The software has been playing an important role in
our daily life. A need to come up with sound methodology for
developing software becomes vital. There are two methodologies
that are used nowadays: the heavy weight and the light weight
methodologies. Both methodologies use development models such
as waterfall, agile and spiral. The paper presents the two main
methodologies used in software industries with their advantages
and disadvantages. The paper provides criteria for selecting the
appropriate model for certain applications.