SDLC or Software development life cycle is the set of methods through which software industries design, develop and test software. Its aim is to produce high-quality software that meets customer needs, cost estimates and meets deadlines in time. It is basically a framework defining tasks at each step in the software development process. It consists of a detailed description of the development, maintenance, replacement, and enhancement of specific software. The lifecycle of SDLC lays out the methodology to induce the overall development process.
A typical software development process goes through the following stages:
1. Planning and requirement analysis: the requirement is analyzed by the senior members of the development team with the help of customers, sales dept., market analysis, and consultation from experts. All this information is used to plan the basic approach for the product. It lays out the planning in which the development is to be carried out next. The requirements for quality assurance and risk identification are also considered during the planning stage.
2. Defining requirements: after laying out the blueprint of the requirements, the final documentation is done in order to see what is good for the user base. Software requirement specification (SRS) helps in defining these requirements as it consists of all the product information regarding development and design.
3. Designing the product architecture: the product architects and the developers use the SRS to design the best product. Based on what is specified in SRS, one or more approach is carried out in DDS (Design Document Specification). This DDS is then reviewed by all the potential stakeholders in the team and the best approach is selected. Various parameters such as risk assessment, product robustness, and design modularity, budget, and time constraints are considered.
A design approach defines all the architectural domains that are to be used during the development process.
4. Developing the product: the actual development takes place and the product is built. The programming code, as per DDS, is generated. Programming tools like compilers, interpreters, debuggers, etc. are used to generate the code. On the other hand, high-level programming languages such as C, C++, Pascal, Java, and PHP are used for coding the program.
5. Testing the product: in the modern SDLC process, testing is carried out in all the stages. In this stage, the defects are noted and fixed until the product reaches the high-quality standards it has promised.
6. Deployment in market and maintenance: after the testing stage, the final product is launched in the market. Sometimes, segments or samples of the product are released in the market to see the feedback. Essential Maintenance for the customer base is the final stage after developing the product.