Software development refers to the design, documentation, programming, testing, and ongoing maintenance of a software deliverable. The combination of these steps are used to create a workflow pipeline, a sequence of steps that when followed produce high-quality software deliverables. This pipeline is known as the software development lifecycle.

While there are many nuances, the software development lifecycle generally includes common elements, as noted below.

Discover

Plan

Build and Test

Deploy

Operate

Observe