Software Development Life Cycle

As new technologies are developed, Software Development Life Cycle approaches change too. There is a constant state of experimentation in the methodologies used to handle these processes.

The following articles will cover the 8 primary phases of software development in format accessible to all roles involved in a project, and serve as a jumping off point for additional resources. Stay tuned or subscribe at firstlinkconsulting.com for updates.

Article #1?Planning

Planning is, indeed, an essential phase of any project. This article presents the planning phase of a typical software project. The principles presented are also applicable to any product or systems.

Article?#2 Requirements

This article describes the various aspects of the requirement gathering phase of a typical software project: definition, documentation and publication. It also presents the ways in which the resources for a particular project are analyzed and planned.

Article #3 Design

This article presents the Design phase of a typical software project. It describes the various elements of the design such as Architecture, User Interface, Platforms, Programming, Communication, and Security to name a few. It also addresses aspects of prototyping.

Article #4 Build

This article presents the actual development phase. It also presents the need for guidelines for the code style and practices. Naming conventions for files and variables. The objective of those constraints is to produce consistent and organized code, thus facilitating the comprehension, and easing the testing.

Article #5 Document?

This article presents several approaches of project documentation phase. This phase is an essential part of the project - if done correctly it is instrumental in the maintenance phase of the project and personnel training.

Article #6 Test?

This article presents the Testing phase. The full system test cycle is presented. Methodologies of testing are presented. Automation and continuous integration tools are also described.

Article #7 Deploy?

The deployment phase represents the final stage of development. During this phase the software is put into production and run on actual use cases. This article details the criteria of acceptance, and the procedure of installation and updates.?

Article #8 Maintain

During the Maintenance phase the system is assessed and evaluated for potential obsolescence;?and changes and new releases are created. This article presents methodologies for maintenance of the system and software.