All you need to know About Software Life Cycle

Introduction

The development process or software life cycle which at first might seem like a simple task, consists of a series of mandatory steps that seek to ensure that the programs created are efficient, reliable, safe, and respond to the needs of the end users.

What is the Software Life Cycle?

The software development life cycle (SDLC or Systems Development Life Cycle ) contemplates the critical phases to validate the software development and thus guarantee that it meets the requirements for the application and verification of the development procedures, ensuring that the methods used are appropriate.

Its origin is that it is costly to rectify the possible errors detected late in the implementation phase. Using appropriate methodologies, it could be seen in time so that developers can focus on software quality, meeting deadlines, and associated costs.

Although there are different software development cycles, the ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207:2017 standard establishes.

“A common framework for software of life cycle processes is well-defined language, to which the software industry can discuss. It contains many methods, activities, and tasks appropriate during the acquisition, supply, development, operation, maintenance, or disposal of computer systems, products, and services. These life cycle procedures are carried out through the participation of stakeholders, with the ultimate goal of achieving customer satisfaction.

Software Development Phases

The methodology for software development is a common way of carrying out, managing, and administering a project to carry it out with great possibilities of success. This systematization indicates how a project is separated into smaller modules to standardize its management.

Thus, a methodology for software development is the process to follow in devising, implementing systematically, and maintaining a software product from the moment the need arises until the objective for which it was created is fulfilled.

In this way, the stages of software development are as follows:

Plannings

Before starting any information system development project, carrying out specific tasks that will decisively influence success is necessary. These tasks are recognize as a  fuzzy- front-end of this project since they are not issue to deadlines.

Some of the tasks at this point include determining the project’s scope, carrying out a feasibility study, analyzing the associated risks, estimating the cost of the project, planning time, and allocating resources to the different project stages.

Analysis

Of course, you have to figure out what precisely the software has to do with it. Therefore, the analyzing stage in the life cycle of software corresponds to the process through which one tries to discover what is need and arrives at an adequate understanding of the system requirements (the characteristics that the system must have). Own).

Designs

Here In this phase, possible implementation options for the software to be built can studied, as well as deciding on its general structure. Design is a stage that can be process and must be carry out iteratively.

It is possible that the initial solution is not the most suitable, so it must be refine in this case. However, there are handy design pattern catalogs that collect mistakes that others have made to avoid falling into the same trap.

Implementation

In this phase, it is necessary to choose the appropriate tools, a development environment that facilitates the work, and a proper programming language to build the kind of software. This choice will be influence by both the design choices and the situation in which the software must function.

When programming, try to make sure that the code is not indecipherable by following different guidelines such as the following:

• Escape unstructured control blocks.
• Correctly identify the variables and their scope.
• Choose algorithms and information structures suitable for the problem.
• Keep the application logic as simple as likely.
• Properly document and comment on program code.
• Facilitate the visual interpretation of the code using code format rules previously agreed upon by the development team.

It is also necessary to consider the acquisition of resources need for the software to work and develop test cases to verify its operation as it is program.

Tests

Since it is human to err, the testing phase of the software life cycle seeks to detect the mistakes made in the previous stages to correct them. Ideally, please do so before the end user encounters them. A test is said to be successful if any errors can detect.

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Installation or Deployment

The next phase is to put the software into operation, so the environment must be plan, taking into account the existing dependencies between the different components of the same.

There may be components that work correctly separately, but when combined, they cause problems. Therefore, it is necessary to use known combinations that do not cause compatibility problems.

Use and Maintenance

It is the most crucial stage of the software development life cycle. Since the software neither breaks nor wears out with use, its maintenance includes three different points:

• Eliminate defects detected during their useful life (corrective maintenance).
• Adapt it to new needs (adaptive maintenance).
• Add new functionalities (perfective maintenance).

Although it sounds contradictory, the better the software, the more time you have to invest in its maintenance; the main reason is that it will be use more (even in ways that were not anticipate), and therefore there will be more proposals for improvements.

Software Life Cycle Models

To facilitate a standard methodology between the client and the software company, the life cycle models (or software development paradigms such as object-orient programming ) have been update to capture the development stages involve and the documentation necessary so that each phase is validate before continuing with the next.

Cascade Model

In the waterfall life cycle model, the previous phases will linearly work one after the other. In this way, only when a phase ends can you continue with the next one, and so on, progressively.

Repetitive Model

This model guides the software development process in iterations. Thus, it cyclically projects the development process by repeating each step after each cycle in the software life cycle.

Spiral Pattern

The twisting model combines the previous models where risk is consider. In this way, you begin by setting the goals and limitations at the beginning of each repetition. The software’s prototype models are create in the next stage, including the risk analysis. A standard model is then use to build the software, and the plan for the next iteration is prepare.

Model in V

One of the big problems with the cataract model is that you only go to the next phase if the previous one is complete, and you cannot go back if there are errors in the later stages. Thus, the V-model gives more software evaluation options at each location.

The test plan and test cases are create in each phase to verify and validate the product against the test requirements. In this way, verification and validation go in parallel.

Big Bang Model

This is probably the simplest model, as it requires little planning, a lot of programming, and a lot of funding. This model has as its central concept the creation of the universe. Thus, if funds and programming can put together, the best software product is achieve.

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