Essentials of Software Development Life Cycle Software development life cycle (SDLC) is a structured approach to turn ideas into working software. It covers planning, design, coding, testing, deployment, and ongoing maintenance. A good SDLC helps teams predict delivery, control costs, and meet user needs. It also helps new team members understand what to do and when to do it.
Understanding the stages Planning and requirements: Gather user needs, define scope, and outline success metrics. This stage sets the direction for design and avoids scope creep later. Design: Create system architecture, data models, and interfaces. Decide on technology choices and plan how components will fit together. Implementation: Develop features in small, testable units. Use version control and code reviews to improve quality. Testing: Run automated tests, check for defects, and validate that requirements are met. Testing should cover performance and security as needed. Deployment: Release software to users with a controlled rollout. Monitor for issues and collect early feedback. Maintenance: Fix bugs, update features, and adapt to new needs. Keep documentation up to date for future teams. Choosing a model Teams choose a model based on project size, risk, and speed. Agile methods emphasize iteration and customer feedback, while Waterfall favors a linear path with clear milestones. In real projects, many teams mix these ideas to fit their context.
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