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Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) : Curtain Raiser
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) : Curtain Raiser
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) : Curtain Raiser
Summary: This document will provide you with a generic overview about
different software development methodologies adopted by contemporary software firms. Read about software development models here to know more about the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Curtain Raiser
Like any other engineering products, software products are oriented towards customers. It is either market driven or it drives the market. Customer Satisfaction was the buzzword of the 80's. Customer Delight is today's buzzword and Customer Ecstasy is the buzzword of the new millennium. Products that are not customer (user) friendly have no place in the market although they are engineered using the best technology. The interface of the product is as crucial as the internal technology of the product.
Market Research
A market study is made to identify a potential customer's need. This process is also known as market research. Here, the already existing need and the possible/potential needs that are available in a segment of the society are studied carefully. The market study is done based on a lot of assumptions. Assumptions are the crucial factors in the development or inception of a product's development. Unrealistic assumptions can cause a nosedive in the entire venture. Though assumptions are abstract, there should be a move to develop tangible assumptions to come up with a successful product.
potentially buy the software. In addition, the marketing group passes the feedback from the customers to the developers and the R&D group to make possible value additions in the product. While developing software, the company outsourcers the non-core activities to the other companies who specialize in those activities. This accelerates the software development process largely. Some companies work on tie-ups to bring out a highly matured product in a short period.
Following are the basic popular models used by many software development firms.
a) System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Model b) Prototyping Model c) Rapid Application Development Model d) Component Assembly Model
Code Generation
The design must be translated into a machine-readable form. The code generation step performs this task. If the design is performed in a detailed manner, code generation can be accomplished without much complication. Programming tools like Compilers, Interpreters, and Debuggers are used to generate the code. Different high level programming languages like C, C++, Pascal, and Java are used for coding. With respect to the type of application, the right programming language is chosen.
Testing
Once the code is generated, the software program testing begins. Different testing methodologies are available to unravel the bugs that were committed during the previous phases. Different testing tools and methodologies are
already available. Some companies build their own testing tools that are tailor made for their own development operations.
Maintenance
Software will definitely undergo change once it is delivered to the customer. There are many reasons for the change. Change could happen because of some unexpected input values into the system. In addition, the changes in the system could directly affect the software operations. The software should be developed to accommodate changes that could happen during the post implementation period.
Prototyping Model
This is a cyclic version of the linear model. In this model, once the requirement analysis is done and the design for a prototype is made, the development process gets started. Once the prototype is created, it is given to the customer for evaluation. The customer tests the package and gives his/her feed back to the developer who refines the product according to the customer's exact expectation. After a finite number of iterations, the final software package is given to the customer. In this methodology, the software is evolved as a result of periodic shuttling of information between the customer and developer. This is the most popular development model in the contemporary IT industry. Most of the successful software products have been developed using this model - as it is very difficult (even for a whiz kid!) to comprehend all the requirements of a customer in one shot. There are many variations of this model skewed with respect to the project management styles of the companies. New versions of a software product evolve as a result of prototyping.
Data modeling
The information flow defined as part of the business modeling phase is refined into a set of data objects that are needed to support the business. The characteristic (called attributes) of each object is identified and the relationships between these objects are defined.
Process modeling
The data objects defined in the data-modeling phase are transformed to achieve the information flow necessary to implement a business function. Processing the descriptions are created for adding, modifying, deleting, or retrieving a data object.
Application generation
RAD assumes the use of the RAD tools like VB, VC++, Delphi etc rather than creating software using conventional third generation programming languages. The RAD works to reuse existing program components (when possible) or create reusable components (when necessary). In all cases, automated tools are used to facilitate construction of the software.
Conclusion
All these different software development models have their own advantages and disadvantages. Nevertheless, in the contemporary commercial software envelopment world, the fusion of all these methodologies is incorporated. Timing is very crucial in software development. If a delay happens in the development phase, the market could be taken over by the competitor. Also if a 'bug' filled product is launched in a short period of time (quicker than the competitors), it may affect the reputation of the company. So, there should be a tradeoff between the development time and the quality of the product. Customers don't expect a bug free product but they expect a user-friendly product. That results in Customer Ecstasy!