7 Stages of the Enterprise Software Development Cycle

Ever-growing technologies gave way to incredible evolutions, and SDLC is one of the most sought-after development processes that came into light during this time. SDLC, short for Software Development Cycle, has numerous stages. These help in better enterprise app development which further assists in business expansion.

In addition, it also plays a crucial role in communicating progress to stakeholders while digging deep into the milestones. An organization must be proficient in all these different phases of enterprise application software development. This can assist them in tailoring the system to their precise mobile app development company needs and achieving strategic goals with ease.

But before digging deep, let’s get the fundamental concepts right and understand the software development cycle exactly.

What Is the Software Development Cycle?

An organized procedure known as the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) provides the fastest possible production of high-quality, low-cost software. The SDLC’s primary goal is to create top-notch software that hassle-free meets a client’s needs.

A thorough plan inclusive of various stages, or phases, each with its own procedure and results, is developed and specified by the SDLC. Being in complete sync with the SDLC helps reduce project risks and costs, speeding up the development.

It is basically a systematic process that produces a specific framework for the developer to plan, produce, and deliver high-quality software based on the client’s demands. The procedure includes a thorough plan outlining how to efficiently create, maintain, and replace enterprise software development.

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a series of steps that must be completed one after the other to accomplish the end goal of software development: to provide a solution that deeply satisfies a customer’s expectations.

The goal of the SDLC is to maintain a well-organized, effective development process to provide a robust, custom software solution in minimal time. Gathering extensive requirements, planning, solution architecture, development, testing, deployment, and support are typical SDLC phases. Depending on the project’s scale, these procedures may be skipped altogether.

Through an in-depth examination of each stage, the SDLC enables huge improvement of business software development processes with ease. This helps you stay low on budget while you stay one step ahead when it comes down to the delivery of a solution.

7 Stages of The Enterprise Software Development Cycle

To guarantee the success of a project, it’s crucial that it meets the client’s expectations and resolves the business problem it was built for. Wondering what these different stages are? Worry no more, as we are here! Following are the top 7 stages of the enterprise software development cycle. Let’s dig deep!

1. Project Planning

The main focus of the SDLC’s first step is what a client truly desires. Since this is when the team determines the needs of the new software and calculates the cost, project planning is an essential part of the entire software delivery lifecycle. Making a thorough project plan will help you land on the appropriate development tools and the programming language that will help build a better outlook of the software.

2. Gathering and Analysis of Requirements

Business analysts, project managers, and software engineers from the IT company do extensive research on the client’s business concerns throughout this stage of the software development cycle.

They consult with different stakeholders to grasp important pieces of information about the firm’s objectives, procedures, pain spots, users, etc. This is done to develop a premium-quality, scalable solution that will easily expand the client’s business.

In order to yield a faster solution and with the most effective resources, they also take into account all project development-related factors, including timescale, money, resources, risks, and needs.

Business analysts must also assess the development program’s viability and compare it to precedents, gather requirements in the form of what the system should be able to perform and assess the accuracy and viability of these needs. This phase results in a Software Requirement Specification (SRS), which serves as a roadmap for both customers and developers during the software development process.

It is a crucial stage where all the project participants discuss the primary areas of collaboration. The level of commitment and ongoing, active contact between the seller and the consumer is essential to its overall success.

3. Solutions Architecting and Design

In this stage, multiple software architects design the system’s infrastructure. They convert all specifications, business procedures, and aspects described in the SRS into a comprehensive solutions architecture whose parts and interactions are shown in technical terms.

To develop a solution that will be highly responsive, understandable, and simple for the end user, the engineer determines the components of the back-end and front-end, their integration, and the tech stack for their implementation. If you wish to successfully implement a project, never miss out on curating a good solutions architecture.

4. Software Development or Coding

Coding can only begin at this stage. Although this SDLC stage is the longest stage, it is simpler than the first two. The back-end and front-end developers, as well as project managers, are currently involved.

In order to meet the needs of the client, project managers carry out the effective planning of the project while assuring the optimization of time, budget, and effective communication with the client.

They divide the work developers according to their ability levels and specify the timeline for implementation. While front-end developers design the solution’s user interface for effective communication with the server, back-end developers create the server side of the program, the databases where all data will be stored, the API, the code to communicate with a database, and libraries and data architectures.

