What is Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Key Takeaways:
- SDLC Overview: The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a cost-effective and time-efficient method for designing and developing high-quality software.
- Importance of SDLC: The blog emphasizes the significance of SDLC in software development.
- Phases and Models: It will explore various phases and models of SDLC to understand its structure and functioning.
- Business Benefits: SDLC provides multiple advantages to businesses by improving the development process.
The software development life cycle approach can make your challenging and complex software development processes smooth and easy. In fact, according to one static business have seen a 64% success rate using agile SDLC methodology.
The life cycle model maps various activities performed on software from its inception to retirement. The main aim of the SDLC is to deliver high-quality software that meets and exceeds your expectations while staying within the budget and schedule.
In this blog, we will take a deep dive into the software development life cycle to understand its importance. In addition, from benefits to SDLC phases and models, this blog will cover everything to provide you with a comprehensive overview of the software development lifecycle.
Further, we will also provide you with the best practices to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of your software development lifecycle.
Why is the software development lifecycle process important?
Software development can be challenging because of the rapidly changing requirements, technology, upgrades, etc. Therefore the development team must decide a life cycle model for the development of software. Without a life cycle model, the development processes of your software products would not be systematic.
This is important because when a team is developing a software product, there must be a clear understanding among them about when and what to do. Otherwise, the whole process would result in chaos and failure.
Let’s take a look at an example to understand this situation better:
Suppose a software development issue is divided into various parts and each part is assigned to a team member. Now imagine what would happen if the team representatives allied to develop the roles assigned in whatever way they like.
One member might start writing the code for his part, and another might choose to work on the test document first. Having a development model makes this the perfect recipe for project failure. This is why the Software development life cycle is so important. It defines the entry and exit criteria of each phase.
So a stage can only begin if its entry criteria have been fulfilled. The SDLC methodology provides you with a systematic management framework with specific deliverables at every stage of the development process. As a result, all the stakeholders can agree on the development goals upfront and also have a plan to achieve those goals.
The sports betting software development life cycle encompasses the entire process of conceptualizing, designing, implementing, testing, and maintaining sophisticated platforms that facilitate seamless and secure wagering experiences for users.
Overall, implementing the software development lifecycle can be quite beneficial for your business. Want to know more about the benefits of SDLC? Then, keep reading the section below.
Benefits of the software development life cycle
Software development life cycle can help your business in various ways. Following is a list of the top advantages of SDLC:
- Enhanced product quality: SDLC approaches are structured and iterative, leading to higher-quality products. Further, SDLC promotes the early detection of bugs and defects, which can help identify the risk at source and mitigate the risk of failure in the initial stages of development.
- Improve project management: Software development life cycle approaches project development with a thorough understanding of the scope and requirements. Moreover, SDLC also encourages teams to plan ahead to ensure goals and objectives are clearly defined and the project gets completed according to the plan. Such in-depth understanding and robust planning can significantly improve your project management processes.
- Effective risk management: One of the biggest reasons a project fails is its lack of planning, resources, and technical challenges. The software development life cycle (SDLC) is designed to mitigate such risks, so by using SDLC, you’ll be able to manage risks more efficiently.
- Better communication and collaboration: One of the biggest advantages of the software development life cycle is its communication and collaboration capabilities. SDLC allows you to connect with the stakeholders; this can significantly increase your chances of success.
- Efficient resource utilization: The software development life cycle approach ensures the right allocation of resources, roles, and responsibilities. With evenly distributed work and the right resource allocation, the SDLC streamlines the development processes and provides results that align with your objectives.
- High flexibility and adaptability: Many software development life cycle models are designed to be highly adaptive. This allows development teams to respond quickly to changing market conditions and evolving customer needs.
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SDLC has a huge impact on your software development processes, therefore to understand it it even more detail the next section will explore the various phases of SDLC.
Stages of software development life cycle
The software development life cycle clearly specifies the tasks to be performed at various stages. This ensures that the end products can meet the customer’s requirements and expectations. Therefore, you need to have prior knowledge of this development process. Here are six stages of the software development life cycle:
Stage 1: Planning
Planning is a crucial stage of the software development lifecycle. In this stage, the developer performs requirement analysis to form the building blocks of the project. The planning stage includes tasks like cost-benefit analysis, scheduling, resource estimation and allocation, etc.
Your development team will collect requirements from the stakeholders to create a software requirement specification document. This document will set expectations and define common goals to further aid in project planning.
Stage 2: Design
The design phase includes an analysis of requirements to identify the best solutions for your software development process. For example: the software development team may look at your existing modules and technology choices. Then, decide how to integrate the new software into your existing IT infrastructure.
Stage 3: Implement
In the implementation stage of the software development life cycle, the team will code the product. Further, they will analyze the requirements to identify smaller coding tasks and divide them among the team to do daily.
Stage 4: Test
The testing phase of the software development life cycle is very important. Here the development team will combine manual and automated testing to check the software for bugs. In addition, the QAs will test your software for errors and check if the software meets all the customer requirements.
SDLC promotes active testing, therefore teams are likely to test the codes immediately after writing them, therefore the testing phase of SDLC often runs alongside the development phase.
Stage 5: Deploy
When the team develops software they code and test on a different copy than the one users have access to. The software the customer uses is called production, meanwhile, the other copies are called the build environment or testing environment.
