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Learn about software development life cycle with online courses and programs

The software development life cycle can reduce costs and help teams work more efficiently. Are you interested in building digital products that meet customer expectations and organizational goals? Get started with courses delivered through edX.
Software Development Life Cycle | Introduction Image Description

What is the software development life cycle?

The software development life cycle (SDLC) is a process used to design, develop, and maintain digital products. Development teams map out their trajectory and split the project into phases. Each phase is split into tasks that must be completed before moving on to the next one. While there is no standard number of phases in the software development life cycle, a general approach may include steps such as: gather requirements, analyze, design, implement, test, deploy, and maintain.

With these approaches, teams can position themselves to reduce potential risks and deliver high-quality software that meets customer expectations.Footnote 1 The SDLC also helps teams by being continuous and iterative. This allows companies to build products that can be improved over time, and reinforces the importance of software development life cycle knowledge in any developer’s skill set.

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Software development life cycle tutorial curriculum

With the right software development life cycle tutorial, you can learn how to include all relevant participants and stakeholders in the process, from software engineers to business analysts. If you want to have a hand in developing digital products, an introductory software development life cycle course can explore the fundamentals and the cycle and explain how it compares to other development processes.

More advanced units could review the various phases of the SDLC, along with their goals, participants, and deliverables. In the later stages, you might also cover the common software development life cycle models that companies use to organize their phases. These include:

  • Agile model

  • Waterfall model

  • Spiral model

  • Iterative model

  • V-shaped model

  • Prototype model

  • Big bang model

  • DevOps model

Individuals who want to learn about the SDLC while building supplemental skills can find a bachelor’s degree program in IT or a related topic. Coursework may culminate in a final project that walks through the steps to execute a secure SDLC, where you integrate security into every phase of an existing model. Learners in a master's degree program may have additional opportunities to apply the SDLC to industry-specific situations, which can help them qualify for more high-level jobs.

Explore the range of learning opportunities offered through edX. From accelerated boot camps on topics like coding that allow you to upskill quickly to executive education courses designed for busy professionals on a leadership track, there are many options available to learners of all levels.

Explore jobs in software development

Learning about the software development life cycle can add valuable skills to your résumé. Whether you’re interested in working as a project or product manager, or you want to be the person responsible for writing the code that supports a product, there are many ways to leverage your SDLC knowledge.

Some jobs you can pursue after you learn software development life cycle processes include:

  • Product manager: Oversees the workflows in software development projects.Footnote 2

  • Software developer: Writes the source code for the product.Footnote 3

  • Quality assurance (QA) tester: Ensures that the product works as intended.Footnote 4

  • Product designer: Is in charge of the user interface (UI), user experience (UX), or both elements of the product.Footnote 5

  • Data scientist: Analyzes information about the product, such as usage metrics, for roadmapping.Footnote 6

  • Technical writer: Creates content pertaining to the development of software products.Footnote 7

You can also use the SDLC in your career to implement an effective approach to software development. For example, the waterfall approach works for products with many dependencies, whereas an Agile methodology is preferred for projects where requirements change often.

Start building the skills you need for your next career move. A product management boot camp could help you learn the planning and management skills you need to work within software development. Earning a bachelor’s in computer science may also provide you with the more technical expertise to understand the product itself.  Find the right course for you with edX and jumpstart your professional development today.

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Frequently asked questions

The secure software development life cycle follows the standard SDLC with a stronger focus on product security.Footnote 8 This means that security teams would need to participate in each phase. They may conduct code reviews and penetration tests before moving on to the next phase. Static analysis or automated testing can also help you catch common security vulnerabilities in each stage.

An approach to software development that emphasizes security is likely the one that's most compatible with DevSecOps. DevSecOps and DevOps pipelines operate on continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), so this type of model can provide a strong foundation for both.Footnote 9

The software development life cycle phases can vary depending on the project. However, the process generally includes a planning phase, analysis phase, design phase, development phase, testing phase, deployment phase, and maintenance phase.Footnote 10 It's also possible to reduce the number of phases without negatively impacting the actual development process.

The Agile software development life cycle model breaks projects into large chunks for teams to work on in short cycles called sprints. At the end of the sprint, the process restarts and iterates on progress from the previous development phase. For this reason, it relies on and builds effective collaboration. Teams use the Agile approach on projects where goals and expectations change quickly, allowing development teams to respond to them quickly and efficiently.

The software development life cycle (SDLC) is important because it streamlines processes for the people that work on digital products. It defines all roles for every team member, helping to keep the team focus clear. The SDLC also creates open communication channels for check-ins during each phase and improves collaboration among team members. Team members also have a tangible definition of what a part of the software being "done" means. All these benefits add up to improve efficiency and manage costs within the production environment.

It depends on the product, but there tend to be five to seven stages in the software development life cycle. An exhaustive systematic process would have a planning stage, analysis stage, design stage, development stage, testing stage, deployment stage, and maintenance stage.Footnote 11 Even if you're looking at a list with fewer steps, it likely includes all the stages above, although they may be grouped together differently. For example, you can combine planning and analysis and spread out the testing phase across every other fundamental stage.