What is meant by incremental and evolutionary delivery?

After the software system or application product is complete, it has to be delivered to the client or the owner of the product. There are several types of delivery methods that are followed by the organizations like the incremental delivery and the evolutionary delivery.

Here in this article we are going to discuss about the above mentioned delivery types i.e., the evolutionary delivery and the incremental delivery. These days the software design is considered to be a major factor in deciding how successfully the software product can be delivered to the client being the end goal of the software project.

As we all know the below mentioned factors are known to impede a software project:
1. Over design
2. Under design
3. Wrong design etc.

For the efforts of a development team to be successful the design of the software system or application has to be good and efficient. It has been quite often observed that the best designs are a result of the emergent or evolutionary design or continuous design rather than just being a result of the efforts that are employed to make the design follow the up front approach.

About Incremental Delivery Method

- The continuous design involves starting up with a modicum of the up front approach and the technical directions are not followed for as long as possible.

- Following this approach, one can strive to apply lessons that one has learned from the software project for making continuous improvements in the software system or application design instead of just getting trapped in to design which is erroneous and has been developed too early.

- Apart from all this, the incremental delivery helps in creating as well as improving the business values rather than just focussing up on the structure of the build of the software system or application.

- With incremental delivery a project team can happen to deliver the best business value.

- In incremental delivery it is not necessary to follow the continuous design though it helps in making the delivery more efficient and creating software systems and applications with better designs.

Advantages of Incremental Delivery Method

1. It helps in keeping the business priority i.e., you get a better chance in developing the features most valuable to the business.

2. It helps in regard to the risk mitigation since most of the times either the business value is not delivered or the wrong system is delivered. Demonstrating the working features to the client as early as possible an help you out of such harsh traps.

3. It helps in regulating early delivery. The production can start with the completed features.

4. It facilitates flexible delivery. Quite often the business priorities are changed by the clients. In such cases, working with a way that assumes changes in priorities is the best option. The likeliness of the efforts being wasted is reduced.

Disadvantages of Incremental Delivery Method

1. It is very hard to do.
2. Requires high quality code structure.
3. Much time is wasted in the architectural concerns.

About Evolutionary Delivery Method

Now coming to the evolutionary delivery, it has been observed that many a times the focus is up on the evolution and the delivery is neglected.

- Evolutionary delivery is all about what is to be delivered and when and how the deliveries are to be achieved and in whose name the delivery is to be made.

- All these questions imply a frame work of activities which are to be pursued during the development course of a project.

- The basic principle of evolutionary delivery method is that the product delivery is started early since the user is interested in the system.