The Phases Of Software Development Methodology

A software development methodology is a framework that is used to structure, plan, and control the process of developing an information system. There are different software development methodologies which are used for different reasons.

There are different software development methodologies but we will look at 4 methodologies here and they are: -
1) Waterfall Development Methodology is a traditional development methodology which consists of phases (requirements, design, implementation, integration and testing, deployment, maintenance). These phases are run in sequential manner. Each phase must be done completely in order to move to the next phase and there is no turning back, means there is no process for going back to modify the project.

• Integration and testing- All the units developed in the implementation phase are tested and integrated into the system. After the integration, the system is tested for faults and failures.
• Deployment- Once the testing is completed, the software is deployed into the market.
• Maintenance- Some issues come up from the customers which needs to be fixed. Some better versions are also released to enhance the product.
This model does not allow changes and revision during the process. Once an application is in the testing phase, it is very difficult to go back and change something that was not well documented in the concept stage.

2) Spiral Development Methodology- The spiral development model is the widely used model. This model has 4 phases: - Identification, Design, Construct, and Evaluation and Risk Analysis. A project repeatedly passes through these phases in spirals.
• Identification- In this phase requirements are gathered. This phase understands the system by continuous communication between the customer and the system

Each iteration is a mini project of its own. Each iteration is tested to ensure software quality is maintained. Interaction with the customer is the backbone of the agile methodology.
Agile model follows some principles and they are as follows: -
• Individuals and interactions- Team members need to encourage to take an active part in the development and planning activities. They are given the power to take actions on their own. The team members have to share their ideas to develop the product as a whole unit.
• Working Software- The objective here is to develop and deliver a demo product to the customers to understand their requirements until the entire product is developed.
• Customer Collaboration- As the requirements may not be available in the beginning of the project, continuous customer interaction is very important to get proper requirements. It saves a lot of time through customer collaboration, as the projects proceeds in a successful manner.
• Responding to changes- Agile is focused on quick responses to change and continuous development. Changes can be carried out at any time while the features are being