License To Crack - Software Development Life Cycle

The Various activities which are carried out when developing a software are commonly termed as a software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The software development life cycle begins with the identification of a need for software and ends with the formal testing of the developed software against the requirements.

A software project is made up of a series of phases; most software projects comprise the following phases:

-- Inception Phases
-- Requirement Analysis Phase
-- Design Phase
-- Coding Phase
-- Testing Phase
-- Implementation Phase
-- Maintenance Phase

Inception phase

Request for proposal

The first initiative that happens for the development of a software product, is the need for someone to automate or computerize their system, e.g. a bank willing to automate its day to day activities. When the need is felt by the concerned unit, they will give a formal advertisement in the media that they need a software product for their automation. This may be in newspapers or on internet or private letters known software development people. This process is called Request for Proposal (RFP).

In the real world it is called as tender also, in many situations. When there is a need, the state highways department may want to lay road for 100 miles, at a particular stretch. In that case they will give a tender notice in newspapers inviting people to give their proposals. RFP is a similar one. The tender may contain minimal information about the need; and it may not be sufficient for the bidders. In those cases, the sales department of a software development company will approach people to identify the needs. The sales department will keep its eyes and ears open to see any open tenders, that can fit into their business.

Proposal

When the software development company finds that there is an RFP, they will prepare a formal proposal and sent it to the concerned unit that needs the software product. The proposal will contain: Time frame in which the project will be executed, Milestones of the projects activities and the respective start and finish dates, Cost involved in the project, Number of people likely to work in the project and their skill sets, Hardware and software requirements for the project, an overall architecture of the system, the technology that will be used to develop the software, Credentials of the software development company including annual turnover, manpower, past experience in executing similar kinds of projects etc. The cost and time will be estimated by project manager or any appropriate senior person, who possesses this kind of estimation experience. The success of the project greatly relies on the accuracy of these estimates.

These details will be provided in a single document and will be sent to the concerned unit. This is called Proposal. In colloquial terms, this is called a quotation. Many Software Development Units (SDUs) will send their formal proposal to the unit, which needs the software. Obviously each proposal will differ in terms of cost, time, people etc

Negotiation

When the company receives multiple proposals from various SDUs, they have to identify a suitable SDU, which can provide the required software product with minimal cost, in a minimal time frame, through an optimal technology. To identify a particular SDU among multiple SDUs, the company, which needs the software, may call all of them or a few of them based on the credentials and other parameters stated above for further clarifications. During this process, SDUs will be asked for a lot of technical and functional clarifications and also to reduce the cost and to shorten the time frame. This happens invariably in all projects and this process is called negotiation. After one or more rounds of such talks, the company may identify a suitable SDU as the unit that is going to develop the software. In this process, both the company that needs the software and the identified SDU are in agreement of the terms, in terms of cost, time, technology etc.

Usually the senior management team and sales team are involved in negotiation process.

Letter Of Intent (LOI)

Once an SDU is identified, they will be given a formal letter by the company, which needs the software, stating that they are willing to proceed further in the development process. This is a pre-cursor to signing a contract. This is only an informal assurance that the deal is closed. Also, LOI alone cannot stand as the final document to start work.

Feasibility Study

Once the Letter Of Intent is given to the SDU, the SDU may send some people to the client's place to do a preliminary research to know the feasibility of the automation. This may be for a shorter period. This is called Feasibility Study. In this process, the SDU will come to know about the complexities and the difficulties in implementing a computerized solution.

This study may occur even before the proposal stage, in some cases. But there is a disadvantage for the client, i.e. inviting multiple SDUs to do the feasibility study. If this happens after the LOI is issued, then it will be one SDU, that does this work in a focused manner and this will help the client in passing on the project information in a quick and efficient manner.

Contract

After the negotiation is complete, LOI is issued and the feasibility study is furnished, there will be (may be) another round of re-estimation of the cost and time. But this may not vary in many cases from the original estimates and many clients do not want any further increase in the cost or time. Then the SDU and the client will formally sign a contract, which clearly specifies the timeframe within which the project must finish, the cost involved, the technology to be used, the hardware and software setup etc. This is the commitment document that serves as the basis, throughout the project. The contract will include many clauses regarding the legalities and any other penalty charges in case the SDU is not able to keep up its promise.

There are projects, in which the time is not fixed, but the work is measured in terms of person-days and the cost will be paid on an hourly or daily basis per person. Contract usually contains many legal phrases that describe about payment terms, warranty period, dispute handling and jurisdiction, any other specific terms as agreed in negotiation, protecting the intellectual property rights etc.