The wonderful world of software development

One of the closest and most important parts of modern life is the personal computer. We connect to the world using a computer and the Internet. But it is widely known that the Internet browser, email client or instant messenger you are using underwent a structured and standardized system known as the Software Development Process before it was released to the world. It sounds like something you’d hear from a software company MD or internet nerd, and that’s basically what it is, but that’s also how the tech world works. Without these standards and processes, you wouldn’t be reading this online right now, you wouldn’t enjoy keeping up with soccer scores as they happen, and browsing the internet wouldn’t be as enjoyable as it is now. If there were no standards, there would be too many bugs and too much software that nobody would use.

This process is much easier said than done! For all of us taking our first steps into the complex but interesting world of software development, we can start by looking at the basic activities, steps if you will, in an easy to understand way.

The first step is the requirements analysis stage. In this stage, the software developer (programmer) determines a customer’s need and details each feature the customer will require. Naturally, the programmer should do this with the customer in mind, and therefore should only list those features that the customer will understand. Making sure the client is fully aware of the software being developed will mean that the end result is intuitive and easy to use once in the final stage.

The second step is the creation of the “Specification”. The programmer will take all the functions that the client has requested and define them in mathematical terms. It is in this second stage that the programmer will reason if the function in question is feasible or not for this stage of development, or if it should be introduced in a later version of the software. If that’s the case, then the programmer will return to the client with a revised feature list for approval.

Once this specification is created, it will be handed over to a software architect to create what is commonly known as an abstract representation. This stage is where the nitty-gritty of planning takes place. The compatibility of operating systems must be carefully thought out, the target audience will determine the direction you take. Whether or not it is more suitable for a “Desktop” application, that is, one that will be installed on a computer, or whether it is more suitable to be published on the Internet. All of these types of decisions need to be made correctly before the next stage.

Step 3 is Coding and Integration and happens after the specification and abstract representation are complete. Once all the coding is complete, it will be passed to the testers to thoroughly test the software, this is step 4.

We are nearing the end of our process now, and Step 5 is Software Documentation. Easy-to-read manuals and guides should be produced to help the end user use the software.

Now we come to the ongoing parts of software development, training, technical support, and maintenance. This could be classified as the final step, but for the software to be successful it will always need to be modified. Things can go wrong, new technologies can be introduced that need to be adopted. The life of a programmer is never boring!