Software development

Software development is the process used to create software. Programming and maintaining the source code is the central step of this process, but it also includes conceiving the project, evaluating its feasibility, analyzing the business requirements, software design, testing, to release. Software engineering, in addition to development, also includes project management, employee management, and other overhead functions.^[1] Software development may be sequential, in which each step is complete before the next begins, but iterative development methods where multiple steps can be executed at once and earlier steps can be revisited have also been devised to improve flexibility, efficiency, and scheduling.

Software development involves professionals from various fields, not just software programmers but also individuals specialized in testing, documentation writing, graphic design, user support, marketing, and fundraising. A number of tools and models are commonly used in software development, such as integrated development environment (IDE), version control, computer-aided software engineering, and software documentation.