Program Development Steps

Program Development Steps:

A computer is a set of formal instructions, which the computer executes in order to carry out some designated task. There are six basic steps in the development of a program: 

1. Define the Problem: This step involves the careful reading and re-reading of the problem until the programmer understands completely what is required.
2. Analysis: Once the problem has been defined, the programmer may decide to break the problem up into smaller tasks or steps, and several solutions me be considered. The solution outline often takes the shape of a hierarchy or structure chart.
3. Design: Using the solution outline developed in step 2, the programmer then expends this into an algorithm that describe exactly the tasks to be performed and the order in which they are to be carried out.
4. Coding: It is only after all design considerations have been met that a programmer should actually start to code the program. In preceding analysis it may have been necessary to consider which language should be used.
5. Testing: This step uses a program compiler and test data to test the code for both syntax and logic errors. This step will often need to be done several times until the programmer is satisfied that the program is running.
6. Maintenance: program documentation should not be just listed as the last step in the development process, as it is an ongoing task from the initial definition of the problem to the final text results. Documentation also involves maintenance – the changes that are made to a program, often by another programmer during the life of that program. The better a program has been documented and the logic understood, the easier it is for another to make changes.

Figure: Program Development Steps