Stages in Software Development Process..
These days writing softwares can be a very complex and time consuming task or project, involving a whole team of software engineers and other specialists including one's hard work and consistency dedication in other to achieve a good or better result/outcome of the particular task at hand. As a result, many methods and practices, which makes the life of programmers easier, have emerged.
Before we think about how software is developed, it is worth considering how any product is developed, because the process is essentially the same.
Stages In Software Development...
So the following are the popular '7 Stages in Software Development'
1.Analysis
2. Design
3. Implementation
4. Product Testing
5. Documentation
6. Evaluation
7. Maintenance
Analysis
Before a new product is developed, someone within the company, probably in the marketing department, analyses what people want. They consider which products are selling well, look at what rival companies are producing, and maybe even carry out a survey to find out what people want. From this they can work out which features are required in their newest model, including its size, target price range and various technical requirements. This stage states clearly all the features that product must have.
Design
The next stage is to turn the specification into a design. Designers will get to work, alone or in groups, to design various aspects of the new product. What will it look like? How will the controls be laid out? Sketches will be drawn up and checked against the specification. Another team of designers will be planning the internal circuitry, making sure it will allow the product to do all the things set out in the specification.
Implementation
Once the design phase is over, engineers will get to work to actually build a prototype. Some will build the case according to the design, while others will develop the electronics to go inside. Each part will be tested on its own, then the whole thing will be assembled into a (hopefully) working product set.
Testing
Before the new model can be put on sale, it will be thoroughly tested. A
wide range of tests will be carried out. It might be tested under ‘normal’ conditions. It could be put in a room at normal room temperature, and checked to see that all the controls work correctly, the display is clear, it is nice and stable, and so on. If it passes this type of testing, it might next be tested under ‘extreme’ conditions.
For example, does it still work if the temperature is below freezing, or very hot and humid, if it used for long periods of time, or with the volume or the brightness or contrast set to their maximum values.
Finally, it could be tested under ‘exceptional’ conditions. What happens if a 2-year old picks up the remote and presses all the buttons at once? What happens if there is a power cut, or a power surge?
If it fails any of these tests, it might be necessary to go back to the implementation (or even design) stage and do some further work, before re-testing.
If it passes all the tests, then the new product can go into production.
Documentation
However, the development isn’t yet complete! Some documentation will be needed to go with the product – a User Manual containing all the instructions about how to work the new product, and probably a Technical Manual for repair engineers.
Evaluation
Once the model is in production, the company will want to evaluate it. Does it do what it is supposed to do? Is it easy to use? And, from the engineer’s point of view, is it easy to repair?
Maintenance
Stage 6 should be the end of the process, but in the real world, there needs to be stage 7 – 'maintenance'. There are different kinds of maintenance: fixing faults that turn up once it is being used regularly, improving the design to make it even better, or making changes for other situations (like making a version that will work in another
country).
These seven stages are an essential part of the production process.
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