Agile Software Development Life Cycle: Key Concepts
This paper discusses the software development life cycle in depth. Starting with agile programming and extreme programming methodologies, it goes to explain the importance of software quality guidelines and standards, testing processes, UML diagrams, maintenance and its types and software configuration. Each of these concepts are explained ind etail along with examples wherever needed.
SWOT Analysis: Zillow SWOT Analysis
Zillow (NASDAQ: Z) has successfully transitioned their business model from being a real estate search engine to becoming a comprehensive real estate information marketplace. Zillow today has its website Zillow.com, in addition to Zillow Mobile, a suite of mobile real estate applications and Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. The company was incorporated in December, 2004 in Washington, and has as its mission " to build the most trusted and vibrant home-related marketplace to empower consumers with information and tools to make smart decisions about homes" (Zillow Investor Relations, 2012). Zillow has quickly established itself as the market standard for real estate market search engines and is a growing force in the area of mortgage advice and management (Lantz, 2012). In the 3rd Quarter, 2012, Zillow reported recorded financial results, generating $31.9M in revenue, up 67% from the 3rd quarter of 2011. Quarterly Net Income was $2.3M and Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBITDA) was $7.6M, representing 24% of revenue (Zillow Investor Relations, 2012). Zillow continues to experience record usage across their mobile and Web applications as well, reaching 1 billion home views on Zillow Mobile year-to-date (Zillow Investor Relations, 2012). The intent of this analysis is to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats given the increasing level of competition they are facing in key markets. With a solid base of customers and continually improving services, Zillow shows significant growth potential for the years ahead. They however also face significant threats from Amazon as well.