A Quick Guide To SDLC: What Business Founders Should Know?

Can you imagine building a futuristic skyscraper without having a blueprint? Of course not! That’s exactly what developing software is like without implementing the SDLC approach.

Whether you are a business owner looking to create an MVP or want to scale up your existing business, the software development life cycle provides you with a complete roadmap to build impactful software.

For business founders, and entrepreneurs, exploring the complexities of the SDLC can be the key to transforming their visionary ideas into a successful product.

In this blog, you will get some useful insights about the SDLC process. You are also going to explore how each SDLC stage propels your business forward in a tech-driven landscape. So, get ready to embark on a successful journey of building software according to your business needs.

What is Software Development Life Cycle?

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a structured process of creating high-quality software within the shortest time and cost. It involves several processes of developing, deploying, and maintaining premium quality software. It is specifically designed to ensure quality, predictability, and cost-effectiveness.

Software developers follow SDLC’s systematic approach to designing modern software for mobile phones, computers, video games, etc. This approach also breaks down the complexities of software creation into manageable phases. It is more of a framework that outlines the complete process from initial ideation to final deployment and ongoing maintenance.

For entrepreneurs and business founders, SDLC is more than a technical tool. It’s a strategic framework that ensures every phase of development aligns with your business objectives, timeline, and budget. So, you need to make sure that your software development team follows the SDLC approach.

Benefits of Software Development Life Cycle

Implementing an SDLC approach offers numerous advantages for businesses. Here are some of the benefits of SDLC:

• Improved Project Management: It provides a clear roadmap and helps business owners define roles to enhance coordination.
• Ensure Higher Quality: Systematic testing and validation during the software development life cycle ensure a bug-free product. And you can provide a better user experience to your users.
• Cost Efficiency: Early detection of issues or technical glitches helps you to reduce expenses.
• Better Communication: You can communicate in a better way for collaboration among stakeholders.
• Scalability: As it is a structured process, it supports project scalability.

Stages of the Software Development Life Cycle

Business Founders must be aware of the software development life cycle phases as it will help you to grasp the importance of each step. By understanding these stages, you will also know how this approach contributes to the final product. So, let’s dive into the software development life cycle stages and what they mean for business founders.

1. Planning

The initial software development life cycle stage is the planning. This phase includes the creation of a comprehensive project roadmap. During this step, resources are allocated, timelines are set, and potential risks are identified. So, to kick-start your project, you can’t skip this SDLC step.

Why It Matters?

Planning is necessary for business owners to ensure that the project objectives or goals align perfectly with the available resources. Moreover, it also provides a dedicated timeline for investors and stakeholders. For the planning stage, you can discuss your project with top mobile app development companies in India. They can provide you with a complete roadmap for your project.

Example: A fintech startup business can plan its app or software launch to coincide with a major industry event. Thus, aligning with marketing and development timelines.

2. Requirement Analysis

Analyzing your project requirements is the next step of the SDLC process. This includes collecting and documenting the technical business requirements of your software project.

Why It Matters for Business Owners?

This is a crucial step because it ensures clarity on project objectives. Also, entrepreneurs can know how to avoid costly changes during later development stages.

Example: An e-commerce startup business can define its need for features such as secure payment gateways, user-friendly interfaces, and robust search capabilities according to the specific business requirements.

3. Design & Prototype

After that, the next SDLC step is to design & prototype. This stage primarily focuses on the system’s architecture and user interface. It’s where innovation and creativity meets functionality. For this, you can also work with a top-rated UI/UX design agency to create virtually appealing designs for your software.

Why It Matters?

Designing is one of the most important software development life cycle phases as it sets the stage for technical and user-centric development. Apart from it, also facilitates team collaboration through clear blueprints. Therefore, if you are planning to build software, you have to pay attention to the designing part.

Example: A healthcare software prioritizes intuitive navigation to ensure accessibility for all users or patients. Also, they will not feel frustrated while using the app or software.

4. Development

The actual coding of your software begins here. Software developers use the design documents to build the software according to your project requirements. Therefore, we can say that the development stage is often the most time-intensive phase. This is why it’s essential to hire mobile app developers with the right expertise to handle this critical phase effectively, ensuring the software meets your expectations and industry standards.

