What is SDLC?
The software development life cycle is a thoroughly organized procedure aimed at crafting software of top quality and bringing it to users at an appropriate time.
The SDLC process necessitates a comprehensive scheme for tailoring, employing, and maintaining a software solution. The objective of the development life cycle is to tailor a flawless and powerful solution that satisfies the demands of users and company owners.
Software development life cycle phases
To guarantee efficient and timely product supply, the development proceeding comprises a few SDLC stages.
1. Planning and discovering requirements
This stage involves defining the key project approach and carrying out feasibility research of the future software solution regarding economical, technical, and functional spheres. The most important outcome of planning is a Functional Specification Document that discovers detailed and precise requirements of the product.
2. Design
This SDLC phase seeks to turn the outlined requirements into a compelling design. The procedure embraces such aspects as architecture, UI/UX, platforms, programming, communications, and security. Quite often, prototyping is done as a part of the design.
3. Software development
During this step, developers create a product applying up-to-date coding standards, specific languages, and tested technologies in conformity with the project’s purpose, its scope, and financial plan. The development phase culminates in presenting a working product.
4. Testing
This phase comes after programming is over. To estimate the software quality, the QA specialists can use versatile sorts of testing. In case some bugs are noticed, developers will fix them.
5. Deployment and maintenance
After the product is tried, it is supplied to the customers. The solution undergoes beta testing. Responses from the users are received and examined by the support team. If some defects are found during this SDLC step, developers will correct them.
Software development life cycle methodologies
SDLC methodology is a range of operations applied by development teams to arrange and accomplish all assignments in the development life cycle. Current SDLC models enable professional software organizations to craft a detailed scheme and follow it gradually, bringing the desired results.
Each model requires following a specific development procedure. Nevertheless, SDLC phases are similar for every method. The two widely used methodologies include Agile and Waterfall.
The Agile Model
By applying Agile, developers can effortlessly adjust to the market conditions, as this approach enables them to introduce necessary alterations to the product at any development stage. Agile means creating software products utilizing short cycles. Every sprint is aimed at producing a working product with specific characteristics.
Product owners find this methodology advantageous as they can observe each cycle’s advancements, give feedback, and demand corrections if necessary.
Waterfall
The Waterfall model is a perfect tool for projects with solid and set requirements but it is not so effective for long-run projects that demand a certain degree of flexibility. In contrast to the flexible nature of Agile, Waterfall demonstrates a rigid method to SDLC as it excludes any modifications within the development.
Software engineers can start a new phase after finishing the previous one. Consequently, they deliver a single software version in contrast to Agile that gives a working product version after each step.
Less frequently applied SDLC methodologies include Lean, DevOps, Spiral, Iterative, and V-model.