Peek behind the curtain to see what a day in the life of a software developer looks like. Learn what developers do every day to have a better understanding of what a software development job entails.

Software development is a newer field compared to other professions. Yet, we can feel its impact on our daily lives. Most people interact with different software every single day—from online bank transactions and shopping to entertainment and education.

While each software development project is unique, developers have their own way of approaching their workload. This day-in-the-life overview is a general illustration of how software developers take on projects.

But before getting into what a day in the life of a software developer entails, it’s essential to understand the software development life cycle. Also, let’s briefly define the responsibilities of a software developer.

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
When developing software, having an organized workflow is a necessity. This framework is called the Software Development Life Cycle or SDLC. It defines the processes or tasks related to each phase of the software development process.

As such, the SDLC serves as the guide for the software development process. It allows for a disciplined and systematic development approach. Here’s a brief description of the phases in the SDLC:

1. Analysis
In this phase, the team performs a requirements analysis to determine the project’s priorities, including the features. This includes documentation, estimation, and validation of each sub-tasks.

2. Design
This is where developers make the software architecture and mock-ups of the project. Furthermore, this is the stage to identify the tools or technologies to use during development.

3. Development
During this phase, the actual development happens. Developers will write code to create the software.

4. Testing
QAs will lead this phase. They test the system to see if it works according to the defined specifications. Also, they will report any bugs to developers for fixing.

5. Deployment
After all the tests, the software development team will launch the product for consumption. It is important to know that the phases of SDLC are not sequential. For example, teams can perform the Analysis and Design steps simultaneously.