What Is Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)?
Software Development Life Cycle.
IT
companies deal with complex, heavy-load projects. To manage and control all the
necessary steps to create the final product, and navigate through all the
project activities smoothly, teams make use of the Software Development Life
Cycle (SDLC). In this article, we will explore this concept and discuss the
important stages of the product life cycle, most popular SDLC methodologies,
and their benefits. Software
Development Life Cycle (SDLC) refers to the process utilized by IT companies to
optimize the development of high-quality product. Its ultimate goal is the
efficient production and delivery of top-performing software within time and
money constraints, according to the client’s needs and preferences regarding
the product. There are different possible approaches to SDLC, in this article,
we will consider a typical one. At SaM Solutions, we have a formalized SDLC
approach, which we adapt to the unique customer needs of a specific product.
How
Does SDLC Work?
SDLC
involves several major steps that happen in sequence. The life cycle is
basically an essential plan for high-quality software development. If team
members are able to keep to this plan of the life cycle, it will help lower the
project’s cost and delivery period, and upscale the product quality. Different
popular SDLC models can be used on the projects to fulfill the customer’s
wishes, and ultimately, there is no single one size fits all approach that is
suitable for the life cycle of all projects. To choose the development life
cycle model that will work best for your product, you should evaluate your
resources and customer needs, as well as the specifics of the project’s domain
and the product under development.
Stages
of the Software Development Life Cycle
Planning Stage: As the first initial stage of the
development process, the planning stage determines the primary objectives of
the final product. It is an essential, integral stage of the product life cycle
that forms the basis for all the subsequent actions. Being an important
compound process, it includes these three phases:
·
Identifying the system to be developed
·
Assessing how viable the project is
·
Making a final upper-level plan
These steps help determine the challenges of the projects
and the volume of work that has to be done during the upcoming product life
cycle stages. This preparatory stage of the SDLC forms the preliminary
foundation of the expected work. It outlines the future procedures of the life
cycle, allocates resources, schedules the timeframe and deadlines and helps
prevent issues that might otherwise arise.
Analysis
and Requirements Stage: When clients decide to use the services of a software
company, they often have a hazy notion of what to expect. That is why a
thorough requirement analysis is necessary at this stage of life cycle. To
perform these activities, strong collaborative relationships between various
teams are mandatory during the whole development life cycle. Business
development specialists, marketers, programmers, and other professionals from
specific spheres work together with this aim. The team collects all the
necessary information and determines the preliminary ideas for creating a
prototype. Programmers specify the conditions for prototyping, estimate the
possible alternative options, as well as design the documents, according to
which all the work will be carried out.
Design
and Prototyping Stage: The following SDLC phase includes the development of
general architectures of the systems. Software engineers define how each module
functions and interacts with third-party modules. Software design precedes the
actual coding of the software. Programmers summarize all the information,
alongside particular characteristics. This can include factors such as the UI,
interfaces of the systems, networks, databases, and preconditions. This SDLC
stage is involved in the thorough description of all the desired functions, characteristics,
and qualities of the software. Designing turns the specifications documents
into a more well-organized shape. Afterwards, the team creates a prototype — a
model — and tests and refines it until the preferable level of quality is
achieved.
Software
Development Stage: Once the design document is prepared, programmers put all
the guidelines they receive into practice. They write the source code and build
the software in the required programming language. If all the previous SDLC
phases were performed properly, the coding stage should be clear and
uncomplicated. While coding, programmers utilize software development best
practices and instructions that are set up by the IT companies and clients.
Various development tools and techniques are used as well, such as project
management and bug tracking tools, various search tools, preprocessors, cache
systems and databases.
Software
Testing Stage: Quality assurance is of crucial importance in software
development projects. Running tests helps companies to carry out a thorough
evaluation of the way the software functions and its important features. Thanks
to this evaluation, it is possible to make estimations, if the product meets
all the customer desires and pre-set goals. Both manual and automated tests are
aimed at the identification of any possible bugs and malfunctions of the
product prior to its implementation. There are a lot of possible product
testing options, and the choice of the specific test depends on the exact goal
of the product. Without this important SDLC stage, clients can experience
technical issues that can lead to potential financial losses. Identification of
problems at an early product testing phase can prevent all these problems.
Implementation
and Integration Stage: The main aim of this stage of the product SDLC is the
installation of the created software into the production environment and setup
of all the required configurations. The team ensures that the software meets
all the pre-set technical criteria and suits the business demands. Another
issue that software engineers should devote their attention to is to check if
the final product follows all the software documentation and technical
guidelines. At this product SDLC stage, the team runs the app in order to make
sure that it operates correctly. Then programmers ensure that it follows all
the integration criteria regarding such factors as user interaction, data
transformation, communication, safety regulations, administration, and support.
Deployment
and Maintenance Stage: The final SDLC stage is the deployment of the program,
after which the customer can actually utilize it and enjoy the functions it
offers. Often companies choose to deploy the program firstly in test and
pre-production environments, and only afterwards in the real one. This
multiple-stage method helps improve the safety of the app. When the app is
released, it doesn’t mean that no issues will arise in the future. Down the
road, customers may require additional features in accordance with new demands.
This can potentially lead to the necessity of code alterations. Likewise,
technical issues may arise that will need to be solved quickly, in order to
ensure the proper functioning of the information system.
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