Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Master the various phases of the **Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)** and their associated control gates.
• Select and justify the most appropriate **SDLC Model** (e.g., Waterfall, Iterative, Spiral, Agile) for a given project.
• Master the process of formalizing and managing **Software Requirements** and their traceability.
• Understand and manage the key activities in the design, coding, and quality assurance (QA) phases.
• Design a comprehensive **Testing Strategy** (unit, integration, system, acceptance) to ensure solution quality.
• Implement practices for version control, configuration management, and technical debt management.
• Understand the principles of **DevOps** and the automation of build, test, and deployment processes.
• Plan and execute the formal deployment and maintenance phases of the software lifecycle.

• IT Project Managers and Software Development Leads
• Business Analysts and System Architects
• Quality Assurance (QA) Managers and Testers
• Product Managers overseeing software products
• Professionals involved in large-scale system integration projects

• Group Workshop: Designing a Testing Strategy for a sample software application
• Case Studies: Analyzing projects that successfully transitioned to an Agile/DevOps SDLC model
• Individual Exercises: Creating a detailed traceability matrix for a set of requirements
• Discussions: Criteria for selecting between Waterfall and Iterative SDLC for a given project context
• Role-Playing: Presenting a Go/No-Go decision at the end of the testing phase

Unit 1: SDLC Models and Requirements Phase

• Overview of the classical and modern **SDLC Models** (Waterfall, Iterative, Agile, Spiral).
• Criteria for selecting the right model based on project risk, clarity, and complexity.
• Techniques for effective **Requirements Elicitation, Analysis, and Documentation** (functional vs. non-functional).
• Mastering requirements traceability and establishing clear acceptance criteria.

Unit 2: Design and Implementation Phases

Architecture and Coding
• The process of software design: conceptual, logical, and physical design.
• Understanding different architectural patterns and their implications for project risk and quality.
• Best practices for **Coding Standards, Peer Reviews, and Technical Documentation**.
• Managing the development environment, version control, and configuration management.

Unit 3: Testing and Quality Assurance (QA)

Verification and Validation
• Designing a comprehensive **Testing Strategy** (smoke, unit, integration, performance, security).
• Differentiating between **Verification** (building the product right) and **Validation** (building the right product).
• Techniques for defect tracking, severity classification, and root cause analysis in testing.
• The role of automated testing and continuous quality integration.

Unit 4: Deployment and Operational Transition

Go-Live and Handover
• Planning the deployment strategy: phased rollout, parallel adoption, or big-bang implementation.
• The importance of a robust **Deployment Checklist and Rollback Plan**.
• Mastering the transition to the maintenance/operations phase (ITIL integration).
• Post-implementation reviews and measuring the success of the software solution in production.

Unit 5: Emerging Practices (Agile and DevOps)

Modern SDLC
• Applying **Agile Principles** and iterative development to the SDLC.
• The core concepts of **DevOps**: culture, automation, lean, measurement, and sharing.
• Understanding **Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)** pipelines.
• Strategies for managing and reducing **Technical Debt** throughout the product lifecycle.