Software Process

The software Process

The software process is the way we produce software. It incorporates:

	the software life cycle model
	the tools we use
	the individuals building the software

Different organizaitons have different software processes.

These organizations' processes differ in the areas of:

Regardless of the exact procedure, the software process broadly follows the seven phases listed earler:

Some of the phases are known by other names:

	Requirements and specification phases together are sometimes called systems analysis.
	Maintenance sometimes referred to as operations mode.
	Design phase is usually broken down into architectural design and detailed design.
	Testing is not a separate phase but rather an activity that takes place all the way through software production.

	Testing toward the end of each phase is called verification.
	Testing before the product is handed over to the client is called validation.

There is no separate documentation phase.

Each phase should be fully documented before the next phase begins, because of:

	continually changing product
	personnel changing
	if it is postponed it may never get done