Separating build and production allows customers to continue using the software even when changes and upgrades are being made. The deployment stage of the software development life cycle involves various tasks like packaging environment, configuration, and installment to ensure the move of the latest build copy to production.
Stage 6: Maintain
The very last stage of the software development life cycle is the maintenance stage. In this phase, the teams will focus on fixing bugs, resolving customers’ issues, and managing software changes. In addition, the team will also monitor the overall performance of the software, security, and user experience to identify new opportunities to further improve the software.
To develop software, you need to know more than the phases of the software development life cycle. Therefore, the next section will explore various SDLC models.
Software development life cycle models
Right now, we have more than 50 recognized SDLC models; however, not all of them are perfect. Here is a list of top software development life cycle models you must know:
- Waterfall model: The waterfall model is just like its name suggests. Here all the phases are arranged sequentially so that each new phase depends on the outcome of the previous one. This model is simple, easy to use, and can provide tangible output. However In this model, if one phase is completed it cannot be changed, this inflexible nature is a reason why the waterfall method is no longer in practice.
- Agile Model: Agile is a software development life cycle model that was designed to adapt quickly to changing needs and requests. As you can guess from its name, the main goal of Agile is to facilitate quick project completion. This model arranges the SDLC phases into several development cycles. Consequently, the team iterates through the phases rapidly, delivering small incremental software changes per cycle. Further, they continuously evaluate the requirements, plans, and results to respond quickly to the changes.
- Iterative Model: The iterative software development life cycle model suggests that the team begins the development with a small subset of requirements. Therefore, each cycle will result in a semi-developed but deployable version. With each cycle, some requirements will be added to the software. By the end of the final cycle, you will have software that fulfills all your requirements.
- Spiral Model: The spiral model prioritizes risk analysis by combining the linear sequential flow of the waterfall method with the small repeated cycle of the iterative model.
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Moving on the next section will provide you with some of the best software development life cycle best practices to help you improve your software development processes.
Top SDLC Best Practices To Follow
Regardless of the software development life cycle model you use, there are a number of best practices that you ought to follow:
Maintain data hygiene
Software centers around data, so whether it's customer data, training data, or usage data, you need to keep it secure and clean. Further, there is one aspect of data that is often neglected by companies - data about your engineering processes.
The rise of DevOps and DORA metrics has proven the importance of engineering metrics. However, this data can only be useful if it is clean and secure. Therefore, maintaining data hygiene is crucial for your business.
Workflow management
Poor workflow management can be a big reason why your software development life cycle is not improving your overall productivity and performance. Inefficient task allocations, lack of progress and improper planning can be the doom of your software development project. Therefore proper workflow management is very crucial for your SDLC.
Standardize code review process
Code reviews are a great way to adhere to the coding guidelines. You need to follow the best practices of the programming language, prevent bugs, and raise the quality of the code. However, code review can take a long time. You can address this enormous lead time and improve the speed of your cycle by standardizing the review processes.
A clear scope of work
The software development life cycle begins with the ideation and a thorough study of the requirements. An ambiguous scope can negatively impact the developer's productivity. Therefore, you should include:
- Deliverable
- Timeline
- Milestone
- Reports
This way, you can avoid duplication of work and code churn and reduce the developer’s fatigue,
Documentation
Documentation is the written record of the project-related details. It includes everything from deliverables and deadlines to resources. Documentation is vital for the software development life cycle because it can keep the team aligned in their goals, avoid the chances of scope creep, and lessen iteration rounds.
Scrum best practices
Most development teams utilized the scrum arrangements during the software development life cycle. You can rely on best scrum practices like asynchronous communication and data-driven workflow to enhance team collaboration and effort alignment. Further, the manager will be able to track the work progress and bring improvements to further boost the quality of the product.
For best software development life cycle management you need to closely follow these practices during the software development life cycle. And if you require an expert’s help AppSierra has always got your back.
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How can AppSierra help you during the software development life cycle?
Appsierra is a leading software development and testing company that provides custom software solutions to meet every business need. From consulting to end-to-end development, we offer quality-centric services that exceed expectations.
We deliver the best software development life cycle management and leverage advanced technologies to deliver the best solutions. At Appsierra, we follow a comprehensive set of processes and practices to design, develop, deploy, and maintain your software systems.
Our services cover all stages of the software life cycle, ensuring efficient and successful development. Here are a few reasons why you should rely on our services:
- Proper communication and workflow: We provide you with a full-scale working team that follows effective communication and seamless workflow. Our flexible communication format can ensure our workflow matches your work processes throughout the software development life cycle.
- Fast delivery: With our expertise, we can handle and manage projects of different complexities and deliver within the set timeframe. Our development team is fully capable of speedy product rollout and smooth delivery according to your requirements.
- Transparent services: We keep our services transparent to build long-term relationships. Our team will report your project progress and development and communicate openly.
- Our development processes: We follow all the stages of the software development life cycle from planning to testing to deployment and maintenance.
- Methodologies: Our experts can use suitable methodologies based on your business requirements to accelerate the development process. Here are some software development life cycle models we specialize in:
- DevOps Approach
- Agile Approach
- Waterfall Approach
- Scrum Approach
Conclusion
Overall, the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) in software engineering is a crucial process for optimized and efficient software development. In a world where change is constant, the importance of SDLC is paramount for developing innovative solutions. Therefore, it's essential to choose a suitable SDLC model when developing software. If you need extra help, you can always rely on AppSierra.