Process of Software Development

Software are the computer programs that are built by the several short programs compressed together in one bundle. Software are very significant to us as they not only decrease the human work load but they also perform the task with great efficiency and accuracy. And some of the calculations performed by them are beyond our limits so software has great impact on our general life and as well as professional life. Just like a product that is manufactured in the industry has to undergo lot of process one by one similarly the software created has to undergo several phases. So the development of the software is basically known as “Software Development Life Cycle” also known as SDLC.

Software development life cycle or SDLC is basically the architecture of the software development that includes various phases and when a proper structure is imposed using the SDLC then the software development takes place. The various phases of software development are as follows:

Planning,

Designing,

Coding,

Testing,

Documentation,

Deployment,

Maintenance.

So all the software undergoes the above mentioned phases and when all of these are executed properly then software is finally developed and is launched in the market. So let us discuss the development phases one by one:

Planning: It is the first phase of any software development where the ideas are put up. The needs of user or customer is identified and explained to the developers. This phase is very important because the developers get to know that what kind of software has to be developed and what all features are required to that project. One all the requirements are collected the analysis of scope of development is done which is known as scope document. So this is basically a communication phase for developers.

Designing: One all the user requirements are finalized then the designing is done. This includes the decision of the hardware requirements that the software will meet. The programming language that has to be used is also decided. Operating Systems are also taken into consideration for designing the software. The overall software is represented as block diagram and the working is defined that how is software going to look. User interface is also designed in this phase that will allow the user to interact with the software.

Coding: This is the most important phase in any software development process. Here the basic programming is done using the programming languages like java, object oriented C++, C language etc. The user interface is developed and the database if required is also connected and linked to the system. In this phase the website is also developed if in case the promotion has to be done using website. So overall coding phase plays key role in the success of the software.

Testing and Documentation: When software is finally coded then the testing phase is started so that the errors and bugs can be tracked and removed. All the bugs are removed and software is made error free and now it is ready to work on the real life platform. The software is also tested for a week or a month to check its efficiency because it has to be very fast when it is implemented by the user.

Documentation involves the analysis of the models that are used to develop the software. It also includes the writing of external or internal API. Software is managed here.

Deployment and Maintenance: Now finally software is bought into market and is implemented in the real life work. The users start using the software in their professions. Example:Bank software implemented in bank or Library management software implemented in library.

Maintenance involves updating the software from time to time according to customer requirements. Customer needs may change from time to time hence updating the software is also very important. This also help developers to keep in pace with the current technology.

So this is all about the process of development of software and in later posts we will discuss about some models that are followed by the different companies to develop the software like waterfall model or V-model etc. So stay connected.