Quick Summary: AI, or Artificial Intelligence (AI), has long been a hot topic in tech. AI essentially means machines are capable of doing human tasks and have even started replacing humans in various domains. Recently, the buzzword ‘Machine Learning’ (ML) has become all the more popular and is often used interchangeably with AI. However, ML differs from AI. Whereas AI broadly deals with computer systems imitating human thought processes by learning from data sets to solve problems, ML is a sub-field of AI that uses algorithms to infer patterns in data sets without knowing their underlying processes. With a clear understanding of the difference between AI and ML, let’s try to understand the role of Machine learning for software development cycles.

What is Machine Learning?

Machine Learning is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on the development of algorithms and statistical models that enable computer systems to improve their performance on a specific task through learning from data, without being explicitly programmed. In essence, machine learning enables computers to identify patterns, make predictions, and solve problems based on data-driven insights.

Machine learning systems use data to train and adapt, allowing them to generalize from past experiences and make informed decisions or predictions when presented with new, unseen data. This process involves various techniques, including supervised learning, unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning, and deep learning, each suited to different types of tasks and data.

Common applications of machine learning span a wide range of domains, including natural language processing, image and speech recognition, recommendation systems, fraud detection, autonomous vehicles, healthcare diagnostics, and many others. Machine learning has become a fundamental technology in today’s world, driving advancements in automation, personalization, and data-driven decision-making across industries.

How is ML used in software development?

Foundational prototyping:

Now that you’ve got your basic prototype, it’s time to make it available for testing. This is where ML can make a big difference. Many times, the client misunderstands what they need, and they get it wrong most of the time. They analyze the requirements on paper, which should be clear to them. But what about end users? What if their requirements aren’t known just yet? There’s no way of knowing until your prototype is up and running and validated with end users or target groups. Using a prototype can help you avoid these issues when starting out with ML from early on.

Code structuring and review:

The use of ML is gaining more attention as a means for companies to create and maintain quality code. Machine learning can help companies track and improve pre-processors as well as variables, and identify and resolve bugs before they become issues. It also allows them to monitor and clean up the source code in compliance with specifications to help development teams save time and resources — especially when short on manpower.

Writing code:

With the advancement in machine learning, computers can now learn how to code. Yes, you read that right. There are technologies in place that are capable of creating new AI analysis systems that can learn and improve on their own. Machine Learning (ML) can be termed as the “self-learning” ability of a technology that not only seeks to identify patterns but also identify flaws, errors, and issues with existing code before they even cause any harm.

Manual coding is expensive and hard to maintain. With manual coding, you have the liability of human error. This has been found to be more costly than the time spent on maintaining manual coding is worth. Manually coding Machine Learning tools revolutionizes the traditional software development process and makes it more effective.

QA and Testing:

Automated functional testing has crept up from the role of collaborators to leaders, helping reduce the need for coding skills in day-to-day development. Precisely automated tests can cut down the time taken by manual testers to test a product before it reaches the production phase. Developers are also able to create tests based on feeding data in simple English. Simultaneously, the ML algorithms carry out the technical specifications and reduce the time taken to build a full-fledged test manually. Also, the accuracy of the project-cost estimations can be significantly aided, helping companies cut down time to market. The deployment phase is also eased through code release to production very quickly.

Conclusion 

Machine learning is the process of computer systems extracting patterns from input data and using these patterns to make predictions or decisions. It is also called machine-based learning, machine perception, or cognitive computing. This type of programming has become a practical way for businesses to optimize their operations. As intelligent machines find their way into more enterprises, we’ll face the challenge of figuring out how they can blend with workers and enhance operations without disrupting business processes. While this technological breakthrough can help businesses accomplish tasks more efficiently than before, we must consider the potential pitfalls it could bring about and weigh the advantages against the risks. Scaling your business is essential to maximizing revenue. Brain Inventory can help you scale smarter by providing software solutions that generate business results. With our deep domain expertise, we can provide the digital transformation and data-driven tools that help accelerate growth.