SDLC Methodologies




Software Development Life Cycle a.k.a. SDLC provides a structured process for building and delivering software applications. It is a multi-step, repetitive process. Development teams rely on a lifetime cycle of system development to build effective software with as few problems as possible.

The standard version of SDLC has 6 different phases, namely: editing, analysis, design, development and testing, implementation, and maintenance. Each of these is briefly described in the next section.

SDLC methods

Software Development Cycle Stages

Phase 1 - Planning

The first phase of the SDLC begins with the collection of needs. This is known as the planning stage. It is the most important phase of the entire SDLC from the point of view of project managers and stakeholders.

The planning section answers questions such as these:

  • How will the software be used?
  • Which data will serve as the software input?
  • What data will the software release?
  • Who will use the software?

Phase 2 - Analysis

Once all the requirements have been met, it is time to analyze those needs in order to be feasible and legitimate. In other words, it is being considered whether it will be able to add requirements to the software or not.

Finally, a written Requirement Specification was executed. It serves as a guide to implementing the next phase of the SDLC. Once the requirement analysis has been completed, the testing period following the Software Development Cycle Software begins with the Test Planning phase.

Phase 3 - Design

This section includes the design of the requirements specified in the first section of the SDLC. In addition to helping define hardware and system requirements, Software Design also helps define the entire architectural software.

The system design specification prepared in the design phase serves as the installation of the next phase i.e. phase four of the SDLC. During the design phase, inspectors are required to come up with an appropriate testing strategy. It contains what needs to be tested, and how it should be tested.

Phase 4 - Development and Evaluation

While some developed groups view this category as a single unit, others prefer to divide it into two sub-categories. No matter what the development team chooses, the whole process remains the same. So, it is all a matter of choice.

Once the system design documentation is complete, all work is divided into modules or units. Now, real coding begins.

Because this section covers codingit is the most important part of the SDLC for the developer team. Moreover, this is the longest phase of the software development life cycle. Once the code is fully developed, a similar test is performed against the requirements.

During this phase of the SDLC, various types of performance tests, such as acceptance tests, integration tests, system tests, and unit tests, and non-performance tests.

Phase 5 - Implementation

Also known as the feed phase, the launch phase is performed immediately after a successful software product test. It is simply to bring the software to the end user or to install it on the client system.

The first thing that happens when a product is delivered to a customer is a beta test. All bugs and enhancements were then reported to the engineering team working on the project later. Once all changes have been completed, the final submission takes place.

Phase 6 - Maintenance

Finally, the repair phase is applied. This section deals with the problems customers / users face while using advanced software. This needs to be done over and over again.

Advantages and disadvantages of SDLC

The disadvantages of using the SDLC arise when there is a need for frequent duplication of development or when participants need to update software that is constantly being designed

Pros of SDLC:

  • Many documents
  • Complete steps
  • Easy maintenance
  • Effective levels of development and design
  • Cost assessment and target completion
  • Opportunities to monitor projects are perfect
  • Powerful control
  • Accurate user input
  • Tolerates changes to employee MIS

Consof SDLC:

  • It is difficult to quantify the cost and expenditure of a project
  • It is not subject to change in requirements
  • Increased development costs and development time
  • Limited document authentication and standards
  • Slight similarities
  • Software needs to be properly defined before starting
  • User input may be restricted in some cases
There are several alternatives to SDLC. The most popular are RAD or Rapid Application Development.

RAD provides CASE tool implementation, collaborative application development, and prototyping. The desirable benefits of RAD are active user engagement, faster approach, and reduced development costs.

Popular SDLC Methodologies

There are several varieties of SDLC, known as models or methods, used by development teams around the world. Each of them has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Although the method may differ from the models, each SDLC method aims to enable the developer team to deliver high quality software in a cost-effective and fast way. Here are 7 of the most well-known SDLC methods described in detail:

Agile Software Development Life Cycle

Although the Agile model has been available for almost a decade now, it has just gained popularity. The popularity of the Agile approach is so great that some organizations use it for non-software projects.

