In this article we will study introduction of Software Engineering and the stages involved in SDLC.
Highlights:
1. What is Software Engineering
2. Stages in SDLC
3. Survey
4. Investigation and fact recording
5. Software design
6. Implementation or coding phase
7. Testing
8. Maintenance
1. What is Software Engineering?
Software Engineering is that branch of Engineering which applies engineering principles and techniques to the design, development and maintenance of Software.
2. Stages in SDLC
SDLC stands for Software Development Life Cycle. SDLC defines the steps (stages) involved in the development of a software. Mainly there are 6 stages involved in SDLC:
3. Requirements gathering and analysis (Survey)
First phase of SDLC is to collect the requirements from customer. Survey is the part of Requirement gathering phase of SDLC. Survey is the best technique to collect the requirements. We can do survey with following techniques:
1. Interviews
2. Questionnaires
3. Observation
4. Sampling
4. Feasibility study (Investigation and Fact Recording)
It is a part of Requirement analysis phase of SDLC. All the requirements collected through surveys are investigated in this part. Feasibility study means to check if it is possible to make the software or not.
After investigation of the requirements, final facts are recorded for analysis.
5. Software Design
The next stage of SDLC is the Design phase. During the design phase, developers and technical architects start the high-level design of the software and system to be able to deliver each requirement.
6. Implementation or Coding phase
This phase of SDLC comes when we have gathered the requirements and when our design is ready. The software developer starts coding according to the requirements and the design.
7. Testing
Testing is the last phase of SDLC. It is done before the software is delivered to customers so that the software exactly matches their requirements. Testers usually find errors or bugs in the software in this phase. There are two types of testing techniques:
1. Black Box testing: The technique of testing without having any knowledge of the interior workings of the software is called black-box testing. The tester cannot see the code but only can use the software to find any bugs or errors.
2. White Box testing: White-box testing is the detailed investigation of internal workings of the code. White-box testing is also called glass testing or open-box testing. In order to perform white-box testing on an application, a tester needs to know the internal workings of the code.
8. Maintenance
The maintenance phase of the SDLC occurs after we have delivered the software to the customers. Maintenance of software can include software upgrades or any error or bug fixing which the customer finds.
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