Techie BabajiLearn to Code. Build Real Skills.
DevOps · Foundations

Software Development Lifecycle

Every piece of software goes through the same stages. DevOps turns them from a one-way line into a fast loop.

Beginner 5 min Lesson 2 of 30
Before you start:Introduction to DevOps
0/30 in DevOps
On this page · 5 min · Beginner

On this page

  1. Learning objectives
  2. Explanation
  3. Code example
  4. Step by step
  5. Real-world use
  6. Common mistakes
  7. Best practices
  8. Remember this
  9. Practice exercise
  10. Mini quiz
  11. Related topics
  12. My notes
Reading time
5 min
Difficulty
Beginner
Updated
Oct 29, 2026

Related tutorials

Interview questions

Learning objectives#

  • Name the SDLC stages
  • Compare waterfall and agile
  • Map DevOps tools to each stage
  • Understand shift-left testing

Explanation#

Stages: plan → code → build → test → release → deploy → operate → monitor, then back to plan.

Waterfall does each stage once for the whole project. Agile works in short iterations. DevOps automates the loop so each small change flows through all stages quickly.

“Shift left” means testing and security checks happen earlier, in the developer’s pull request rather than after release.

Code example: Tools at each stage#

TextTools at each stage Illustrative
Plan      GitHub Issues / Azure Boards / Jira
Code      Git, VS Code, pull requests
Build     dotnet build, npm run build, Docker
Test      xUnit, Jest, Playwright (in CI)
Release   Versioned artifacts and images (semver, Git tags)
Deploy    GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines, Kubernetes
Operate   Azure App Service, AWS ECS, Kubernetes
Monitor   Application Insights, CloudWatch, Grafana
Expected output
Each stage has a tool that can be automated and connected to the next.

This example is illustrative. Copy or download it and run it in your own environment; the expected output is shown above.

Step-by-step explanation#

  1. Issues capture planned work.
  2. Pull requests carry code changes with review.
  3. CI builds and tests automatically.
  4. CD and monitoring close the loop.

Real-world use case#

A college project team uses GitHub Issues, pull requests and Actions to run a mini DevOps lifecycle.

Common mistakes#

Testing only at the end

Bugs found late are expensive. Run tests on every pull request.

No monitoring

Without it, users find problems before you do.

Best practices#

  • Short iterations
  • Automate each hand-off
  • Shift testing and security left
  • Feed production data back into planning

Remember this#

Plan → code → build → test → release → deploy → operate → monitor.

DevOps = the loop, automated.

Shift left = check earlier.

Practice exercise#

Your task: Put these in order: deploy, test, code, monitor, build.

Show solution
Text Illustrative
code → build → test → deploy → monitor

Mini quiz#

Software Development Lifecycle quizMultiple choice Question 1 of 1

What does “shift left” mean?

Score so far: 0/0

Want more? Practise all DevOps MCQs · DevOps interview questions

My notes#

Saved in this browser.

Progress is saved in this browser. Sign in to sync.