SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)

SDLC stands for Software Development Life Cycle. SDLC is

a process that consists of a series of planned activities to
develop or alter the Software Products. This tutorial will
give you an overview of the SDLC basics, SDLC models
available and their application in the industry. This tutorial
also elaborates on other related methodologies like Agile,
RAD and Prototyping.

What is SDLC?
SDLC is a process followed for a software project, within a software organization. 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 following figure is a graphical representation of the various stages of a typical SDLC.

A typical Software Development Life Cycle consists of the following stages −

Stage 1: Planning and Requirement Analysis

Requirement analysis is the most important and fundamental stage in SDLC. It is performed by
the senior members of the team with inputs from the customer, the sales department, market
surveys and domain experts in the industry. This information is then used to plan the basic
project approach and to conduct product feasibility study in the economical, operational and
technical areas.

Planning for the quality assurance requirements and identification of the risks associated with the
project is also done in the planning stage. The outcome of the technical feasibility study is to
define the various technical approaches that can be followed to implement the project
successfully with minimum risks.

Stage 2: Defining Requirements

Once the requirement analysis is done the next step is to clearly define and document the product
requirements and get them approved from the customer or the market analysts. This is done
through an SRS (Software Requirement Specification) document which consists of all the
product requirements to be designed and developed during the project life cycle.

Stage 3: Designing the Product Architecture

SRS is the reference for product architects to come out with the best architecture for the product
to be developed. Based on the requirements specified in SRS, usually more than one design
approach for the product architecture is proposed and documented in a DDS - Design Document
Specification.

This DDS is reviewed by all the important stakeholders and based on various parameters as risk
assessment, product robustness, design modularity, budget and time constraints, the best design
approach is selected for the product.

A design approach clearly defines all the architectural modules of the product along with its
communication and data flow representation with the external and third party modules (if any).
The internal design of all the modules of the proposed architecture should be clearly defined with
the minutest of the details in DDS.

Stage 4: Building or Developing the Product

In this stage of SDLC the actual development starts and the product is built. The programming
code is generated as per DDS during this stage. If the design is performed in a detailed and
organized manner, code generation can be accomplished without much hassle.

Developers must follow the coding guidelines defined by their organization and programming
tools like compilers, interpreters, debuggers, etc. are used to generate the code. Different high
level programming languages such as C, C++, Pascal, Java and PHP are used for coding. The
programming language is chosen with respect to the type of software being developed.
Stage 5: Testing the Product

This stage is usually a subset of all the stages as in the modern SDLC models, the testing
activities are mostly involved in all the stages of SDLC. However, this stage refers to the testing
only stage of the product where product defects are reported, tracked, fixed and retested, until the
product reaches the quality standards defined in the SRS.

Stage 6: Deployment in the Market and Maintenance

Once the product is tested and ready to be deployed it is released formally in the appropriate
market. Sometimes product deployment happens in stages as per the business strategy of that
organization. The product may first be released in a limited segment and tested in the real
business environment (UAT- User acceptance testing).

Then based on the feedback, the product may be released as it is or with suggested enhancements
in the targeting market segment. After the product is released in the market, its maintenance is
done for the existing customer base.

SDLC Models
There are various software development life cycle models defined and designed which are
followed during the software development process. These models are also referred as Software
Development Process Models". Each process model follows a Series of steps unique to its type
to ensure success in the process of software development.

Following are the most important and popular SDLC models followed in the industry −

 Waterfall Model
 Iterative Model
 Spiral Model
 V-Model
 Big Bang Model

Other related methodologies are Agile Model, RAD Model,

Rapid Application Development and Prototyping Models.

Waterfall Model - Application

Every software developed is different and requires a suitable SDLC approach to be followed
based on the internal and external factors. Some situations where the use of Waterfall model is
most appropriate are −

 Requirements are very well documented, clear and fixed.

 Product definition is stable.
  Technology is understood and is not dynamic.
 There are no ambiguous requirements.
 Ample resources with required expertise are available to support the product.
 The project is short.

Waterfall Model - Advantages

The advantages of waterfall development are that it allows for departmentalization and control.
A schedule can be set with deadlines for each stage of development and a product can proceed
through the development process model phases one by one.

