debug, and test code more efficiently. This boosts productivity and ensures code quality. Cloud platforms such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud offer flexible and scalable resources. They reduce the time spent on setting up physical servers, allowing faster deployment and easy scaling to meet user needs. Version control systems like Git enable developers to work together smoothly, track changes, and manage code efficiently. This reduces bottlenecks and allows teams to make adjustments without conflicts.

Finally, continuous feedback helps ensure the app meets user needs. By testing ideas early and often, developers can spot issues quickly and make necessary changes, leading to high-quality, user-friendly applications. If you're interested in building an enterprise app, you can contact us to discuss your project and get a time and costs estimate. Just fill in the form below and our manager will contact you in 24 hours.