Software release life cycle

Software release life cycle refers to the phases of development and maturity for a piece of computer software: ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help improve software or fix software bugs still present in the software.

Phases

The software release life cycle is composed of different stages that describe the stability of a piece of software and the amount of development it has undergone. These stages are often referred to as:

• Pre-alpha—Pre-alpha refers to all activities performed during the software project before formal testing. These activities can include systems modeling, software development, and software testing in very early stages. It is the first phase in the software development process.

• Alpha—The alpha phase of the release life cycle is the first phase to involve software testing (alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, used as the number 1). In this phase, developers generally test the software using white-box techniques. Additional validation is then performed using black-box or gray-box techniques, by another testing team. Alpha software can be unstable and could cause crashes or data loss. Alpha software may not contain all of the features that are planned for the final version.

• Beta—Beta, named after the second letter of the Greek alphabet, is the software development phase following alpha. Software in the beta phase will generally have many more bugs in it than completed software, as well as speed/performance issues and may still cause crashes or data loss. The focus of beta testing is reducing impacts to users, often incorporating usability testing. The process of delivering a beta version to the users is called beta release and this is typically the first time that the software is available outside of the organization that developed it.

• Release candidate—A release candidate (RC) is a beta version with potential to be a final product, which is ready to release unless significant bugs emerge. In this stage of product stabilization, all product features have been designed, coded and tested through one or more beta cycles with no known showstopper-class bugs. A release is called code complete when the development team agrees that no entirely new source code will be added to this release, except to fix bugs.

• General availability (GA)—General availability is the phase in which the software is available to the general public. This is after the pre-release versions. At this point, the software has "gone live".

• Maintenance—Maintenance in the software release life cycle is the stage at which the software is kept up to date by fixing bugs or adding minor features. Not all software reaches this stage, some software products move directly from GA to end of life.

• End-of-life—The term end-of-life, often abbreviated as EOL, refers to the time when a software product is no longer supported by its owner or vendor. This can mean that the software is no longer available for download, no longer being updated, and no longer receiving technical support.

Importance

Understanding the software release life cycle is crucial for software development and software project management. It helps developers and project managers to plan, design, and control the process of developing an information system and to improve the overall quality of the software.