Beginner Topic 1 of 50 Software Engineering
Software Development Life Cycle
Phases from planning through deployment and maintenance.
How it works
The SDLC organizes work into phases: requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment and maintenance. Models differ in how these phases iterate.
Where it is used
Planning any project.
Common pitfall
Skipping requirements and testing phases causes costly rework later.
Where it fits in the course
Software Development Life Cycle is topic 1 of 50 in Software Engineering, rated Beginner. It is the first topic in this area. The next topic is Requirements Gathering.
Practice and explore
- Open the interactive lesson, with a mini quiz.
- Take the Software Engineering quiz.
How to study this topic
- Read the explanation above and restate the definition in your own words.
- Open the interactive lesson and answer its mini quiz.
- Read the common pitfall, then write a short example that avoids it.
- Check your understanding in the Software Engineering quiz, and revisit the topic if you miss a question.
Frequently asked questions
What is Software Development Life Cycle?
Phases from planning through deployment and maintenance. It belongs to Software Engineering and is a beginner-level topic.
Where do people use Software Development Life Cycle?
Planning any project.
What is the most common mistake with Software Development Life Cycle?
Skipping requirements and testing phases causes costly rework later.
What should I learn before this topic?
Nothing earlier in Software Engineering is required. This is where the area begins.
How can I practice it?
Answer the mini quiz in the interactive lesson, then take the Software Engineering quiz.
Is Software Development Life Cycle hard to learn?
It is a Beginner topic, so it works as an entry point. If the terms are new, read the explanation twice and try the visualizer before the quiz.
How long does it take to learn Software Development Life Cycle?
Most learners can read the explanation and finish the interactive lesson in under an hour. Fluency comes from applying the idea, so plan a few short practice sessions with the quiz.
Which topics are related to Software Development Life Cycle?
Requirements Gathering, Waterfall Model, Agile Methodology are closely connected. The full list is in the related topics section of this page.
What should I study after Software Development Life Cycle?
Continue with Requirements Gathering, the next topic in Software Engineering.
Related topics
- Requirements Gathering (Software Engineering)
- Waterfall Model (Software Engineering)
- Agile Methodology (Software Engineering)
- Scrum (Software Engineering)
- Fetch-Decode-Execute Cycle (Computer Architecture & Logic)
- Software Transactional Memory (Concurrency & Parallelism)
- Trunk-Based Development (DevOps & Tooling)