Software Development Process

Developing large-scale software is a very complicated exercise.  It can involve many people and a great amount of time to develop programs like Photoshop, Windows Vista,  Mortal Kombat, .... etc.  In order to be successful, it is necessary that a good plan to the process is put into place.  There are many different methods and approaches to developing software, but most of them share a number of common phases.  The common phases of software development include:

1.  Analysis - Analysis is the process of determining what is actually required of the proposed software system.  These requirements are also sometimes referred to as "The Problem Statement".

2.  Design - Once the problem is fully understood, the next part of the process is focused on design.  This may include breaking the problem down into smaller parts according to task.  From these smaller parts, decisions will be made as to how the system will be implemented in a program language.

3.  Coding - In the coding phase, the code for the system is written in a particular programming language.

4.  Testing - Testing is the phase of software development in which the implemented code is executed to determine whether or not the program meets the expectations outlined in the analysis stage.

5.  Debugging - When a program doesn't perform according to specification, it is said to contain a bug.  Debugging is the phase of software development in which these flaws are analyzed and then fixed.

6.  Production - Production is the phase of software development where the tested and debugged program is made available to the user community.

7.  Maintenance - The final phase of software development is maintenance which includes correcting any problems with the software that may have been discovered after the software has been released to the user community.