A Software Development Life-Cycle Model for Web-Based Application Development

Software development life cycle models were believed to play a critical role in improving software quality by guiding tasks in the software development processes since being formally introduced and embraced in the 1970s. Many organizations attempted to deploy software development life cycle methodologies with the intent to improve the software development process from conception through implementation to delivery. Numerous established software development models exist, including the classic waterfall life cycle model, Spiral model, Prototyping, Evolutionary, (e.g., Staged, Phased, and Timebox models), object-oriented design (OOD) (e.g., Rational Unified Process), and agile processes (e.g., eXtreme Programming [XP]). The design and development of web-based applications introduced new problems and requirements that did not exist when traditional software development life-cycle models were being put into practice. This research presents empirical software development practice data pertaining to web-based application development. The goal of this project was to answer the question, What is the general paradigm of an SDLC model for web-based application development? The focus of the project was to derive an empirical SDLC model for web-based application development. Data from current practices was collected via a web-based application. Study participants used the web-based application to input data concerning the SDLC model of their web-based application development process. The empirical model was derived from the data provided by participants on current professional web-based application development practices. The results of this research showed that although web-based application development life-cycle does parallel traditional SDLCs in some phases, there were enough differences that an exact fit to an existing model does not exist. A modified version of the Classic Waterfall with some repetitiveness of the Spiral model with the addition of optional phases best met the situational requirements of web-based application development