Course: Developer Fundamentals: Software Design and Development

Software development is no different from any other creative process. It involves the planning, development, controlling, testing, and maintenance of software products. The software development life cycle (SDLC) is a framework used to expand that development process into different stages, ensuring that the team works together to minimize risk, reduce cost, and deliver a high-quality product. Begin by exploring the role of software engineering in development. Then, examine the SDLC phases to discover the business needs for project analysis and project plan development. Finally, investigate development and implementation steps and learn about the importance of testing prior to deployment. Upon completion, you will be able to list all the phases of the SDLC and name a final document of each phase.

Most business related development processes include some kind of formal methodology. For software development we call these software development life cycle (SDLC) models and there are several of them. Learn why a software development model is needed for better software development. Discover several SDLC models including the waterfall model, incremental and spiral models, the V-model, and Agile models. Explore the features of each model and consider what they have in common. Finally, utilize comparative techniques and use cases to choose the best model for your development. After completion of this course, you'll be able to differentiate between and define popular software development methodologies.

In this course we adopt the object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) methodology for developing computer programs. This methodology guides the developer into the proper structure for developing programs. We will begin by looking at this methodology to see how it helps the programmer develop better computer programs and consider how this approach compares to the traditional procedural style of software development. Next, we will discuss design patterns and take a look at how object-oriented relationships work. Finally, you will use an object-oriented programming (OOP) approach to solving programming problems and developing code based on your solutions. After completing this course, you'll be able to outline the object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) approach to solving programming problems.

Programmers have several tools to choose from that can help make the development process easier, more streamlined, and more cost effective. One important tool is the Unified Modeling Language (UML) - a generalized modeling language that standardizes visualization of system design, giving everyone on the team one clear direction. UML helps present projects visually while maintaining the flexibility to be interpreted in different ways. Explore the many reasons for applying a UML approach to program development. Examine the architecture of UML, including the different types of models and diagrams. Learn about UML notations, and look at static and dynamic diagrams and apply use cases to each. At the end of this course, you will be able to add UML to your programmer's toolbox to design parts of an object-oriented program.

Since computer programming is now a mature industry, there are some functions that almost all programs perform, such as authenticating users. These practices have been formalized into programming patterns, which are the subject of this course. We begin by discussing the need for design patterns and look at the three basic types - creational, structural, and behavioral. Next, dive deeper into each pattern type and use examples in each case. Additionally, we discuss the SOLID design principles in detail. Finally, we talk about best software design practices in a general sense. After completing this course, you'll be able to employ tried and true design patterns to solve programming problems.

Computer programming has matured to the point where we can develop most business applications using three distinct technologies within the client-server framework. The three tiers of presentation, logic, and database (storage) lead to separate development teams in larger companies. This three-tier development means that code must be tested and synchronized before production. For this reason, version control of the entire code as a program is implemented. Explore the history of version control software and the most popular versioning systems, including Git. Take a deep dive into Git and discover its most important features. Then, install and configure Git on your local system before using Git to configure a project and create a workflow. Finally, branch out into GitHub's features and various version control activities. After this course you will be able to implement Git as a tool to keep track of the changes in your program.

Final Exam: Software Design and Development Fundamentals will test your knowledge and application of the topics presented throughout the Software Design and Development Fundamentals track of the Skillsoft Aspire Developer Fundamentals Journey.