🔄 Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Complete development methodology and phases for the iSpeaker Live platform using Agile methodology with two-week sprints.

📋 SDLC Overview

The iSpeaker Live platform follows an Agile SDLC methodology with iterative development cycles, allowing for flexibility and continuous improvement based on client feedback and testing results.

🔄 Methodology

Agile Scrum with 2-week sprints

⏱️ Total Duration

16-20 weeks (4-5 months) for MVP

👥 Team Structure

Product Owner (Client) + Freelance Developer

📦 Delivery Approach

Module-by-module incremental delivery

SDLC Model Diagram

graph TB A[1. Planning & Requirements] --> B[2. Analysis & Design] B --> C[3. Development] C --> D[4. Testing] D --> E[5. Deployment] E --> F[6. Maintenance & Support] F -.Feedback Loop.-> A style A fill:#3b82f6,stroke:#1e40af,color:#fff style B fill:#8b5cf6,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#fff style C fill:#10b981,stroke:#059669,color:#fff style D fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,color:#fff style E fill:#ef4444,stroke:#dc2626,color:#fff style F fill:#ec4899,stroke:#db2777,color:#fff

1️⃣ Phase 1: Planning & Requirements

Duration: 2 weeks (Sprint 0)

This phase involves gathering comprehensive requirements, defining project scope, and establishing the foundation for the entire development process.

Key Activities

Activity Description Deliverables
Requirements Gathering Meet with client to understand business needs, target audience, and platform objectives Requirements Document (SRS)
Stakeholder Analysis Identify all stakeholders: students, speakers, admins, and their needs Stakeholder Matrix
Feature Prioritization Define MVP features vs. future enhancements using MoSCoW method Feature Priority List
Technical Feasibility Evaluate technology stack, third-party integrations, and infrastructure Technical Feasibility Report
Project Planning Create project timeline, sprint schedule, and resource allocation Project Plan & Gantt Chart
Risk Assessment Identify potential risks and mitigation strategies Risk Assessment Matrix
Budget Estimation Calculate development costs, infrastructure, and third-party services Budget Breakdown

Requirements Categories

Functional Requirements

User authentication, course management, payment processing, live streaming, consultations

Non-Functional Requirements

Performance (< 2s load), scalability (10K+ users), 99.9% uptime, security (OWASP)

Business Requirements

Revenue model (20% commission), VAT compliance (15%), multi-language (Arabic/English)

User Requirements

Mobile-first design, offline reading, real-time notifications, seamless payment experience

MoSCoW Prioritization

Priority Features
Must Have (MVP) User auth, Courses, Books, Live Rooms, Consultations, Payment, Social Feed
Should Have Advanced analytics, Coupon system, Review system, Certificates
Could Have AI recommendations, Gamification, Advanced search filters
Won't Have (V1) Mobile apps (Phase 2), Advanced AI features, Third-party integrations beyond MVP
Milestone: Requirements Sign-off Document approved by client

2️⃣ Phase 2: Analysis & Design

Duration: 3 weeks

Transform requirements into detailed system architecture, database design, and UI/UX mockups.

Key Activities

System Analysis

  • Use Case Diagrams: Document user interactions for all 6 core modules
  • User Stories: Create detailed user stories with acceptance criteria
  • Activity Diagrams: Map out complex workflows (payment flow, enrollment process)
  • Sequence Diagrams: Define API interactions and data flow

System Design

Design Component Description Tools/Outputs
Architecture Design Three-tier architecture with separate frontend, backend API, and database layers Architecture Diagram (Mermaid)
Database Design ERD with 50+ tables, relationships, indexes, and constraints ERD (dbdiagram.io), Migration files
API Design RESTful API endpoints with request/response schemas API Documentation (Swagger/Scribe)
UI/UX Design Wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes Figma designs with design system
Security Design Authentication flow, authorization rules, data encryption Security Architecture Document
Integration Design Third-party services (Jitsi, PayTabs, Firebase, AWS SES) Integration Specifications

Design Process Flow

sequenceDiagram participant Client participant Designer participant Developer participant Database Client->>Designer: Provide requirements Designer->>Designer: Create wireframes Designer->>Client: Present wireframes Client->>Designer: Feedback & approval Designer->>Designer: Create high-fidelity mockups Designer->>Client: Present mockups Client->>Designer: Final approval Designer->>Developer: Hand off designs Developer->>Database: Design database schema Developer->>Developer: Create API specifications Developer->>Client: Present technical design Client->>Developer: Technical approval

Design Deliverables

🎨 UI/UX Design

Complete Figma design with 50+ screens, design system, and component library

🗄️ Database Schema

ERD with all tables, relationships, and Laravel migration files

📡 API Specification

RESTful API documentation with all endpoints, parameters, and responses

🏗️ Architecture Diagram

System architecture showing all layers, services, and integrations

Checkpoint: Design review meeting with client for approval before development starts

3️⃣ Phase 3: Development

Duration: 10-12 weeks (5-6 two-week sprints)

The main development phase where features are built incrementally following Agile sprints.

