What SDLC methodology will work for your startup?

SDLC stands for Software Development Life Cycle. This concept is fundamental when you start a digital business. SDLC provides a clear plan for bringing your business idea to life. It works for every digital business, be it an e-commerce store, a SaaS company, or an IoT platform. 

However, IT jargon can seem daunting for a non-tech entrepreneur or an entrepreneur with specialized tech expertise. The methodologies are often clear in theory. However, they can be hard to connect to practical day-to-day things. As such, startup owners might struggle to translate abstractions into actual steps to take.  

In this blog post, we’ll answer two key questions in plain terms. The questions are:

1. What are SDLC methodologies? 
2. What sets them apart for startups?

SDLC – Software Development Life Cycle Explained

If you google the term, it will give back two options of SDLC. One SDLC framework includes 7 stages. The other one has 5 stages. The difference is that the latter has some stages smooshed together.

So, instead of separate stages for Planning and one for Requirements Analysis, there is one – Planning & Requirements Analysis. Similarly, Deployment and Maintenance are grouped into one stage. 

When to use which? The 7-stage SDLC is for full-scale complex development projects. 5-stage SDLC is a startup-friendly variation for MVP development. 

Here are the SDLC stages for startups:

1. Planning and Requirements Analysis;
2. Designing;
3. Developing;
4. Testing;
5. Launch and maintenance

To make things practical, let’s draw parallels between launching a digital business and launching a physical store.

SDLC of Launching a Digital Startup and a Physical Store

Stage 1 – Planning & Requirements Analysis.

In a physical store, you decide on location, square footage, and items to sell. Plus, you write a business plan. In contrast, in a digital startup, you analyze what your application should sell and which functionality to include. You also draw up its business canvas that includes its business and revenue models.

Stage 2 – Designing.

In a physical store, you think about branding, store layout, decor, and interior. Basically, plan out things to achieve the desired customer experience. In a digital startup, you think about the pages users will go through on their user journey. Select their mood, matching color palette, and other aesthetic elements. In a digital startup, you care about designing a positive User Experience (UX).

Stage 3 – Developing.

While you often rent and don’t build a store from scratch, there are quite a few things to do. You need to put up shelving, set up checkout systems, do all the painting and lighting, build the back area and storage, and more. In custom MVP development, your projects get built up from scratch. Your development team builds the front-end, back-end, and data storage. 

Stage 4 – Testing.

Physical stores often have a soft launch. This way the store owner gets to do a trial run before the grand opening. It gives the opportunity to ensure things are working as expected and make necessary adjustments. 

In a digital project, this stage is often more crucial. After all, in the store, customers have the support of the staff while they shop. In a digital experience, there is no one to notice frustration and offer help. Well, you could have a chat popping up if the user freezes on the page or is about to leave. But it is not really the same. So you do need more testing for all things digital.

Stage 5  – Launch and Maintenance.

This is mainly the grand opening and the day-to-day operations. From time to time, based on in-store observations, you find ways to improve things. It can relate to customer shopping experience, better suppliers, wider selection, or new services.

With an MVP development, this is actually where most of the work begins. Now that the user feedback and analytics start to come in, you start working by aligning product-market fit and improving your application. 

S-SDLC

Additionally, if you Google SDLC, you might also find SSDLC (with an extra ‘S’ at the front). The extra letter stands for Secure. It simply means including security at every stage of developing your business. 

Yet again, it is the same as with the physical store. In the 1st stage, you write a business plan and consider the price points for items. At the same time, you might consider addressing shoplifting and vandalism. You budget for alarm systems and insurance. Then, when you design the store, you also consider installing EAS gates, positions of surveillance cameras, and such. 

In the digital space, security wasn’t a big consideration in the past. But now as more laws are introduced around that, and the sophistication of malicious software is growing, security concerns are gaining priority. So, at stage 1, you consider HIPPA or GDPR requirements. In the second stage, you design APIs, data storage, and other mechanisms against common attacks. And so on. All in all, a secure software development life cycle really matters.

Agile Methodologies for SDLC in Startups

So SDLC represents a roadmap for starting your digital business. But how do you manage your team, money, and time? This is what you need a methodology for. And, in fact, some digital business methodologies have their roots in physical business methodologies. 

For instance, the first one – Lean agile methodology – has come from JIT – Just-In-Time. The difference is that JIT is about inventory management, and Lean is about process management. More specifically, the process of creating value for the end user. Among other time- and market-proven methodologies, there are Scrum, Kanban, and Feature-Driven Development (FDD). However, they mainly focus on organizing people in your startup. Lean methodology guides resource allocation.

Agile Methodologies

Why Agile methodologies? These methodologies are about real-time adaptability. In a physical store, you put up shelving, bring in goods and that’s it. After that, most physical businesses are about improving selection, pricing, and service scripts. 

