SDLC is all about stages and phases. Software development is not just creating another program to be used by the general public or a business. The demands for proper software are on the rise and developers are one of the highest paying professionals today.

In the early days, the need for software was only limited to people who wanted to try something new since computers were not that important to most businesses. Software developers could just brew something in their computer and try to launch it as fad or just for bragging right.

Slowly, software development focused on answering the needs of different businesses and consumers. Software developers looked on to the problem and provided solution with software. It basically became an interaction between the person who needs it and the person who knows how to make it.

Today, software development is not only based on answering the concerns of the users. Though being the core of development, it takes more than answering the problem to ensure that a good software is created.

There are many factors that determine the outcome of software development.  Before developers could create an answer to the problem, they need to know how to answer the problem. In software development there are different ways of building a software and it’s not just choosing what the developer likes out of whim. There are factors that determine the proper software development tool.

1. Expertise

Software developers have to first think of what they can do. There are millions of ideas that needs to be built, but unfortunately will not see the light of the day. Companies spend millions in salaries and bonuses to ensure they have the right person for the right job. Some software development process doesn’t require years of experience in a certain coding language. There are programs that can be created by combining different tools. However, there are programs that do require more than just coding but experience as well. Project managers should be able to define what their team could do in a certain amount of time.

2. Targeted User

Some will think that the audience is much more important than the performers. That would seem to be appropriate in a stage play but in software development, users will unfortunately come second in considering which software development process should be selected. Developers would of course create software with the users in mind. However, it’s more important to create programs that are on the realms of the expertise of developers. The answer to the problems of the users will definitely be there so the only concern of developers is which method to follow.

3. Resources

Support of the management is as important in any of these factors. The only way developers could make sure a program is well implemented is to have the tools they need. Although the upper level management doesn’t have the direct hand in building these programs, the management set the stage and provide the tools on creating the programs.

This is probable the most important stage they have to think of when it comes to development. Even though developers have all the enthusiasm and even knowledge in creating the most complicated software in the industry, it will come down to nothing if they do not have the right tools.  Aside from tools, the people who will be developing the software are also affected.  In the first place, the managers also have the hand in choosing who will be developing these software.

There are so many ways of developing a software.  Almost each technology based companies have their own way of developing their software.  Even though they adhere to different theories of development, they certainly follow these general stages:

1. Planning – before a program is created, they have to know what they want to create. Software development companies use this stage to determine the need of the present market. Surveys and project proposal are common in this stage. They sit down and determine what the present market needs. Management is often involved in this stage as they wanted to determine what the developers have to do and how it will impact the market.

2. Design – once the management has approved of the plan and the budget has been determined for this project, it’s now time to create the architecture of the program. Developers will work together and talk about the ways of developing the program. The workflow of the software is drafted in this stage. Some software development models approach this stage in a rather simple manner. The iterative development model often treats this stage as already the beginning of software’s actual creation. The initial programs are creating in this part of development model.

3. Testing – developers have to make sure their created programs will work well in different environments. The traditional way of testing usually needs testers so that the program will be exploited in different manner.  On the other hand, some software developers do not use testers for their program rather developers get normal and intended users to test their program.  They do not just implement the program to everyone though, they implement the program in restricted manner so that they can monitor to software’s performance and make the necessary adjustments even before the software is released for general public. The testing stage even expands to the idea of implementing the software in beta testing just to make sure it can withstand multiple users at the same time.

4. Implementation – once testing is finished and the software is proven good for implementation, it is released to the public or will be removed from beta version. It’s expected that on first days, developers will face serious challenge of fixing different bugs as they are discovered one by one by different users. The main difference of the implementation stage to the testing is the amount of bugs expected. Since they are implemented to the public or a wider audience, it’s already expected that it should work properly.

5. Maintenance – with the software properly implemented, developers role in this software does not end there.  Instead, they will have to work reactively for this software. Instead of looking for the problems in their created software, developers will only be providing answers to their problems.

6. Termination – of course not all software will last forever. Updates has to happen and there will be time that drastic changes has to happen in a software that they have to be scrapped altogether. Although there will be traces of the previous software, the evolution of new coding language or the adaptation of the same software to a different platform will warrant termination to the original program.

SDLC has to follow steps faithfully. These steps suggest what type of development software they are. Although they follow almost the same stages, it’s the treatment of these stages suggest what they can do. Developers on the other hand should consider their own skills, their intended users and the available resources to determine what model they should be following for software development. This will ensure they are creating something that they can control and maintain at anytime of the day. With proper steps and guidelines, a good software is ensured for the users.