Rapid Application Development: Why RAD and Why Now

Prototype

This prototype may cut corners to reach a working state, and that’s acceptable. Most RAD programming approaches have a finalization stage where developers pay down technical debt accrued by early prototypes.

Adobe captivate

Adobe Captivate is a smart tool that helps deliver highly interactive, engaging and device-independent eLearning content and that too, with minimum fuss. The software tool works great to create fully responsive material automatically. With Typekit integration, the tool offers tremendous viewing experience.

It also helps the developers to apply instant motion effects. You may easily move objects along curved, linear and custom paths. All of the animations can either be played continuously or set to play at a different specific time.

Following are the best features of Adobe Captivate:

• Multi-screen authoring;
• Auto-migrate from mobile to non-mobile;
• Integration of Adobe Typekit;
• Import slides of PowerPoint into Adobe Captivate;
• Generate various software simulations with different learning modes;
• Responsive themes, text support, and sliders;
• Design courses with customizable closed captions, meeting accessibility standards;
• Responsive motion effects and advanced shared actions.

With this software, you can easily convert the desktop course into a highly responsive mobile learning content.

Claro

Claro is excellent to create compelling content. It not only allows sharing and collaboration with the learners but also the distribution of content and its time tracking.

Following are the most distinguishable features of Claro:

Consideration in choosing the right rapid elearning development tool

Not every learning course is same. While some need more information, others might require a more interactive course outline, depending on the audience and preferences. That is why rapid eLearning development tools also vary in their offered features.

A Few Considerations in selecting the right rapid eLearning authoring  tool:

While the options for rapid eLearning development tools are myriad, you must align yourself with a couple of tools discussed below. After all, they are the most popular tools being used in the industry today.

Design and prototyping

Examples: Figma, Balsamiq, Invision, Sketch, Adobe XD

Design and prototyping tools

The products in this category help teams craft interactive designs at impressive speeds. And some tools on this list, like Webflow, allow designers to export the completed design as a functional cross-browser prototype.

Developer-focused platforms

Examples: Embarcadero RAD Studio, CUBA Platform, Ruby on Rails

In a nutshell

eLearning content developers have countless choices when it comes to content development tools. However, the authoring tools which are discussed above offer exceptional functionality. They allow developers to truly unleash the potential of technology-enabled eLearning.

While there is no shortage of rapid eLearning development tools, you must go with the one that best meets your budget and development needs. Pick all those features which resonate with your content outline and demo a couple of these software tools before you select the right one.

Is rapid application development applicable to my project?

Is rapid application development right for your team?

With the pros and cons of RAD programming laid out, let’s determine which types of projects benefit most from the rapid app development approach.

Ispring suite 8.7

If you aim at developing an all-inclusive online course, incorporating quizzes, lectures, interactions, dialog simulations and other interactive features, then you must go with iSpring Suite 8.7.

iSpring is a full-stocked content development toolkit that helps in creating excellent video lectures and conversation simulations right in PowerPoint. With that, the development tool also offers flawless integration with regards to LMS. The software tool offers the benefits of HTML5 output that runs smoothly on every desktop and mobile device.

iSpring Suite 8.7, has already set a new ground by providing the features to produce exceptional mobile courses that can easily be tracked in learning management system (at a deeper level). As you use this amazing software tool to develop your learning content, you don’t need to initiate the process with a blank slide.

Some of the best features of this rapid tool:

• Enhancing the PowerPoint capabilities such as the use of triggers and animations, beautiful slides, slide transitions and adjustment of complete presentation in just one window;
• Adaptive design with courses preview on different devices;
• Availability of different course templates along with photographic characters to interact with the audience on a personal level. Advanced set of buttons, icons and navigation controls;
• Add audio/video narrator, built in editor with the special player to support video lectures;
• A flexible scoring system with adjustment of feedback and question design.

Low code / no code platforms

Examples: Mendix, Outsystems

Our rapid elearning development tools top-picks

As we discuss these rapid eLearning development tools in detail, you will find them extremely easy in terms of functionality. Let’s have a look!

Rad vs. agile

Those who research development methodology compare one framework to another. Most commonly, rapid application development is directly contrasted with agile software development. Unfortunately, this comparison is challenging to draw. RAD is a forbear of agile, but agile encompasses far more than a development model. It is more of a philosophy than a methodology.

