Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC): The stages software goes through: requirements, design, development, testing, deployment and maintenance. Teams follow these stages in different ways, such as Waterfall or Agile.
Example
Your feature is "in testing" — development is done and QA is checking it before release.
Why Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) matters for IT interns
Interviewers often ask about the SDLC, and knowing the stages helps you see where your task fits.
Where you will hear it
You will hear this term in development teams, in code reviews and technical discussions, and in technical interviews. If someone uses it and you are not sure what they mean in your project, it is completely fine to ask; every team uses terms a little differently.
Related terms
- Runtime: The environment your program runs in, or the time when it is running.
- SDK: Software Development Kit: a set of tools, libraries and documentation for building software for a particular…
- Software Development: The whole work of planning, building, testing and maintaining software.
- Technical Debt: Extra future work caused by choosing a quick or messy solution now instead of a better one.
- Testing Environment: A separate setup, similar to production, where testers and the team check changes before release.
- Unit Testing: Testing small pieces of code, such as a single function, on their own — usually with automated tests.
Previous term: Software Development | Next term: Software Testing
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Frequently asked questions
What is Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)?
The stages software goes through: requirements, design, development, testing, deployment and maintenance. Teams follow these stages in different ways, such as Waterfall or Agile.
What is an example of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)?
Your feature is "in testing" — development is done and QA is checking it before release.
Why does Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) matter for IT interns?
Interviewers often ask about the SDLC, and knowing the stages helps you see where your task fits.
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About the author
Dhaivat has 16+ years of experience in the IT industry, working on AI and cloud technologies, project delivery, and engineering leadership. He has interviewed and mentored many interns, wrote The Lost Intern, and runs the non-commercial Career Impact Initiative, mentoring students for free.