The Importance of Planning in Software Development

4 min readApr 15, 2024

Have you ever started a project without proper planning and ended up facing numerous problems along the way? In software development, failing to plan can lead to significant issues, wasted time, and increased costs. That’s why it’s crucial to follow a structured approach called the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

The SDLC is a series of steps that guide the development process from initial conception to final deployment and maintenance. By following these steps, you can ensure that your software project is well-planned, organised, and executed efficiently.

Feasibility Study

Before embarking on a new software project, you need to determine its feasibility. This involves:

Identifying your competitors’ problems and offering solutions.
Analysing their market share, pricing, and packages.
Finding potential new customers and estimating the possible income for your new product.
Talking to industry experts and gathering feedback.
Assessing how your idea could impact the market or customers.

Proceed with your project only if you’re convinced there’s an opportunity for your product in the market. Sometimes, the competition is too high, or existing products don’t have any issues that your product can solve. In such scenarios, it’s best to stop and reconsider your idea.

Additionally, estimate the total costs (development, infrastructure, and maintenance) and development time. If the costs and timeline are acceptable, you can proceed with the next step.

Requirement Engineering

This step involves gathering, analysing, and documenting the requirements for your software project. It includes:

Analysing and discovering requirements through interviews, surveys, or observation.
Classifying and categorising requirements (e.g., functional, non-functional, technical, etc.).
Validating requirements to ensure they are clear, complete, and consistent.
Documenting requirements in a structured format for future reference.

Architectural Design

In this step, you’ll decide on the overall structure and design of your software system. This includes:

Choosing between a monolithic or microservices architecture. A monolithic architecture is a single, indivisible unit, while a microservices architecture is composed of independent services that communicate with each other.
Selecting a NoSQL or SQL database, frameworks, and programming languages.

There’s a significant overlap between requirements engineering and architectural design. System architectures are often modeled using simple block diagrams, where each box represents a component. These diagrams facilitate discussions and help stakeholders understand the overall structure.

Software Requirement Specification (SRS)

All the steps mentioned above culminate in the Software Requirement Specification (SRS) document. The SRS is a comprehensive description of the software’s intended behaviour, features, and constraints. It serves as a reference for developers, testers, and other stakeholders throughout the project’s lifecycle.

Having a clear vision for incremental development based on user stories.

System Modelling

Most software systems have several main functionalities. System modelling involves visualising these functionalities using diagrams such as process diagrams, sequence diagrams, or activity diagrams. These diagrams help communicate the system’s behaviour and interactions more effectively.

Project Management

Effective project management is crucial for successful software development. Many teams use Agile Development methodologies, such as SCRUM, which involve:

Selecting user stories for each sprint (a short development cycle).
Dividing the SRS into sprints.
Using project management tools like Trello or JIRA to track progress and assign tasks.
Having a clear vision for incremental development based on user stories.

Coding Standards and Guidelines

To ensure consistency and maintainability, it’s essential to establish coding standards and guidelines. This includes:

Choosing design patterns to use in different components of the software.
Following coding standards such as PSR (PHP Standard Recommendation) and using automation tools like PHPCS (PHP Code Sniffer) and PHPStan (PHP Static Analysis Tool).
Defining guidelines for writing code in the repository, so every team member follows the same rules.
Discussing strategies for implementing important project components with teammates.

Regular Code Refactoring

As your codebase grows, it’s essential to refactor the code periodically. Refactoring involves restructuring the code without changing its external behaviour, making it easier to maintain, extend, and understand. This ensures a clean, simple, and easy-to-read codebase throughout the project’s lifecycle.

By following the SDLC steps outlined above, you can ensure that your software project is well-planned, organised, and executed efficiently. Proper planning and adherence to best practices can help you avoid common pitfalls, save time and resources, and ultimately deliver a high-quality software product.

Git Workflow

Version control is crucial in software development, and Git is a popular tool for managing code repositories. Establish a proper Git workflow and branch naming strategy to ensure smooth collaboration and code integration. Additionally, implement a CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) pipeline to automate the deployment process and run tests to ensure everything is working correctly.

Team Meetings and Workshops

Regular communication and knowledge sharing are essential for successful software development. Conduct:

Weekly or daily team meetings to track progress and understand who’s working on what.
Regular workshops to educate team members on new technologies, best practices, or project-specific topics.