This is the first phase of project execution which involves rigorous planning, acquisition and requirement definition. The existing system is examined and client requirements are gathered in the form of documents of existing systems, on-site analysis, process specifications, market research and competitor analysis. Project planning is carried out by formulating a software configuration management plan, software quality assurance plan and high level requirement specification. It includes the following stages:

It includes the following stages:

	Business Analysis and creation of Requirement Definition
	Formulating a Software Configuration Management Plan
	Creating Software Quality Assurance Plan
	Providing Technical Recommendations and High and Low Level Requirement Specifications
	Preparing Scope Document and Feature List
	Contract Signoff & Project Kickoff

In this stage, the application design is developed on the basis of the software requirement specification, use case specification, business rules & diagrams and the scope agreed upon in the Requirement Definition stage. The design phase consists of design documentation of the signed off features/functionality, pseudo code, and prototyping where applicable. This is required to ensure that the manner in which the feature is to be implemented has been thoroughly thought out and all necessary changes to the existing design are identified. This design specification enforces tracing back to the product requirements document.

This stage has the following steps:

	Architectural Diagrams are designed to know the final architecture
	High Level Design and Low Level Design class diagrams are designed
	Entity Relationship Diagram, Data Flow Diagram and Deployment Diagrams are drawn
	The prototype of User Interface is developed and validated against the requirements and presented to the client for approval
	The use cases elaborated in the analysis model are represented using collaboration diagrams
	Design model elaborations are made from the analysis model. Validation of the scope, estimates against the contract and revisions are made, if necessary
	The Implementation Model is generated from design
	The Test Model is generated from use cases

In this phase, all remaining components and application features are developed and integrated into the product, and the actual code based on features are thoroughly tested against design requirements and test plan. It is a manufacturing phase where the emphasis is on managing resources and controlling operations to optimize costs, schedules, and quality.

This stage has the following steps:

	The development of code proceeds as per the implementation and design models.
	The application source code is tested according to the test cases and test plan.
	All processes are documented and user guides are prepared.
	Use Case Test results are created.
	Deployment map is prepared at the end of development phase.

After the various components are developed, they are integrated and rigorously tested as a complete solution in this phase. It is tested for various functionality levels through test cases, test plans and user acceptance criteria in the deployed environment. This process allows all features, modules, protocols, user interfaces, database, and business logic to be integrated and tested before deployment.

On completion of unit testing, integration testing is performed for checking the completeness of all pieces of a system i.e. files, programs, data structures, command streams etc. Functional testing of the individual subsystems, which have been successfully integrated, followed by entire system, will be carried out as per functional test cases.

This stage has the following steps:

	Integration and quality testing is carried out resulting in test reports.
	Client acceptance tests are carried out.
	Client feedback and debugging.
	Client acceptance.

The purpose of the deployment phase is to transit the software product to the user community. The process involved in this phase will be to run the system and provide feedback. We are very particular about documentation as it helps in managing the project effectively. It also makes sure that future maintenance efforts are relatively easy. All the steps above are iterated through until the final deliverable is completed.

In this stage, the developed application is deployed on the live server.

	Software development and Deployment plan.
	Implementation on client Premises or Hosting Server.
	Implementation Signoff by Client.
	Creation of Archived Software Artifacts.
	Transition of application to the maintenance team.