The Agile approach is based on an escalating and repetitive approach. Immediate failure is a desirable aspect of the Agile approach. It produces continuous release cycles. Each of them adds minor changes to the previous release. The product being processed is tested on each frequency.

Scrum is a form of Agile application that helps development teams plan complex project needs. To complete the assigned tasks, the Scrum teams work with sprints, which can take anywhere between 2 to 4 weeks.

Daily Scrum meetings are designed to help the full team monitor the progress made throughout the project up to that point.

The Scrum team manager is known as the ScrumMaster. As always, it is their responsibility to keep the team on track to meet the goal.

Good:

  • It can accommodate new changes or enhancements that occur during the development phase without budget constraint
  • Involves project managers and business stakeholders and gets their feedback throughout the software development process
  • Rapid development and testing allows you to identify gaps in requirements or technologies used. Therefore, it is easy to find alternatives
  • It assists development teams in identifying and managing small problems before they turn into big ones
  • Saves a large amount of cost and time due to the small document requirement

Disadvantages:

  • It is almost impossible to determine the amount of effort at the outset of the development of full-size software and complex projects
  • High risk opportunities where customers / end users are unsure about the requirements
  • Requires knowledgeable resources
  • Focuses less on design and writing processes

DevOps Software Development Life Cycle

The DevOps approach emerged in two processes: the use of Agile and Lean models in the operational team and the general business transformation to recognize the importance of collaboration between operations and development staff at all stages of the SDLC process.

DevOps is a summary of developers and services. Following the DevOps approach, developers and working groups work together to speed up and establish the deployment and implementation of highly reliable software products.

A key feature of the DevOps model is the continuous response, discipline, process improvement, and automation of as many personal development processes as possible. Updates made to the software developed are short but very common.

Good:

  • The cost and time required to be spent on random work and to fix distractions is greatly reduced
  • Improves employee loyalty levels
  • The whole development process takes less time as both the working and development teams are aware of the potential obstacles at the same time.
  • Rapid failure detection rates
  • High fidelity

Disadvantages:

  • The high risk of security issues, such as fraud and human intrusion into the site, as a means of software development, ignores security by supporting the acceleration of the software development process.

Iterative Software Development Life Cycle

Instead of starting with a complete knowledge of needs, project development teams follow a repetitive approach using a set of software requirements. Later, they evaluate, evaluate and identify other needs.

Each phase or duplication of the Iterative model produces a new, better version of the software being built. The clean-up process is repeated until the final software is in place.

A popular example of an Iterative model is the Rational Unified Process a.k.a. RUP developed by IBM's Rational Software category.


Good:

  • Allows engineers and testers to identify performance or design flaws with great speed. Therefore, remedial measures can be done on a limited budget
  • Ability to plan concurrent development
  • It is too expensive to change the scope or requirements
  • Each repetition is easy to manage
  • It easily adapts to the ever-changing needs of the client and the project
  • It requires less time to make documents and provides more design time
  • Suitable for fast-moving organizations

Disadvantages:

  • As not all of the requirements are collected at the beginning of a project, there is a good chance that problems with system design or design problems will arise.
  • It demands the attention of management
  • Each repetition is strong
  • Not suitable for small projects
  • Requires a comparable amount of resources
  • Skills analysis requires highly skilled resources

Lean Software Development Life Cycle

Lean methodology takes inspiration from reduced production processes and principles. The Lean model follows a set of seven principles, namely:

  • Remove waste
  • Enhance / Adjust reading
  • Decide as late as possible
  • Bring as soon as possible
  • Empower the team
  • Conceptual integrity
  • See all / Performance from top level
Project teams working on the Lean model aim to identify waste disposal opportunities at all stages of the full SDLC process. Usually, this includes skipping important meetings and cutting down on documents.

In fact, the Lean method is very similar to the Agile method with some significant differences.

The most important difference between the two SDLC approaches lies in prioritizing customer satisfaction. The Agile model makes customer satisfaction a priority from the start.

Therefore, the involved project teams respond quickly to stakeholder feedback throughout the SDLC process. Lean methodology, on the other hand, puts priority on waste disposal. This is done in order to create a greater number of customers.

