What is Software Development?

From rideshare apps to e-learning platforms, software development is making people’s lives easier. As AI models, cloud-native platforms, and rapid deployment reshape how software is built, understanding its evolving lifecycle and team roles is critical. Read on to learn all of the fundamentals of software development, including ways it’s created and who works in software development.

Software development is the process of designing, building, testing, and maintaining applications, systems, and programs that power today’s digital world.

By creating tools that streamline workflows and improve efficiency, software development allows businesses to deliver better products, services, and experiences across industries.

A software developer is a professional responsible for designing, developing, testing, and maintaining software applications. They work across industries to create programs that solve problems and make better user experiences. In general, there are a few different types of people who work in software development that each do something slightly different:

• Front-end developers: Focus on the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). They build the visible parts of applications using languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Their goal is to create visually appealing and responsive designs.
• Back-end developers: Handle the server-side logic, databases, and APIs that power applications. They use programming languages such as Python, Java, and Node.js to create smooth data processing and system functionality.
• Full-stack developers: Work across both front-end and back-end development. They have a broad skill set that allows them to build complete applications from the user interface to the underlying infrastructure.

While all these roles involve coding, software engineers and developers often take a broader approach to oversee the entire project and create a solid system, while programmers primarily focus on implementation.Though these roles are often used interchangeably, they have key differences:

• Software developers focus on creating applications, writing code, and collaborating with designers and stakeholders to build functional software.
• Software engineers apply engineering principles to software development, designing scalable and efficient systems while considering architecture, security, and performance.
• Programmers specialize in writing and debugging code, often working on specific tasks within a larger development team.

While all these roles involve coding, software engineers and developers often take a broader approach to oversee the entire project and create a solid system, while programmers primarily focus on implementation.

Software can be categorized into four main types:

System software is responsible for managing hardware and system operations to help computers and devices function properly. It acts as an interface between hardware and user applications. The system software includes operating systems that run the applications, such as Windows, macOS, and Linux — as well as utility software that optimizes the computer system to keep it running smoothly like antivirus programs and disk cleanup. In addition, most system software also includes device drivers that let the operating system communicate with hardware, such as printers and USB devices.

Application software includes the programs designed for end users that let them perform tasks. This type of software includes:

• Productivity tools such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Docs.
• Media and design software such as Adobe Photoshop for graphic design, photo editing, and content creation.
• Entertainment and streaming services such as Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube.
• Mobile apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Uber.

Programming software includes tools used by developers to write, test, and debug software applications. That typically includes:

• Compilers: Convert programming code into machine-readable instructions (e.g., GCC, Clang).
• Integrated development environments (IDEs): Provide a coding environment with features like syntax highlighting, debugging, and code suggestions (e.g., Visual Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm).
• Debuggers: Help identify and fix errors in code.

Embedded software is specialized software designed to operate within embedded systems — devices that perform dedicated functions and rely on real-time processing. Unlike general-purpose software, this specialized software is specifically designed to be efficient and reliable. You’ll find embedded software in IoT devices, robots used in manufacturing, GPS navigation systems, and medical devices like a pacemaker or MRI machine.

Embedded software differs from traditional applications because it’s tightly integrated with hardware and often runs on microcontrollers and real-time operating systems (RTOS) to respond quickly to inputs.Instead of provisioning fixed resources in advance, Hyperforce automatically scales up or down based on actual usage. This elastic approach helps you avoid overpaying for idle infrastructure or running into performance issues during spikes in demand.

By right-sizing compute power in real time, Hyperforce supports both performance and cost efficiency. There’s no manual provisioning or guesswork required.

Software development takes many forms, each designed to meet different needs. Below are some of the key types that power today’s modern applications.

Cloud-native development builds applications specifically for the cloud environments that are becoming increasingly common in many industries. These applications often use microservices architecture to break complex systems into smaller, independent services that communicate via APIs. Some examples of this include:

• Containerization (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes): Lets applications to run consistently across different cloud environments.
• Serverless computing: Allows applications to scale dynamically without needing to manage infrastructure.
• DevOps practices: Continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) automates software delivery and deployment.

Low-code (and similar no-code) development platforms let users create applications using drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-built components. These platforms, such as OutSystems, Mendix, and Microsoft Power Apps, make the software development life cycle faster because they require less hand-coding. Plus, your non-technical users can build a tool that functions well and meets their needs.

AI-assisted development uses AI copilots or agents to help developers write, test, and maintain code more efficiently. The AI tools can automate repetitive tasks, generate code suggestions, and analyze large codebases to catch errors or optimize performance while the developer focuses on high-level tasks like planning and ensuring that the product meets customer needs.

For example, the developer can determine what task needs to be done, the AI agent can suggest a code snippet and test it, and the developer can make sure the code is accurate and will create the needed feature.

DevSecOps integrates security practices directly into the software development and delivery pipeline, making security a shared responsibility from the start. It emphasizes automation and collaboration so that vulnerabilities are identified and addressed early and often. Some examples of this include:

• Static application security testing (SAST): Scans code for vulnerabilities as it’s written.
• Dependency scanning: Identifies security risks in open-source libraries and third-party packages.

Policy as code: Automates enforcement of security and compliance requirements during deployment.

Mobile app development creates apps for smartphones and tablets. Developers use Swift for iOS development and Kotlin for Android. Cross-platform frameworks like Flutter and React Native let developers build apps for both iOS and Android using a single codebase.

DevOps combines development and operations to automate software delivery. DevOps developers will use CI/CD pipelines to improve coding, testing, and deployment — often by using tools such as Jenkins or GitHub Actions. They also use containerization and orchestration with Docker and Kubernetes to build scalable applications more quickly than with a manual release and with minimal downtime.

