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Digital Transformation and its impact on Software Development Lifecycle

Today's industrial landscape talks about digital transformation more times than you can count. Every enterprise details how it embraces digital technologies and related nuances like digital data, digital media, digital marketing, etc. What's more is that over 27% of organizations believe that digital transformation has become a dire necessity, fulfilled via software development services, and the pandemic only accelerated it. Multiple businesses have already kickstarted their strategies, trying to meet the rapidly changing customer demands. 

As companies step into the next decade empowered by the internet, software, and digital process, they need ethos like agility, scalability, adaptability, and engagement to survive and thrive in the market. 

Impact of digital transformation on a software development firm

Over the years, several companies worldwide have felt one, if not the most significant result of digital transformation, i.e., the monumental importance of software development services. 

We live in a world increasingly controlledby softwarerelated products. In every industrial genre, from finance, healthcare, logistics, and mobility to various other verticals, software is known to enhance productivity, functionality, and consumer engagement. It helps software development consulting firms to derive financial success and ensure a long haul in the market. 

However, while discussing digital transformation, a custom software development company makes a grave mistake: being unclear about it empowers their industrial segment, transforms it, and wishes to incorporate it. A software development company needs to create a business model or solutions that would have never existed without modern technologies and then embark upon their digital transformation journey. 

In a nutshell, a software development firm faces a serious question: are they ready to innovate, or are they willing to lose everything?

It might seem like an extreme statement, but if you look at startups like Uber who fought their way to the perennial digital transformation, you'll know how established enterprises experience some tough competition. Therefore, the new reality is a digitally-powered software development company. Unique IT requirements and software functionalities have permeated every aspect of every business, from the back to every part of customer-faced innovation. 

That said, there are several drivers behind that innovation and fasten the software development process, but the question is- how can you increase the speed of your software development cycleand be more responsive without losing customers and control?

Software Development Process: The core capabilities

For a custom software development firm, building software is always a challenging and complex task. True that every team and organization approaches the problem differently, the end idea is to follow standardized agile methodologies. 

That said, there are four core activities surrounding the software development process:

Specifications or requirements:

The first step to building a software solution is defining its functionalities and limitations. The development team and stakeholders get together and plan the entire process. 

Design and Implementation:

The second step involves the team developing and implementing software are per the decided specifications. 

Verification and Validation:

In this step, the team assures that the developed software conforms to its pre-set specifications, customer demands,and business requirements. 

Maintenance and scaling:

The team keeps the software up-to-date through maintenance services, modification, and scaling solutions. This way, you ensure that your software is well adapted to the changing consumer and market requirements. 

Introducing Software Development Lifecycle and its Benefits 

For stakeholders looking for a custom software development firm, knowing the different steps is imperative. The usual guide follows a traditionalwaterfall methodology. These steps or stages are called sprints, with each of them lasting for over two weeks. 

There are a total of 7 steps involved in developing a software piece, irrespective of its genre. Referred to as the software development lifecycle, the acronym SDLC, details the sequence of actions during software coding. 

In practice, the output of each step serves as an input for the next step, and so on. So, every idea, document, diagram, or piece of working software works as an input for the next step. Once you have the blueprint of one phase, pacing into the next seems easy. It helps you realize your goals and accomplish them.

That being said, the software doesn't follow a 'Done and Dusted' philosophy. In a real sense, it is never finished. Even when you've released the final version, software development consulting firms would suggest some edits and tweaks to fit it into the modern consumer market.

To manage all these dynamic requirements, you need a formalized SDLC to:

• Allow clear communication along the way 
• Define communication channels and expectations between project stakeholders and developers 
• Set clear roles and responsibilities for everyone in your team 
• Provide an agreed-upon status sharing for your entire team 
• Formalize a plan to handle bugs, features, requests, and updates 

As a software development company, it is your right to question whether or not you need an SDLC. Some software development companies might even argue that they have been functioning pretty well even without an SDLC in place. 

Well, the entire idea of introducing SDLC to your software development process is to incorporate professionalism into it. As a firm offering software development services, you need to clear your steps, goals, and outputs with the project stakeholders. You might run well without the SDLC fuel in your software engine but not for long. The lack of a software development plan means longer timeframes, subpar software quality, lengthy development timelines, no accurate status reports, or even outright failure. 

As a company that wishes to embrace digital transformation, SDLC is the oasis that'll serve you properly in the software development desert.