Software Testing & Software Development Lifecycles

The various activities which are undertaken when developing software are commonly modelled as a software development lifecycle. The software development lifecycle begins with the identification of a requirement for software and ends with the formal verification of the developed software against that requirement.

The software development lifecycle does not exist by itself, it is in fact part of an overall product lifecycle. Within the product lifecycle, software will undergo maintenance to correct errors and to comply with changes to requirements. The simplest overall form is where the product is just software, but it can become much more complicated, with multiple software developments each forming part of an overall system to comprise a product.

There are a number of different models for software development lifecycles. One thing which all models have in common, is that at some point in the lifecycle, software has to be tested. This paper outlines some of the more commonly used software development lifecycles, with particular emphasis on the testing activities in each model.

The models under consideration here are:

• Sequential Lifecycle Model - V Lifecycle Model & Waterfall Lifecycle Model
• Progressive Development Lifecycle Model
• Iterative Lifecycle Model

Let's have a brief look at all of these models...