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SDLC Design Phase – Everything You Need to Know

The software development life cycle includes many phases and the design phase is one of them. SDLC design phase helps to define how to turn the idea into a product through this multistage process. A development team works to develop software. It includes a project manager, a business analyst, a technical architect, software developers, and a design team.

In this post, I will talk about the design phase of the software development life cycle. Our web development company follows all the phases and produces the best software project. Well, SDLC is the core of any website and app development.

Without SDLC, development teams can’t produce high quality software, project managers can face problems to find flaws in software, and software testing can not be effective. So, it plays a crucial role to make a product qualitative and effective.

What Is SDLC?

SDLC was developed in the 1960s to manage complex business systems in which a great deal of data processing and analysis was required. After some time, its uses became common for hardware and software development.

To understand the design phase of SDLC for system software development, you must be familiar with SDLC. The software development life cycle is commonly called the SDLC phase. It provides details about how to create an app from scratch or any other software.

This process helps to produce high-quality software at the lowest price in a short time. It generally has 6 or sometimes 7 phases.

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Almost all software products go through the SDLC stages to be ready for the market. Whether there are significant projects or small ones, the production environment is set by analyzing SDLC for all of them.

What Is the Design Phase in the SDLC?

In this post, I will keep my focus more on the design phase of the software development cycle. Designing is the third phase of the SDLC phases. First is the requirement analysis phase, second is planning, and then comes designing. At this stage, developers define the technical details of the product. They are as follows.

• Screen design
• Sketches
• System interfaces
• UI/UX designs
• Databases
• Prototypes

All the details about the system design phase are mentioned in the software requirement specification document. It helps development teams in the implementation phase for error-free system development.

A thorough market analysis and requirement helps to prepare better designs at once. Many companies follow agile methodology for software development.

Many types of designs are created in this phase of the software development process. Depending on the business requirements and the client’s needs, the design is improved many times. Moreover, developers build a minimum viable product and get feedback from real customers.

Many businesses want to know how to hire full-stack developers for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). It is because it helps a development team to improve architecture and software components that are good for the customer.

Phases of Systems Development Life Cycle

SDLC provides a framework for technical and non-technical products. Its systematic ways are aligned in a sequence. So development teams move from the first to the next stage. Software development includes 6 phases. Let’s know about all these phases so that you can connect effectively with the design phase SRS.

• Requirement Analysis
• Planning
• Designing
• Development
• Testing
• Deployment/maintenance

1. 1. Requirement Analysis

   The requirement analysis phase is the first stage of the software development life cycle. Here comes the market analysis and research. You can achieve the below things with requirement analysis.

   1. Performance of needed procurement activities
   2. Completion of COTS fit gap analysis and requirement validation phase
   3. Approval to progress to the design phase
   4. Turn high-level requirements into measurable requirements
   5. Check the status of identified risks and risks responses

2. 2. Planning

   In this stage, you have to outline the problems and make strategies accordingly. Market analysis help to make a realistic, quick, and error-free plan. A development team decides on priorities. The project manager at Technource follows an iterative incremental model or agile model. The team has to also design a wireframe for a mobile app during the planning.

   In this model particular tasks are assigned as per the skills of team members. Planning is done for every phase of the system development life cycle. It has to consider the previous phases and the next phases of SDLC for planning. It is done at once and for all.

3. 3. Designing

   A software developer checks all required documents for a better production environment. Since designing defines the entire system architecture, no development team moves forward without it. The design of a software system falls into two categories.

   • 1) High-Level Design (HLD):
     It includes a brief description and the name of each module. So, you have to analyze the functionality of each module. Moreover, key elements are used to identify the database tables.
   • 2) Low-Level Design (LLD):
     It includes the functional logic of the modules. You have to collect the details of the interface, database tables, and type and size. Furthermore, a listing of error messages, and addresses dependency issues.

