Develop vs. Implement: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
"Develop" involves creating or enhancing something, while "implement" is the act of putting something into action or use.
Key Differences
Develop is a term that involves the early stages of creation and enhancement. In this context, it encompasses activities such as brainstorming, conceptualizing, designing, and strategic planning. Whether it's a product, strategy, or idea, the development phase is where the foundation is laid. It's a time for innovation, creativity, and the formulation of initial ideas. For instance, when developing a new software application, this stage would entail designing the user interface, outlining features, and planning the overall structure.
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Nov 24, 2023
On the other hand, Implement refers to the later stages when those plans and concepts are put into action or use. It's about taking the developed ideas and making them a reality. This phase requires practical skills, management abilities, and operational knowledge. In the case of the software application, implementation would involve coding, testing, and finally releasing the product to users. Implementation is all about execution and bringing the developed plans to life.
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Nov 24, 2023
When we consider the differences between these two terms, we see that develop leans more toward the creative and theoretical aspects, emphasizing innovation and strategic thinking. It's about crafting the blueprint or the concept. Meanwhile, implement shifts the focus towards practicality, highlighting the execution and application of the blueprint or concept in the real world. It's about turning ideas into tangible results.
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Nov 24, 2023
Another aspect of the distinction lies in the timeline. Develop typically precedes implement. First, you develop a plan, a product design, or a strategy, and then you implement it. In the software development example, you conceptualize and design the software (development), and once the design is ready, you start coding and deploying it (implementation).
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Nov 24, 2023
In summary, develop and implement represent distinct phases in a project or process. Develop encompasses the creative, planning, and conceptualization stages, while implement involves the practical, execution, and application stages. These two words are often interconnected, with development leading to implementation, as they work together to bring ideas to fruition.
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Nov 24, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Creation or enhancement of concepts, plans, etc.
Execution or application of developed concepts
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Stage
Initial, involving planning and design
Subsequent, focusing on execution
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Required Skills
Creativity, innovation, planning
Practical application, management
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Associated Activities
Researching, brainstorming, designing
Executing, managing, operating
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Develop and Implement Definitions
Develop
To gradually grow or become more advanced.
The small startup developed into a multinational corporation.
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Implement
To execute or apply a plan or decision.
The company decided to implement a new marketing strategy.
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Nov 13, 2023
Develop
To build on or use land for construction.
They planned to develop the vacant land into a residential area.
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Nov 13, 2023
Implement
To use tools or equipment for their intended purpose.
The carpenter implemented various tools to craft the furniture.
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Develop
To bring from latency to or toward fulfillment
An instructor who develops the capabilities of each student.
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Implement
To put laws or policies into effect.
The government implemented new regulations to improve safety.
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Develop
To expand or enlarge
Developed a national corporation into a worldwide business.
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Implement
To perform a procedure or duty.
The team was ready to implement the project's next phase.
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Implement
To execute a program or algorithm.
The developer implemented the algorithm to optimize the software.
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Develop
To improve the quality of; refine
Develops his recipes to perfection.
An extra year of study to develop virtuosic technique.
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Implement
A tool, utensil, or other piece of equipment used in doing work
A gardening implement.
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Develop
To cause to become more complex or intricate; add detail and fullness to; elaborate
Began with a good premise but developed it without imagination.
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Implement
An article used to outfit or equip someone
Ecclesiastical implements.
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Develop
(Music) To elaborate (a theme) with rhythmic and harmonic variations.
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Implement
To put into practical effect; carry out
Implement the new procedures.
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Develop
To set forth or clarify by degrees
Developed her thesis in a series of articles.
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Develop
To come to have gradually; acquire
Develop a taste for opera.
Develop a friendship.
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Implement
To bring about; to put into practice; to carry out.
It’s a good thought, but it will be a difficult thing to implement.
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Develop
To become affected with; contract
Developed a rash.
Developed agoraphobia.
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Implement
A tool or instrument for working with.
They carried an assortment of gardening implements in the truck.
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Develop
To influence the behavior of toward a specific end
An investigator who develops witnesses through flattery and intimidation.
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Implement
That which fulfills or supplies a want or use; esp., an instrument, tool, or utensil, as supplying a requisite to an end; as, the implements of trade, of husbandry, or of war.
