The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is the process of developing software from concept to SDLC phases, such as; completion, aiming to create software products. It includes all phases of development, testing, deployment, maintenance, support, etc. In this post, Kapsys will explain the life cycle of software development SDLC and are development life cycle stages. 

What Is Software Development Life Cycle SDLC?

The Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) is an iterative process that starts with defining the problem and ends with delivering or building the product/ applications. Usually, the stages of the software development life cycle include 8 different stages: Planning, Requirements, Design, Build, Document, Test, Deploy, and Maintain. 

However, it is common for project managers to combine these phases, becoming a smaller number later. This is for several circumstances, such as working time or capabilities, or he may see that there is no need to divide the project into all these stages, meaning that the project does not require division.

So, What is the benefit of knowing the software development life cycle?

Here are the other ways you and your team can benefit from the SDLC:

• Proper direction for projects
• Better scope management
• It helps avoid issues during the development
• Streamlines process
• Potential problems are identified immediately

How the Software Development Life Cycle Works

The SDLC consists of four main phases: Requirements Gathering, Analysis, Design, Implementation, Testing, Maintenance, and Deployment. Each phase has its own set of tasks and responsibilities. The importance of the software development life cycle is that it defines the tasks required to create a software application.  Therefore, the process of identifying assignments helps reduce waste and increase the efficiency of the development process. In addition, it ensures project monitoring and that the project continues on the path specified for it, is on the right track, and continues to be a viable investment for the company. Many companies divide these stages into more miniature stages or smaller units, for example: Planning can be divided into;

• Technical research,
• Marketing research,
• Cost-benefit analysis.

It is also possible through the software life cycle to integrate some other steps, such as; Running the testing phase in conjunction with the development phase. At this point, developers need to make several fixes for errors that occurred during testing.

The Seven Phases of the SDLC

The 7 phases of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) are planning, defining requirements, design and prototyping, software development, testing, deployment, operations and maintenance. Let's discover together what each phase of software life cycle contains: 

1. Planning

In the first stage of software life cycle, project leaders should;

• First, evaluate the project's terms to define the application's scope and purpose. 
• Next, clarify the limits of helping to prevent the project from expanding or diverting from its original purpose. 

At this development life cycle stage, it is possible to get feedback from potential customers, developers, topic experts, and salespeople.

2. Define Requirements

This phase of software life cycle is considered part of the planning stage, or it can be said that it is a follow-up or complementary stage to the first stage, and it includes;

• First, determine what the application is supposed to do and its requirements.
• Then, determine the resources needed to build the project.

3. Design and Prototyping

The design phase is how software applications will work. Here, some aspects of the design phase include:

• Architecture
• User Interface
• Platforms
• Programming
• Communications
• Security

Prototyping is a part of the design phase; it is similar to the initial software versions in the iterative software development model and indicates how the application works.

4. Software Development

The extensive project might be broken up and worked by several teams. It helps ensure compatibility between different team projects and achieve team goals.  Troubleshooting is critical at this development life cycle stage. The development process may be delayed somewhat due to many tasks like waiting for test results or compiling code. However, with the SDLC, it can be easier to anticipate these delays so that developers can be given other tasks.

5. Testing

Testing the software before handing it over to the user is an essential part that you should pay close attention to so that you don't have to redo the whole process again after receiving user complaints. In addition, the testing phase helps reduce the number of errors. Testing should ensure that each function is working correctly and smoothly. As a result, this leads to greater user satisfaction and a better usage rate.

6. Deployment

Now, companies publish the app and make it available to users. The deployment stage can be complex, so some companies prefer to automate this stage. Also, some companies may turn to deploy the applications for downloading to smartphones.

7. Operations and Maintenance

Operations and maintenance are the last (SDLC) phases of the software development life cycle. At this stage, companies have completed the application and launched it to the users. However, the maintenance phase is continuous at the same time with the operation phase, as users discover software errors in the application, and the developers have to fix the errors instantly. Moreover, some companies can set at this phase of software life cycle an additional goal to add new features to the application in the advanced stage and subsequent updates in other versions.

What is the SDLC process: Conclusion

A software development life cycle (SDLC) is a process that helps an organization develop software. It consists of four main steps: requirements gathering, design, coding, testing, and deployment. Furthermore, each phase has its own set of tasks and activities. The custom software development process is complex and not easy to perform; it needs expert developers to get the best results. Kapsys would like to help you get the best software development services.

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