A Detailed Guide to Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

In the SDLC meaning, the process of developing, testing, and deploying data across hardware and software is called the (Software Development Life Cycle).

It includes different SDLC phases and models in order to develop high-quality and cost-effective software.

The developmental procedure of any software is usually lengthy and monotonous. However, the analyst of any system and the project managers can influence the development of any software to the design, progress, outline, test, and organize. 

Ultimately software products and information systems with efficacy, great superiority, and consistency.

In this post at Codersvide, we are going to discuss:

• What is SDLC?
• Importance of Software Development Life Cycle
• SDLC Phases
• Benefits of this software Developing Life Cycle

What is SDLC?

SDLC is the “Software Development Life Cycle” used for creating and developing software. This process has six different stages and each stage deals with a specific part of the software. 

The SDLC is a very important factor in software engineering and plays a key role in our life. A software developer may need to follow it while developing new software. 

This guide will help developers to develop software in different steps. It has the below three main parts:

Part#1 Includes Requirements, planning, and design. 

Part#2 Includes Development, testing, and deployment.

Part#3 Include Maintenance. 

The above are the basic steps that are necessary to develop new software with a proper process. There is no standard SDLC it varies from organization to organization. 

A company or an organization that produces software will normally follow a certain process that will ensure that the software is properly developed. 

The stages that software goes through vary depending on the type of software that is being developed.

Why is the Software development Life Cycle Important?

SDLC adds great value to your Software development ventures. The below steps show how it adds value to the Software development ventures.

High-quality software

By parting the low scope for viruses and contradictions, the procedure follows the synchronous steps to expansion.

Faster time to market

The time for expansion and improvement gets shortened.

Facilitates management control

It offers project management control for any project whether it is large or small, which helps them in envision and track the development process.

Clearer perspective of roles and responsibilities

Each phase of the Software Development Life Cycle has a clear and defined purpose.

Because of this, every team knows very well their role in the development of SDLC.

Breaks existing silos among the team

It ties up the team with full-blow communication and with a process that needs teamwork.

Brings the development team on the same page

When each member of the team fully understands the phases of SDLC then they gain the knowledge of what they should assume and what they have to plan for next.

Furthermore, in this post, we are going to discuss the six different phases of SDLC in complete detail.

6 Phases of the “SDLC” Software Development Life Cycle

To understand the procedure of this software development process, let's have a look at the below steps:

1. Planning and Requirement gathering

The first phase of the SDLC is the planning and here, the client defines the problems to be solved and what he wants to achieve by using the system.

The process involves gathering the requirements for the software. 

We start by finding out about the client and their needs, A client will usually tell us what they want to achieve with their software. 

After this, we discuss with them the problems they are having and find out how they want their software to work.

Once we are sure that we know everything about the client and their needs, we proceed with writing the specifications for the software. We will discuss this with the client and define the features and functionality that they want. 

The requirements for the software are finalized after this and these include all the information that the client wants.

2. Design of the software

The design phase of the software development life cycle starts with the process of designing the software architecture. 

In this phase, developers create the architectural design of the system. 

They design the layers and components of the system and they create the database models, which will help to store data in a system. 

They also make sure that the users of the system can easily access all the required information. The designers are responsible for creating a good user interface design, which makes it easier for the users to navigate around the system. 

Once the basic design is complete, the developers are supposed to create a prototype for testing and this is a model of the actual system. 

Moreover, the prototype has all the features and elements of the actual system. 

3. Development of the software

Developers need to make sure that they meet deadlines and release high-quality products. 

They may choose to use open-source technologies and the development team may be required to write code for a specific platform or language.

They work to create a product or application that will fulfill their customers' requirements and needs. They start coding right away and there are two main phases of the software development life cycle. These are the conceptual phase and the construction phase. 

The developers work to understand and identify the customer's problems and needs. Then, they write down their ideas in a document to make a quick record of it. They are not sure if they will implement them and they use software design techniques to ensure that the proposed solution meets the requirements.

4. Testing and Quality Assurance

Testing and quality assurance is important because it ensures that the software will work properly, including the code and the overall design. 

A good application works the same way every time and if there are problems, then developers will need to fix them. This means that the application needs to be tested to make sure that it will work correctly.

The quality assurance team tests the code before the developers start to work on the next phase of the software development life cycle. 

If there are any bugs or errors, then the quality assurance team fixes them. 

Bugs are problems that affect the performance of an application and they can also lead to errors and other issues that affect the overall operation of the application.

5. Deployment

Deployment of the software occurs in 3 phases; in the first phase, you will develop a product. 

During the second phase, you will test the product and in the third phase, you will validate the product.

Once the product is tested and validated, you can deploy it into the production environment. 

During the process of software development, developers will make changes to the product based on customer feedback. The Agile SDLC process allows you to make such changes easily.

When you are using the Agile SDLC process, you should not wait until the end of the cycle to release the product. 

When you release the product, you are essentially deploying it into the production environment.

6. Maintenance of the software

Maintenance is the process of fixing problems that can occur within the product. Maintenance is done by updating the product to address the current problem.

There are 2 types of maintenance.

Corrective maintenance is done to fix errors that have been identified in the system. This type of maintenance is usually done at the beginning stages of the project. This will ensure that the project is designed correctly and has no bugs.

Perfective maintenance is done to improve the performance of the system. It is done at the end of the project and this is usually done to make sure that the system functions properly after its completion.

