Software Development Life Cycle and its methods

• What Is the Software Development Life Cycle?

The Software Development Life Cycle is the process of creating software applications using standard business principles. Planning, Requirements, Design, Build, Document, Test, Deploy, and Maintain are the traditional six to eight processes. 

Depending on the project’s scope, some project managers will combine, split, or eliminate steps. However, all software development efforts should include these fundamental components.

The SDLC is a method for evaluating and improving the development process. It enables a fine-grained study of each process phase. As a result, businesses may maximize efficiency at each level. 

As processing power grows, the demand for software and developers grows. As a result, companies must cut expenses, deploy software more quickly, and meet or exceed consumer expectations. 

SDLC assists in achieving these objectives by finding inefficiencies, increasing costs, and correcting them so that everything runs smoothly.

• The Process of Software Development Life Cycle?

The Software Development Life Cycle essentially lists all of the steps involved in creating a software application. 

SDLC helps to eliminate waste and boost the efficiency of the development process. Monitoring ensures that the project stays on schedule and is a viable investment for the business.

Many businesses will break down these processes into smaller sections. For example, technology research, marketing research, and a cost-benefit analysis are all parts of planning. 

Other steps may interact with one another. For example, Developers must rectify faults during testing; the Testing phase can run concurrently with the Development phase.

• The SDLC comprises seven phases.

1. Planning

Project leaders review the project’s terms during the planning phase. Calculating labor and material expenses, defining a timeline with target goals, and forming project teams and leadership structures are all part of this process.

Stakeholder feedback can be incorporated into the planning process. Anyone who stands to benefit from the application is a stakeholder. Obtain feedback from prospective consumers, developers, subject matter experts, and sales representatives.

The scope and objective of the application should be clearly defined during planning. It describes the way and equips the team to produce software efficiently. It also establishes limits to prevent the project from expanding or diverging from its initial goal.

2. Define Requirements

Identifying requirements is part of the planning process to define what the application will do and require. A social media program, for example, would need the ability to connect with a friend. Likewise, a search feature is required for an inventory program.

The resources required to complete the project are also defined in the requirements. A group might, for example, create software to control custom manufacturing equipment. In the process, the machine is required.

3. Design and Prototyping

The Design phase simulates the behavior of a software program. The following are some of the design elements:

Programming language, industry norms, overall design, and any templates or boilerplate are all examples of architecture.

User Interface (UI) – Defines how customers interact with software and how it responds to input.

Platforms – These are the software’s operating systems, such as Apple, Android, Windows, Linux, and even game consoles.

Programming includes the programming language and ways of solving problems and carrying out duties in the application.

Communications — Defines how the app can communicate with other assets, such as a central server or other instances of the app.

Security — Defines the application’s security mechanisms, which may include SSL traffic encryption, password protection, and secure storage of user credentials.

The Design phase may include prototyping. For example, in the Iterative software development approach, a prototype is similar to one of the early versions of software.

It gives a general overview of how the app appears and functions. Stakeholders will be able to see this “hands-on” design. Use feedback to help you improve your app. It is less expensive to make changes in the Prototype phase than rewrite code in the Development phase.

4. Software Development

This is when the program is actually written. For example, a single developer may create a small project, whereas a large project may be split into numerous teams. 

During this phase, use an Access Control or Source Code Management program. Developers can use these tools to keep track of code modifications. They also assist in ensuring project compatibility and ensuring that objective goals are met.

Many other jobs are included in the coding process. Many developers require further training or teamwork. It’s vital to find and resolve problems and glitches. 

Waiting for test results or generating code so an application may run are everyday tasks that slow down the development process. SDLC can anticipate these delays, allowing developers to focus on other tasks.

Instructions and explanations are appreciated by software developers. Documentation can be a structured process that includes wiring an application user guide. 

It can also be more casual, such as comments in source code explaining why a developer adopted a particular approach. Even organizations that seek to build simple and intuitive products might benefit from the documentation.

5. Testing

Before making an application available to users, it is vital to test it. Much of the testing, such as security testing, can be automated. However, another testing requires a specific environment; consider developing a simulated production environment for complex installations.

Each function should be tested to ensure that it operates properly. Different application elements should also be evaluated to ensure that they function together seamlessly—performance testing to remove any processing hangs or lags. 

The testing process aids in the decrease of problems and glitches seen by users. This leads to increased consumer satisfaction and increased usage.

6. Deployment

The application is made available to users during the deployment phase. Many businesses prefer to have the deployment phase automated. A primary payment portal and download link on the company website can suffice. It could also be the installation of an app on a smartphone.

Deployment can be complex as well. One example is migrating a company-wide database to a freshly designed application. Because the database relies on numerous other systems, integrating the upgrade may take extra time and effort.

7. Operations and Maintenance

The development cycle is practically complete at this stage. The application has been completed and is in use in the field. However, the period of operation and maintenance is still essential. Users find flaws that were overlooked through the testing phase. These issues must be addressed, which may result in new development cycles.

In addition to bug fixes, models like Iterative development plan additional features in future releases. For each new release, a new Development Cycle can be launched.

Software Development Life Cycle Models

1. Waterfall Model

2.  V-Shaped Model

3.  Prototype Model

4. Spiral Model

5. Iterative Incremental Model

6. Big Bang Model

7. Agile Model

Each of these approaches is unique in some respects, but they all offer the same goal: to assist teams in producing high-quality software as rapidly and cost-effectively as feasible.

SDLC Management Systems

Each phase of the development cycle is controlled and managed by a software development cycle management system. Each stage, as well as the entire project, benefits from management systems. They also include methods for analytics, bug tracking, and task management.

Conclusion: The Software Development Process

SDLC explains what’s going on and where your development process might be improved.

Like many other business processes, SDLC strives to examine and improve the software development process. As a result, it creates a scalable view of the project, from day-to-day coding to handling production dates.