What is the Software Development Life Cycle?

You are here:Home»Knowledge Centre»Software Development»What is the Software Development Life Cycle?

We are rated as the Best SEO and Google Ads Agency of 2024. Check out our Google and Clutch reviews below.

No fixed contract, just MONTH BY MONTH
Affordable and FAIR prices
Fast responses WITHIN hours
We love getting RESULTS
PPC iconSEO icon
Five star rated company★★★★★
GET YOUR FREE AUDIT & PROPOSAL

What is the Software Development Life Cycle?

It isn't unusual that a company requires bespoke software developed. While start-ups may gravitate towards off-the-shelf solutions, more established businesses running complex operations may customised software solutions. Examples include software to streamline customer relations, bespoke CRM packages, systems to manage employee tasks or automate manufacturing processes, and many more.

Software development is a specialised field that demands a high level of technical skill, but along with that comes a great deal of terminology and jargon that can be challenging to decipher. The main term bandied about is the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Understanding the basics of what this means is a helpful start in deciding whether to develop bespoke software.

The SDLC is basically a framework defining the tasks that need to be performed at each step in the development process. Also known as the software development process, it's a road map that the development team will follow to get the job done and obtain a satisfactory result. While every SDLC will be different, there are common activities or steps in every process.

The SDLC begins with planning. This first stage is usually done by highly skilled and experienced software engineers and involves conducting a requirement analysis that results in a scope document. The scope document sets out exactly what is to be developed, what the stages will be, what will be required and the costing of the project.

What is the Software Development Life Cycle?
GET YOUR FREE ONLINE QUOTE

The second stage is implementation. This is where the software engineers use the scope document to begin writing the code that forms the building blocks of the nascent software package. Either simultaneously or directly following implementation is testing, which is the process of finding bugs and rooting them out systematically so only clean code goes into the package.

Every step taken by the software developers must be documented and documentation is a step in its own right in the SDLC. A record of exactly what was done, how and when is critically important for the future improvement of the software and refining that may be needed at a later stage. The documentation step may also involve writing the Application Programming Interface (API).

Deployment follows and is the stage where the software is approved for release and goes live for the first time. Usually, there will be fixes, patches and refinements that the client requires, or bugs may pop up unexpectedly as the software encounters real-life use for the first time.

Maintenance naturally follows and involves implementing the various refinements that are necessary, taking change requests from the client and carrying them out, weeding out errors and bugs, and generally improving the performance of the software package. The uninitiated might think this stage will not be necessary, but truth be told, it can take longer than the initial development.

The SDLC above presents a rather simplistic overview of what is an extremely complex process that can be carried out according to different models. Each stage can be completed before the next one begins, there can be a greater emphasis on testing with procedures written into the scope document, or a working version can be produced early on with an ongoing process of refinements.

While the SDLC remains constant, the models followed can differ widely and depend on several factors, including internal processes, client preference, the characteristics of the software package under development, and the budget available at each stage.

The most important consideration before launching into the development of a bespoke software package is to remember that the process is complex and takes time. While the goal is to deliver the package on time and on budget, reason should prevail as rushing a software project is never a good idea. Having a clear understanding of the process and the time frames as explained in the scope document will assist in managing expectations and facilitating a smoother development process.

RESEARCH
Understanding your market and target audience.
1st step
STRATEGY
Putting together a clear and precise road map.
2nd step
IMPLEMENTATION
Putting everything into practise and making it work.
3rd step
MEASUREMENT
Tracking your success with tools to ensure progress.
4th step
Testimonials

See What Our Delighted Clients Say About Us

Genie Crawl carried out a detailed SEO audit for my tutoring website and explained everything in a clear and understandable way. I hired them straight away and since then I have seen a noticeable improvement in the traffic and leads coming to my website.

Jalisa Ogundelu
Owner

Awesome service, Tony and the team have been great with completing our website and meeting all the deadlines we set. They have lots of bright ideas and created so much value to our business. Our search engine rankings are now on the first page of the Google! We wouldn't have managed this without you guys!

Anna Farra
Owner

Excellent service and great results with our Google Ads account. They are always there at the end of the phone when we need them and they are a friendly bunch of people to deal with. We are very happy with the results.

Olesia Luspa
Owner

Genie Crawl has helped massively with my rankings as a business owner using SEO. My business is doing very well now, all thanks to them!

Daniel Rushton
Owner

Genie Crawl is a very efficient company to work with; they were clear on what they felt they could offer and assisted me in improving my SEO rankings.

Rob Cain
Owner

GenieCrawl was recommended to me for their SEO optimisation services and they have been great to work with. Our traffic jumped straight away and our business has gone from strength to strength thanks to their support.

John Carter
Owner

I was really struggling to get my SEO ratings higher for my business, and my website noticed on google. Thanks to GenieCrawl and their excellent service and SEO knowledge, I was able to increase my rankings sufficiently and am now reaping the benefits of their optimizations. I would highly recommend their service if you are struggling with SEO rankings as I was.

Fynn Healy
Owner

As a new business start up we needed help driving traffic to our website. In all fairness this was an area we were all pretty clueless on. Genie Crawl have been invaluable to us and undoubtedly have been a driving force to increasing sales. They are always there with helpful advice when we need them. Thanks!

Sarah Williamson
Owner

I was a little skeptical about hiring a company to help with the SEO for my website, but I am over the moon with my decision to work with Genie Crawl. They have really increased the traffic to my website and I would highly recommend them to everyone!

Becky Townsend
Owner

Fantastic company. They've been essential in getting us the business that we need. Would completely recommend. We've really found that our rankings have gone through the roof. SEO experts for sure! A+

Lee McRae
Owner
Contact Details

Contact Us

Visit Our Location
US: 244 5th Avenue, New York City, New York, 10001
UK: 120-122 High Street, Whitton, Twickenham, TW2 7LL
Get in Touch

Drop a Line

Complete the form and a member of our team will be in touch shortly to discuss your enquiry.