Like any design process, software development is a challenge in terms of project planning. What are its main phases and their significance?
When looking at the most successful software products on the market today, you may have an impression that it was the idea that made it. Of course, the software house may be lucky and use a fresh idea to develop a product that will revolutionize the market. However, the developer’s Eureka is definitely not enough – at least in most cases. The creative process and coding are only the tip of the iceberg; planning, market research, risk assessment, testing on every stage is what takes the most time and effort. The software development models facilitate it.
Phases of software development
Skipping any project phase is a straight way to potential product failure – even if the product has already been released! What are the standard main stages of software development?
● Planning
● Analytics
● Design & Implementation
● Integration and testing
● Deployment & Maintenance
They should be treated as an equal priority, and their order should not be changed as it might result in chaos in the process. What is the significance of each phase?
Planning
This first stage can be initiated when the team has already gathered the necessary information from the client and is conscious of all the requirements. At this point, the budget, time frames, the team size, and functions of its members are specified. The rest depends on the specifics of the product.
Analytics
As a very significant phase that is often overlooked if the idea seems revolutionary, the analytics stage often determines the success of the project. Research of the competition and defining the potential problems that the team may encounter during the development process may turn out to be crucial.
Design & Implementation
Designing should be the result of two previous phases, not something performed aside from it. Understanding that is the key to a successful product. When implementing the design by creating the code and prototyping, the developers should follow the guidelines from the previous phases instead of focusing on new ideas.
Integration and testing
Integration and testings a level of software testing where individual units and components are combined and tested as a group. The purpose of this level of testing is to expose faults in the interaction between integrated units. Test drivers and test stubs are used to assist in
Integration Testing
The software development life cycle does not end once the software development is complete. Companies that are focused on producing high-quality software that is free of bugs and vulnerabilities must also thoroughly test their software and create a solid strategy for the software’s long-terregularly conducting code reviews, including during the maintenance stage.
Companies can prepare for this stage in the software life cycle by creating a maintenance plan and regularly conducting code reviews, including during the maintenance stage
