Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

This question asks if you have a formal, documented process for how you build, test, deploy, and maintain your software systems. It's your standardized playbook that ensures every piece of code follows the same quality and security standards from conception to retirement.

A documented SDLC proves to enterprise clients that your development isn't chaotic or ad-hoc - it's predictable, secure, and mature. It reduces bugs by 40%, prevents security vulnerabilities, and accelerates development by eliminating guesswork. Without an SDLC, you appear amateurish to enterprise buyers, face higher development costs from rework, and risk catastrophic security failures from inconsistent practices.

Having an SDLC document that developers ignore is worthless - it must reflect actual practices. Another mistake is creating an overly complex SDLC that slows development to a crawl, causing teams to bypass it entirely.