What is the Life Cycle of a Software Development?

‍Introduction

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a framework in the software development industry for a long time. If you are eager to learn more about SDLC, this guide will go over what it is in detail, why it’s important, the seven phases of SDLC, and the models with different software development life cycle approach. 

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What is SDLC?

SDLC is the application of standard business processes to build software applications. It often consists of 6-8 steps, with some projects omitting, removing, or combining steps depending on the workload and nature of the project. Software development life cycle is also a way to measure and improve the development process as it analyzes the details of each process step, allowing project managers to identify inefficiencies and make tweaks and changes when necessary. Applying SDLC has helped companies reduce costs, deliver software products faster, and meet and exceed clients’ expectations. 

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Why consider SDLC?

Aside from the reasons mentioned above, there are a few reasons why many companies consider implementing SDLC. Firstly, teams of developers can rely on SDLC to set up project planning, estimating, and managing. They can easily see the standardized actions and objectives so the project, despite being completed by many individuals, feels consistent and one. SDLC also improves and accelerates the coding process, letting us deliver the projects faster at a lower cost. Risks and obstacles will be minimized for developers with this system. With these advantages, what are the steps for a software development team to apply SDLC during the building of a project?

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The 7 phases of SDLC

While the steps vary from 6-8 steps depending on the project, most commonly, there are seven standard ones: planning, defining requirements, design & prototyping, software development, testing, deployment, operations & maintenance. The names of the steps may often change, but each step's execution remains the same.

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Planning: During the planning phase, the project manager will define the objectives and terms of the project. It includes calculating the budget, labor, and material costs, creating a timetable with goals, and assigning roles and responsibilities. 

Defining requirements: At this stage, the project manager will have to define the requirements for the software product. After the objectives and requirements are set, the whole team will come together to develop a shared strategy known as Software Requirements Specification (SRS) to plan it more in-depth.

Design & prototyping: At this part of the SDLC process is when the team begins to convert the requirements into a design plan. This phase models the way the application will work. Some aspects of the design include architecture which specifies programming language industry practice, overall design, and use of any templates or interface. Other aspects include a user interface, platforms, programming, communications, and security. 

Software development: This is the lengthiest part of the SDLC process and is the actual writing of the code. A small project could be written by a single developer, while a big one will be broken up into parts by a team of developers. This is the most time-consuming and stressful part of the SDLC process.

Testing: This is one of the most important steps of SDLC as it ensures the output quality. When developers fix the bigs, the QA team will test it until the whole project is deemed complete and ready. The testers - usually with a great understanding of the project - will begin to examine the whole operation’s system and discover bugs/defects.

Deployment: After the testing and ensuring that all of the features work correctly, the project manager will provide input, and the developers will make final changes to meet the client’s expectations. Many think that this step is simple, but it can be complex. For example, many projects require the team to update the company-wide database to a new-built application. 

Operations & Maintenance: The whole project is almost complete at this step. This phase guarantees the project's lifespan, including duties like maintaining and updating the program or adding extra features.

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SDLC models

There are many approaches to the SDLC process, even when the basic phases and activity remain the same for all the models. Depending on the project type, the software development team can choose the waterfall or AGILE methods. Other methods include the V-shape model, prototype model, spiral model, iterative incremental model, and the Big Bang model.

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Conclusion

Implementing SDLC during your development process will be extremely helpful as it shows you what is happening and where to improve. Like many business processes, SDLC aims to analyze and improve the process of software development. It creates a scalable view of the project, from day-to-day coding to managing production dates.

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At Dirox, we use SDLC to tackle our projects and receive high-quality results. Depending on the project, we will choose an appropriate method to ensure that our client’s project is always handled with care. Please contact our expert consultants if you are interested to learn about how we take on your project!

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