Software development life cycle (SDLC) involves various stages, each involving its unique set of skills and expertise and is equally important as the next one.
You may be an expert in developing software but there’s much more in the SDLC. For example, there’s the part that deals with deployment, another deals with testing and quality assurance, and much more.
Ahead, we will cover 6 stages in SDLC that are directly involved in the development part and what outsourcing looks like in these stages.
1. Planning
The planning part isn’t strictly related to development, however, without a set game plan, you won’t be able to begin software development.
When you outsource the planning part, your vendor will give you a development strategy. More importantly, they can help you with vendor selection for your software development, if you don’t have an in-house development team.
They can conduct credentialing as well as interviews, so you don’t have to.
2. Design
Moving on to the design part, outsourcing can be handed over to a modern agency, with a team of creative professionals, who can help you with branding before your launch.
For example, they can design for you text, style, images, and videos with a coherent theme, so you are instantly recognizable across various platforms such as websites, ads, and banners.
From a development perspective, outsourcing can be used to design the software architecture that includes wireframes, mockups, and the super-important – user interface.
3. Development
Of course, you can outsource the development part of software development, where you hire highly skilled developers to develop the software and the code. It is perhaps the most technical part involving different levels of experiences, versatility, time, hardware, and a whole lot of other resources.
The good news is that you can outsource this part, so you can focus on the core functions of running a business.
If it suits your needs, you can hire outside firms to handle specific modules and components, while your internal developer team manages primary functionalities.
4. Testing And QA (Quality Assurance)
It is recommended to keep the QA team separate from the developer team, so the development team can stay laser-focused towards their priorities.
The QA team conducts rigorous testing to ensure that the software meets quality standards, functions correctly, and is more than well-secured.
It is incredibly important that software does not have any security holes – we don’t want catastrophic horror stories in software development that can cause up to £92 million in losses, now do we?
5. Deployment
With the super-wide popularity of cloud computing in software development, deploying the software on international servers has become highly convenient.
You will need a team of DevOps engineers, who are well-versed in cloud computing, so you can host your software with the proper uptime, the right scaling, and an appropriate data plan.
6. Maintenance And Support
Software development doesn’t just end at deployment, you need software support indefinitely.
By outsourcing, you get a team that offers maintenance services such as:
- Addressing bugs, swiftly and as soon as they arrive.
- Issuing updates, to keep software relevant in an evolving atmosphere.
- All the while keeping the software patched with the latest security fortifications.
Additionally, you can acquire a dedicated support staff that can guide and provide assistance to your end-users.
That’s Not All In A Software Development Project
Although these 6 stages will help you develop your software, but there are additional super-fundamental stages that play a pivotal role in steering software development towards successful completion.
Missing out on any one of these will not only result in a mediocre product but can also halt the software development process; sometimes, even before they begin.