Benefits of SDLC “Software Development Life Cycle”

It gives the whole team a clear view of the development process and how everything fits together. With the SDLC, your team will be able to develop and release a quality product. Some benefits of SDLC are as follows:

• Clear goal images
• Proper testing before installation
• Clear storage development
• Participant flexibility
• Perfection is achievable
• No one member makes or breaks the project

Where does SDLC use?

Software developers and project managers use a system development life cycle in order to develop software in the right manner. You will use them to identify the phases of a project and the requirements needed to complete a particular stage. 

You will need to follow a set of rules and procedures to ensure that the project remains on schedule. These procedures may include requirements gathering, analysis, design, coding, testing, integration, and deployment. 

If you are working on an IT project, you should use a system development life cycle to help you develop the system and ensure that everything goes according to plan. You will also need to know the different stages of the process. 

What does SDLC develop?

Software development life cycle is a term used to describe the series of steps required to easily develop a piece of software. 

Martin Fowler first coined SDLC meaning in 1968 and it was first described in his book titled "Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code". 

He said that it could be used to describe all the stages involved in developing software. 

Software development life cycle (SDLC) is used to develop a wide variety of software. This includes software for business applications, consumer electronics, and everything in between. 

Different Models of SDLC

All the models of SDLC follow the same stages. Some are more flexible that can easily fulfill the requirements of a business.

There are different SDLC models but your selection will depend upon the requirements, size, and intricacy of your project. Some of them are listed below:

Waterfall Model

An SDLC waterfall model is a structured approach to developing software. In the Waterfall model, tasks must be completed in strictly sequential order, and each cascades information into the next.

The model is documentation-heavy, with separate detailed plans for each stage. 

The waterfall model is very simple but it is still a good one and we need to know the different phases of the product development process. It is the easiest model for you to understand because it is the most structured model. 

There are some downsides to the waterfall model though and the biggest one is that it doesn't give you enough time to develop the features, it's usually done in just a few months.

V Model

SDLC is a model that can be used in many types of projects and the SDLC-V model is one of the most widely used models for the software development process.

This model focuses on two main aspects of development, the first aspect is the verification process and the second aspect is the validation process. 

The verification process is usually done early on in the project, while the validation process is done later in the project. 

The purpose of doing the verification and validation is to ensure that the project is working as intended. One of the benefits of using this model is that it makes the testing process much easier and faster. 

This model has four different phases:

• Planning
• Execution
• Monitoring
• Closing

One of the main differences between SDLC-V and Waterfall is that the V model is very similar to the Waterfall model, except that the verification and validation brackets are separated.

Prototyping Model

Prototyping is the process of creating a model that allows developers to test their ideas and concepts before they create them in reality. The prototype can include physical materials or digital representations and can be static or interactive.

A static prototype consists of a representation of your product or service and it is easy to create, usually on paper. This allows you to visualize the product you are designing, check the flow of the product, and evaluate the user interface. 

The main drawback to static prototypes is that it can be difficult to make changes to them. If you want to make changes, you have to create a new version. 

Big Bang Model

There is no doubt that the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is one of the most important factors that drive a successful software development project. 

There are different ways of implementing the SDLC, but the common concept of the big bang model is to develop the project in phases, starting from requirements gathering to testing. 

The big bang model requires a team to be agile enough to be able to adapt to the changing needs of the software development project. 

It involves a constant feedback loop between the business and the technical team, allowing developers to make changes as soon as possible. 

The model encourages developers to be involved in designing and building the software from the very beginning. It also demands that the entire team is involved in the process of writing code.

Iterative Model

The software development lifecycle (SDLC) consists of the below six steps: 

• Requirement
• Analysis
• Architecture
• Design 
• Coding & Testing 
• Deployment.

The first four steps represent the iterative model of software development.

This model has several phases that play an important role in order to develop software. 

This process helps the developers to create the software in a well-planned manner and hence, this process is called an iterative model. 

When we talk about the iterative model, we mean that the team works on a certain part of the project to understand the overall requirements of the project. 

The developers will then build a model for the project and the model is then tested to ensure that it works as expected. Then, the developers will add more information to the model (if required).

Once the entire model is complete, the developers will work on the next iteration. After a few iterations, the whole project becomes ready to be launched without any hurdles. 

Best Practices in the SDLC Model

You should keep in mind the below practices in the SDLC to create proper software:

Research

Research is very important to know about your audience, and their demand related to the product. It is important to do research in order to provide your customer with the software with the features they demand.

Planning

If you don’t make proper planning then it might be possible that your project can go over budget and off track.

Documentation

All you need is to balance your documentation because little documentation can create confusion while too much can slow down your project/software.

Communication

It is way too important so that everyone can know the purpose of doing your project. Communication is essential for the musical and creative team, particularly in the SDLC models.

Evaluation

One of the most important things that you should do is evaluate your current methods. You should evaluate whether or not your system works properly or not. 

It is very important to check whether your system is capable of running an SDLC model or not.

Final Words

When developing your product or service, it is critical to plan and have an idea of what you need to build it successfully. Whether your product or service is a physical object, a web app or software, and a service there are always a few steps you need to go through to be successful.

Having a complete SDLC or development process can help you develop a product that people will want to use. As you design your product, ask yourself: What does this product need? What do I need to provide to make it usable?

Because devotion is necessary for the effective completion of the project and in return, it makes supervision easier.

We hope this article will help you to understand SDLC's meaning, phases, models, and benefits.