After this cycle, the software is prepared for testing before being made available to the customer. The output of this cycle, the Source Code document, comprises instructions on how to use the system as well as information on how it functions.

5. Testing

When testing software, QA professionals strive for an integrated strategy to give the customer a high-quality product.

The QA team checks for bugs at this stage and ensures that the generated product satisfies the following criteria:

• Unit testing recommends that individual components be validated.
• Whether the system’s components work properly and communicate.
• Functionality testing is the process of determining whether the design is.
• Overcoming consumer obstacles and completely meeting standards.
• Stress testing examines the system’s maximum and minimum capabilities as well as its dependability in the event of a force majeure.
• UI testing looks for interface flaws when an app is used on different devices or browsers.
• Compatibility testing examines a program’s suitability for various settings.
• A QA professional performs usability testing to determine whether the software is simple to use and intuitive for the end user.
• Validating the security of sensitive data is done through security testing.

Software that contains extensive bugs is sent back to the development team for the necessary revision. The QA engineer then rechecks the program, and the customer can easily get their hands on it after it has passed without errors.

6. Deployment

A software product is launched during this stage for user testing. The term “deployment” refers to the procedures involved in installing, configuring, launching, and testing new hardware or software in its environment. Analysts and users can test the software or specific released features to see if it complies with all SRS standards. The product is made operational if the buyer is happy with it.

7. Support and Maintenance

While in use, the software requires ongoing care and maintenance. The client’s business needs are subject to change, so the solution must be updated to meet these escalating demands.

Customers could need additional capabilities to stay current, keep their services valuable to consumers, and enhance their user experience. The vendor offers this functionality during the support stage.

Some SDLC Best Practices

Effective team communication is the most essential best practice to implement into your SDLC. The likelihood of success increases with the degree of alignment. An effective SDLC shows the following characteristics:

• The practical implementation of a thorough application security program
• Code quality standards
• Effective teamwork across organizations
• Streamlined processes
• Cross-team participation throughout the life cycle
• Common SDLC errors and difficulties

An SDLC implementation risks being negatively impacted by several issues. A failure to sufficiently account for and fulfill customer and stakeholder needs in the process are likely the most serious error. Because of the misunderstanding of the system requirements, the outcome is invariably poor.

Some SDLC models (Software Development Life Cycle)

1. Waterfall Model

This SDLC approach, known as the “waterfall,” is the most traditional and straightforward. With this process, we complete one phase and then begin the next. Why is it called a waterfall? Because each level floods into the next, and each phase in this paradigm has its mini-plan. This paradigm has the flaw that even the smallest unfinished elements can hold up an entire procedure.

2. Agile Model

Agile is the new standard; it is one of the most widely used models because it takes a phase-by-phase, or “sprint-based,” approach to enterprise software development. The project can be finished rapidly and with greater flexibility, if fresh adjustments to scope and direction are introduced during each sprint. Agile projects require less time in the planning stages and are more flexible than traditional projects.

3. Big Bang Model

Since it concentrates most of its resources on development, this SDLC model is considered the ideal choice for small projects. Compared to the other ways, it doesn’t have the stage for precisely defining the criteria.

4. Spiral Model

The spiral model is one of the SDLC models with the most flexibility. It is similar to the iterative model in that repetition is emphasized. Even this model repeatedly passes through the planning, designing, building, and testing processes, with little changes at each stage.

5. Iterative Model

In this SDLC methodology, repetition is emphasized. For a relatively low cost, developers quickly produce a version, which is tested and improved through subsequent iterations. This paradigm has a significant drawback in that; if left uncontrolled, it can quickly consume resources.

6. V-Shaped Model

Given that tests are conducted at every level of development, this model can be seen as an extension of the waterfall model. Similar to waterfalls, this process may encounter obstacles.

Wrapping Up

With the highest level of documentation and management control, SDLC may be a fantastic tool. However, a project’s collapse can result from failing to consider the client’s needs, users, or stakeholders. SDLC methodologies are comprehensive, and one must look after all the nuances of the enterprise software development needs to make the best use of the model.

Turn to RV Technologies if you are looking for the best mobile app development company that can guide you toward getting started with SDLC and its effective implementation. We leverage our years of experience and provide you with the best-in-class solutions to set up the right development processes. Connect with our experts today and understand the way your business can leverage SDLC with ease!