Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

SDLC (System Development Life Cycle), just as the name implies, is defined as the process of developing system or software to meet certain requirements or in other words it is defined as the standard procedure / structured methodology to develop a system or software. It covers many activities: gathering the requirements, understanding and analyzing the requirements, studying the project feasibility, choosing the system design and architecture, implementing/coding and testing it, up to the delivery of the product to the customer.

The Phases involved in SDLC are:

Requirement Collection: In this phase the Business Analyst or the Product Analyst gathers the requirements from the software company (customer). In Service based organizations the person who gathers the requirements are called Business Analysts and in Product Based Organizations they are called as Product Analyst.

Feasibility Study: This phase involves analyzing the requirements and checking whether the project is feasible to develop or not i.e., checking whether the project is feasible from technical, financial and resource point of views.

Designing: The initial structure of the entire project is created in this phase.

• High level designing: Building the entire architecture of the project. This involves Architect and Senior Developers.
• Low level designing: Deciding how each and every feature should work. This involves Senior Developers.

Coding: This phase includes coding of the project and involves all the developers assigned to the project (senior, junior, fresher).

Testing: Initially the developer used to develop the project and test it himself. This was the biggest drawback because, he may not have time to test it or may not test the product correctly. For this reason we have software test engineers today. Their main objective is to break the developed project i.e. to find as many bugs as possible.

Installation: Once the product is developed the Senior Developer / Installation Engineers goes to the customer’s place and installs the software whenever it is required.

Maintenance: Maintenance is necessary after the development of a successful project. It is obvious that changes occur once the project is handed over to the end user. The developers must develop the project in such a way that it is adaptable to those changes.  It is also necessary for handling any issues (bugs) once the product is being used by the customer.

Soon, iPhone to replace car key

Ever thought about opening the door of your car from your phone just like James Bond does? Well, General Motors, Holden's parent company has now launched a new iPhone app that could replace the car key.

It can already warn of parking officers, order your groceries and boost your share portfolio.

General Motors is working on an app for the iPhone and rival Google phone for some of its cars sold in the United States.

The phone application will allow drivers to activate all of the traditional key fob features, including unlocking the doors and opening the boot.

There will also be a remote start function that could prove handy for warming up the car on those colder mornings (or cooling it down during summer), and if you forget where you parked you can set off your car's horn and lights at the touch of a button so it can alert you to its location.

The app, which is set to be available within a few months, will also display a vehicle "health report", which will include info such as fuel range, oil life, tyre pressures as well as a lifetime breakdown of average fuel economy for the car.
However, the app will only be available in the US, Canada and China, with buyers of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC expected to be able to control their car from their phone within a few months.

The app is run as part of an in-vehicle safety and security system called OnStar.
"Technology empowers drivers to make decisions about their travels well before they enter the vehicle, meaning their full attention can stay where it needs to be - on the road ahead," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted company spokesman Chris Preuss as saying. (ANI)