I was recently asked how ITIL helps in the management of the SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle). Simply put... SDLC is a Lifecycle approach to produce the software or the "product". ITIL is a Lifecycle approach that focuses on the "service". I’ll start by reviewing both SDLC and ITIL Lifecycles and then summarize: SDLC - The intent of an SDLC process is to help produce a product that is cost-efficient, effective and of high quality. Once an application is created, the SDLC maps the proper deployment of the software into the live environment. The SDLC methodology usually contains the following stages: Analysis (requirements and design), construction, testing, release and maintenance. The focus here is on the Software. Most organizations will use an Agile or Waterfall approach to implement the software through the Software Development Lifecycle. ITIL - is a best practice for IT service management (ITSM) that focuses on aligning IT services with the