Without a doubt, technology use is only rising in today’s world, with many individuals relying on it to perform everyday tasks. And software development is gaining traction, as demand for technologically advanced software is increasing across every imaginable nook and cranny. Given the latest market trends and predictions, software development’s valuation is estimated to reach USD 1039 million by 2027, reflecting its importance.
However, it’s never a good idea to play by your ears when building software, but instead, have a systematic plan in place that allows you to shift from one stage to another, so that you can turn an idea into a working reality. This plan forms the foundation of a seamless software development process and varies from one company to another depending on their needs. But what does the software development process involve? This article explores how you can take a development approach where quality is woven into every stage of the process to ensure a better outcome, so read on to learn more.
1. Requirements gathering to prevent scope creep
This is the foundation of any successful software project, defining what your software will do and how it will meet your business goals and user needs. Development teams work with stakeholders to define what the software needs to achieve, which involves conducting surveys, holding interviews, or running workshops to gather input. The goal here is to capture functional requirements (what the software should do, from features and user interactions to tasks), and non-functional requirements (how the software should perform). The information you gather will then be documented in an accurate software requirements specification, serving as a reference for anyone involved in the process and eliminating any confusion about what is being created.
2. Planning to guide decision-making
The next step in the software development process is to turn the insights into a structured plan, which is known as the planning stage. Essentially, the development team creates a roadmap for how the project will unfold, setting key milestones, and realistic timelines. At this stage, it’s essential to integrate quality, as it will keep development efficient and prevent major rework later on. This involves avoiding ambiguous requirements, and aiming for precision, identifying non-functional requirements early on, and building quality into the architecture to reduce future bugs and complexity. Keep in mind that quality is all about meeting user expectations, because the truth is, regardless of how excellent your software system is, customers will go elsewhere unless the UX is up to scratch. Always putting the user first is an incredible way to ensure you truly deliver quality. Giving enough time for testing is a big part of improving user experience, and you should by no means leave it until the last minute, as multiple testing cycles coupled with automation will help identify the bugs that thinner testing strategies might not have spotted. As you plan for the process, you want to define what type of testing will be needed, the required tools and environments, and the automation strategy, to name a few.
3. Software design to ensure quality and reliability
A well-executed design is at the core of any software product, but it’s not only about aesthetics. As Steve Jobs said, “design is how it works”, which is why there are different types of design to do during the development, including system design (defining the structure, components, and data flow of the software system), software architecture design, and UX/UI design. A good design will enable you to create a usable product that delivers a fulfilling customer experience. And investing in UX is one of the smartest decisions, as it will deliver substantial ROI. User research is a very important part of nailing the UX/UI design process, helping you gain an accurate understanding of user needs and ensuring your design truly meets them. And to this end, it’s always a good idea to leave the research to a specialized team that can employ advanced strategies for the best results. In fact, this should be considered at many stages of the process, from concept and product testing, to pricing.
4. Coding and development to bring functionality to life
This is where the magic happens: your team takes the requirements and design and turns them into working software. If you’ve followed the previous steps, there shouldn’t be many obstacles at this stage. But it’s still essential to follow best practices, including creating a CI/CD pipeline, conducting regular code reviews, writing maintainable code, using version control, and documenting code thoroughly. The work at this stage is generally divided into smaller features or units, completed sequentially or in sprints, with each member knowing exactly what to focus on.
5. Testing and QA to reduce costs and risks
No one wants to use low-quality software, which is why QA and software testing are crucial parts of the process, ensuring the software meets user expectations and works properly. You may not know it, but neglecting QA costs U.S companies about $2.42 every year, so unless you want to be a part of these statistics, you should pay attention to QA, and integrate it throughout the entire software development lifecycle by performing requirement analysis, test planning and design, test execution, defect management, and quality control and improvement. QA is all about checking the software for performance issues, bugs, and other aspects that could cause problems and includes various activities that ensure a software product meets high quality standards. Consider, for instance, mobile application testing. In this scenario, the QA team needs to undergo various types of testing, such as functional testing to ensure that the menus, buttons, and interactions are functioning properly, performance testing, which is all about assessing the performance of the app under various conditions, and ensure the app remains responsive even in challenging conditions, as well as security testing, where QA has the role of identifying vulnerabilities that could jeopardize either the integrity of the app or the user data.
6. Deployment to make the software accessible to end-users
Deployment is the make-or-break stage in the software development process, and it involves transferring code to production servers and configuring the required infrastructure. Based on the project’s complexity, this could mean uploading files or coordinating services across cloud platforms. However, no matter the approach, the goal remains the same: to ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruption. Again, it helps to use automation tools to ensure consistency across environments and to speed up deployments. At the same time, creating a rollback plan can be very helpful, because no matter how detailed your testing is, it’s still possible to face challenges in production. A rollback strategy lets you revert to the previous software version if the new deployment causes problems.
7. Maintenance to optimize performance
The work doesn’t stop after deploying the software: maintenance is essential to ensure the software continues to run smoothly, effectively, and securely throughout the time. Since software environments change (including updates to operating systems, new devices, and user needs), your software must be maintained to remain useful. In other words, at this stage, it’s essential to fix bugs that weren’t previously caught, apply security patches, and make any necessary adjustments based on user feedback. As a rule of thumb, you should budget about 15% to 25% of your initial development budget for software maintenance each year. In other words, if you have to allocate $200,000 to build your software, you should expect maintenance costs of $30,000-$50,000 every year.
The bottom line
Successful software development isn’t just about writing code; it’s a structured, strategic journey that helps transform an idea into a user-centered product. Each stage plays a crucial role in improving quality and ensuring the final product delivers lasting value and meets customer needs. So, don’t leave your software’s success to chance; follow these steps today and carve your path to success.
Well explained! It is so important that software quality assurance is included in every step of the SDLC!