Sprint Structure

graph LR A[Sprint Planning] --> B[Daily Standups] B --> C[Development] C --> D[Code Review] D --> E[Testing] E --> F[Sprint Review] F --> G[Sprint Retrospective] G --> A style A fill:#3b82f6,stroke:#1e40af,color:#fff style C fill:#10b981,stroke:#059669,color:#fff style E fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,color:#fff style F fill:#8b5cf6,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#fff

Development Sprints Breakdown

Sprint Duration Features Developed Deliverables
Sprint 1 2 weeks • Project setup & infrastructure
• User authentication & authorization
• User profiles & settings
• Basic admin panel 		Auth system, User management module
Sprint 2 2 weeks • Social Feed (posts, comments, reactions)
• File upload system
• Real-time notifications
• Direct messaging 		Social Feed module, Messaging system
Sprint 3 2 weeks • Course creation & management
• Video upload & processing
• Course sections & lessons
• Enrollment system 		Course module (backend + frontend)
Sprint 4 2 weeks • Video player with progress tracking
• Course reviews & ratings
• Q&A system
• Certificates generation 		Complete Course learning experience
Sprint 5 2 weeks • Books module (PDF upload)
• PDF reader with annotations
• Reading progress tracking
• Book reviews 		Books module with PDF reader
Sprint 6 2 weeks • Live Rooms (Jitsi integration)
• Room scheduling & registration
• Live chat & polls
• Recording functionality 		Live Rooms module with video streaming
Sprint 7 2 weeks • Consultation scheduling system
• Availability management
• Booking & payment flow
• One-on-one video calls 		Consultation module
Sprint 8 2 weeks • Payment gateway integration (PayTabs)
• Wallet system
• Transaction management
• Invoice generation (VAT compliance)
• Withdrawal system 		Complete Payment system
Sprint 9 2 weeks • Analytics dashboards (user & speaker)
• Reporting system
• Search & filtering
• Admin panel enhancements
• Performance optimization 		Analytics & Admin features
Sprint 10 2 weeks • UI/UX refinements
• Bug fixes from testing
• Performance optimization
• Security hardening
• Documentation completion 		Polished MVP ready for deployment

Development Best Practices

📝 Code Standards

PSR-12 for PHP, ESLint for JavaScript, consistent naming conventions

🔀 Version Control

Git with feature branches, pull requests, and code reviews

🧪 Testing

Unit tests (PHPUnit), integration tests, E2E tests (Cypress)

📚 Documentation

Inline code comments, API docs, README files, technical guides

Technology Stack

Layer Technology Purpose
Frontend Next.js 14, React 18, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui Server-side rendering, responsive UI
Backend Laravel 11, PHP 8.2 RESTful API, business logic
Database MySQL 8.0, Redis Data storage, caching
Real-time Laravel Echo, Pusher, Socket.io WebSocket for notifications, chat
Video Streaming Jitsi Meet (self-hosted) Live rooms, consultations
Storage DigitalOcean Spaces (S3) Media files, videos, PDFs
Payment PayTabs, HyperPay Payment processing (Saudi Arabia)
Daily Standups: 15-minute daily meetings to track progress, blockers, and plan the day

4️⃣ Phase 4: Testing

Duration: 2-3 weeks (parallel with final development sprints)

Comprehensive testing strategy to ensure quality, performance, and security before deployment.

