A Software Development Life Cycle
(SDLC) describes a methodology for creating high-quality software. It consists
of the following phases:
- Analyzing requirements
- The planning process
- Designing software, such as architectural designs
- Development of software
- Tests
- The deployment process
The purpose of this article is to
explain how SDLC works, dive deeper into each phase, and provide examples.
How Does The Software Development Life Cycle
Work?
The Software Development Life
Cycle (SDLC) is a process for creating high-quality software in the shortest
possible time at the lowest cost. With SDLC, an organization can quickly
produce high-quality software that has been tested and is ready for production
by following a well-structured flow of phases.
The SDLC includes six phases, as
explained in the introduction. Popular SDLC models include the waterfall model,
spiral model, and agile model.
How does the Software Development Life Cycle
work?
SDLC Process
Through SDLC, software
development costs are reduced while quality is improved and production time is
shortened. SDLC achieves these seemingly divergent goals by following a plan
that removes the typical pitfalls of software development projects. That plan
starts by evaluating existing systems for deficiencies.
In the next step, it defines the
new system's requirements and develops the software through phases such as
analysis, planning, design, development, testing, and deployment. By
anticipating costly mistakes like failing to ask the end-user or client for feedback,
SLDC can avoid redundant rework and after-the-fact fixes.
As the SDLC is a repetitive
methodology, it is imperative to ensure code quality at each cycle since it is
a repetitive process. The right type of tests can save your organization a lot
of rework, time, and money. Having a strong focus on testing can save you a lot
of money, time, and rework.
The next step is to examine the different stages of the Software
Development Life Cycle.
Best Practices and Stages
By following best practices
and/or stages of SDLC, the process runs smoothly, efficiently, and
productively.
1. The
First Step Is To Identify the Current Issues
As part of the SDLC, this stage
involves gathering input from all stakeholders, including customers,
salespeople, industry experts, and programmers in order to improve the current
system.
2. Make
a plan
This stage of the SDLC determines
the cost and resources needed for implementing the analyzed requirements, as
well as identifying risks and providing sub-plans for mitigating them.
The team should determine if the
project is feasible and how it can be implemented effectively with the least
amount of risk.
3. The
design
As part of the SDLC, the software
specifications are turned into a design plan known as the Design Specification,
which is then reviewed by all stakeholders and offered feedback and
suggestions. It is essential to have a process for gathering stakeholder input
and incorporating it into this document, since failure at this stage will
almost certainly result in cost overruns and at worst, a complete failure of
the project.
4. Build
"Let's make what we want."
During this stage, the actual
development begins, so it is important that all developers follow the agreed
blueprint. Also, make sure you have proper guidelines regarding code style and
practices.
Defining a nomenclature for files
or defining a variable naming style like camel Case will help your team to
produce more organized and consistent code that will be easier to understand
and test.
5. Test
the Code
We test the product for defects
and deficiencies. We fix those issues until the product meets the original
specifications.
We want to verify if the code
meets the requirements.
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6. Deploying
Software
"Let's use what we have."
Many organizations choose to move
the product through different deployment environments such as testing and
staging before deploying it to the production environment.
Besides allowing stakeholders to
test the product safely before releasing it, this also allows any final
mistakes to be corrected before the product goes to market.
