The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a process software developers use to design, develop, and test high-quality software. It outlines a series of steps, from project planning and designing to coding and testing, ensuring that the final product meets the requirements and works well for users. 

But have you ever wondered how a software project goes from an idea to a finished product? What steps do developers take to make sure the software works correctly? By understanding the SDLC, you can see the importance of each phase and how they contribute to successful software development. 

So, lets begin 

What is the life cycle of software development?

The Software Development Life Cycle, or SDLC, is a process that generates software at the lowest possible cost and with the highest quality in the quickest amount of time. 

It offers an organized sequence of steps that facilitates the rapid development of software that meets production quality standards and is thoroughly tested.

What makes the SDLC significant?

Managing software development can be difficult because of shifting needs, advancing technology, and interdisciplinary cooperation. 

At each level of the software development process, the software development lifecycle (SDLC) methodology offers a defined set of deliverables and a systematic management framework. As a result, all parties involved have a plan to accomplish the predetermined goals and requirements for software development.

These are a few advantages of SDLC:

• Improved transparency of the development process for all concerned parties
• Effective scheduling, planning, and estimating
• Enhanced cost estimation and risk management
• Streamlined software delivery and increased client satisfaction

What are the stages of the Software Development Life Cycle?

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is designed to minimize the cost of software development while improving its quality and accelerating its delivery. It achieves these seemingly contradictory goals by following a method that mitigates the common risks associated with software development projects. The initial step in this approach involves evaluating existing systems for any defects.

Following this, it outlines the prerequisites for the new system. The procedure then advances through the phases of analysis, strategizing, designing, developing, examining, and implementing to construct the software. By foreseeing expensive mistakes, such as failing to seek feedback from the end-user or client, the SDLC can prevent unnecessary revisions and after-the-fact fixes.

It’s equally important to note that the testing stage is highly emphasized. Given that the SDLC is a cyclical process, each cycle necessitates code quality verification. Despite the potential to save resources, time, and redoing work, many firms often overlook the importance of testing. Therefore, it’s crucial to craft the right tests with thoughtfulness.

Let’s now examine each of the Software Development Life Cycle’s phases..

Determine the Issues at Hand

“What issues are there right now?” During this phase of the Software Development Life Cycle, contributions from all stakeholders, such as clients, sales representatives, industry specialists, and developers, are necessary. To make improvements, discover the advantages and disadvantages of the current system.

Plan – “What are our goals?” 

At this stage the team ascertains the cost and resources needed to implement the requirements once they have been analyzed at this level of the SDLC. Additionally, it outlines the dangers and offers backup measures to lessen them.

Alternatively, the team must assess the project’s viability and determine how to carry it out effectively while minimizing risk.

Design “How can we make our vision a reality?” 

During this stage of the SDLC, the software specifications are first transformed into a design plan known as the Design Specification. 

After reviewing this proposal, all stakeholders provide comments and recommendations. 

A strategy for gathering and adding stakeholder feedback to this document is essential. Failing can be nearly guaranteed to lead to cost overruns and, at worst, the project’s complete collapse.

Build “Let’s make what we desire.”

This is when the actual development begins. Each developer must follow the approved blueprint. Additionally, confirm that the appropriate policies and procedures regarding coding style are in place.

Establish a file nomenclature as this will assist your team in writing more logical, consistent code. 

Testing

The development team tests the software manually and automatically for errors. Quality analysis includes checking whether the program satisfies client requirements and testing it for flaws. 

Note that, the testing phase frequently occurs concurrently with the development phase since many teams immediately test the code they write.

Implement

When developing software, teams utilize separate copies of the program for coding and testing purposes from the ones end users see. The software used by clients is referred to as production software, while other versions are known as build or testing environments.

It is ensured that clients can continue to use the program even when it is being modified or upgraded with distinct build and production environments. The deployment step entails several processes to transfer the most recent build copy to the production environment, including installation, environment configuration, and packaging.