DevOps is a good fit for projects that have a quick turnaround time and that would benefit from higher levels of collaboration.

Software development models give developers a structured way to build a tool together. Main models include:

• Waterfall model: This divides the development process into distinct phases including requirement analysis, system design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance. It’s best suited for projects with well-defined and stable requirements because making changes late in the process can be costly.
• Agile development: This is an iterative and flexible development methodology that prioritizes adaptability, collaboration, and customer feedback. It uses incremental developmental and continuous feedback to help teams work together. Popular Agile frameworks include Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming (XP). Agile is great for dynamic projects that do need frequent adjustments or for fast-paced development.
• Rapid application development (RAD): This is a methodology that prioritizes speed and user involvement during the prototyping phase — and then implementing iterative feedback. It consists of requirement planning, user design, construction, and cutover. RAD is well-suited for projects needing quick turnaround times and frequent user input, such as UI-heavy applications and market-driven software.
• Lean development: This style is about maximizing value while minimizing the amount of waste. In addition to removing unnecessary processes and tasks, Lean prioritizes experimentation and autonomy. Lean development is particularly effective in fast-changing environments where efficiency and responsiveness are crucial.

Software development follows a structured approach to ensure high-quality applications, and a lot of the methods will follow the software development life cycle (SDLC):

• Requirement analysis: Start by determining what need the application will meet, as well as the technical constraints your team might have.
• Planning and design: Developers will create a blueprint for the software that outlines the system architecture including how the front end, back end, databases, and APIs will all interact.
• Development: Programmers will write the code while developers and engineers create frameworks that support it.
• Testing and debugging: Development teams will test and debug the software to make sure it works and is secure using methods such as unit testing, integration testing, and security testing.
• Deployment and maintenance: The final product is deployed on the app store or cloud services. The developers will continue to monitor how the tool is working and add features or patches to meet demands.

These are a few additional jobs commonly found in software development:

• Product managers: They define the vision and strategy for software products — such as turning a customer need into a development requirement— and keep the team on task. They guide the product lifecycle from ideation to launch to make sure everyone is on the same page and the product is launched on time.
• Platform engineers: They design, build, and maintain the underlying infrastructure and tools that let software teams develop and deploy applications efficiently. They focus on reliability and automation to support development workflows.
• AI engineers: They develop, deploy, and optimize artificial intelligence models and systems, using techniques like machine learning and natural language processing. They work closely with data scientists and software teams to integrate AI capabilities into applications and products.
• DevOps engineers: They focus on automation and optimization. They take care of implementing CI/CD pipelines and managing cloud environments. They also monitor the overall system and make adjustments when needed.
• QA engineers: These engineers make sure software meets all standards — both for usability and security. They usually write and execute test cases and find and document bugs to send to the development team. They’ll also handle a lot of security and performance testing.
• Game developers: These programmers make immersive experiences like video games or mobile phone apps. They handle design and game mechanics to make it entertaining for customers. They also create graphics, animations, and sound effects.
• System architects: They design scalable system architecture and infrastructure for large applications. They primarily layout hardware architecture and make sure that every level is scalable and secure. They’ll usually collaborate with the other development teams throughout the process.
• Data scientists: They develop data-driven applications, predictive models, and AI-based analytics to extract insights from large datasets. They spend their days collecting and processing data to build machine learning models and AI solutions, such as AI agents.

Succeeding as a software developer takes more than just coding abilities – here are some of the key skills that make a difference.

Developers must be proficient in one or more programming languages based on their specialization. Common languages include:

• Python (AI, automation)
• JavaScript (web development)
• Java (enterprise applications)
• C++ (game development)
• Go (cloud computing)

Strong analytical thinking and debugging skills help developers tackle complex software challenges. They need to know the details of data structures, such as arrays, linked lists, trees, and hash tables — as well as know how to create sorting, searching, recursion, and dynamic programming.

Developers need to understand how to structure and design software for scalability, security, and maintainability. They’ll want to be familiar with design patterns like MVC and Observer, as well as database design like SQL. Developers will also need to understand Object-oriented programming (OOP) and functional programming

Proficiency in Git and repositories like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket makes it easy to collaborate and manage source code as a team. Developers should know how to commit, branch, merge, and resolve conflicts with version control.Developers need to understand how to structure and design software for scalability, security, and maintainability. They’ll want to be familiar with design patterns like MVC and Observer, as well as database design like SQL. Developers will also need to understand Object-oriented programming (OOP) and functional programming

Understanding cloud platforms and deployment tools is increasingly valuable for developers. Key areas include AWS and Azure — as well as knowing how to handle containerization with Docker or Dubernetes.

Effective communication is essential for software developers to collaborate with team members, project managers, and stakeholders. Developers need to be able to work with other programmers through Agile stand-ups and team discussions. They also need to know how to explain technical concepts to non-technical colleagues effectively.

While programming sounds technical, it’s also a very creative field. Developers innovate, solve problems, and improve user experiences by thinking of new and unique ways to do so.

AI-assisted development with agents and copilots is likely the future of software. AI copilots will team up with developers to help them quickly create products that are more effective and ready to deploy.

Blockchain is also going to become more important in security, especially in finance and supply chain management. And eventually, the goal is to create quantum computing that will revolutionize data processing, cryptography, and computer problem-solving abilities. As all of this continues to develop, there’s going to be more of a shift-left for security and compliance. More security requirements will be added earlier in the process, especially with the help of an AI copilot.

The future of software development will be shaped by these (and more) technological advancements, and developers who continuously learn and adapt will be well-positioned for success long-term. The Salesforce Platform already supports many of these trends with AI-driven tools, secure CI/CD, and low-code capabilities.