by (( Nikki ))

Created on: December 15, 2009

As the saying goes, software is any part of the computer that you can’t kick. Installed programs, such as Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer, are common examples. The software development process describes how one of these products is taken from inception through implementation and delivered to customers.

 While there are many process models and methodologies, they all cover 3 main steps in the life cycle of development. Planning, implementation, and deployment & maintenance. Those steps are in turn broken down into mini-processes of their own, covering requirements gathering, coding, testing, QA, maintenance, bug fixes, and enhancements.

 ==  Planning  ==

The planning stage is where everyone starts. Requirements and specifications are gathered from the client through a process known as requirements analysis. Customers often don’t know exactly what they want or need, and they don’t know the limits of technology. They may give you requirements that don’t seem to make sense, or that simply are not possible to implement.

The software development team must work closely with the customer or liason in order to take what the customer says they want and translate it into what they really need in a way that will actually work. Small demos may be used to help figure out what really needs implemented and determine feasibility. Storyboards and diagrams are also helpful.

The end result is a scope document or something similar that can be worked from. The stated goals can be met and a signoff can be given by the client or customer. This document takes an abstraction (the initial requirements) and creates a concrete set of implementable goals. It may also be used as a legal document in case the client later tries to say that they asked for something else or that the software product doesn’t do what they asked for.

Deciding on a platform and programming language may be necessary at this stage if one has not already been chosen as a company standard.

 == Implementation ==

Implementation of the software product includes the actual programming required, testing (QA) the code to ensure it does what it is supposed to do (and doesn’t do what it isn’t supposed to do), and documenting the system.

Some methodologies break this down into quite small iterative steps, sometimes implemented even while still gathering more requirements (Agile/XP).

Writing the code is a large job. Programmers may work alone, in tandem,

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