SDLC stands for Software Development Life Cycle models. It is one of the basic notions of the software development process. SDLC – is a long complicated process. It which starts from the moment, when the decision to launch the project is made. Travels several crucial stages, and ends at the moment of its full remove from the exploitation. There are numerous SDLC models. They are divided into main groups, each with its features and peculiarities. Nevertheless, No matter what type of the model the developer tends to choose, they all have particuliar stages that are used by developers all over the world. Understanding of those stages is important for the understanding SDLC in general.

Stage 1 – Planning

SDLC models start with the analysis, in which specialiststhat are involved in the process of development make a statement, how the final poduct is supposed to look like. The goal of this stage is to work out a concrete definition of the final requirements. Besides, it is important to make sure that all the process participants are clear to all the participants. Often, QA specialists take part in the discussion. They are able to interfere the process with additions even during the development stage if it is necessary.

Stage2 – Project architecture

At this stage the developers are actually start designing the architecture of the project. This stage involves constant communication with the customer. All the technical questions that may appear on this stage are discussed by all the stakeholders, including the customer. Also at this stage some crucial organization decisions are made like the technologies used in the project, team load, limitations, time frames, and budget.

Stage 3 – Development and Programming

After the project is approved and all the organization requirements are met, the process goes to the next stage – actual development. Programmers start with the source code writing. They still have to keep in mind previously defined requirements. The system administrators adjust the software environment. Front-end programmers develop the user interface of the program, and the logics for its interaction with the server.

Stage 4 – Testing

The testing phase includes the debugging process. Here you detect all the code flaws missed during the, and pass them back to developers for fixing. The testing process repeats until all the critical issues are removed and software workflow is stable. In other words, testing goes on, untill positive user experience from the product.

Stage 5 – Deployment

When the product is ready and has no critical issues – it is time to launch it for the end users. The tech support team joins the process at this stage, after the new program version release. They provide user feedback; consult and support users during the time of exploitation. Moreover, the update of selected components is included in this phase, to make sure, that the software is up-to-date and is invulnerable to a security breach.

Those look like a pretty simple stages that describe a structured process, but the actual process may take a significant amount of time in order to deliver a customer a quality product.

James Montano