Some of the major advantages of the Waterfall Model are as follows −

 Simple and easy to understand and use

 Easy to manage due to the rigidity of the model. Each phase has specific deliverables and
a review process.
 Phases are processed and completed one at a time.
 Works well for smaller projects where requirements are very well understood.
 Clearly defined stages.
 Well understood milestones.
 Easy to arrange tasks.
 Process and results are well documented.

Waterfall Model - Disadvantages

The disadvantage of waterfall development is that it does not allow much reflection or revision.
Once an application is in the testing stage, it is very difficult to go back and change something
that was not well-documented or thought upon in the concept stage.

The major disadvantages of the Waterfall Model are as follows −

 No working software is produced until late during the life cycle.

 High amounts of risk and uncertainty.
 Not a good model for complex and object-oriented projects.
 Poor model for long and ongoing projects.
 Not suitable for the projects where requirements are at a moderate to high risk of
changing. So, risk and uncertainty is high with this process model.
 It is difficult to measure progress within stages.
 Cannot accommodate changing requirements.
 Adjusting scope during the life cycle can end a project.

Integration is done as a "big-bang. at the very end, which

doesn't allow identifying any technological or business
bottleneck or challenges early.
Iterative Model - Design
Iterative process starts with a simple implementation of a subset of the software requirements
and iteratively enhances the evolving versions until the full system is implemented. At each
iteration, design modifications are made and new functional capabilities are added. The basic
idea behind this method is to develop a system through repeated cycles (iterative) and in smaller
portions at a time (incremental).

The following illustration is a representation of the Iterative and Incremental model −

Iterative and Incremental development is a combination of both iterative design or iterative

method and incremental build model for development. "During software development, more than
one iteration of the software development cycle may be in progress at the same time." This
process may be described as an "evolutionary acquisition" or "incremental build" approach."

In this incremental model, the whole requirement is divided into various builds. During each
iteration, the development module goes through the requirements, design, implementation and
testing phases. Each subsequent release of the module adds function to the previous release. The
process continues till the complete system is ready as per the requirement.

The key to a successful use of an iterative software development lifecycle is rigorous validation
of requirements, and verification & testing of each version of the software against those
requirements within each cycle of the model. As the software evolves through successive cycles,
tests must be repeated and extended to verify each version of the software.

Iterative Model - Application

Like other SDLC models, Iterative and incremental development has some specific applications
in the software industry. This model is most often used in the following scenarios −

 Requirements of the complete system are clearly defined and understood.

 Major requirements must be defined; however, some functionalities or requested
enhancements may evolve with time.
 There is a time to the market constraint.
  A new technology is being used and is being learnt by the development team while
working on the project.
 Resources with needed skill sets are not available and are planned to be used on contract
basis for specific iterations.
 There are some high-risk features and goals which may change in the future.

Iterative Model - Pros and Cons

The advantage of this model is that there is a working model of the system at a very early stage
of development, which makes it easier to find functional or design flaws. Finding issues at an
early stage of development enables to take corrective measures in a limited budget.

The disadvantage with this SDLC model is that it is applicable only to large and bulky software
development projects. This is because it is hard to break a small software system into further
small serviceable increments/modules.

The advantages of the Iterative and Incremental SDLC Model are as follows −

 Some working functionality can be developed quickly and early in the life cycle.
 Results are obtained early and periodically.
 Parallel development can be planned.
 Progress can be measured.
 Less costly to change the scope/requirements.
 Testing and debugging during smaller iteration is easy.
 Risks are identified and resolved during iteration; and each iteration is an easily managed
milestone.
 Easier to manage risk - High risk part is done first.
 With every increment, operational product is delivered.
 Issues, challenges and risks identified from each increment can be utilized/applied to the
next increment.
 Risk analysis is better.
 It supports changing requirements.
 Initial Operating time is less.
 Better suited for large and mission-critical projects.
 During the life cycle, software is produced early which facilitates customer evaluation
and feedback.

The disadvantages of the Iterative and Incremental SDLC Model are as follows −

 More resources may be required.

 Although cost of change is lesser, but it is not very suitable for changing requirements.
 More management attention is required.
 System architecture or design issues may arise because not all requirements are gathered
in the beginning of the entire life cycle.
 Defining increments may require definition of the complete system.
 Not suitable for smaller projects.
  Management complexity is more.
 End of project may not be known which is a risk.
 Highly skilled resources are required for risk analysis.
 Projects progress is highly dependent upon the risk analysis phase.

