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Having the right plan when it comes to developing software can always go a long way. That’s why it’s crucial to understand what is the software development lifecycle or SDLC and how it can make a difference for your project. It’s a great idea to learn more about software development methodologies and how you can start implementing them for the best results.
What is the software development lifecycle?
In short, the SDLC is the process that your team is using to create software. There are always demanding situations when you create software. A lot of things can go wrong, you also need to plan appropriately and adjust as needed. From technology upgrades, new features to add, cross-functional collaboration, all of these can have an impact.
There are some great benefits that come from having a software development lifecycle. Here are some of the major ones:
- The development process has a much higher visibility range and it’s easier to understand for stakeholders
- You can better estimate costs and identify any risks, while also creating ways to eliminate those risks
- It’s a stellar way to understand and also meet the customer expectations.
- The scheduling, planning and estimation process in general are a lot easier to do. That means there are much better ways to access amazing results, and the value as a whole is much more cohesive.
What are the software development lifecycle phases?
- It all starts with the analysis phase, where you study and plan everything. You want to see how feasible your plan is, but also what revenue potential you have, etc. Establishing a framework for the software development process is what this phase is all about.
- After that, you have the phase where you define requirements. Here you want to have the software requirement specification document complete, along with a requirement traceability matrix and a use case document as well.
- During the design process, you will start creating a prototype and slowly bring the idea to life. You can have a good understanding of how the software could look like, and it’s a great time to narrow down specifics too.
- The development process takes maybe the most time, but it’s a crucial part of the experience. You get to narrow down every step, and also what milestones you need to have at a specific time.
- Testing is the next phase, and during testing you want to assess the performance, security, usability and other factors.
- After that, you have deployment when you start sharing the software with your users. You need to find the best way of deploying the software, while also figuring out how you will update everything.
- Lastly, you also want to plan the maintenance process. Sometimes you need to add or remove features, solve bugs and other issues. Creating a plan for maintenance is extremely important.
As you can see, the software development process can be overwhelming and full of challenges without the right plan. It’s crucial to plan accordingly and focus on implementing the right features as time goes on. The right SDLC can help you narrow down steps, establish guidelines, and in the long run that can be extremely helpful if you want to adequately deliver a powerful, reliable software product!
