Our way of life, where technology is now omnipresent, means that software is now an integral part of our daily lives in the 21st century. Nowadays, it is hardly possible to imagine an activity in which no IT process is involved at one time or another.

When you need a sophisticated internal IT system, a software suite to manage your business or an application (web or mobile) intended for the end user, the punctuality of the delivery of the project, in addition to all other important factors, largely depends on a long progression of stages, implemented by the development team.

What is the software development cycle?

The software development lifecycle, as a set of rules and practices, connects technical and non-technical team members and project stakeholders to transform your idea into the software product or solution. corresponding to your expectations.

1. Research and analysis

One fine day, an idea for creating software comes to your mind and you get your team together to share it. This team, ideally composed (depending on the project) of business analysts, project managers, testers and designers, then begins to think about the means of making this idea a reality and the possibility of making the project a reality depending on the constraints of the project. time, budget …

It is also the stage where the project manager must be appointed internally: his role will be to ensure and verify that all the conditions for the success of this project are met to allow the objectives to be achieved.

It is again the project manager who must define the objectives, identify the tasks, organize the latter, allocate the necessary resources, assess the risks and constraints, choose the right project management tools and finally plan the completion of your project. .

2. Planning and strategy

Step number 2 is therefore to create the specifications of the project , after defining the objectives and the target audience, so that every feature and every detail is presented in the right way.

After this step, everyone should be able to imagine how this idea can materialize and find its place in the lives of those who are brought to use it, whether it is internal software. business or a commercial solution intended for the public.

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3. The design

The next step is the design of your application or website , if all the requirements mentioned above have been validated.

Once the prerequisites are well defined during the second step, the solution must be schematized: it can take different forms. During this stage, the design can indeed describe the hardware and software technological architecture , but also the user interface (UI) , for example.

4. The estimate

Now is the time for the estimation process. After collecting information, drafting specifications and designing the design, it is time to estimate:

It usually takes a few days for this stage of the project to come to an end. During this time, there is always time to change something or add new details. The developer team can also request more detailed information for the most accurate estimate possible.

5. Software development

It will first be a question of building an MVP, that is to say a “minimum viable product” which will only include the basic functionalities, those which allow the product to be deployed.

It is only then that the complete development of the project, including all its ancillary functions, and the overall design of this software or application can begin.

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6. Testing and deployment

The next step of course includes a set of tests, then market launch, whether it’s on the Play Market, the App Store, the web or even your company’s IT equipment.

7. Updates and maintenance

Your software is now in use by the target audience, but that is not the end of the day: you should continue to support your product after release and, from time to time, based on user feedback (or new ideas), update it by improving the existing one, or with new functionalities.

It is clear that if the users appreciate a software, they are always very happy to receive updates, which shows that behind there is a team that works on this project on a daily basis.

Conclusion

The software development lifecycle can be shaped or adapted to the needs of each project, whether it is the development of an application or dedicated software for internal use, in order to identify specific actions allowing ” achieve the requested objective