Spiral Model - Design

The spiral model has four phases. A software project repeatedly passes through these phases in
iterations called Spirals.

Identification

This phase starts with gathering the business requirements in the baseline spiral. In the
subsequent spirals as the product matures, identification of system requirements, subsystem
requirements and unit requirements are all done in this phase.

This phase also includes understanding the system requirements by continuous communication
between the customer and the system analyst. At the end of the spiral, the product is deployed in
the identified market.

Design

The Design phase starts with the conceptual design in the baseline spiral and involves
architectural design, logical design of modules, physical product design and the final design in
the subsequent spirals.

Construct or Build

The Construct phase refers to production of the actual software product at every spiral. In the
baseline spiral, when the product is just thought of and the design is being developed a POC
(Proof of Concept) is developed in this phase to get customer feedback.

Then in the subsequent spirals with higher clarity on requirements and design details a working
model of the software called build is produced with a version number. These builds are sent to
the customer for feedback.

Evaluation and Risk Analysis

Risk Analysis includes identifying, estimating and monitoring the technical feasibility and
management risks, such as schedule slippage and cost overrun. After testing the build, at the end
of first iteration, the customer evaluates the software and provides feedback.

The following illustration is a representation of the Spiral Model, listing the activities in each
phase.
Based on the customer evaluation, the software development process enters the next iteration and
subsequently follows the linear approach to implement the feedback suggested by the customer.
The process of iterations along the spiral continues throughout the life of the software.

Spiral Model Application

The Spiral Model is widely used in the software industry as it is in sync with the natural
development process of any product, i.e. learning with maturity which involves minimum risk
for the customer as well as the development firms.

The following pointers explain the typical uses of a Spiral Model −

 When there is a budget constraint and risk evaluation is important.

 For medium to high-risk projects.
 Long-term project commitment because of potential changes to economic priorities as the
requirements change with time.
 Customer is not sure of their requirements which is usually the case.
 Requirements are complex and need evaluation to get clarity.
 New product line which should be released in phases to get enough customer feedback.
 Significant changes are expected in the product during the development cycle.

Spiral Model - Pros and Cons

The advantage of spiral lifecycle model is that it allows elements of the product to be added in,
when they become available or known. This assures that there is no conflict with previous
requirements and design.

This method is consistent with approaches that have multiple software builds and releases which
allows making an orderly transition to a maintenance activity. Another positive aspect of this
method is that the spiral model forces an early user involvement in the system development
effort.

On the other side, it takes a very strict management to complete such products and there is a risk
of running the spiral in an indefinite loop. So, the discipline of change and the extent of taking
change requests is very important to develop and deploy the product successfully.
The advantages of the Spiral SDLC Model are as follows −

 Changing requirements can be accommodated.

 Allows extensive use of prototypes.
 Requirements can be captured more accurately.
 Users see the system early.
 Development can be divided into smaller parts and the risky parts can be developed
earlier which helps in better risk management.

The disadvantages of the Spiral SDLC Model are as follows −

 Management is more complex.

 End of the project may not be known early.
 Not suitable for small or low risk projects and could be expensive for small projects.
 Process is complex
 Spiral may go on indefinitely.
 Large number of intermediate stages requires excessive documentation.

V-Model - Design
Under the V-Model, the corresponding testing phase of the development phase is planned in
parallel. So, there are Verification phases on one side of the ‘V’ and Validation phases on the
other side. The Coding Phase joins the two sides of the V-Model.

The following illustration depicts the different phases in a V-Model of the SDLC.

V-Model - Verification Phases

There are several Verification phases in the V-Model, each of these are explained in detail
below.
Business Requirement Analysis

This is the first phase in the development cycle where the product requirements are understood
from the customer’s perspective. This phase involves detailed communication with the customer
to understand his expectations and exact requirement. This is a very important activity and needs
to be managed well, as most of the customers are not sure about what exactly they need. The
acceptance test design planning is done at this stage as business requirements can be used as an
input for acceptance testing.

System Design

Once you have the clear and detailed product requirements, it is time to design the complete
system. The system design will have the understanding and detailing the complete hardware and
communication setup for the product under development. The system test plan is developed
based on the system design. Doing this at an earlier stage leaves more time for the actual test
execution later.

Architectural Design

Architectural specifications are understood and designed in this phase. Usually more than one
technical approach is proposed and based on the technical and financial feasibility the final
decision is taken. The system design is broken down further into modules taking up different
functionality. This is also referred to as High Level Design (HLD).

