Guideline For Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Methodology

Published 27/06/2024

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1. Introduction

The Digital Government Authority (DGA) realizes the importance of continuously approving and updating organizations to keep pace with current and future requirements, and to mainly contribute to enhancing digital performance within government agencies, increasing the quality of services provided and improving the experience of the beneficiaries of such services, in line with Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030 and the strategic directions of the digital government, which emphasize the importance of establishing an effective and flexible regulatory environment that adapts to future changes. By paving the way for government agencies to offer high-quality and efficient digital government services, DGA aims to increase investment returns and boost the national economy.

DGA’s Guideline for Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Methodology aims to support and empower government agencies by providing guidance on adopting best practices related to digital government, and to achieve goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 as well as the strategic goals of government digital transformation. By following this Guideline, agencies can adopt digital methodologies to overcome challenges, improve performance, enhance quality of digital services, increase user satisfaction, and achieve digital excellence and sustainability. The Document provides an overview of SDLC methodology, including models, tools, and steps for developing and operating software.

2. Guideline Objectives

This Guideline aims to achieve the following:

Supporting government agencies by providing guidance on the steps of applying Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology.
Promoting adoption of SDLC methodology.
Improving performance of government agencies in systems and software development field.
Enhancing quality of digital government services and products.

3. Guideline Scope

This Guideline aims to facilitate the understanding of SDLC methodology and its adoption process by focusing on the following aspects:

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology;
Objectives of SDLC methodology;
Stages of implementing SDLC;
Models supporting the application of SDLC methodology;
General recommendations for adopting SDLC methodology;
Continuity and impact measurement.

4. Target Audience

This Guideline is intended for experts, practitioners, and technical staff involved in system and software development within government agencies.

5. Guideline Statement

For more information; Check the digital version.

6. Definitions Table

Term	Definition
DGA	Digital Government Authority
Digital Transformation	Transforming and strategically developing business models into digitally-enabled models based on data, technology, and communication networks.
Digital Government	Supporting administrative, organizational, and operational processes within and across government sectors to achieve digital transformation and to develop, enhance, and facilitate easy and effective access to government information and services.
Government Entities	Ministries, authorities, public institutions, councils, and national centers, and their equivalents.
System Development Life Cycle (SDLC)	A methodology for developing systems and software that consists of multiple sequential stages.
Computer Software Configuration Item (CSCI)	A set of software or any of its separate components that meet and implement the functional requirements requested and specified by stakeholders
Modules	One of the components of software or a part of a software that contains one or more procedures. One or more independently developed units can form the entire software, and each unit serves unique and separate operations.
Infrastructure Patterns	Description of the software structure and design of the types of connections between its components.
Agile	A software development process through which software is created and developed through the collaborative efforts of a specific multi-functional work team.
Iterative Models	Types of SDLC models and divide the development process according to distinct activities for software development sequentially and linearly. Each activity's tool relies on the outputs of the previous activity.
Waterfall Model	A project management model that focuses on linear progress from the beginning to the end of the project. This methodology focuses more on the early stages, such as detailed planning, detailed documentation, and sequential execution.
Sashimi Model	One of SDLC models in which the sequential stages overlap, where a stage starts before the completion of the previous stage, unlike the waterfall model, to allow for review and correction of any problems or deficiencies that arise when starting a new stage.
Business Requirements	It illustrates business goals, objectives, roles, department needs, and business processes.
User Requirements	Requirements that clarify user needs and activities expected from the system user within the solution, including UX that defines user interaction, accessibility, usability, inclusion, goals, and constraints.
Test Cases	A description of a potential scenario that occurs on the component or system, with an explanation of the inputs for each test case and the expected outputs or results.
Production Environment	The space where the latest version of the software is published, which is in working condition, free of errors, and available when the user needs it.
Staging environments	A nearly identical replica of the production environment used for software testing. Staging environments are designed to test codes, configurations, and updates to ensure quality in an environment similar to production before software deploying.
Software Deployment	The process of preparing a software application to run and operate in a specific environment, including installation and configuration to ensure optimal software operation.
Storyboards	A tool used in agile business analysis to create visual models of user stories and help identify potential problems and risks. Storyboarding is used to describe a task, scenario, or story in terms of how stakeholders interact with the solution.
Containers	Virtual simulation at the level of OS applications, across multiple resources in networks, allowing software applications to run in isolated user spaces called "containers" in any cloud or non-cloud environment.

Abbreviation	Meaning
SDLC	Software Development Life Cycle
BR	Business Requirements
CSCI	Computer Software Configuration Item
DaaS	Data as a Service
DLD	Detailed Level Design
FaaS	Function as a Service
FR	Functional Requirements
HLD	High Level Design
IaaS	Infrastructure as a Service
LDAP	Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
LLD	Low Level Design
PaaS	Platform as a Service
POC	Proof of Concept
SaaS	Software as a Service
TR	Technical Requirements
UR	User Requirements

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Guideline For Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Methodology

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