Stages software development

With effective planning and requirement specifications, the development process will run smoothly. This limits potential scope creep as the project moves forward.

After the initial planning stages are complete, developers will move on to designing and prototyping the software. They will determine necessary features and functionalities, crafting the software architecture by referring back to the requirements document. To streamline the development process, reusable code may be implemented.

During implementation, the software is built in the staging or development environment. Also known as building or coding, this stage is where the planning and prototyping come together.

The former stages are key to a successful implementation stage, which comprises the bulk of the project timeline. When utilizing the agile methodology , implementation is where the development sprints take place. The agile SDLC involves the client throughout the development process, making changes based on feedback as the project progresses. During this stage of the SDLC, test cases will be created to prepare for the next phase of development.

Between coding and deployment, the software must go through a series of tests. Coding problems found after deployment are often a much greater burden and make a poor impression on the user. Testing can be performed manually, using automated testing software, or both. Though the majority of testing will occur in-house, software development companies may also bring in external users to test the software. Finally, software testers will determine whether the software requirements have been met.

Depending on the results of the testing, the software may be sent back to production multiple times until it is ready for deployment. Once the software has passed the testing phase, the code is pushed to the production environment. It is prepped for deployment and then released into the wild.

This is the real test of the software development process, as the product goes live and becomes accessible to users. Besides project demos, the client will finally see the end result of their product and how users are utilizing their software. The final stage of the SDLC is operation and maintenance. The design phase may also incorporate some form of rapid prototyping allowing developers to compare solutions and find the most effective versions. Quality software is often the result of continual designing and redesigning.

After the design stage comes development. Once there is some consensus regarding system design, the development phase will begin in earnest. Developing the product will involve actual coding and as a result will take up a significant proportion of the overall project. In some SDLC models the software product will evolve and change during the development process.

Here the practicalities of the design phase are really put to the test. The engineering teams will build and integrate the code and experiment with the system design. Whether you are following an agile model or an incremental model, the software development phase will require significant investment and time.

Hopefully, at the end of the development phase there will be testable and functional software. Quality assurance and system analysts will conduct testing by looking for any bugs or errors within the software. The testing stage is crucial and should not be rushed because it is the only way you can catch problems before they lead to critical losses. Tests should be run regularly and many choose to automate the tests to ensure they are thorough and error free.

This testing stage will ensure that each function of the software works properly before the next phase. The implementation phase is also often referred to as deployment and should be a highly automated part of the project. The software, which has developed one phase after the other, should be implemented as soon as it is ready.

Medium and large-size enterprises use Application Release Automation ARA tools to automate the deployment of applications to Production environments. The implementation stage is where you get the first indication of the success of your software product.

Implementation can be complex as the software product may need to be integrated with several other systems and the users will have to get used to using a new system and possible new technologies. To support the future development, maintenance and operation of the product system documentation is required.

Documentation provides an outline of the system and helps engineers and stakeholders understand the underlying technology. It usually consists of:. Documentation helps programmers keep track of all the relevant aspects of the software product.

In the lifecycle of a project documentation is a vital part of organization. All software applications should undergo some form of documentation after implementation and before the maintenance phase. The final stage is maintenance. The development process is almost complete and the software cycle is about to end. To ensure the software product works and continues to function as expected the client will often require general product maintenance.

The maintenance phase is key to the long-term success of the product. Why follow this software development life cycle? The respective teams fix the defects or improvise the software products. This practice is also known as regression. I hope this blog post gave you a clear idea of the 8 stages of the SDLC. The tasks in each stage may be performed together, or are independent but any successful product development requires cooperation and smart work across all the teams.

Web Dev Zone. Thanks for visiting DZone today,. Edit Profile. Sign Out View Profile. Over 2 million developers have joined DZone. For a successful software project, it is essential to perform all stage-specific tasks of your development model. In this post, let's look at the 8 main stages of SDLC. Like 2. Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.

Join For Free. Ideation This is the stage where we brainstorm our ideas. Feasibility Study Here, the practical resources to implement the above plans are listed. Prototyping A sample model of the intended software is created.

Development In this phase, the designs are converted to functional software.