In an attempt to show this, we have contrasted the core principles of each concept:

As you may now understand, rapid application development is more of a software development methodology rather than a specific language, tool, or interface. However, tools can help facilitate rapid prototyping, development, and feedback solicitation.

Rapid application development case study: keypoint intelligence and canon

Keypoint Intelligence offered a wide array of services to clients ranging from market intelligence to product research to custom software development. Keypoint won much of its business by submitting prototypes in response to RFPs. Unfortunately, varying requirements forced Keypoint to start from scratch with nearly each project and build out new boilerplate code before delivering their prototypes.

To gain an advantage over their competitors, Keypoint Intelligence turned to OutSystems. OutSystems is a AI-enhanced application platform that facilitates rapid application development by integrating back and front-end programming and deployment in a unified visual interface.

Rapid application development disadvantages

Those advantages sound pretty rosy, so let’s douse this warm positivity with a cold splash of reality.

Rapid application development tools

If your team has strict technology requirements or a limited skill set, it’s simpler to stick with what they know. Often you cannot justify the cost of migrating technologies. But if you’re willing to consider a new approach to development, the tools in this category will accelerate your production cycle.

Rapid application development tools for web based applications

Ready to develop faster?

Schedule an online demo or try OutSystems free edition.

Support across the entire application lifecycle

While many application development tools focus on one step—deployment, Mendix speeds each stage of the cycle, facilitating a more iterative, flexible process that allows organizations to adapt to changing requirements.

The rapid application development methodology shifts focus from costly planning to prototyping. in particular, rad model implies the process division into four stages:

Requirements planning

At this phase, users and the project team identify the objectives of the future system. The focus is on reaching business goals and the requirements are rather loose. The ability to adjust or change them during the prototyping stage is key.

User design

Construction

Cutover

This is the final phase including acceptance testing, rollout and user training.

Is rapid application development applicable to my project?

As we have discussed above, RAD does not work in rigid environments. It is not applicable when:

These conditions are often true for large business or governmental organizations. However, certain elements of RAD can be applied even in such cases. E.g. fixed price projects can budget for prototype stage and certain amount of changes. Prototype scope could be limited to the most uncertain parts, considering that you have relevant users on board.

On the other side, RAD approach works very well for small and medium businesses, or departmental projects, where business users own the budget and are motivated to get the results. A classic example is various Line of Business (LOB) applications — a general term describing applications developed to automate and run certain parts of business more efficiently.

Similarly, RAD is perfectly applicable to creating websites. These are typically small projects with a limited set of stakeholders, but involving them early is crucial as design is a very opinionated thing, and everyone will have something to say!

Rapid application development tools

The success of RAD methodology heavily depends on prototyping speed and close collaboration, thus choosing the right tools to support this is utterly important. Fortunately, there is a long list to choose from.

Design and prototyping

Examples: Figma, Balsamiq, Invision, Sketch, Adobe XD

Tools like Figma and InVision enable graphic designers and UX specialists to quickly knock up and share with end users clickable prototypes with a complete design to collect their feedback. Once an iteration of the prototype is approved, the project can be exported to formats reusable by frontend developers, thus moving into the Construction phase. These tools are most widely used for creating websites, but can also be used for prototyping user experience of more complex end-user applications or portals.

Other tools like Balsamiq are more frequently used by business analysts. They are focused on prototyping user experience with wireframes, while the final design can be applied later. These are a good choice for the initial shaping of larger systems with complex user interaction.

Development

Low code / no code platforms

Examples: Mendix, Outsystems

The key idea of these platforms is to enable business users with no development skills (referred to as power users or citizen developers) to deliver working applications very quickly. Of course, this simplicity implies lack of flexibility and multiple limitations. I have covered these limitations and associated risks in my previous article. As a result, the niche of such platforms is either prototyping or very basic systems.

Developer-focused platforms

Examples: Embarcadero RAD Studio, CUBA Platform, Ruby on Rails

Summary

Finalize Product

During this stage, developers may optimize or even re-engineer their implementation to improve stability, maintainability, and a third word ending in ‘-ility.’ They may also spend this phase connecting the back-end to production data, writing thorough documentation, and doing any other maintenance tasks required before handing the product over with confidence.