4. 4. Development

   After the designing phase is completed, the development stage begins. For this, developers have to choose a programming language. If it is an app, they choose a programming language according to iOS or Android platforms.

   A project is divided among developers according to their skills and modules. A developer works on a task assigned by the project manager.

5. 5. Testing

   Software testing is a crucial development stage because it improves the quality of the product. The testing phase includes checking all the components, functions, features, and every tiny thing in the software system. There are two types of testing: black box testing and white box testing.

   Software developers don’t check all the components of the product manually. They use tools and technologies for a fast and quality testing phase of the SDLC process.

6. 6. Deployment/maintenance

   This is the last stage of the SDLC process. Once the developers, testers, and the project manager are sure there is no error, the product is ready to go live. If the product has no errors- and no bugs, you can upload it to the Google play store. If you don’t know how to upload an app to the Google play store, check out the blog.

What Is Software Requirement Specification?

Writing a software requirement specification involves analysis of the market, and client requirements, searching for suitable tools and technologies, and many other things. Since an app can help you dominate competitors, you must prepare an impeccable SRS. It is because an SRS tells what to work on and how.

Follow the below points for effective SRS of the design phase.

1. Define the product’s purpose
2. Describe what you want
3. Provide detail requirements
4. Deliver it for approval

Developers and designers of your software can easily understand what type of product you want with the help of SRS.

Objectives & Goals: Design Phase of SDLC

The objectives and goals of the design phase of the SDLC process are as follows.

Objectives-

Completion of a design phase should comprise:

1. Conversion of all requirements into detailed specifications covering all aspects of the system
2. Examination and planning for security risks
3. Approval of the progress to the development phase

Goals-

1. Convert the requirements into comprehensive and detailed system design specifications.
2. After the design approval, the development team starts building logic.

Designers and developers set small goals for effective and error-free designing and a coding phase. Various tools and technologies are used for app development by professionals in Technource for UI/UX designing and coding.

Roles & Responsibilities from Design to Testing Phase

Different roles and responsibilities are given to various professionals for system development. Since development tasks are many, a single person can’t handle everything. If he does it will take a lot of time which can reduce the value of the software product.

Here are the roles and responsibilities of different persons involved in the system development life cycle.

• Client/Customer
• Business Analyst
• Project Manager
• Design Team
• Development team
• Testing Team
• Database Team

1. 1. Client/Customer

   The customer tells the requirements for software development to developers or business analysts. The client sponsors the app or website and helps in the reviews and feedback for the product.

2. 2. Business Analyst

   A business analyst reviews the designs, features, and architecture of the software and suggests ideas. He is a key player to identify the requirements.

3. 3. Project Manager

   A project manager has to be proactive and able to foresee possible obstacles in the development process. He organizes and leads a team for impeccable and timely software development.

4. 4. Design Team

   A design team works for designing software components, system architecture, and features of the software. The design team is also called the technical architect and tech designer.

5. 5. Development team

   The development team reads the software requirement specifications to understand the in-depth descriptions of the software. Likewise, they collect the information from system requirement specifications. The development team builds logic as per the designs and functions. It works on server-side components.

6. 6. Testing Team

   The testing team tests the entire system to find errors, bugs, and other issues. Well, the testing stage is not the end stage, it is done many times throughout the development cycle.

7. 7. Database Team

   The database team uses SQL and many other database management tools. It helps in architecture design and data conversion strategy. It finds ways to store customer information properly in the database. Also works on different requests like add, remove, modify, and update.

What Are Deliverables and Approvals in the Design Phase?

SDLC deliverables help an app development company to plan, execute, and control IT projects. It provides a framework through which the project can be defined, planned, and communicated properly and consistently.

Have a look at the development and distribution of software development life cycle deliverables

1. Establish a common understanding between development team members and stakeholders.
2. Facilitate IT best practices and project management.
3. When the project become complex, deliverables work as a reminder of a specific plan.
4. Stakeholders or businesses can get insight into the project risk and ongoing performance.

