In
software engineering, a
software development methodology (also known as a
system development methodology,
software development life cycle,
software development process,
software process) is a splitting of
software development work into distinct phases (or stages) containing activities with the intent of better planning and management. It is often considered a subset of the
systems development life cycle. The methodology may include the pre-definition of specific
deliverables and artifacts that are created and completed by a project team to develop or maintain an application.