In the digital world, all touchpoints with customers rely on your codebase.

• You need to add ‘holiday’ decorations – you change your code. 
• You want to add a “complimentary item” suggestion – you change your code. 
• You want to introduce a new service – you change your code. 

The codebase evolves constantly in response to changing trends and needs. Agile methodologies ensure the ongoing competitiveness of your digital startup as well as its successful launch.

Lean Methodology for Startup SDLC

Lean is the most relatable of agile development frameworks due to its connection to JIT. And it came from the automotive industry. 

When cars first appeared, it was all about innovation. Companies threw money into designing and building cars. It was about the speed of capturing the market. As the market matured and saturated, profits shrank. To ensure target profitability levels, companies started to look at cost-efficiency and speed of supply chains. This is what JIT represents.

Similarly, the digital landscape follows the same evolutionary path. The times when investors threw money into developing the next big thing are over. It is all about doing just enough functionality and doing things fast to create value for the end user. Underpinned by agile principles of continuous delivery, iterative development, and responding to feedback, Lean is by far the most cost-efficient agile methodology for startups.

Physical Store Analogy

So, if you were opening a physical store using Lean, you would:

• Stock only the most popular items, keep stock levels minimal to sell out fast slow-moving items, and restock with better options;
• Cut out all the extra expenses (inefficient use of space, extra personnel, fancy packaging, over-the-top promotions, saving on utilities);
• Optimize operations (efficient staffing, store layout, checkout process, etc). Train staff to minimize ‘dull’ interactions and increase the time for value-creating interactions.

Scrum Agile Methodology for your SDLC

Scrum methodology can be more useful if your startup is complex. So instead of a store, you are opening a big supermarket or a mall. Under Scrum methodology, you break your staff into cross-functional teams. Then, a Product Owner assigns each team a task to complete in time-boxed sprints. They can be from 1 to 4 weeks long. 

Physical Store Analogy

When you are building your physical space, the tasks can be ‘set up shelving in section A’ or ‘install checkouts 1 through 5’. Teams dive into tasks and as a sprint passes, they review, analyze, set new goals, and, hopefully, improve. And the latter is the most valuable part, especially for the complex projects. 

There is also a Scrum Master who assists the Product Owner and ensures everything goes smoothly. A Scrum Master ensures the implementation of the best practices and that there are no roadblocks. And if we speak about large projects, roadblocks can cause extremely costly delays.

Kanban SDLC methodology

This methodology is more of a visual tool to manage the work of your team throughout SDLC. Kanban prioritizes smooth flow rather than sprint-based work. The focus shifts toward the task as compared to “Friday 4 pm”. The team focuses on completing the current workload by limiting WIP – work in progress. 

Physical Store Analogy

In a physical store, imagine having a whiteboard at the back. On it, you would organize tasks in three columns based on their progress and move them along upon change in status. For instance, you put up tasks like “Clean the storefront windows”, “Train a new employee”, “Prepare a new campaign”, etc. Employees take on tasks and move them from the “Waiting” column, to “In progress”, and eventually, to the “Done” column. This way, you can ensure that everything is running smoothly, there are no bottlenecks, and nothing is piling up. 

Feature-Driven Development (FDD)

In this agile methodology, you focus on small functionalities rather than tasks, resources, or time. You ensure one functionality is perfectly functional and move on to the next one. The key here is perfecting and integrating a standalone functionality.

Physical Store Analogy

In a physical store, it will mean completing the checkout area first. Then, you’d move to setting up and stocking the aisles. So, the emphasis is on directing every effort to making one single element work, and only then moving on to the next.

Which Agile SDLC Methodology to Choose for Your Startup?

Drawing parallels with a physical business, you can think of the following:

• Lean works best for a business like Starbucks – focused, scaling;
• Scrum lands itself well to Walmart – high-volume, fast-turnover;
• Kanban fits niche high-quality personalized business;
• FDD suits a business like Apple with a focus on perfecting every small detail. 

This is, however, a simplification. Each methodology can be tailored to fit a particular startup. Also, Lean methodology treats time as as much valuable resource as money. Therefore, it also incorporates a sprint-based workflow. 

If you develop a Custom iOS app, you can still focus on perfecting core service with Lean. Or, if you scale from a web app, you might choose Scrum for time-boxed delivery. 

If you develop a Custom Android app, you can freely choose Kanban to experiment in order to achieve a premium user experience. If you expand from a web version, you might go for FDD to ensure each functional piece is of the highest quality for the existing customer base. 

Final Highlights

Here is a detailed overview of SDLC for a digital startup:

FAQ: Choosing the Right SDLC Methodology for Startups