Risk in Software Development Life Cycle A Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a series of steps or processes that are undertaken to develop a software product. In general, the activities or processes include gathering the requirements, design, implementation, testing, documenting and maintenance. The exact process depends to a large extent on the SDLC model used.

One of the important aspects of any SDLC model is risk management because it protects the information, software product as well as the external data from a possible theft, vulnerability or loss. Risk is the negative impact that any action has on the software product in terms of its vulnerability, frequency of occurrence and the potential of harm or destruction. It is easier to prevent risk rather than fix it and this is why risk management is a vital component of any product's SDLC.

Risk Management Activities

The primary objective of...

Risk management encompasses assessment of risk, mitigation of risk and a constant evaluation to ensure that risk levels are low. It is performed during every phase of SDLC in an iterative manner.
During the initiation or gathering of requirements phase, risks pertaining to security are identified and addressed. The risks identified during the first stage is incorporated into the design and implementation phase to ensure that the architecture of the product has no room for vulnerability. These risk management activities are documented and are routinely looked into during testing and maintenance phases to mitigate its negative effects.

Risk Reduction Strategies

Numerous risk reduction strategies are employed by IT companies today. One of the popular ones is to use…