The development team should write comprehensive and easy-to-understand documents. It should keep redundant information at bay. Write a lucid SRS document in which the repository for critical project information is clear.

It helps the team to implement routine deliverable reviews. It corrects inaccuracy, incompleteness, and ambiguities. Furthermore, the content of the deliverables can expand and shrink according to the size and complexity of the project.

Approval:

For approval, the sign-off of the customer, developer, tester, and business analyst is needed. Once the deliverables are approved, the team can focus on the next phase.

How to Exit from the Design Phase in SDLC?

Here are the exit criteria for the system design phase.

1. Complete the system design document
2. Complete and review the master test plan artifacts related to the design
3. Focus on the training plan, training manual, maintenance manual, and user manual.

By following the above ways you can exist from the design phase and move to the next one.

Top Software Development Life Cycle Models

You have read about the SDLC phases and specifically about the design phase, but do you know there are various SDLC models?

These SDLC models also include the same phases. Different software development companies follow different models as per their convenience and project requirements. I have curated some of my favorite software development models in 2023 below.

• Agile Model
• Linear Sequential Model
• Iterative Incremental Model
• Big Bang Model
• Spiral Model
• Prototype Model

1. 1. Agile Model

2. 

3. This model is a combination of an iterative and incremental model. It focuses on process adaptability and customer satisfaction. The project is broken into small tasks or iterations. Every iteration has a period of one to three weeks only. a cross-functional team works on every iteration. Agile methodology or model includes requirement analysis, planning, designing, coding, testing, and deployment phase.

4. 2. Linear Sequential Model

5. 

6. It is a systematic approach to building software. You can’t jump to the next phase without completing the previous one. It means you have to go through all the stages. You can keep the development process simple by using this one. However, it sometimes takes a lot of time so the product becomes obsolete.

   It is also called a waterfall model. It progresses through the requirement analysis phase, planning, designing, modeling, construction, and others.

7. 3. Iterative Incremental Model

8. 

9. This model is considered effective when you want fast results. It is because the initial product delivery is fast. It lowers the initial delivery cost for the customer. It is a partial implementation of the total system. Moreover, developers get tasks as per their skills which they had to complete within a provided time.

   Often the process is repeated until the task is completed and the repetition is called iteration. However, you need effective planning to use this model. You also have to focus on efficient design.

10. 4. Big Bang Model

11. 

12. No specific model is followed in this SDLC process. The output is sometimes not according to the customer because it starts with the required money and effort. You can’t expect any process and procedure in the big bang model. So, a little planning is required for it.

    This type of model is used when the customer doesn’t know the requirement and business model or he doesn’t have an idea of what he wants. So, not much analysis is needed in the big bang model. It is only used when a customer doesn’t know what to include in the software.

13. 5. Spiral Model

14. 

15. As the name implies, it is a spiral shape model. It is the most important SDLC model and is widely used by web development firms in the world. This model looks like a spiral or has many loops. The number of loops in the spiral model is not fixed as it depends on the size and complexity level of the project.

    Every loop in the phase is called a software development process. After the requirement analysis and understanding of the business model, the project manager with team members decides how many loops should be in the spiral.

16. 6. Prototype Model

17. 

18. It is one of the popular software development models. Prototype model in software engineering is a common subject. The development team uses this model when the customer has no idea what he wants. He doesn’t know about the project requirements. Developers first build the prototype of the end product.

    They check the reviews and feedback to improve the software. Getting consistent feedback to prove helpful in building an acceptable software product. A complete product is not launched instead a partial one is launched to get the responses of customers. They can see the product early in the life cycle or without its completion.

Wrapping Up:

This is all about software development. Now you must have understood what is SDLC design phase, the stages of SDLC, and different SDLC models. If you are also planning to develop an app or website for your business, contact us for the digitization of your business.

We have professional developers, designers, and testers. You can hire the best talent at a reasonable cost and get a free consultation on the app idea.