Maintenance 

The crew handles software updates, addresses customer concerns, and repairs defects throughout the maintenance phase. The team also monitors user experience, address security, and overall system performance to find innovative methods to enhance the current software. 

Types of Software development life cycle models 

SDLC models provide a conceptually organized presentation of SDLC to assist organizations in implementing software development lifecycle (SDLC) practices. Different models place the SDLC phases in different chronological sequences to maximize the development cycle. Below, we examine a few well-known SDLC models.

Waterfall

One phase in the waterfall model is arranged sequentially, with the result of one phase influencing the next. From a conceptual standpoint, the design cascades from one phase to the next, akin to a waterfall.

Most importantly, it  gives project managers structure and tangible results after each stage. However, as modifications might impact the software’s delivery schedule, cost, and quality, there isn’t much leeway once a phase is complete. As a result, the paradigm works best for small software development projects where requirements can be precisely stated in advance and duties are manageable.

Iterative

According to the iterative approach, teams should start software development with a limited set of requirements. After that, they gradually improve versions until the finished program is prepared for use in production. After every iteration, the team creates a new version of the software.

Since needs can vary during iterations, risk identification and management are simple. Repeated cycles, however, risk changing the scope and underestimating the available resources.

Spiral

The spiral model integrates the linear sequential progression of the waterfall model with the repetitive cycles of the iterative approach, emphasizing risk evaluation. By creating prototypes at each stage, the spiral model guarantees the software’s gradual release and improvement.

Mainly, it works well for intricate, large-scale projects that need to be changed often. However, it could be pricey nonetheless for smaller projects with a more constrained scope.

Agile

Under the agile approach, the stages of the SDLC are divided into many development cycles. The group moves quickly through the phases, producing minor, incremental software updates every time. They monitor requirements, strategies, and outcomes to ensure they can adapt swiftly to changes. The agile methodology is more efficient than other process models since it is gradual and iterative.

What is the role of security in SDLC?

Security is an essential component in the software development process. Unlike conventional software development that views security as a separate phase, SDLC incorporates security at every stage through DevSecOps techniques.

DevSecOps, an extension of DevOps, emphasizes the integration of security evaluations throughout the entire software development life cycle (SDLC). It ensures that the software is impervious to all potential threats and secure from the initial design to the delivery stage. 

The group performs security validation activities like code examination, architectural evaluation, penetration tests, and automated detection during DevSecOps. These activities are integrated into Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), code storage, and build servers.

How can the SDLC incorporate DevSecOps?

There are several ways that DevSecOps can be integrated into SDLC, such as adhering to best practices.

• Planning and Requirement Analysis: In this phase, possible threats and vulnerabilities are identified, along with security needs and suitable security decisions. Security design best practices and concepts are also considered.
• Architectural Design: The development team takes any hazards into account by using architecture and the security design principle. At this point, architecture risk analysis, access control, encryption, and threat modeling are all involved.
• Testing and Software Development: Code reviews are conducted to ensure security protections are in place and software adheres to code standards. Similar to penetration testing, security vulnerability assessments are also conducted to find possible problems.
• Implementation: DevSecOps automation tools are utilized to improve the security of applications. Firewalls, access controls, and security settings are implemented to guarantee the software is installed securely.
• Maintenance: After deployment, security is still in place. The group needs to monitor the program for security flaws and apply security patches and other changes as needed. 

Conclusion

So, in a nutshell, understanding the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) helps ensure efficient, high-quality software production. Each phase plays a critical role in achieving this goal.

Therefore, onyxtec offers expert assistance in navigating the SDLC, providing support from planning to maintenance, ensuring your software meets all standards and requirements effectively. 

FAQ

Is the SDLC Agile or Waterfall?

Agile and Waterfall are extensively used in the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) approach in the IT sector. Within the project parameters, the Waterfall framework was created to facilitate the systematic and thoughtful development of high-quality information systems.

In the SDLC, what is Scrum?

Teams utilize Scrum, a management framework, to self-organize activities and work towards a common objective. Within this framework, individuals can tackle intricate adaptive challenges while optimizing productivity and creativity in product delivery.