Delivering high-quality software products requires a well-defined and disciplined Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). In our day-to-day work, we leverage a rich set of tools that support every phase of the SDLC — from planning to development, testing, deployment, and monitoring.
This article presents a practical overview of how we plan, build, test, and deliver software using modern tools and agile methodologies.
1. Planning & Project Management
Tools: Jira, Agile, Scrum Ceremonies, PI Planning, Slack, Zoom, Google Meet, Gainsight
- We begin with Agile principles, including PI Planning to define quarterly goals and breakdown features.
- Jira helps manage epics, stories, tasks, and sprints.
- Scrum ceremonies like daily standups, sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives drive collaboration.
- Communication and updates happen via Slack, Zoom, Google Meet, and Gainsight for client/stakeholder insights.
2. Development Environment & Coding Tools
Tools: RubyMine, Cursor AI, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, AngularJS, ReactJS, TypeScript, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Docker
- RubyMine is our primary IDE for Ruby on Rails development.
- Cursor AI boosts productivity via AI-assisted code generation and navigation.
- We build frontends using ReactJS or AngularJS, powered by TypeScript, JavaScript, and legacy CoffeeScript.
- Backend and full-stack applications run on Ruby on Rails.
- MongoDB and PostgreSQL are used as per data structure needs (NoSQL vs relational).
- Docker ensures consistent development and testing environments across machines and teams.
3. Security & Accessibility
Tools: Snyk, Burp Suite, XSS Testing, Accessibility Guidelines, NVDA
- Snyk is used for automated dependency vulnerability scanning in code and containers.
- Manual security testing including XSS and other exploits is performed with Burp Suite.
- We ensure accessibility by adhering to WCAG standards and testing with screen readers like NVDA.
4. Testing & Quality Assurance
Tools: RSpec, Selenium, JMeter, Capybara
- RSpec is used for writing unit, integration, and model tests in Ruby.
- Capybara simulates user interaction for system and acceptance tests.
- Selenium performs cross-browser E2E testing.
- JMeter helps us conduct performance and load testing for APIs and services.
5. Continuous Integration & Deployment
Tools: Jenkins, Docker, Capistrano, AWS
- Jenkins runs our CI/CD pipelines — building, testing, and deploying code.
- Docker containers ensure clean builds across dev, staging, and production.
- Capistrano automates code deployment across environments.
- We host applications on AWS, using services like EC2, S3, RDS, ECS, and Lambda for scalable, reliable infrastructure.
6. Monitoring, Logging & Error Tracking
Tools: Logz.io, Airbrake, AWS CloudWatch, New Relic
- Logz.io offers centralized logging and alerting based on log patterns.
- Airbrake captures and reports runtime errors directly from production.
- AWS CloudWatch monitors EC2 instances, services, and logs.
- New Relic provides APM (Application Performance Monitoring) for tracing performance bottlenecks.
7. Continuous Improvement & Tech Health
Tools & Practices: Technical Debt Management, Upgrades, Retrospectives, Agile Sprints
- We continuously address technical debt as part of our sprint cycles.
- Framework and library upgrades are tracked and scheduled regularly.
- Retrospectives help us reflect on what’s working and improve what’s not.
- Code reviews, documentation, and DevSecOps practices help maintain code quality and knowledge transfer.
Final Thoughts
A modern SDLC blends process with automation, collaboration with tooling, and agility with stability. With the right tools in place, we ensure every feature we deliver is valuable, secure, tested, and scalable.
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