Software development process: 7 steps to success

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your next software. Successful software projects require a lot of careful planning and a methodical approach to reach the desired outcomes.

However, what the Romans didn’t have was modern project management methodologies and advanced platforms like monday dev to help manage and execute plans efficiently. So, while your software still won’t be built in a day, you can ensure the software development process moves along smoothly so that it’s launched quickly.

This blog post explores the steps involved in the software development process and looks at what makes it important, best practices, which development methodologies work best, and why software like monday dev can help teams optimize the entire process.

What is a software development process?

A software development process is a set of activities and methods to lead to designing, developing, and delivering a piece of software. Comprised of different stages, each one is meant to ensure the final product meets specific requirements and software quality standards. The steps of a software development process involve stages for designing, developing, testing, deploying, and maintaining software.

Why is the software development process important?

The process of developing a software product requires a systematic approach to creating a high-quality final product that meets both user needs and business strategy and goals. The process itself is beneficial for a few key reasons:

• Reduces the likelihood of errors, delays, and excess costs during the development process
• Enables better collaboration and communication on a product
• Ensures all aspects of development are carefully planned and executed
• Helps maintain consistency throughout development to guarantee a stable final product
• Allows teams to meet standards for regulatory compliance

While the process itself is essential, the route teams can take can differ by opting for specific project management methodologies, such as Agile, Scrum, Kanban, or others.

What are the stages of the software development life cycle?

The software development lifecycle goes through several stages that guide teams from ideation all the way to launch and beyond. For example, with the Agile model, the stages of the software development lifecycle include:

• Planning
• Development
• Testing
• Deployment
• Maintenance
• Retirement

The Agile software development life cycle allows teams to break software development projects down into smaller chunks, creating more transparency and adaptability throughout the development process.

7 steps of the software development process

Understanding how software is developed from inception to deployment involves breaking down the entire process into different steps. Each stage plays a role in making sure the final product is reliable, meets expectations, and functions properly. Below, we’ll look at a breakdown of the key sequence of steps that make up the software development process.

1. Analyze requirements

In the initial phase, it’s important to begin by understanding and documenting user and stakeholder expectations. You’ll want to review any documentation related to your software and check that the software you plan to develop aligns with your business goals. Another part of analyzing requirements is examining and allocating available resources, such as workforce, tools, and the technologies you’ll need to get the job done.

2. Planning

Based on the requirements you outlined, you can begin the planning phase by creating a project plan. This involves determining a timeline, budget, and setting milestones. You can also build task lists based on different parts of the development, set team responsibilities, and decide how you’ll monitor the progress of your project.

3. Design

In the design phase, you’ll begin to design the software architecture, including overall structure, data models, user interface, and workflows. You’ll want to consider functional and non-functional software design requirements alongside technical or cost-related restrictions. This is also the time to design how the software will look by designing all the elements related to the user experience.

4. Development

After the design is finalized and confirmed by all team members, you can get started on writing the code. During the development stage, software developers will use programming languages to write code that brings your designs to life. While this process can be time-consuming, if previous project stages were done correctly, it should progress smoothly.

5. Testing

Once the code is finished and the software is developed, it’s important it undergoes rigorous testing to identify and address bugs or issues. In the testing phase, you can run various types of tests on your software, such as looking at specific units, integrations, performance, the overall system, and more.

6. Deployment

After the testing is completed and there are no more outstanding issues, the software is deployed into the production environment so that it can be used by the customer. Often, new software is released in a limited capacity in an Alpha or Beta version to a select few users who provide feedback. Customer feedback is used to make updates or fixes and is then re-released to larger audiences.

7. Maintenance

After the software is fully deployed to a wide audience, it still needs ongoing maintenance to address issues that may arise. Additionally, you’ll need to release updates based on user and stakeholder feedback, such as new features, performance improvements, or updated security patches.

Best practices for a successful software development process

Aside from following the steps outlined above, there are some other tips and best practices you can apply to enhance efficiency and deliver high-quality software. To make the most of your software development process, here are a few best practices to follow:

• Communicate efficiently: Encourage open and regular communication among team members and stakeholders to ensure everyone is aligned
• Solicit feedback often: Ask users or testers for detailed feedback often and take action on their comments
• Focus on the user experience: After ensuring the direction of your software aligns with your business goals, make sure you’re keeping your end user in mind at every step
• Maintain clear documentation: Documentation should be clear and updated on an ongoing basis to support the development process
• Identify risks: Manage potential risks early on by identifying what issues may arise and have a mitigation plan in place to handle them
• Test regularly: Prioritize testing throughout all steps, not only the testing stage, to identify issues before they reach production

6 best software development methodologies

Studies show that 68% of companies have adopted a form of the Agile methodology for their software development process, but this isn’t the only option out there. Choosing the right software development methodology can dictate the execution of your development process. Each project methodology has its own approach and is suited to different types of projects and team dynamics. Here’s an overview of some of the most popular software development methodologies:

1. Agile: A flexible and iterative approach that emphasizes collaboration and small, frequent feature releases, ideal for projects that are likely to evolve over time
2. Waterfall: A linear and sequential methodology where each phase needs to be completed before moving on, ideal for projects with well-defined requirements
3. Scrum: A subset of Agile, Scrum sorts work into short periods called sprints where the focus is on a specific task, ideal for projects that benefit from an incremental approach
4. Kanban: A visual approach that uses a board to manage tracks with a continuous workflow, ideal for flexible projects that are focused on improving efficiency
5. Rapid application development (RAD): Prioritizes rapid prototyping and iterative user feedback for fast development cycles, ideal for projects that need to deliver functional components quickly
6. V-Model: An extension of the Waterfall model that emphasizes verification and validation at each stage, ideal for projects with testing needs to occur alongside development

Streamlining the software development process with monday dev

monday dev is an all-encompassing work platform that enables development teams to organize and execute their work faster. Filled with features that aid in all stages of software planning and development, monday dev helps teams put projects in motion and monitor every step’s progress.

With tools for project planning, sprint management, tracking bugs, and setting release plans, monday dev empowers teams to accelerate the software development journey from ideation all the way through launch. Here are a few key monday dev features that help in the software development process:

200+ app integrations

Developers have a lot of tools to keep track of, especially when it comes to coding and bug tracking. With monday dev, you can continue using your favorite work tools like GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and others.

Sort knowledge with robust documentation

Collaborate on documents, attach them to specific tasks, and share them with your team to keep everything related to the stages of software development sorted in one place. Your team can access these files from anywhere at any time, making it easy to maintain clear documentation.

Automate manual tasks

Set tasks on autopilot with monday dev’s no-code automation capabilities. In a matter of minutes, you can build your own customized automations to cut down on manual and repetitive tasks. This helps automatically send reminders, notifications, assign tasks to the right team member, and more.

Work your way with dozens of work views

monday dev allows you to visualize work your way with 27 different work views. No matter which software development methodology your team is using, they can find the right view that fits their workflow, such as Kanban, Gantt Chart, Timeline, and more.

A successful software development process starts with the right software

Before you even get to the software development steps, you should first make sure the software you’re using to manage your development process is optimal for your needs. With a platform like monday dev, you can rest assured that your team has all that they need to effectively collaborate, communicate, and monitor each stage of software development.