What is Software Development Life Cycle? — UK Software Development Guide
Direct Answer
The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is the structured process of planning, creating, testing, deploying, and maintaining software. Common SDLC phases: Requirements (defining what to build), Design (architecture and system design), Implementation (writing code), Testing (verifying quality), Deployment (releasing to production), and Maintenance (ongoing operation and improvement). Different methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, Spiral) implement the SDLC phases differently.
Sdlc in the UK
The SDLC has specific UK compliance implications at each phase. Requirements: UK GDPR non-functional requirements (encryption, access controls, audit logging) must be captured at requirements phase. Design: privacy by design (UK GDPR Article 25) means GDPR controls are designed, not retrofitted. Testing: WCAG 2.1 testing, security testing, and regression testing are quality gates. Deployment: Cyber Essentials patch management requirements mean deployment pipelines must support rapid security patching. Maintenance: ongoing UK GDPR compliance (DSARs, breach notification) is part of the maintenance phase.
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