What Is SDLC? Understand the Software Development Life Cycle

What Is SDLC? Understand the Software Development Life Cycle

Malicious actors are continually looking for holes to exploit; therefore, cyber security dangers are on the rise. Organizations may protect sensitive data, prevent breaches, and maintain user trust by incorporating security measures at each stage of development. This proactive strategy not only reduces risks but also assures regulatory compliance, resulting in a more resilient and secure digital ecosystem. Rapid application development (RAD) is a software development methodology, which favors iterative development and the rapid construction of prototypes instead of large amounts of up-front planning.

  • The product may first be released in a limited segment and tested in the real business environment (UAT- User acceptance testing).
  • Fortify offers the most comprehensive static code analysis and dynamic application security testing technologies backed by industry-leading security research.
  • In this guide, we’ll look at the different stages of the SDLC, why it’s important, and how it’s used by organizations.
  • This ensures that the product confronts the quality requirements of SRS.

SDLC is a process followed for software building within a software organization. SDLC consists of a precise plan that describes how to develop, maintain, replace, and enhance specific software. The life cycle defines a method for improving the quality of software and the all-around development process. Synopsys enables you to add security testing to an existing software development life cycle definition development process, thereby streamlining security throughout the SDLC. Synopsys solutions help you manage security and quality risks comprehensively, across your organization and throughout the application life cycle. DevSecOps, an extension of DevOps, is a methodology that emphasizes the integration of security assessments throughout the entire SDLC.

Customer Success

Here, the QA team and the developers will test all areas of the application to spot any defects, bugs, or other problems. The first stage of new software development will gather all relevant information from stakeholders and analyze this information to determine what will be feasible. In this stage of SDLC the actual development starts and the product is built.

Try out Stackify’s Retrace tool for free and experience how it can help your organization at producing higher-quality software. Popular SDLC models include the waterfall model, spiral model, and Agile model. A specific strategy is executed for the software’s deployment to ensure minimal disruption to the user experience. Depending on the software and its audience, we might use different methods such as Big Bang, Blue-Green, or Canary deployments. It embodies the planning, analyzing, and designing efforts of the preceding stages.

How does DevSecOps relate to the SDLC?

It consists of a detailed plan describing how to develop, maintain, replace and alter or enhance specific software. The life cycle defines a methodology for improving the quality of software and the overall development process. The SDLC involves planning the project, gathering requirements, designing the system, coding the software, testing it for issues, deploying it to users, and maintaining it post-release.

Hence, it is important for the coders to follow the protocols set by the association. Conventional programming tools like compilers, interpreters, debuggers, etc. are also put into use at this stage. Some popular languages like C/C++, Python, Java, etc. are put into use as per the software regulations. However, unlike traditional software development that addresses security as a separate stage, SDLC addresses security every step of the way through DevSecOps practices. Developers are now responsible for more and more steps of the entire development process. SDLC or the Software Development Life Cycle is a process that produces software with the highest quality and lowest cost in the shortest time possible.

The stages of SDLC are as follows:

Suppose a software development issue is divided into various parts and the parts are assigned to the team members. From then on, suppose the team representative is allowed the freedom to develop the roles assigned to them in whatever way they like. This stage includes the development of detailed designs that brings initial design work into a completed form of specifications. This work includes the specification of interfaces between the system and its intended environment, and a comprehensive evaluation of the systems logistical, maintenance and support requirements.

Defensics- Identify defects and zero-day vulnerabilities in services and protocols. Defensics is a comprehensive, versatile, automated black box fuzzer that enables organizations to efficiently and effectively discover and remediate security weaknesses in software. Threat Modeling – Bring your application design weaknesses to light by exploring potential hacker exploits. Spot design flaws that traditional testing methods and code reviews might overlook. The release phase involves the team packaging, managing and deploying releases across different environments.

V-Model (verification and validation model)

Also, it’s better to adapt SDLC principles to achieve software development goals effectively. In coming years, no doubt, organizations will adopt not only a DevOps approach to their SDLC, but a more evolved DevOps methodology, where security is baked into the entirety of the SDLC. In order to guarantee the success of this modern software development model, an organization must be strategic in selecting tools that support and enhance this effort. As a proven leader in the application security field, Synopsys offers a comprehensive suite of products and services perfectly tailored to this effort. The agile methodology produces ongoing release cycles, each featuring small, incremental changes from the previous release.

software development life cycle definition

In this model, the software is developed in iterations (small sections) and is a cyclical approach to software development. Each iteration goes through the requirements, design, development, and testing phases. The primary concept here is to build a system in smaller steps (iterative) and in smaller time frames (incremental). This framework is suitable for projects with complicated requirements or in a constantly changing environment.

This is not about giving fellow surfers props after riding a killer wave. Alternatively, the RAD model focuses on rapid prototyping and quick feedback from end-users. It involves user feedback and iterations to rapidly refine and enhance the software. ValueEdge also leverages test management and traceability to spot key issues during the SDLC process and create better products.

software development life cycle definition

It helps manage resources efficiently, reduces development time, and minimizes the risk of project failure. In conclusion, we now know that the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) in software engineering is an important framework for the better and more structured development of optimized software programs. In a world full of rapid evolution in technology, SDLC phases plays a crucial role in enabling some good and innovative solutions for helping users and organizations.

This is a sort of document that specifies all those things that need to be defined and created during the entire project cycle. Waterfall represents the oldest, simplest, and most structured methodology. Each phase depends on the outcome of the previous phase, and all phases run sequentially. This model provides discipline and gives a tangible output at the end of each phase. However, this model doesn’t work well when flexibility is a requirement. There is little room for change once a phase is deemed complete, as changes can affect the cost, delivery time, and quality of the software.

software development life cycle definition