The development stage is the phase when app developers code, test, and run the features and functionality of a mobile or web application. This phase usually comes after the design stage, when the overall look and feel of the app has been firmly established based on market research and feedback from a sample population of potential users.

How developers build and test their apps depends on the software development methodology they choose and the tools they have at their disposal. 

Comparing various development methodologies

Some development processes resemble a straight line, while others have a lot of cycles.

The waterfall method is more straightforward in terms of the path between the development stage and market launch, while the agile methodology may involve many “build-test-build” cycles before the final release.

Some methodologies also involve a lot more prototype design than the app’s actual development. For instance, in the rapid application development (RAD) method, developers repeatedly build and test the best possible prototype before coding the app’s features. Read our article comparing prototypes to proofs-of-concept to learn how prototypes fit into the app development process.

Development tools and platform

Developers choose different coding tools depending on what device they are building for. Our app developers use Kotlin to create apps that run on Android devices and select Swift for iOS platforms. There are other app-building tools aside from these, but our development team chose them because they are among the most future-proofed programming languages out there.