7 Stages of System Development Life Cycle (SDLC): Importance

Last Updated on 1 week by Touhid

A system development life cycle or SDLC is an organized project management model that defines or involves different stages for the development and implementation of a system. There are 7 stages of the system development life cycle, which helps to develop a system from scratch.

7 Stages of System Development Life Cycle

The main aim of the system development life cycle in software engineering is to develop a quality-based system in a structured way. It will produce an effective solution within the given resources, budget, and timelines.

The 7 stages of the system development life cycle, are as follows:

  • Planning Stage
  • Feasibility or Requirements Analysis Stage
  • System Design Stage
  • Development Stage
  • Testing Stage
  • Implementation Stage
  • Maintenance Stage

7 stages of system development life cycle

1. Planning Stage

Planning is the first and most important stage of the system development life cycle. This stage identifies the necessity to develop a new system for an organization.

If needed then this stage defines the new system requirements, and project schedule and determines its objectives. If not needed then this stage defines the problem of an existing system and, the scope of the existing system and will take an initiative to improve the system.

The planning stage is the vital stage of the system development life cycle process because it determines the required resources, timeframe, budget, personnel, and technical aspects to complete the project.

During this stage, all security aspects, threats, and constraints of the system are discussed and considered to develop the system.

Typically, the main purpose of this phase is to find out the problems and decide the solutions to complete the project successfully.

2. Requirements Analysis Stage

Requirements analysis is the second stage of the 7 stages system development life cycle. In this phase, the development team will start with an analysis of the functional requirements of the system and how they will meet the end user requirements.

Here, the team will gather and analyze the user requirements and prepare a document called Software Requirement Specification (SRS). A software requirement specification is a most critical document that describes how a system should be developed with its all functional requirements.

An SRS is prepared at the end of the requirements analysis phase and the document specifies the functional requirements, development framework, hardware, and network requirements.

3. System Design Stage

Once the requirements analysis phase is complete then the design phase starts. This design phase of the SDLC process includes the design of the system’s architecture, network diagram, databases, user interfaces, and system interfaces.

The SRS document turns into a logical structure that can developed in a programming language by software developers. The proposed design will be reviewed for correction (if needed) and check the design will meet all requirements specified in the SRS document.

In this phase, the system design is created and ensures the system design will contain all functional requirements of the application.

4. Development Stage

The fourth phase of the system development life cycle is the development phase. In this stage, software engineers, database administrators, and network engineers start application development based on system design.

There are different types of programming languages (such as C++, PHP, Java, and .Net) and databases (such as MySQL, SQL Server, and Oracle). Software developers will choose the right programming language and database according to software requirement specifications.

Development stage of system development life cycle

Here, the software engineers will follow the coding standard or guidelines and complete the development of the application. After completion of development, all the modules and sub-modules will be integrated for training purposes and to detect errors.

Software developers also fine-tune all technical and physical configurations regarding software. The new system will be hosted in a client site hosting environment and proper training will be provided by developers.

Learn more about MySQL, and SQL Server.

5. Testing Stage

Testing is the fifth phase of SDLC which helps to verify appropriate testing and integration of each element in the system.

The main aim of the testing phase of SDLC is to identify all the bugs and errors in the system before the implementation stage starts. If there are any bugs and errors, then software developers will address those bugs and errors immediately.

The Software Quality Assurance (SQA) team will be involved in this stage and will perform the testing of the developed system and determine if the system meets the end user goals.

The testing phase plays an important role in the system development life cycle because it improves the performance and reliability of the developed system. It helps to verify that the new system is developed properly which means according to software requirement specification.

There are different types of system testing such as unit testing, integration testing, functional testing, regression and acceptance testing.

6. Implementation Stage

After the successful completion of the system testing phase, the newly developed system will be installed in the client data centre for implementation. In this stage, the system is released or delivered to the end users for live data entry or in the production environment.

If an organization has an old system so, they can migrate or move the data to the newly developed system. When data migration is complete from the old to the new system, the end user can start using the new system. It is noted that 100% data migration is a very difficult job.

System engineers are involved in this stage of SDLC who will prepare the hosting environment and install the system on a server. They will take necessary action to secure the system to protect it from cyber threats or unauthorized access.

Finally, all the system documents and admin access are handed over to the organization’s head or a dedicated person in the organization.

7. Maintenance Stage

This is the 7th and last stage of the system development life cycle. When the system is successfully implemented and installed into the end user environment then the maintenance stage of SDLC will start. The main aim of this stage is to do regular maintenance of the system and add new requirements and necessary updates.

The maintenance phase ensures that the system is functional, improving the software/hardware, and updating the system. Software developers will monitor the overall system and add the latest security technologies to protect from cyber security threats.

During this stage, if there are any changes needed in the system then the software developers are responsible for implementing them. In that case, there should be a monthly or yearly maintenance contract between the software company and the client (software user).

After completion of the maintenance period, the contract may be extended depending on mutual agreement between both parties.

Maintenance phase of System development life cycle

Importance 7 Stages of SDLC 

The system development life cycle is very important for an organization that wants to develop and implement a system from scratch. It provides a standard and guideline to develop a system in a structured way and it meets the client’s requirements.

SDLC helps to plan the required resources, timeframe, budget, personnel, and technical aspects to complete the project. It ensures that the system will be delivered within the time frame to the client.

The most important thing is that SDLC provides overall control of the system development process from planning to maintenance stages. The system development life cycle ensures that the new system meets the end-user requirements and system is free from bugs and errors.

Software engineers will follow the coding standard to develop and complete the development process according to software requirement specifications. The testing stage of the system development life cycle will ensure that the developed system must meet the end user requirements.

Related article: Different Models of Software Development Life Cycle.

Conclusion

Finally, the system development life cycle is very important for an organization because it helps to develop a system from scratch. Every stage of the system development cycle plays an important role, and it helps to develop the system successfully.

In this article, we have discussed 7 stages of the system development life cycle. If you want to develop a system for your organization, you should develop the system using the above stages of SDLC.

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *