We all know the importance of successful execution lies within certain procedures to provide efficient delivery. It doesn’t matter if you’re the stakeholder, a businessperson, a team lead, or an employee. When we talk in the context of software development, SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) aims to guide and help in building a model that can connect all the dots (requirements) and deliver the product or service smoothly.
How SDLC was Started?
In 1960, this term was used by software developers to explain the phases that are required in any software. Those phases are Planning, Creating, Testing, and Deploying an information system so that the project can be taken forward to a larger scale.
Right after a decade, Winston Royce was the one who introduced the Waterfall model, which he discussed in an article in the late 70s and since then other methodologies also came in, as the technology started taking a curve.
What is SDLC?
It’s a method of preparing for the execution of high-quality software and is used by all-scale software development firms. In order to achieve cost cutting, resources, and managing the whole software cycle to deliver the project in time, SDLC was introduced. This process involves a tailored flow of different PHASES that can work on projects right from the scratch and following its whole cycle, the project can be prevented from any unforeseen circumstances.
Read this article to know more: SDLC Model and its Phases
Why SDLC is Required?
Carrying a project without any action plan can be a disaster and can eventually lead to its downfall if not delivered on time. From allocating resources to deployment, it all must go through a pipeline to align the whole piece of the development cycle. That’s the primary reason, SDLC came into the limelight, and after witnessing glorious success and became an enormous hit. Providing a high-class phase that also matches the customer’s requirement in terms of cost, time and efficiency are among the major aim of this cycle.
Top 5 SDLC(Software Development Life Cycle ) Methodologies
In SDLC, there are certain methodologies that are being actively used to manage the chain of software development. Moreover, each model has its unique approach toward the implementation that suits all tiers of businesses. Be it any dynamic website for gaming or any simple layout-designed website for the medical industry, every industry has its own methods for execution. Below are some of the most popular SDLC methodologies for building software:
1. Agile
One of the most popular SDLC methods is Agile which is tailored to meet the requirement of any project and is based on incremental and iterative development. Besides this, Agile majorly focuses on collaborative decision-making, customer satisfaction, and development over multiple loops (also known as sprints) that save time and resources.
This method requires a deep interaction (including transparency) that enable team members to prepare for the appropriate phase of development until the protection is deployed. There are several methods of Agile methodology, but we are focusing on (2) major picks that are being actively used:
- Kanban: Interestingly Kanban is actually derived as “Visual Board of Signboard”, (Japanese language), and is being highly used for building software and managing projects. Moreover, this process is strictly defined for following the time frame of each allocated task within each sprint cycle.
- Scrum: This method is more or less like Kanban as it also enables breaking down the tasks into small chunks and this process consists of retro meetings, planning, and daily hurdles. This model is so feasible that it can easily meet the client/stakeholder’s requirements (2 weekly plans) and can work on any issue that occurred after gathering feedback.
2. Waterfall
This methodology was introduced first by Winston W. Royce in 1970 and has been adopted by the software industry over the period of time. The uniqueness of this model is its flow, each stage must be handed over before the next phase is initiated and the next phase is aligned to start only when the current one is marked as DONE. The waterfall methodology is suitable for big projects and on the downfall, it’s not as flexible as Agile which results in collecting hundreds of required changes post-dated.
This model has 5 major implementation phases:
- Gathering requirement
- Design
- Implementation
- Verification, and
- Maintenance
Besides this, this method is subjected to implementation where intense human interactions are required for reviewing each phase.
3. Spiral
This one is definitely one of the most robust, flexible SDLC models as based on iterative development and also includes many iterations of the process. Using this methodology allows changes throughout the project and is best for a small unit of developers who can follow the same set of technology. Besides this, the phases of the spiral model are refined whenever any product is released and their prototypes can be built during every stage to spot and fix any issue that occurs. There are certain phases in this spiral model that can also be considered as their wireframe:
- Identify / Gathering Information
- Design
- Build
- Evaluation / Risk Analysis
4. Iterative
This model works on putting design first (as it takes less time) for both planning and analyzing which also makes it one of the best methods when it comes to cost saving. This method is popular because of its adaptability, it allows teams to implement requirements without any prior planning and developers can work on creating new versions in no time and further updates can be provided using this methodology.
What’s the benefit of using this method? Going through the requirement phase is not really required. This method allows certain changes to start with a new product.
5. V-Shaped
Considered an advanced version of the Waterfall Method, the best part about the V-Shaped method is that the next phase will only start when the previous phase will be marked as DONE. It makes a safe and smooth transition as whenever any occur happens, it gets addressed immediately. Besides this, it consists of 3 different phases, those are:
- Business Requirement Analysis: System Design, Architectural Design, Module Design
- Coding
- Validation: Unit testing, Integration testing, System testing, Acceptance testing
Phases Involved in SDLC
In the software development cycle, the stakeholders, team leads, developers, and other resources are defined with the allocated task with the resources to meet the deadlines of any project. Although for every SDLC several steps are involved, the list composes of 6 phases, which are:
- Planning
- Defining Requirements
- Designing Architecture
- Development of Product
- Testing and Integration
- Deployment and Maintenance
Advantages of Using SDLC (Model-Wise)
Every SDLC models have its own pros and cons, however, there are many parameters to define the perfect fit for your project. The best always meets the parameters and objectives effectively. Below is the list of advantages of popular SDLC methodologies.
Agile
- This model helps in saving time and money due to its capability of making any changes during the development phase
- Reduce the stress by allowing faster development and testing process
- On-spot fixture of any issue when identified
Waterfall
- This method is easy to plan the development phase when it comes to saving time and money
- Can easily work on both small and middle bucket projects
- Easy to implement the development phase (as the technical documentation is being prepared prior to the development begins)
Spiral
- Work towards customer satisfaction
- Ability to work on repetitive development
- Focus on risk analysis and management
Iterative
- The model is capable of handling multiple tasks at a time
- Highly cost-effective
- Can easily make changes as requested by client/stakeholders.
V-Shaped
- Known for its structured model system
- Perfect fit for small-scale projects
- Higher chances of success without any glitches (as planning and testing design gets defined before coding)
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