7 Stages of SDLC 7 Phases of SDLC Software Development Life Cycle

The software development life cycle (SDLC) is a structured process that is used to design, develop, and test good-quality software. SDLC, or software development life cycle is a methodology that defines the entire procedure of software development step-by-step. The goal of the SDLC life cycle model is to deliver high-quality, maintainable software that meets the user’s requirements. To create high-quality software, you need a process in place that helps you manage your time and resources.

Each step must be completed before proceeding to the next phase in the development journey. As Taylor articulated, your goal should be to think holistically about all the activities of a project and how to best manage each stage. This stage gives a clearer picture of the scope of the entire project and the anticipated issues, opportunities, and directives which triggered the project. In the Waterfall Model, the whole process of Software Development divides into phases, where the output of one phase acts as the input to the next phase. The next phase begins only after the completion of the previous phase. Stackify’s APM tools are used by thousands of .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js, Python, & Ruby developers all over the world.

Object-oriented analysis and design

Once the Analysis Phase is over, the team needs to come up with the most accurate, robust, efficient, and cost-effective architecture for the product that needs to be developed. During this phase, the team proposes more than one design, and they select the best one based on various parameters such as robustness, durability, timeline, cost-effectiveness, and others. The different design architectures are typically documented in the Design Document Specification (DDS).

Get the stakeholders from phase one to use your software in the wild. In this phase you get to earn the trust of your stakeholders by embodying a builder’s mindset. By this stage you know what your requirements https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ are and what you want. How users would interact with the product was still very much unknown. This stage of the SDLC forces you to obtain feedback and buy-in from relevant internal and external stakeholders.

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Your developers can’t get started on coding until the design phase is done, even if they know about some of the components they’ll have to build. Or maybe they can’t start coding even with the design, as they’re stuck waiting for various internal approvals to come through. Your process at this stage will depend heavily on whether you have a dedicated QA team or other built-in testing systems. If you ask five development managers exactly what that means, you’ll probably get five different answers. “I have no idea what you’re talking about” might even be one of them.

phases of the sdlc

DevOps is a set of practices and philosophies that combines software development and IT operations. This practice takes SDLC concepts to the next level by introducing high levels of automation and focusing on smaller software releases. The V-shaped model (also known as the Verification and Validation Model) requires the team to run coding and testing tasks in parallel. While time-consuming, prototyping is much less expensive than making radical changes after the development phase. Each step in an SDLC results in an output (document, diagram, working software, etc.) that acts as the necessary input for the next step.

Why is it important to shift security left in the SDLC?

This process continues until the software is bug-free, stable, and working according to the business needs of that system. It is conducted by the senior team members with inputs from all the stakeholders and domain experts in the industry. Planning for the quality assurance requirements and recognization of the risks involved is also done at this stage.

phases of the sdlc

Unlike the spiral SDLC methodology (which is similar in concept), the iterative incremental model deploys each software version to production. This stage requires a combined effort of business analytics, operations, leadership, development, and security teams. In some use cases, asking end users for input is also a valuable source of info.

Stage 6: Implement and launch the product.

Project managers use tools like Gantt charts and task lists to track milestones and deadlines. They also work with developers to ensure that projects are on track and within budget. While some organizations might underestimate the importance of testing, SDLC champions it. A rigorous testing regime can save significant resources, preempting errors and ensuring the delivery of a robust software product. The initial SDLC models were heavily influenced by traditional engineering and manufacturing practices. The Waterfall model, one of the earliest SDLC models, was linear, following a strict sequence of phases, much like an assembly line.

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Waterfall methods are still common, though Agile is rapidly pulling ahead. There is no perfect method, but it’s far better to use some method than none. The Manifesto addresses key problems with Waterfall that led to challenges in software delivery. Where Waterfall tends to be a “one-way road,” Agile is a more flexible framework that allows for uncertainty.

Software Development Life Cycle Benefits

The primary goal was to develop a predictable and efficient system that could guide projects from concept to completion, ensuring consistency and quality. Becoming a software developer requires learning the key skills, programming languages, and concepts needed to build software products. These days, many people are successfully pivoting or switching their careers from education, the service industry, and more to coding and development. They may complete bootcamps or earn professional certificates online such as IBM’s Full Stack Cloud Developer. There are seven stages in the SDLC and six common models that are used for different projects. In this guide, we’ll go through each stage and model to give you an overview of what becoming a software developer entails.

phases of the sdlc

One particularly powerful and popular framework is called the Software Development Life Cycle process (SDLC). The main focus of this SDLC phase is to ensure that needs continue to be phases of the sdlc met and that the system continues to perform as per the specification mentioned in the first phase. Here, are prime reasons why SDLC is important for developing a software system.

Stage-4: Developing Product

The next state starts only after the completion of the previous state. This model is a combination of the Waterfall and Spiral model and works in an iterative manner. Based on the risk involved in the project, this model guides the team to adopt elements of one or more SDLC models, such as a Waterfall or Iterative model. The software lifecycle is divided into smaller parts here, and new functionality can be added to the software even at the end of the SDLC. This model starts with a smaller set of requirements, and it does not need the full context of the product specification in order to start the SDLC process.

  • The goal of this step is to define the scope of the problem and devise solutions.
  • When integrating large-scale systems where risks need to be identified and addressed continuously, the Spiral model, an SDLC model emphasizing risk analysis, proves invaluable.
  • Process checks include review of timelines and expenses, as well as user acceptance.
  • A true V-shaped model does not have a dedicated testing phase since each development stage has its own QA sequence.
  • If you want to learn how to build, deploy, and create high quality software you will want to follow a blueprint.
  • It takes them days or even weeks to travel to a location to access the bank services.