SDLC, which is sometimes also referred to as the software development process, is the systematic methodology used to produce quality software cost-effectively. We can use several methodologies developed in the last few decades to develop or modify computer systems.

Originally, the concept was created in the 1960s. Its main goal was to establish a repeatable, auditable, and, at that time, sequential software development process that covered the steps from the ideation of the application to the delivery of the final solution by targeting corporate mainframes. Since then, many enhancements, innovations, and inventions have been implemented starting with the introduction of object-oriented programming languages through DevOps and DevSecOps practices to cloud-native architectures, which led to newer and newer SDLC methodologies. As a result of the continuous process improvement, most modern software development methodologies follow Agile principles...

There have been other concepts, ideas, and perceptions that have significantly influenced the software industry in the last decades. Some of the approaches have been adapted from other industries, such as the Lean management from the Toyota Production System, and others have been created by key members of the software industry. We will discuss these approaches shortly to understand how DevOps and DevSecOps have become the next major step in the software industry.

The Agile manifesto

We have already discussed Agile as an SDLC methodology because this umbrella term can be applied directly to the software development phase as well as mapped to the entire software development organization and beyond.

The Agile manifesto was created in 2001 by a group of software developers who were looking for a better way to develop software. They came up with four core values and twelve principles that have since become the foundation of the Agile movement. The four core...

There are many books and articles about ALM and, having a look at the definitions, one thing is common in all of them: ALM is broader than the SDLC and covers the entire life cycle of an application from ideation through development to discontinuity.

Per definition, ALM refers to the management of a computer program’s entire life cycle, including governance, development, maintenance, and discontinuity. It involves a wide range of activities, such as requirements management, software architecture, and project management.

The SDLC is a component of ALM that provides a detailed description of the application development phase. ALM can involve multiple iterations of the SDLC during an application’s life cycle, that is, multiple methodologies such as Agile and V-model can be applied in different phases. ALM continues after development and first release until the application is no longer used.

ALM has brought several disciplines and roles together. It...

CI and CD are widely used processes and tools in modern software development and ALM practices. The CI pipeline (workflow) is for compiling the source code and generating the binaries using build agents, whereas the CD pipeline takes those binaries and deploys them, the entire solution with its configuration to different environments, like dev, test, or production.

CI is sometimes referred to as CI builds because it eventually does the official compilation of source code on dedicated build machines (sometimes they are just Docker containers). During CI builds, unit tests are also executed; those tests require no orchestration of the application and run in the millisecond range. CI is one of the greatest processes to assure software quality and to avoid the regression of our applications. In the case of large development projects, it is also very common to create build farms consisting of hundreds of build machines to generate deliverables or packages on every code change...

DevOps is one of the shift-left approaches that we have seen in the software industry. It brings operational teams (ops) close to developer teams (devs) to enable and accelerate the continuous value delivery to our customers. It means a mindset and cultural change for people; it requires processes and tools to transform an organization into a DevOps one.

“You build it, you run it” is one of the most impressive quotes that describes how developers and operations teams need to come together and form one diverse team to cover the end-to-end repetitive process from coding through deployment to operations. Ops becomes part of the team. This shift-left approach increases the overall productivity of organizations. DevOps is a paradigm shift and a cultural change at the organizational level to improve collaboration between development and operations teams, and to enhance the efficiency and quality of software production. An approach to...

In this chapter, we explored the most significant breakthroughs in the software industry, delving into various SDLC methodologies, the Agile manifesto, Lean management, the Scrum Framework, ALM, and DevOps practices. We became acquainted with the patterns and practices that define modern application development and architecture. These skills and lessons are fundamental to software development and are essential concepts that every engineer should be familiar with.

As we have concluded, modern application development adheres to DevOps principles, utilizing ALM tools and disciplines to maximize value. Modern application architecture is based on loosely coupled services or microservices and supports two crucial patterns: deployability and testability.

In the subsequent chapters, we will discover how these modern application development patterns and practices can be applied to the Microsoft Power Platform and how DevOps and ALM can be implemented for the Power Platform.

• Geoffrey Elliott (2004). Global Business Information Technology: an integrated systems approach. Pearson Education: https://www.amazon.com/Global-Business-Information-Technology-integrated/dp/0321270126
• Everatt, G.D.; McLeod, R Jr (2007). “Chapter 2: The Software Development Life Cycle”. Software Testing: Testing Across the Entire Software Development Life Cycle. John Wiley & Sons: https://dahlan.unimal.ac.id/files/ebooks/2007%20[McLeod_R.]_Software_Testing_Testing_Across_the_E.pdf
• V-Model: US Dept of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Systems Engineering Guidebook for ITS: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/cadiv/segb/index.cfm
• Power Apps RAD: https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/rapid-application-development-rad/
• ALM: DAVID CHAPPELL (2008): WHAT IS APPLICATION LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT?: https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/application-lifecycle-management/
• Lean Management: Taiichi Ohno: Toyota Production System: https://www.amazon...