The processes of software development are also known as software development life cycle. It is divided into 7 phases and all of them are equally important.
SLDC is an integral part of software development process knowledge and followed by developers. Although being a process, the software is customed to go through these phases, but also SDLC is manipulated to reduce the cost of software development and to improve quality.
SDLC also helps in reducing the time for software development. There is a goal, the software, and by following all the phases of SDLC it can be achieved efficiently.
Software development comprises of various models and which individuals have their own lifecycle process. There are various models of SDLC including the waterfall model, spiral model, and the agile model.
The seven phases are divided very carefully, all of them are important and none of them can be skipped. Below are the seven phases of the software development life cycle:
- Identifying the Requirements
- Planning
- Designing
- Building the Software
- Testing
- Deployment
- Maintenance
Identifying the Requirements
The first step in software development is to identify the requirement for the development of software. The enterprises can identify the requirements by taking inputs from the stakeholders, including the customers, salespeople, experts from the industry and the programmers. It is important to figure out the weaknesses and the strengths and know the goal that has to be accomplished.
Planning
After identifying the requirements, it is important to plan the further phases. Planning is all about what is to be done to manage the time, budget and quality.
This is important, it ensures that all the phases are completed in fixed time and there are no unnecessary things extending the time.
The planning phase also includes plans to tackle the risks. Documents for the Software Requirement Specification are created in this phase. It is important Software development services to have a strong plan.
Designing
Designing the software, making a blueprint of what is to be included in it is important. A good design is important, it defines how the software will function and how will it help the organization.
The design is reviewed by all the stakeholders. The feedback after the stakeholder’s review helps custom software development.
Developers have to make a design that fulfills all the requirements and helps in achieving the desired goals.
If there is an error in this phase, it can result in the overrun of the budget or maybe the total collapse of the project. This is one of the most important phases and it needs to be done very carefully.
Building the Software
Finally, after the developers have the requirements, a proper plan and a great design for the software, its time to build. This phase involves all the coding and designing of the front and the back-end of the software.
The software is being developed by giving attention to all the outcomes of the previous phases. This is important but not so complex as everything needed for this step is available. The previous steps make this one step the easiest.
Testing
So now when the software is developed and all are ready to be deployed, one last step that is important is Testing. Testing the developed software for errors and bugs.
This step is very important because if there are any errors left in the software after it is deployed it will have a negative impact. The software should be fully stable and all its functions should work perfectly.
There should be no lags while users are switching from one feature to another. In testing the developers test the software for defects and errors, there are many ways of finding errors.
After finding errors, debugging is done and then after that, it is important to test the software again to make sure that no errors are left.
Deployment
After the software is developed and tested for all its errors and defects, it is finally the time to deploy it. This is the phase when the software is released for the users.
The users can access the software after the developers deploy it. There are many activities done to deploy software.
There may be a launch event, marketing plans, digital promotions and then the software is to be listed on popular app stores.
Maintenance
After finally deploying the software the developers have to keep checking that the software is working fine. The maintenance phase is important, this is the time when the software reaches the users.
It is important to solve the problems that come after they start using it. It is important to maintain its reputation.