The data transfer and communication between the internal modules and with the outside world
(other systems) is clearly understood and defined in this stage. With this information, integration
tests can be designed and documented during this stage.

Module Design

In this phase, the detailed internal design for all the system modules is specified, referred to as
Low Level Design (LLD). It is important that the design is compatible with the other modules in
the system architecture and the other external systems. The unit tests are an essential part of any
development process and helps eliminate the maximum faults and errors at a very early stage.
These unit tests can be designed at this stage based on the internal module designs.

Coding Phase
The actual coding of the system modules designed in the design phase is taken up in the Coding
phase. The best suitable programming language is decided based on the system and architectural
requirements.

The coding is performed based on the coding guidelines and standards. The code goes through
numerous code reviews and is optimized for best performance before the final build is checked
into the repository.
Validation Phases
The different Validation Phases in a V-Model are explained in detail below.

Unit Testing

Unit tests designed in the module design phase are executed on the code during this validation
phase. Unit testing is the testing at code level and helps eliminate bugs at an early stage, though
all defects cannot be uncovered by unit testing.

Integration Testing

Integration testing is associated with the architectural design phase. Integration tests are
performed to test the coexistence and communication of the internal modules within the system.

System Testing

System testing is directly associated with the system design phase. System tests check the entire
system functionality and the communication of the system under development with external
systems. Most of the software and hardware compatibility issues can be uncovered during this
system test execution.

Acceptance Testing

Acceptance testing is associated with the business requirement analysis phase and involves
testing the product in user environment. Acceptance tests uncover the compatibility issues with
the other systems available in the user environment. It also discovers the non-functional issues
such as load and performance defects in the actual user environment.

V- Model ─ Application
V- Model application is almost the same as the waterfall model, as both the models are of
sequential type. Requirements have to be very clear before the project starts, because it is usually
expensive to go back and make changes. This model is used in the medical development field, as
it is strictly a disciplined domain.

The following pointers are some of the most suitable scenarios to use the V-Model application.

 Requirements are well defined, clearly documented and fixed.

 Product definition is stable.
 Technology is not dynamic and is well understood by the project team.
 There are no ambiguous or undefined requirements.
 The project is short.
V-Model - Pros and Cons
The advantage of the V-Model method is that it is very easy to understand and apply. The
simplicity of this model also makes it easier to manage. The disadvantage is that the model is not
flexible to changes and just in case there is a requirement change, which is very common in
today’s dynamic world, it becomes very expensive to make the change.

The advantages of the V-Model method are as follows −

 This is a highly-disciplined model and Phases are completed one at a time.

 Works well for smaller projects where requirements are very well understood.
 Simple and easy to understand and use.
 Easy to manage due to the rigidity of the model. Each phase has specific deliverables and
a review process.

The disadvantages of the V-Model method are as follows −

 High risk and uncertainty.

 Not a good model for complex and object-oriented projects.
 Poor model for long and ongoing projects.
 Not suitable for the projects where requirements are at a moderate to high risk of
changing.
 Once an application is in the testing stage, it is difficult to go back and change a
functionality.
 No working software is produced until late during the life cycle.

Big Bang Model ─ Design and Application

The Big Bang Model comprises of focusing all the possible resources in the software
development and coding, with very little or no planning. The requirements are understood and
implemented as they come. Any changes required may or may not need to revamp the complete
software.

This model is ideal for small projects with one or two developers working together and is also
useful for academic or practice projects. It is an ideal model for the product where requirements
are not well understood and the final release date is not given.

Big Bang Model - Pros and Cons

The advantage of this Big Bang Model is that it is very simple and requires very little or no
planning. Easy to manage and no formal procedure are required.

However, the Big Bang Model is a very high risk model and changes in the requirements or
misunderstood requirements may even lead to complete reversal or scraping of the project. It is
ideal for repetitive or small projects with minimum risks.
The advantages of the Big Bang Model are as follows −

 This is a very simple model

 Little or no planning required
 Easy to manage
 Very few resources required
 Gives flexibility to developers
 It is a good learning aid for new comers or students.

The disadvantages of the Big Bang Model are as follows −

 Very High risk and uncertainty.

 Not a good model for complex and object-oriented projects.
 Poor model for long and ongoing projects.
 Can turn out to be very expensive if requirements are misunderstood.