Good:

  • It applies to all group boundaries and the tendency to unite groups and improve collaboration. Therefore, it works well in line with Agile and DevOps methods
  • It can deliver more performance in less time
  • Scalable easily makes it suitable as one of the modern SDLC methods designed to perform large, complex projects.
  • Empowers the project development team in terms of the decision-making process. Therefore, it enhances the motivation to do the job in the best possible way
  • Save time and money by eliminating unnecessary work

Disadvantages:

  • It requires excellent documentation, especially in regard to business needs. Failure to do so may result in underdeveloped or underdeveloped areas related to document shortages
  • You are very dependent on the team. This means that it is important to put together a team with a high level of experience
  • It’s easy to lose focus

Spiral Software Development Life Cycle

Spiral methodology is considered one of the most flexible SDLC models. Often used to complete complete projects, the Spiral model empowers project development teams to create a highly customized product.

Spiral methodology goes through four stages repeatedly until the work is completed. This allows you to follow many rounds of product optimization. The four stages are followed by Spiral methodology planning, risk analysis, engineering, and testing.

Each repetition of the Spiral process begins with a foresight of potential dangers and the best way to avoid or minimize the same.

Good:

  • It is able to accept new changes or work in future development
  • Since prototype construction is done with a small increase, cost estimation becomes easier
  • Better risk management with repeated development
  • Emphasizes customer feedback
  • Rapid development and systematic addition of features

Disadvantages:

  • It requires risk management technology
  • High risk of not achieving budget or deadlines
  • Not applicable to small projects
  • Many documents due to intermediate categories

V Software Development Life Cycle

The V model represents the verification and validation model. Although inspired by the Waterfall model, in contrast, when testing was done at the end of the project, the V Model introduced testing at each stage of development.

Like the Waterfall model, each subsequent phase of the V-model begins only when the previous one is completely completed.

Good:

  • Ability to avoid the downward flow of errors
  • Proper balance of small projects with easily understood needs
  • The chances of success are high
  • It offers great ease and ease
  • Active tracking of possible disabilities
  • Save a lot of time as test-related planning and design is done before the actual coding takes place

Disadvantages:

  • It is much stronger and less volatile than the Waterfall model
  • No premature model creation is possible as the software is developed during the implementation phase
  • Required and test documentation needs to be reviewed if changes are to be made during software development

Waterfall Software Development Life Cycle

If you follow this question posed to StackExchange, you will know that few experts believe that the Waterfall model was not intended to be a real, effective SDLC software development tool. However, the debate is with those who side with the SDLC model.

The waterfall model is one of the oldest surviving modes of the SDLC. Therefore, any discussion about SDLC methods is incomplete without it. Also, the Waterfall model follows a straightforward approach, which is a desirable quality for many software development teams.

Following the Waterfall approach, the project development team needs to complete each phase. Moreover, there is no going back. Each successive phase of the SDLC process is based on the information obtained from the previous one.

Good:

  • All potential development issues are researched and manageable in the design phase
  • Each model section has a well-defined starting and ending point, making it easy to manage and monitor
  • The test process is simple and straightforward as the test conditions are already detailed in the performance specification
  • The needs and consequences are clear
  • It provides a high degree of accuracy of the cost estimate once the requirements have been fully defined
  • One finds what he has planned. Therefore, there is no surprise when it is completed
  • It is very easy to understand as technical documentation is an important element of the first phase of demand collection

Disadvantages:

  • Compared to repetitive methods like the Agile model, it takes longer to make the final delivery
  • Ignores changes due to business plans or market impacts during the planning process
  • It lacks flexibility as it is very strong. This means that the model cannot take into account new developments or changes in requirements that occur after initial consultation.
  • It is very difficult to consider the needs of the client in terms of performance information during the needs phase


Conclusion

That summarizes the list of the 7 most popular SDLC methods. Choosing the right SDLC method for performing any type of software is very important.

Wrong selection can take the whole process back a few steps or make it an irreversible project. So choose wisely.

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