Guide to Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

The software development life cycle (SDLC) is the step-by-step process teams use to build software — from the first idea to launch and beyond. It helps make sure that what gets built is not only functional, but also secure, efficient, and ready to scale. Organizations face increasing complexity while building new software in multi-cloud and API-first environments, and SDLC can help meet these challenges. A well-defined SDLC provides structure and discipline to create tools that work well in a variety of situations, such as composable architecture contexts.

SDLC is divided into distinct phases, each serving a critical role in delivering high-quality software while minimizing risks. It’s usually used by developers, project managers, and UX/UI designers. Different teams use different models depending on their goals. Agile, Waterfall, and DevOps are some of the most common, each offering a unique approach to planning, building, testing, and shipping software.

When done right, SDLC keeps projects on track, reduces risk, and strengthens security – especially in cloud environments where protecting data is critical. Up next, we’ll break down the main SDLC models and how they help teams build better, safer software.

In general, the software development life cycle (SDLC) has several phases that guide your team through the process to make sure it’s efficient and produces high quality software.

While the specific phases may vary based on team workflows, project needs, and the model used, the core objective remains the same: to deliver secure, high-quality software through systematic development. Below are the most common phases in the SDLC.

The planning phase lays the foundation for the software development project. During this stage, your development team and other stakeholders will define the objectives of the project, the requirements to meet those objectives, and methods for measuring success along the way. You’ll likely also identify potential risks, allocate resources, and establish timelines to ensure a well-organized approach to development. Taking sufficient time during this phase helps you avoid issues later and gives you a clear project direction.

During the analysis phase, your development teams evaluate if the software you’re going to create will work technically and fit your business goals. This step involves gathering and documenting system requirements to make sure the project aligns with business goals and user needs. A thorough analysis helps identify potential project challenges and solutions early in the process, so they don’t stall the project later on.

The design phase is where you take the documented system requirements and turn them into a detailed prototype of the software. This includes creating system architecture, user interface (UI) mockups, and database models. During this stage, you’ll also set up your security requirements to make sure the development process has a strong foundation.

At this stage, developers write and configure the code based on the design specifications. They follow coding standards, implement security best practices like input sanitization and multi-factor authentication, making sure that the software is built efficiently and effectively.

They might use version control such as Git, scratch organizations, or automated testing tools. Often, this phase of the SDLC is integrated with the next phase, testing, because collaboration between developers and testers is key to maintaining code quality.

Testing helps you validate the software’s functionality, security, and performance. Development teams conduct various tests, such as unit testing, integration testing, and security testing, to identify and fix defects before deployment.

Once testing is complete, the software is released to the production environment. Deployment requires careful monitoring to ensure a smooth transition and system stability. Your development team might implement gradual rollouts and conduct performance monitoring to address any unexpected issues in real-time.

After deployment, the software development process isn’t over. During the maintenance phase, your development team will apply updates, patches, and optimizations to keep the software running smoothly. Continuous monitoring helps you identify and resolve performance issues, security vulnerabilities, and user concerns.

With over 50 recognized software development life cycle models, you have a lot of options to choose from to help make sure your approach matches your project requirements, risk tolerance, and development goals. Each model provides different levels of structure and priorities, so keep in mind your company or team’s goals. Below are four of the most widely used SDLC models, each suited to different types of projects.

The waterfall model follows a linear and sequential approach, where software development progresses through a series of distinct phases: planning, analysis, design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Each phase must be completed before moving on to the next, which makes it easy to track progress and manage timelines.

The key benefit of this model is its structured and straightforward nature, so it’s a good fit for projects with well-defined requirements and minimal expected changes. However, one major limitation is its lack of flexibility — once a phase is finalized, revisiting earlier stages can be costly and time-consuming.

The agile model is an iterative and collaborative approach to software development with rapid development cycles, continuous feedback, and adaptability. Instead of following a strict linear progression, agile breaks the project into smaller iterations, called sprints, which typically last two to four weeks. During each sprint, your development team creates a chunk of the software. Once each section is done, you have time for frequent testing, feedback, and adjustments.

Agile promotes a high degree of flexibility, which lets your team incorporate changes based on stakeholder feedback or evolving business needs throughout the process. However, it requires strong communication, coordination, and an engaged team to succeed. This model is ideal for dynamic projects where requirements are expected to change and develop as you go, such as software startups, user-driven applications, and quick releases.

