Until I was working in the software development industry, I didn’t fully appreciate the complexity of what I was seeing online.
Adding things to my cart? Don’t mind if I do! Saving more files onto my Google Drive? No problem.
It’s easy to expect a great user experience when it comes to the software we interact with, but it’s not so easy to get there.
Someone has to decide, design, code, and painstakingly test every little thing that you see on each screen.
Once you know all of the effort that can go into just a single button, it can be intimidating to think about designing your own software. While it’s true that the software development process is complex, you don’t need to be an experienced software developer to understand how the different stages work together to create software that you love to use.
If you are:
- Interested in learning about the ins and outs of a software development project
- Looking to develop new software for your business but you don’t know where to start
- An aspiring developer that’s trying to grasp the software development life cycle
Then you’ve made it to the right place!
Let’s take a look at how software development project teams rely on 6 basic stages of the software development life cycle to create the quality software products you use every day.
Types of Software Development Processes
Not every development team or software development company will build a project the same way as another. Each team has different methods and preferences when it comes to the software development process. Two of the most popular methods are the Waterfall Method and the Agile Method.
Waterfall Method
With the Waterfall methodology, software developers complete each stage of the development process in its entirety before moving on to the next one. For example, development cannot start until design is completely finished. The core belief for this method is that more time spent on quality planning early in the project will lead to smoother development later.
For this method to be successful, everything must be well-documented from the beginning, such as user stories, interface and design, and functions and their outcomes. The majority of the research for the project is completed at the front-end of the project, resulting in more accurate time estimates and a more predictable release date.
The downfall of the Waterfall method is the lack of flexibility available to clients. If changes are needed later in the development process, they can be more difficult to incorporate than if the development team had used the Agile method.
Agile Method
With the Agile model, development teams work on projects in iterations. Rather than completing one phase fully before beginning the next, they cycle through each stage constantly. This method requires constant communication from all sides of the project, but it allows ultimate flexibility by allowing plenty of room for changes in functions and scheduling during each iteration.
The Agile method was created by a group of developers in 2001 with the following four main principles in mind:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
Without seamless communication, the Agile method can result in issues with scheduling and functionality changes. Your priorities and the preferences of your team will help you determine which method is best for you and your project.
The Stages of the Software Development Life Cycle
Every software project is broken down into stages, and each one is imperative to the success of the overall project. While each development company may use a slightly different software process, each have at least 6 stages in common: planning, designing, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
Planning
As with any successful project, the software development lifecycle begins with planning. This software development phase involves brainstorming, analyzing the current system (if applicable), defining needs and wants, establishing a timeline, and determining a budget.
The software developers, project managers, and clients are all involved in the planning stage, bringing together many different areas of expertise to ensure a successful and smooth development process.
The planning stage of the software development process can be broken down into 5 smaller steps:
- Gather a team of developers, project managers, and clients, plus any other members you’d like involved in the big-picture decisions.
- Identify the need or problem.
- Gather and analyze available data to determine project objectives.
- Create deadlines and a budget.
- Adjust goals and objectives to fit the deadlines and budget.
Open communication and clear expectations are imperative for a successful development cycle, and it all starts in the planning stage.
Be transparent with your development team and vice versa, making sure everyone begins the next stage of the project with the same goals and deadlines. By doing so, you can mitigate roadblocks and streamline the development process.
Designing
During the design stage of the development cycle, designers and developers will determine how the front and back end of the software will look and function, and they will also decide how it will be built.
Although the term “design” often makes us think of how things look, the design phase of the software development process also includes designing the way a user will perform various tasks when using the software and how various parts of the system will work together.
How will a user get from Point A to Point B? How will a user perform the following activities? How will Part C of the system interact with Part D of the system? Such questions must be answered in the design phase before moving to development.
Development
When the software building begins, your team has officially entered the development stage of the software development life cycle. As you would expect, this is the stage where developers begin coding and setting up the infrastructure for the system.
They will refer to the plans and documents created by the design team and will work with the designers to ensure what they are creating aligns with the design plans. If developers run into any issues during the development process, they will work with the design team to determine a solution that satisfies all parties to the best of their abilities.
If the software project is larger and the team is made up of more than one member, the various development tasks will be assigned to team members. Development teams will often use communication and project management programs to keep projects on schedule and to ensure no two developers are working on the same task at once.
This keeps the project moving forward without hiccups and maximizes every developer’s time.
Testing
As the development phase progresses and functionalities are marked as completed by developers, unit testing can begin. During the user acceptance testing stage, quality assurance team members will view and use the system as users would. Testers will test based on:
- Documentation created during the planning and design phases
- Paths the users are expected to take (also known as “happy paths”)
- Against paths the users are expected to take
By focusing on these three areas, the testers can ensure that all documentation requirements were met, users can perform tasks as expected, and incorrect user actions won’t cause the system to break.
No matter how meticulous developers are, small bugs and issues are inevitable. Any bugs that are uncovered during system testing are documented and sent back to the development team to be fixed before deployment.
The system shouldn’t ever be released before testing is complete. It’s one of the most important stages and guarantees that your team is ready for the system to be used by its intended audience.
Deployment
Once system testing is complete, it’s finally time for your software development project to be released to the world.
If you’re creating software from scratch, this may mean simply making the system public for all users. If you’re updating a current software system or are integrating your new software into a legacy system, this integration will need to happen during the deployment phase.
The deployment phase requires everyone on the project to be on hand and ready to handle any last-minute issues.
Maintenance
Once the software development project has been deployed, the maintenance phase begins. The software development life cycle never ends; it continues for the life of the software system. That’s why maintenance is so important.
If your business decides to make changes to the system or you need to scale it to account for more users, your software development partner should be ready to make those changes for you. Often, the business and users won’t recognize some opportunities for improvement until they’ve had a chance to use their product under a variety of circumstances.
As technology and development evolves, you’ll want your software system to evolve with it. Keep a healthy and strong partnership with a software development company to ensure you and your business are always taken care of and ready for future development.
That’s exactly what we did for one of our clients. We helped them keep up with their changing needs and saw the impact it had for some amazing furry friends.
Find the Right Software Development Company for You
Are you looking for a partner for your next software development project? If you’re ready for a software upgrade but not sure who to turn to, we can help get you started.
Contact our team to see if we are the right fit for you, or let us help steer you in the right direction.
At Geneca, we achieve the best software results with open communication, clear expectations, and transparent deadlines.
Our team of developers, designers, and testers are ready to walk you through each stage of the software development life cycle, keeping you informed and involved every step of the way.