Similarly to any software development project, the job of implementing a software product is tiered and complex. To make things more difficult, these stages or tiers modify as per the repeatability and priority, thereby creating the models of software product development lifecycle.

Various existing SDLC models address the individual and diverse circumstances of the development vendors and product owners, but such a great pick might be confusing. Of course, a company that offers software development services can pick an SDLC model themselves.

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Still, this may point your incapability of realizing your requirements and expectations from the product and ways to attain them. This may lead to the magnetization of disadvantages during the development and build the blockages in the conversation between the development team and you.

To assist you in finding your bearings, we divide the software product development lifecycle to its basic stages, explaining each, and let you include the tracks into a model that would work perfectly for you and your project of product development.

6 Stages of Software Product Development Life Cycle

First, the main job is to know the whole life cycle, whether it’s clear and transparent, so that you may tackle the project firmly.

Planning

Well, while considering the software product development life cycle, it’s good to acknowledge planning as a critical preparatory process that embraces business analysis and market research. This is the exact place where we reach a development vendor, discuss the concept of the product, and begin with analyzing the SDLC model for the project.

Requirements

After carrying out the concept planning, the vendor and you move further towards the document functional needs for the product. Along with business analysts of the vendor you post and describe all the features that you wish like implementing.

The rigidity of the functional needs is one of the features SDLC models aid to regulate. Some model assumes that all the needs are set strictly in the beginning and are not subject to any alteration further on.

Some permit more flexibility during the process of software product development. In fact, you are more confident that you will require to expand or change your available list of needs during the implementation, the more flexible you require.

Design

This phase indicates design in a wide sense and embracing the pick of a programming language, software product architecture, and also hardware or software platform. At this stage, the vendor also offers you the details on the product’s future limitations and discuss the cloud hosting or hardware options. User interface and user experience design is a part of this phase only.

Implementation

Being a product owner, after you approve all the decisions made at the stage of design, your vendor moves on to offer your needs a real form. Relying on the picked SDLC model, this phase can deliver you some part of the product or the full one.

Quality Assurance

With the phase of implementation, this phase should walk hand-in-hand. After the initiation of development, all the processes of development should be released in a short while. This will further eliminate at the starting stages and won’t get a place in the code. This is actually paramount, in the case of features or large-scope.

Support

During this stage, the features of your software get exposure to the working conditions. Its release can be possible or can be installed on particular equipment or associated with a specific system. It’s much possible, you might be getting help from your vendor in these processes and also in further maintenance.

But, you can also go for an in-house team or switch the vendor also for the support services. Updates and possible fixes of the functionality granted during the cycle are the part of here also.

How to Pick an SDLC Model as Per Your Needs

Now, as we have covered all the standard phases of the life cycle, let’s target the possible SDLC models that these phases can build, as their priority, duration, and repeatability fluctuate. You might be thinking of those already or can refer the following to finalize the decision on. Here the models are described from the perspective of your requirements as a product owner.

Generally, there lie three parameters that define your requirements: cooperation approach, requirement frequency, and release frequency. Each of the following parameters can be placed on a scale, with the two different countering choices on the facing sides and more flexible picks in-between. On all the three scales, each of the models has its own place.

Rigid Requirements — Flexible Needs

As mentioned already, the SDLC model holds the caliber to define how resilient the needs of your software product are. V-model and Waterfall are the two models that allow you to finalize strict needs at the start and also don’t permit any alterations. Scrum, Iterative, and RUP are the models that are a little hard but however provide some space for alterations.

One Big Release — Continuous Delivery

Just think the way you want to see your product grow. Are you wishing to launch a development project and witness a complete product after the only and final release? If yes, then your choice can be V-model or the Waterfall model.

Furthermore, just focus on the fact that these two models work best for small projects. With the larger ones, a sole final release acts as a risk of various bugs because of the huge amount of code for the QA specialists and developers to maintain the track of.

Embracing Scrum, Iterative, Kanban, and RUP, all the other models regularly indicate the releases at decided intervals and reveal ‘iterative’ delivery. Thereby, in the early stages of development, you get a working product and then notice it evolving gradually.

Or we can say, our product is created following the steps sequentially and on each new iteration, new features are appended to it, holding all the SDLC stages. Any inconsistencies or coding errors with your needs can be spotted promptly and therefore, fixed quickly.

Documentation — Communication

Well, along with the strategy to collaborate with a vendor, the level of your engagement in the project are crucial parameters. Many models like V-model, Spiral, and Waterfall, suggest limited communication and very thorough documentation, while RUP and Iterative models try to maintain an equilibrium of communication and documentation. In the Agile Group models, Kanban, EX, Scrum, frequent and direct communication is a base.

In open discussions, while there are various benefits specific for the Agile group, in advance, the appointment of a being should be considered by you who will be symbolizing you in them. Unless all the meeting that are suggested by Agile models may not go working with your business agenda.

Wrapping Lines

By allowing your process of software product development, the vendor takes the lead and pick an SDLC model on their own. Acknowledge the needs, communication approaches, and delivery strategies that are described above before fixing the model that seems to be easy for you. This is how you will be able to prevent possible collaboration trials and will always support the grip of your project.

Further Reading

Software Development Lifecycle: QA and Testing

Lean Software Development

Science and Software Development