A detailed analysis of the Software Development Life Cycle

Just like everything else, software development also has a life cycle of its own. Developing software is not an easy job, and a custom software development company needs exceptional people with extraordinary skill sets to meet the needs of clients in the given time. A software is something that every electronic equipment requires these days, and it basically is the intelligence behind the hardware system that enables to control the machine. The real aim of the developers developing any software is to make it as user-friendly as possible because the idea behind its development is to make life easy for its users. That’s why software is run through many different processes to make sure about the functionality of the software and its quality both on the user interface and on the coding end. Some of these tests have simple names like analysis, maintenance, and publication of software. It will be hard for me to cover the full life cycle of software in just a single article so I will try to cover as much models and methodologies of software to give my readers a slight view.

WaterFall Model:

Just like its name, this model works from top to bottom. It is a linear sequential flow in which the progress of software development flows steadily downwards. The drawback of this software is that you cannot start any phase of your choice before ending the previous one. That leads to loss of time and energy. Because it is a downwards flow model, you cannot go back to the previous phases of the software once you stepped forward. This means you cannot do any changes, and you have to be spot on at every phase. Because of such concern, this model is not in use now for most companies.

V-Shaped Model:

It is an extension of waterfall method to some extent. Just like the previous method, its name also suggests its workflow which is in V shape. In this model, developers bend the process steps after coding phase which form a typical V shape. Which allows the developers to use the liberty of early testing that sorts out the major problem of waterfall method. Still, it is not flexible enough for the developers to produce any prototype for the client so he can add some of his opinions. Also, the early testing option doesn’t show the detailed report. Due to such issues, this model is also extinct from the premium software development services providing companies like Cooperative Computing.

Spiral Method (SDM):

It is a very functional approach because it allows combining the elements of design and prototype in different stages. It also allows the developers to show the prototype to their clients by dividing them into waterfall models which ease out their work. This model is very favorable for large projects having larger budgets on its back and will present lots of complications.

Extreme Programming (Agile Development):

This model is only applicable when you have decent teams who can collaborate for the iterative and incremental development. It is the most useful model of software development yet difficult to execute that’s why only top-notch software and web developers companies like Cooperative Computing use it.

We certainly hope you understood this small yet useful explanation of the software development lifecycle. Think you need help with a software development project? We’ve got you covered.