Genius must have talent as its complement and implement.
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Develop
To cause (a tract of land or a building) to serve a particular purpose
Developed the site as a community of condominiums.
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Implement
To accomplish; to fulfill.
Revenge . . . executed and implemented by the hand of Vanbeest Brown.
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Develop
To make available and effective to fulfill a particular end or need
Develop the state's water resources to serve a growing population.
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Implement
To provide with an implement or implements; to cause to be fulfilled, satisfied, or carried out, by means of an implement or implements.
The chief mechanical requisites of the barometer are implemented in such an instrument as the following.
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Develop
(Games) To move (a chess piece) to or toward a more strategic position.
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Implement
Instrumentation (a piece of equipment or tool) used to effect an end
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Develop
To process (a photosensitive medium such as exposed film) in order to produce a photographic image.
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Implement
Apply in a manner consistent with its purpose or design;
Implement a procedure
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Develop
To produce (a photographic image) by use of a photosensitive medium or by printing from a digital file.
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Develop
To grow by degrees into a more advanced or mature state
With hard work, she developed into a great writer.
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Implement
Pursue to a conclusion or bring to a successful issue;
Did he go through with the treatment?
He implemented a new economic plan
She followed up his recommendations with a written proposal
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Develop
To increase or expand
Sales developed until we needed a bigger warehouse.
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Develop
To improve; advance
Their skill developed until it rivaled their teacher's.
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Develop
To come gradually into existence or activity
Tension developed between students and faculty.
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Develop
To come gradually to light; be disclosed
Reports the news as it develops.
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Develop
To progress from earlier to later stages of a life cycle
Caterpillars develop into butterflies.
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Develop
To progress from earlier to later stages of evolution
Mammals developed during the Mesozoic Era.
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Develop
To acquire secondary sex characteristics. Used especially of a girl.
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Develop
(intransitive) To change with a specific direction, progress.
Let's see how things develop and then make our decision.
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Develop
(ambitransitive) To progress through a sequence of stages.
Isabel developed from a tropical depression to a tropical storm to a hurricane.
An embryo develops into a fetus and then into an infant.
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Develop
(transitive) To create.
I need to develop a plan for the next three weeks.
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Develop
(transitive) To bring out images latent in photographic film.
Please develop this roll of film.
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Develop
(transitive) To acquire something usually over a period of time.
I have been in England enough to develop a British accent.
You will develop calluses if you play the cello.
She developed bad eating habits.
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Develop
To place one's pieces actively.
I need to develop my white-square bishop.
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Develop
To cause a ball to become more open and available to be played on later. Usually by moving it away from the cushion, or by opening a pack.
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Develop
(math) To change the form of (an algebraic expression, etc.) by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
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Develop
To free from that which infolds or envelops; to unfold; to lay open by degrees or in detail; to make visible or known; to disclose; to produce or give forth; as, to develop theories; a motor that develops 100 horse power.
These serve to develop its tenets.
The 20th was spent in strengthening our position and developing the line of the enemy.
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Develop
To unfold gradually, as a flower from a bud; hence, to bring through a succession of states or stages, each of which is preparatory to the next; to form or expand by a process of growth; to cause to change gradually from an embryo, or a lower state, to a higher state or form of being; as, sunshine and rain develop the bud into a flower; to develop the mind.
The sound developed itself into a real compound.
All insects . . . acquire the jointed legs before the wings are fully developed.
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Develop
To advance; to further; to prefect; to make to increase; to promote the growth of.
We must develop our own resources to the utmost.
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Develop
To change the form of, as of an algebraic expression, by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
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Develop
To cause to become visible, as an invisible or latent image upon plate, by submitting it to chemical agents; to bring to view.
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Develop
To go through a process of natural evolution or growth, by successive changes from a less perfect to a more perfect or more highly organized state; to advance from a simpler form of existence to one more complex either in structure or function; as, a blossom develops from a bud; the seed develops into a plant; the embryo develops into a well-formed animal; the mind develops year by year.
Nor poets enough to understandThat life develops from within.
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Develop
To become apparent gradually; as, a picture on sensitive paper develops on the application of heat; the plans of the conspirators develop.
