Software Development Lifecycle

The application development life cycle is widely known as the Software development life cycle
or SDLC. As the name suggests, is the stages within which the Software application goes
through during its existence its lifetime. The stages can be mainly divided into 4 phases. The
design phase, the development phase, the testing phase and the maintenance phase. Wherever
you read about the SDLC, the names of the stages may differ but they finally mean the same. Let
us understand each of the stages in a little detail.
The design phase: The first stage and probably the most important stage for any software
product development or Software application development project. The software architect is the
person who initialises this phase. The software application comes into existence either because of
a client requirement or an innovative idea. Product prototypes are created in this phase to show
the understanding of the to-be software product. Once the client or originator of the product
confirms the prototype, the product enters the next phase. Many products and ideas fail to come
into existence because of a weak design phase. Proper documentation of requirements and
assumptions need to be made. This document is called the SRS software requirement
specification. It is in this phase that the cost and resource requirements are estimated. Once a
design is finalised, it should not be changed in the next phases as it may harm both the cost and
resource requirements.
The software development phase: The product now starts to take form. As per the requirements
stated in the Product documentation, developers start to build the product. The development
phase and next phase, the testing phase go hand in hand.
The software testing phase: As the product development progresses, the testing team tests to
assure that the product works as desired. Bugs or defects are maintained in a bug tracking tool.
After each testing phase, bugs are fixed and re-tested; after which the product enters the next
stage of its life cycle. User Manual, Product installation and other documentations are also
created in this phase.
The software maintenance phase: There may be changes and enhancements required in the
product after it has been released. These changes are made in the form of service packs and new
releases. This phase is hence called the maintenance phase for the product.
Software Development Methodologies:
The most commonly followed methodologies for Application development are Waterfall model
and the Agile model. In the waterfall model, the product is developed in the sequence as
mentioned above. Where as in the Agile methodology the product is developed in parts or
iterations with all phases working together or simultaneously. The product may also be released
as iterations.
Today Agile methodology has gained a lot of attraction in the development community.