Testing Pyramid

graph TD A[Manual Testing] --> B[E2E Testing] B --> C[Integration Testing] C --> D[Unit Testing] style A fill:#ef4444,stroke:#dc2626,color:#fff style B fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,color:#fff style C fill:#10b981,stroke:#059669,color:#fff style D fill:#3b82f6,stroke:#1e40af,color:#fff

Testing Types

Testing Type Scope Tools Target Coverage
Unit Testing Test individual functions, methods, and components in isolation PHPUnit (Backend), Jest (Frontend) ≥ 80%
Integration Testing Test interactions between modules, API endpoints, database PHPUnit, Postman ≥ 70%
E2E Testing Test complete user workflows from UI to database Cypress, Playwright Critical paths
Performance Testing Load testing, stress testing, scalability testing Apache JMeter, k6 10K+ concurrent users
Security Testing Vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, OWASP Top 10 OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite All critical vulnerabilities
Usability Testing User experience testing with real users Manual testing, user feedback 5-10 test users
Browser Testing Cross-browser compatibility testing BrowserStack, manual testing Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge
Mobile Testing Responsive design testing on different devices Real devices, Chrome DevTools iOS 13+, Android 8+

Test Scenarios

Critical User Journeys

  • Student Journey: Sign up → Browse courses → Purchase → Watch lessons → Complete course → Get certificate
  • Speaker Journey: Sign up → Create course → Upload videos → Set pricing → Receive payments → Withdraw funds
  • Payment Flow: Add to cart → Apply coupon → Checkout → Payment gateway → Confirmation → Invoice
  • Live Session: Schedule room → Registration → Join session → Interactive features → Recording
  • Consultation: Browse speakers → Check availability → Book slot → Payment → Video call → Rating

Bug Tracking & Management

Severity Description Resolution Time
Critical System crash, data loss, security breach, payment failure Same day
High Major feature not working, significant UX issue 1-2 days
Medium Minor feature issue, UI inconsistency 3-5 days
Low Cosmetic issues, minor text errors 1-2 weeks

Performance Benchmarks

⚡ Page Load Time

< 2 seconds (Google Lighthouse score> 90)

🔌 API Response

< 100ms for 95% of requests

👥 Concurrent Users

10,000+ without degradation

📹 Video Streaming

1080p with adaptive bitrate

Go/No-Go Criteria: All critical bugs fixed, performance benchmarks met, security audit passed

5️⃣ Phase 5: Deployment

Duration: 1 week

Systematic deployment to production with rollback strategies and monitoring setup.

Deployment Strategy

graph LR A[Development] --> B[Staging] B --> C[Pre-production] C --> D[Production] D -.Rollback.-> C style A fill:#3b82f6,stroke:#1e40af,color:#fff style B fill:#10b981,stroke:#059669,color:#fff style C fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,color:#fff style D fill:#ef4444,stroke:#dc2626,color:#fff

Deployment Phases

Phase Environment Activities Duration
Phase 1 Staging Deploy to staging server, run smoke tests, client UAT 2 days
Phase 2 Pre-production Deploy to pre-prod with production data copy, final testing 2 days
Phase 3 Production (Soft Launch) Deploy to production, limited user access (beta users) 2 days
Phase 4 Production (Full Launch) Open to all users, monitoring, support ready 1 day

Infrastructure Setup

  • Web Servers: DigitalOcean Droplets (4 vCPUs, 8GB RAM) with auto-scaling
  • Database: Managed MySQL 8.0 with daily backups and read replicas
  • Caching: Redis for session storage and application cache
  • Load Balancer: DigitalOcean Load Balancer with health checks
  • CDN: DigitalOcean Spaces CDN for static assets and media files
  • SSL/TLS: Let's Encrypt SSL certificates with auto-renewal
  • Monitoring: DigitalOcean Monitoring + UptimeRobot + Sentry

CI/CD Pipeline

sequenceDiagram participant Dev as Developer participant Git as GitHub participant CI as GitHub Actions participant Test as Testing Suite participant Staging participant Prod as Production Dev->>Git: Push code Git->>CI: Trigger workflow CI->>CI: Install dependencies CI->>Test: Run tests alt Tests Pass Test->>CI: Success CI->>Staging: Deploy to staging Staging->>Dev: Notify deployment Dev->>Prod: Manual approval Prod->>Dev: Deployment complete else Tests Fail Test->>CI: Failure CI->>Dev: Notify failure end

Deployment Checklist

  • ✅ All environment variables configured
  • ✅ Database migrations executed successfully
  • ✅ SSL certificates installed and verified
  • ✅ DNS records properly configured
  • ✅ Backup systems tested and verified
  • ✅ Monitoring and alerting systems active
  • ✅ Payment gateway in production mode
  • ✅ Email service (AWS SES) configured
  • ✅ Firebase FCM for push notifications setup
  • ✅ Jitsi Meet server running and accessible
  • ✅ Load testing completed successfully
  • ✅ Security scanning passed
  • ✅ Rollback plan documented and tested
Go-Live Date: After client approval and all deployment checklist items completed

6️⃣ Phase 6: Maintenance & Support

Duration: Ongoing

Post-launch support, monitoring, bug fixes, and continuous improvements based on user feedback.