Why It Matters?

Paying attention to the development stage is crucial as it helps you to bring your vision to life. Also, it ensures modular and scalable code.

Example: Developers create a social media app’s backend to handle high traffic and real-time data processing. They can also build software to engage stakeholders and fulfill the desired requirements.

5. Testing

Another crucial phase of the life cycle of software development is testing. You need to make sure to conduct rigorous testing regularly to identify and fix bugs. This phase ensures the software meets quality and functionality standards.

Why It Matters?

Doing regular software testing helps you prevent user dissatisfaction due to glitches or any other technical faults. Also, it enhances the software’s reliability, especially for users.

Example: A cloud-computing software undergoes testing to ensure smooth performance and store enough data.

6. Deployment

Deployment is also a necessary phase in the Software Development life cycle. During this stage, the software is released to the end users. Depending on the project specifications, this may involve a beta launch or a full-scale rollout. For the beta launch of your software, you can seek help from a leading MVP app development company. They can help you out in the best possible way.

Why It Matters?

The deployment phase plays a crucial role in taking valuable user feedback and insights for future updates. Also, it helps business owners to understand that the development process or efforts are aligning with the project’s objectives.

Example: A startup launches its software in select cities before expanding nationwide.

7. Maintenance

Next comes software maintenance. This phase involves regular updates, bug fixes, and performance enhancements to ensure the software remains relevant and efficient.

Why It Matters?

You need to maintain your software to keep it competitive and user-friendly. Additionally, it will also address the dynamic or evolving user needs and market emerging trends.

Example: Business owners choosing to add new features to their software to stay ahead in a competitive market.

The Role of Security in The SDLC

Security is one of the most crucial aspects of the SDLC. You need to integrate security measures seamlessly into every software development life cycle phase. This is crucial to ensure that vulnerabilities can be easily identified and addressed in the best possible way.

Keep note of various security protocols such as secure coding practices, threat modeling, and regular audits, to reduce the risk of breaches, and safeguard your user data. Therefore, following this approach is especially crucial for various industries like finance and healthcare, where sensitive information is processed.

What Are The SDLC Models/Methodologies?

SDLC models offer a more structured approach to software development. Each model is suitable according to the different project types and requirements. So, here we have mentioned some of the popular models:

1. Waterfall Model: This SDLC model represents the most structured methodology. It follows a linear approach which means completing one phase before moving to the next step. The waterfall software development life cycle is suitable for various projects with well-defined requirements. However, if your project requirement is flexible, this model doesn’t work well because changes can directly affect the cost, time, and quality of the software.
2. Agile Model: The Agile software development life cycle emphasizes more on flexibility. Agile methodology mainly focuses on iterative progress and collaboration. The software development agile life cycle breaks the project into smaller cycles called sprints. Therefore, it allows you for continuous feedback and adaptation.
3. Spiral Model: The spiral software development life cycle model combines iterative development with risk assessment. Also, this model is ideal for large, complex projects. So, if your project requires frequent evaluation and refinement, then you can choose this model.
4. DevOps Model: This model aims to combine development and operations teams. It emphasizes continuous integration and delivery. That means, it also focuses on automation for faster development and deployment cycles.
5. V-Model: The v-model is also well-known as the Verification and Validation model. It emphasizes more on testing at every development stage to ensure alignment with your project requirements. It is more suitable for business projects where quality is a top priority.
6. Iterative Model: When it comes to the iterative model, focuses more on developing an initial version of the software, improving it through repeated iterations based on feedback.

However, you must note that choosing the right SDLC model depends on project requirements, team capabilities, and desired outcomes.

Conclusion

If you are an entrepreneur, you need to understand the importance of implementing a Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to deliver high-quality software efficiently. From its well-defined stages to its multiple models, it offers a robust framework to ensure your software’s success.

Also, embracing different methodologies such as Agile SDLC, and integrating security at every SDLC step can further enhance the software development process. So, by properly leveraging some useful insights from this guide, business founders, entrepreneurs, and investors can make more informed decisions. You can also streamline your software development processes, and no one can stop you from achieving your goals with confidence.