The iterative model focuses on developing a basic version of the software first and then refining it through multiple development cycles until it’s ready to release. Instead of completing all phases at once, your development teams build a working prototype in the initial iteration, then continuously improve it by incorporating feedback and improvements in later iterations. This approach allows developers to identify and resolve issues early, which makes it easier to improve the product without waiting for a fully completed product.

The flexibility of the iterative model makes it ideal for large projects with unclear or evolving requirements since it provides a structured way to introduce changes over time. However, this model may increase development timelines and require more resources, so it’s typically better suited for projects where quality and refinements are priorities.

The spiral model combines elements of the iterative model and risk management, making it an excellent choice for high-risk, complex software development projects. Instead of the seven phases of SDLC, it consists of four key phases: planning, risk assessment, development/testing, and evaluation. These phases repeat in a spiral pattern, with each iteration expanding the project scope based on feedback and risk analysis.

By focusing on risk identification early in the process, the spiral model helps reduce the risk of potential failures before they become critical issues. This approach is particularly useful for vital software applications like financial systems, medical software, and large enterprise solutions that your organization might depend on.

It’s also a good option when security (such as data integrity and confidentiality) and compliance (such as regulatory requirements like GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS) are particularly important. However, the spiral model requires extensive planning, highly skilled professionals, and a larger budget, so it can be more resource-intensive than other SDLC models.

Without a structured approach, software development can become unpredictable, costly, and prone to risks — and that could delay deployment.

SDLC offers a clear roadmap, guiding your teams through well-defined phases such as planning, design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance. This structured approach reduces uncertainty and helps ensure that software is built systematically — and that it will ultimately meet both technical and business requirements.

By following a phased development cycle, your development team can identify and address potential issues early, which will save them costly rework and minimize the chances of project failure. Additionally, integrating security measures throughout the SDLC helps protect applications from vulnerabilities and sets up your cloud-based tools for security success right from the start.

A well-defined SDLC promotes collaboration by setting clear expectations for project scope, timelines, and deliverables. Your development team can use those expectations to work together and ensure that everyone understands the direction of the project. When everyone understands, you can boost communication and help set up the project for success.

Security is a critical component of modern software development, and protecting your company and customers’ data at every stage matters more than ever. An effective software development life cycle (SDLC) helps mitigate security risks at every stage.

By integrating security measures throughout the development process, your development teams can proactively identify and address vulnerabilities rather than reactively fixing them after deployment. A secure SDLC enhances data protection, compliance, and system resilience, reducing the risk of cyber threats and breaches.

A key approach to improving software security within the SDLC is adopting DevSecOps, which embeds security practices directly into the continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines. This ensures that security is part of the software development life cycle rather than an afterthought.

One major aspect of DevSecOps is automating vulnerability scanning and code reviews, allowing teams to detect and remediate security flaws early. Security tools such as static code analysis (SAST), dynamic application security testing (DAST), and software composition analysis (SCA) help identify risks in real time. By integrating automated security checks within each development phase, your organization can stay flexible while maintaining strong security standards.

To build secure software, your team will want to follow best practices that reinforce data protection, access control, and threat management. One essential practice is enforcing least privilege access, so users and applications have only the necessary permissions to perform their functions. You might also implement end-to-end encryption for data storage and transmission to help reduce unauthorized access.

Additionally, continuous security monitoring and testing — such as penetration testing, log analysis, and anomaly detection — helps your development team proactively identify and remediate threats before they escalate. You’ll also want to prioritize security patching and software updates that can protect against evolving vulnerabilities.

Whether managing changes, automating deployments, enhancing security, or improving software development workflows, Salesforce Platform provides you with the tools you need to strengthen the SDLC and create high quality software:

• Salesforce DevOps Center: Simplifies change management and CI/CD pipelines, making it easier for teams to track, test, and deploy updates.
• Salesforce DX: Enhances development, testing, and collaboration by providing you with tools for source-driven development and agile workflows.
• Salesforce Shield: Strengthens data security with built-in encryption, audit logging, and event monitoring to help you stay compliant and protect against threats.
• Salesforce Security Center: Monitors security metrics across the Salesforce ecosystem, helping your development teams enforce policies and mitigate risks proactively.

Get started with Salesforce Platform today.