The first thing that comes to your mind after reading the title of this blog is, “What is software development?” It is the procedure during which different techniques, methods and principles of software activities are used to design, develop, program, test, maintain and evaluate frameworks, applications and other software components.

Software development life cycle

SDLC is the structured sequence of stages used in achieving your task. These stages are given as follows:

1. Construct your roadmap
2. Requirement analysis
3. Design and development
4. Implementation
5. Testing and Deploying
6. Maintenance

Here is a brief description of these phases:

1. Construct your roadmap

Aspirers usually jump to the framework and coding without having a proper plan. This is the biggest mistake any beginner can make. By taking online tutorials from Google or YouTube, you may make a project or two, but you will always be confused. The solution is that build a roadmap right now. Leave tutorial purgatory and devise a plan of how exactly you will become a software developer. You should be well aware of the things such as how long will you give time to this project per day, what are you going to give up on this etc. You can always seek help from an experienced mentor. Always keep the aim in your mind that your result should be technically feasible and economically worth the effort.

2. Requirement Analysis

After building the roadmap to your project, analyze the requirements for development.

• First of all, understand the problem to be solved. If you have zero knowledge about what you are going to do, then you have to study the basic courses. Decide whether you will do it online or by attending boot camps. Both have their pros and cons. For example, online courses might cost you a little or might be free (in some cases) but you will not have much support and interaction. On the other hand, boot camps might cost you much but there will be enough support. So, you have to choose wisely.
• Then, gather all the requirements and understanding that are needed for the software. This could be done by negotiating with your customer (or you collect all the related data, in case you are doing it for yourself).
• Decide which programming language you will use for coding because coding is the main part of software development, but not all of it. If you do not know how to code, then learn that language first. It will guide your path and will help you keep focused. Some people lose interest in learning coding after a week or two because they are doing it only for the sake of learning. Lookup for the things that ignite your curiosity. If you chase your curiosity attentively, things like lack of a CS degree, age factor or lack of experience won’t matter. Try learning different languages because if one language doesn’t work for you, the other might do. Don’t give up. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) will be extremely beneficial in this regard, although they are not programming languages. Here is a list of some languages for your understanding:

3. Design and Development

The main purpose of the design phase is to make requirements specification being able to be implemented and tested. The design is a craft in which ideas and solutions are proposed for the problems, before writing the code. You should know about the structural design and architectural blueprint before you jump in and begin coding. Usually, software development covers projects that are hard to do manually or consume a lot of time, effort and money. It also covers the projects that are impossible to be done manually or never have been done. There are three major parts of software designing:

• Interface Design
• Architectural Design
• Detailed Design

Design data structures, algorithms, flow charts and block diagrams. Have a backup plan. Divide your projects into different modules and comprehend the relationship between them.

4. Implementation

This is the main step in which you have to code. The modules designed in the previous stage have to be deployed and tested now. Consequently, you will get the set of tested modules as an end product of implementation. When coding, set a timer of whatever time you think will be taken to perform this task. Focus on the software you are building for that entire time and do not get distracted by anything around.

5. Testing and Deploying

Before giving the code to the end-user, all the modules have to be integrated and tested. Make sure that the software fulfils the requirements. The code is ready to be deployed once it has been tested. Deployment means putting your software on a server or some app store from where people can access it. This process is not as easy as seems to be, so be careful.

6. Maintenance

Maintenance can be much harder than the whole process of software development. Once you are done with your product, you have to maintain and enhance it. Bring positive changes to prevent errors. Upgrade the functionalities and implementations of the project.

Remember that number of years you spend in gaining experience and a degree doesn’t matter, but it is the number of hours that counts – the hours you spend in learning, practice and grooming your service. Even if you do not know anything, take the initiative right now. Just start. Each stage of software development is too vast to be discussed but by following these phases, you will ace it. Investment in time, effort and cost can make a huge difference and it will ultimately lead you from a beginner to an expert.