Support Structure

Support Level Response Time Scope
Critical (P1) < 1 hour System down, data loss, security breach, payment failures
High (P2) < 4 hours Major feature not working, significant performance degradation
Medium (P3) < 24 hours Minor feature issues, UX problems
Low (P4) < 48 hours Cosmetic issues, enhancement requests

Maintenance Activities

🔧 Bug Fixes

Address reported issues from users and monitoring systems

🔄 Updates

Security patches, dependency updates, framework upgrades

📊 Monitoring

24/7 system monitoring with alerts for issues

💾 Backups

Daily automated backups with 30-day retention

⚡ Performance

Continuous optimization based on analytics

🔒 Security

Regular security audits and vulnerability scanning

📈 Scaling

Infrastructure scaling based on traffic growth

📚 Documentation

Keep technical documentation up to date

Monitoring & Alerts

Metric Tool Alert Threshold
Uptime UptimeRobot < 99.9%
Response Time DigitalOcean Monitoring > 2 seconds
Error Rate Sentry > 1% of requests
Database Performance MySQL Slow Query Log > 1 second queries
Disk Space DigitalOcean Monitoring > 80% used
CPU Usage DigitalOcean Monitoring > 80% for 5+ minutes

Release Cycle

  • Hotfixes: Immediate for critical bugs
  • Minor Updates: Weekly (bug fixes, small improvements)
  • Major Updates: Monthly (new features, significant changes)
  • Security Patches: As needed, highest priority
SLA Target: 99.9% uptime, < 2s average response time, < 1 hour P1 resolution

📅 Complete Project Timeline

Gantt Chart Overview

Phase Duration Start End Status
Planning & Requirements 2 weeks Week 1 Week 2 ✅ Complete
Analysis & Design 3 weeks Week 3 Week 5 ✅ Complete
Development (10 sprints) 10-12 weeks Week 6 Week 17 🔄 In Progress
Testing (parallel) 2-3 weeks Week 15 Week 17 ⏳ Pending
Deployment 1 week Week 18 Week 18 ⏳ Pending
Maintenance & Support Ongoing Week 19 Ongoing ⏳ Pending

Total Project Duration: 18-20 Weeks (4.5-5 months)

Buffer Time: 2 weeks of buffer included for unexpected delays or scope adjustments

⚠️ Risk Management

Risk Assessment Matrix

Risk Probability Impact Mitigation Strategy
Scope Creep Medium High Strict MVP definition, formal change request process, weekly client reviews
Jitsi Scalability Medium Medium Early load testing, self-hosted server optimization, cloud Jitsi fallback
Payment Integration Medium Medium Use documented Saudi gateways (PayTabs), early integration, sandbox testing
Timeline Delays Low Medium 2-week buffer built in, agile sprints allow flexibility, daily standups
Video Storage Costs Medium Medium DigitalOcean Spaces with CDN, video compression, usage monitoring
Security Vulnerabilities Low High OWASP best practices, JWT auth, regular audits, penetration testing
Performance Under Load Low High Load testing 10K+ users, horizontal scaling, database optimization, Redis caching
Third-party Service Downtime Low Medium Fallback providers, service health monitoring, graceful degradation

📈 Success Metrics (KPIs)

Technical KPIs

⏱️ Performance

Target: < 2s page load, < 100ms API response

⬆️ Uptime

Target: ≥ 99.9% availability

👥 Scalability

Target: 10,000+ concurrent users

🔒 Security

Target: Zero critical vulnerabilities

Business KPIs

Metric Target (Month 1) Target (Month 3) Target (Month 6)
Total Users 500+ 2,000+ 5,000+
Active Speakers 50+ 200+ 500+
Published Courses 25+ 100+ 300+
Course Enrollments 200+ 1,000+ 3,000+
Revenue (SAR) 10,000+ 50,000+ 150,000+
User Engagement 30% DAU/MAU 40% DAU/MAU 50% DAU/MAU
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