Difference Between stlc and sdlc

stlc vs sdlc

SDLC refers to software development life cycle, while STLC refers to software testing life cycle.  Both of these contain six steps which present logical differences in between them. These two processes are compared below in detail with a thorough review of both their differences and similarities.

One of the phases that these two processes undergo is requirements gathering. Gathering of requirements is done by the business analyst in SLDC where the development team analyses the requirements right from the design architecture to the coding into perspective. STLC on the other hand uses requirements gathering for testing, review, and analysis of the requirements. The testing team finds the requirements needed such as the types of testing necessary, and a thorough review of the requirements ensures a logical functional relationship of features and modules. This ensures that any problem or gaps are caught at an early stage.

In the design phase, SLDC has a technical architect whose function is to ensure that high level and low designs of the software are met. The business analyst also comes in here to create a user interface design for the application. STLC has the test architect acting as the lead manager in doing the test planning and the identification of the high level testing points. It is at this stage that there is detailing of requirements.

Then comes the coding or development phase which the SDLC development team handles. In this stage the actual development which refers to coding occurs and this is based on the design architecture. The testing team in STLC, on the other hand, then gets to focus their energy on writing the detailed test cases.

The fourth stage is the testing phase where in SDLC there is actual testing of the developed code . Within this phase, unit testing, integration testing and system testing is done. Any other tests that need to be done are handled here in SLDC. In STLC, there is test execution too in this stage in addition to reporting any errors that are found.  Also this is a stage where manual reporting, automation, and testing is performed to ensure that the developed code functions as it should. Retesting and regression testing are also performed within this stage. The overall function of the testing phase in STLC is to get a review of test cases and scenarios of the test.

Next up is the application deployment phase where SDLC deploys applications that have passed the last 4 stages. The deployment is done through the production environment to the ideal and real end users. In STLC, this is the final testing and implementation stage. Testing is done and a final report is prepared.

The last phase is the maintenance phase which is a continuous one. In SLDC, it features post production and deployment support and follow-up with enhancements as they continue to be developed. STLC on the other hand features updating and maintenance of test plans, and testing and support of test phases, as well as enhancements as part of maintenance.

Summary

SLDC and STLC look at both the development and testing phases of software

Differences occur in six main areas which outline the entire production environment, namely requirements gathering, coding, design, testing deployment, and maintenance

The six phases clearly document the specific roles of persons and teams in the entire development and testing process.

It is important to note that STLC is contained in SDLC, as testing is mainly encompassed in the umbrella of software development

Although testing is under SDLC, it should be understood that testing is an independent function in the software development process and ought to be termed as such.

Sharing is caring!