Software Development
Everyday newer software systems are being developed to help us to carry out different activities more easily. Newer online solutions are coming up to help us transact transactions in minutes with the click of mouse. These systems are being developed by highly experienced IT professionals using the latest technology to make our life simpler.
Software development is the entire process which any particular software product undergoes in its development and implementation. This entire process is known as software development life cycle which any software undergoes. A brief description of each component of the life cycle is given below.
Analysis
To develop any software solution, the problem has to be studied in detail first. We have to decide what technology to be used, whether any similar software is already available or an entirely new system has to be developed and many other questions. Thorough analysis would be required to reach a proper solution. We would have to study the requirement and to understand any underlying principles involved. We have to define the scope the system keeping future requirements in mind.
Design
After the proper analysis of the problem, proper design of the system is to be made which would include the architecture of the system. Such design would ensure that it would cater for all the requirements of the system as well as take care of any future requirements.
Coding and Implementation
After the design of the system has been finalized, the software professional would now get down to the task of actually developing the system. The process would require coding of different programs to run different modules and then to integrate them into one complete system. In this phase, professionals use all their programming skills for the development of a good system.
Testing
Even after proper analysis and design of the system, the programs developed could have problems which are known as ‘bugs’. Proper and thorough testing of the system using actual data would bring out these ‘bugs’. These ‘bugs’ are to be fixed to make the system error free. Sometimes, some problem in the design would also show up requiring some modification in the design and rewriting of codes. This phase has to be carried out rigorously to ensure that the software developed is of good quality.
Deployment
After proper design and through testing, the system is brought into actual use. The system should run properly without any problem. But, in some rare cases, some problems still require to be fixed to make the system produce the desired results.
Maintenance
This is the final phase of the life cycle. The system may require some modification to improve its functioning or provide for some newer requirements of the user.
This is in nutshell gives an overview of the entire software development process.
