Developing a new software project is a task that requires detailed planning and precise execution. From the first idea to launching the project, it takes a lot of hard teamwork and solid management to make it all work. All of this is an essential part of the software product lifecycle.
Respecting the key stages of the software product lifecycle is the only way to ensure the result is exactly what you've set as a goal. If you're not convinced of the importance of each stage, we’re here to lay out the facts.
Here are the key stages of the software product lifecycle and their importance.
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Market Research
To choose the right idea for your next project, you need to know what some of the gaps in the market are that your product could fill. You need to find a problem to solve, a need, or an open spot that your product will solve.
To do so, conduct market research using available data or by reaching out to potential users of your new product.
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Importance: Setting the product's foundation using facts and ensuring the project has objective goals.
Brainstorming Ideas
The next step is to lay out all your best ideas and see what you've got. Team members should contribute with different ideas on how to fill the gap we've mentioned above and what some of the best options are.
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Importance: Assessing your best ideas and making sure you use the maximal potential of your team members.
Planning Development
This next stage is more complex than the rest, as there are several steps that you have to cover. Planning the development of the project is all about creating a detailed roadmap that the developers will follow once they start working on it.
In this stage, make sure to cover the following.
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Design: define the system architecture, interface, and components
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Development Phases: divide the process of development into planned stages and steps
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Milestones: set goals and milestones that will guide you from one stage to the other
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Resources: define everything you need to start working on the project
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Importance: This stage defines all the important development steps and leaves no room for misinterpretation or mistakes.
Development
Now, it’s time to put all that planning into use and start working on the project. As the developers develop the code, they’ll follow the roadmap you’ve created. They’ll need to apply the best practices for achieving the set goal.
In this stage, the developers need to use an effective development methodology, have clear communication, perform quality testing, and use automatic testing for code.
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Importance: The quality of your final product depends heavily on this stage, as you’ll be executing the plans and working on achieving the set goals.
Testing
After the product has been developed, it needs to be tested. That means running it to see if it meets the requirements you’ve set if there are any bugs and issues, and if there is room for improvement.
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Importance: To achieve maximum user satisfaction, you have to launch the product only once it’s been tested.
Deployment
Finally, once you’ve made sure the product is ready to be launched, you can deploy it. Your end users will finally have the chance to start using the product.
Make sure you help them with simple downloading, instructions on how it works, and a simple transition from any old products you've had to these new ones.
Final Thoughts
Once the product has been launched, all that’s left is proper maintenance, updating, and user support. But, the better you handle the stages covered above, the less customer support you'll have to provide.
Each stage in the software product lifecycle is important and contributes to the overall quality of the result. Don't cut any corners, and make sure each stage is carefully executed.