• Software development life cycle (SDLC) is a structured process that is used to design, develop, and test
good-quality software.
• SDLC, or software development life cycle, is a methodology that defines the entire procedure of software
development step-by-step.
• The goal of the SDLC life cycle model is to deliver high-quality, maintainable software that meets the
user’s requirements.
• SDLC in software engineering models outlines the plan for each stage so that each stage of the software
development model can perform its task efficiently to deliver the software at a low cost within a given
time frame that meets users requirements. In this article we will see Software Development Life Cycle
(SDLC) in detail.
• What is the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)?
• SDLC is a process followed for software building within a software organization. SDLC consists of a
precise plan that describes how to develop, maintain, replace, and enhance specific software.
• The life cycle defines a method for improving the quality of software and the all-around development
process.
• Stages of the Software Development Life Cycle
• SDLC specifies the task(s) to be performed at various stages by a software engineer
or developer.
• It ensures that the end product is able to meet the customer’s expectations and fits
within the overall budget. Hence, it’s vital for a software developer to have prior
knowledge of this software development process.
• SDLC is a collection of these six stages, and the stages of SDLC are as follows:
• Stage-1: Planning and Requirement Analysis
• Planning is a crucial step in everything, just as in software development. In this
same stage, requirement analysis is also performed by the developers of the
organization. This is attained from customer inputs, and sales department/market
surveys.
• Stage-2: Defining Requirements
• In this stage, all the requirements for the target software are specified. These requirements
get approval from customers, market analysts, and stakeholders.
• This is fulfilled by utilizing SRS (Software Requirement Specification). This is a sort of
document that specifies all those things that need to be defined and created during the
entire project cycle.
• Stage-3: Designing Architecture
• SRS is a reference for software designers to come up with the best architecture for the
software.
• Hence, with the requirements defined in SRS, multiple designs for the product architecture
are present in the Design Document Specification (DDS).
• The best one is chosen.
• Stage-4: Developing Product
• At this stage, the fundamental development of the product starts. For this, developers use a specific
programming code as per the design in the DDS.
• Hence, it is important for the coders to follow the protocols set by the association.
• Conventional programming tools like compilers, interpreters, debuggers, etc. are also put into use
at this stage.
• Some popular languages like C/C++, Python, Java, etc. are put into use as per the software
regulations.
• Stage-5: Product Testing and Integration
• After the development of the product, testing of the software is necessary to ensure its smooth
execution.
• Although, minimal testing is conducted at every stage of SDLC. Therefore, at this stage, all the
probable flaws are tracked, fixed, and retested. This ensures that the product confronts the quality
requirements of SRS.
• Documentation, Training, and Support: Software documentation is an
essential part of the software development life cycle.
• A well-written document acts as a tool and means to information
repository necessary to know about software processes, functions, and
maintenance.
• Documentation also provides information about how to use the product.
• Training in an attempt to improve the current or future employee
performance by increasing an employee’s ability to work through
learning, usually by changing his attitude and developing his skills and
understanding.
• Stage-6: Deployment and Maintenance of Products
• After detailed testing, the conclusive product is released in phases as per the organization’s
strategy.
• Then it is tested in a real industrial environment. It is important to ensure its smooth
performance. If it performs well, the organization sends out the product as a whole.
• After retrieving beneficial feedback, the company releases it as it is or with auxiliary
improvements to make it further helpful for the customers. However, this alone is not
enough.
• Therefore, along with the deployment, the product’s supervision is required.
• Software Development Life Cycle Models
• To this day, we have more than 50 recognized SDLC models in use.
• But None of them is perfect, and each brings its favorable aspects and disadvantages for a
specific software development project or a team.
• Here, we have listed the top five most popular SDLC models:
• 1. Waterfall Model
• It is the fundamental model of the software development life cycle. This is a very simple model.
• The waterfall model is not in practice anymore, but it is the basis for all other SDLC models.
• Because of its simple structure, the waterfall model is easier to use and provides a tangible
output.
• In the waterfall model, once a phase seems to be completed, it cannot be changed, and due to
this less flexible nature, the waterfall model is not in practice anymore.
• 2. Agile Model
• The agile model in SDLC was mainly designed to adapt to changing requests quickly. The main
goal of the Agile model is to facilitate quick project completion.
• The agile model refers to a group of development processes. These processes have some
similar characteristics but also possess certain subtle differences among themselves.
• Iterative Model
• In the Iterative model in SDLC, each cycle results in a semi-developed but
deployable version; with each cycle, some requirements are added to the
software, and the final cycle results in the software with the complete
requirement specification.
• 4. Spiral Model
• The spiral model in SDLC is one of the most crucial SDLC models that
provides support for risk handling. It has various spirals in its diagrammatic
representation; the number of spirals depends upon the type of project.
Each loop in the spiral structure indicates the Phases of the Spiral model.
• 5. V-Shaped Model
