On this page I will give an overview of the software development life cycle. This will vary from company to company, depending on what the company develops, their team structures and more importantly what methodology of project management they use. This is an overview based on my experience.
Below is an overview of an average/general life cycle, along with some of the factors involved as examples:
Overview of the General Software Development Life-cycle
Below here is an example of an Agile (Atern DSDM) development life cycle, it is pretty much the same but some of the naming conventions and layers are different. In this page I will try to keep it as general as possible to try and cover all Agile methodologies (DSDM, Scrum, Lean, XP…).
Agile (Atern DSDM) Life cycle
Pre-Project:
Pre-Project Phase
Most projects within a software development company will exist as part of a portfolio, programme or strategic project. The idea in this phase is to simply formalize the project and place it in context of work being done already and work to be done by the company. As in the image above, the outcome of this phase should be to:
- Outline the problem to the business
- Identify who will sponsor or be the owner of the project
- Confirm that the project is inline with the business strategy
- Ensure that the project is actually feasible.
- Identify any risks
- Identify stakeholders
In most companies this would be referred to as a ‘Business Case’ or ‘Project Proposal’. These projects are usually placed in a backlog and to be prioritized, and are broken down when it comes time for them to be delivered.
Requirements
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