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Develop
Make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation;
Her company developed a new kind of building material that withstands all kinds of weather
They developed a new technique
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Develop
Gain through experience;
I acquired a strong aversion to television
Children must develop a sense of right and wrong
Dave developed leadership qualities in his new position
Develop a passion for painting
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Develop
Come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes);
He grew a beard
The patient developed abdominal pains
I got funny spots all over my body
Well-developed breasts
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Develop
Come into existence; take on form or shape;
A new religious movement originated in that country
A love that sprang up from friendship
The idea for the book grew out of a short story
An interesting phenomenon uprose
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Develop
Change the use of and make available or usable;
Develop land
The country developed its natural resources
The remote areas of the country were gradually built up
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Develop
Elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses;
Could you develop the ideas in your thesis
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Develop
Create by training and teaching;
The old master is training world-class violinists
We develop the leaders for the future
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Develop
Be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest;
The plot developed slowly
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Develop
Grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment;
A flower developed on the branch
The country developed into a mighty superpower
The embryo develops into a fetus
This situation has developed over a long time
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Develop
Become technologically advanced;
Many countries in Asia are now developing at a very fast pace
Viet Nam is modernizing rapidly
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Develop
Cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development;
The perfect climate here develops the grain
He developed a new kind of apple
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Develop
Generate gradually;
We must develop more potential customers
Develop a market for the new mobile phone
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Develop
Grow emotionally or mature;
The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten
When he spent a summer at camp, the boy grew noticeably and no longer showed some of his old adolescent behavior
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Develop
Make visible by means of chemical solutions;
Please develop this roll of film for me
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Develop
Superimpose a three-dimensional surface on a plane without stretching, in geometry
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Develop
Move one's pieces into strategically more advantageous positions;
Spassky developed quickly
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Develop
Move into a strategically more advantageous position;
Develop the rook
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Develop
Elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme;
Develop the melody and change the key
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Develop
Happen;
Report the news as it develops
These political movements recrudesce from time to time
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Develop
Expand in the form of a series;
Develop the function in the following form
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Develop
To improve abilities or talents.
She worked hard to develop her public speaking skills.
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Develop
To bring something into existence.
The team aimed to develop a new mobile application.
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Develop
To elaborate or expand in detail.
The author took time to develop the plot of the story.
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Nov 13, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
How is implementing different from planning?
Implementing involves putting the planned strategies into action, while planning is about creating those strategies.
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What skills are important for development?
Creativity, strategic thinking, and innovation are key for development.
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Can something be developed but not implemented?
Yes, ideas or plans can be developed but might not be implemented due to various reasons.
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What does it mean to develop a plan?
Developing a plan involves creating and designing a strategy or course of action.
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Nov 24, 2023
Is implementation always the final step?
Typically, implementation is a final step, but it can be followed by evaluation and further development.
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Nov 24, 2023
What does it mean to develop a product?
It means to design, create, and prepare a product for the market.
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Nov 24, 2023
How is implementing a policy different from making it?
Implementing a policy means putting it into action, while making it involves its creation and design.
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Nov 24, 2023
Can the same person develop and implement?
Yes, but often these roles are filled by different individuals or teams.
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What's a key challenge in development?
Identifying needs and creating effective solutions is a major challenge.
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Is implementing always successful?
Success depends on the effectiveness of the plan and execution quality.
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Can implementation affect development?
Yes, the outcomes of implementation can provide feedback for further development.
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How can one measure the success of implementation?
Success can be measured by achievement of goals, efficiency, and impact.
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What are some examples of development in business?
Product development, market research, and strategy formulation are examples.
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What's a major challenge in implementation?
Ensuring efficient and effective execution is a significant challenge.
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Is technology important in implementation?
Technology can play a key role in efficient and effective implementation.
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Can a failed implementation lead to re-development?
Yes, if implementation fails, it may lead to revising or re-developing plans.
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What role does leadership play in development?
Leadership guides the vision and direction of development efforts.
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Do cultural factors influence development and implementation?
Yes, cultural considerations can significantly influence both processes.
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How important is feedback in development?
Feedback is crucial for refining and improving development processes.
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How do changes in market affect development?
Market changes can necessitate adjustments in product or strategy development.
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Nov 24, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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Hifza Nasir
