Which of the following is NOT a typical step in the Software Development Life Cycle?

• A. Requirements gathering
• B. Design
• C. Implementation
• D. Budget approval

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is how the Software Development Life Cycle organizes work to produce a software product. The SDLC follows a sequence of phases that directly contribute to building and delivering the software—understanding user needs, planning and designing the system, and then implementing (coding) the solution, along with testing, deployment, and maintenance. Budget approval, while crucial for deciding whether a project should proceed, isn’t a phase that adds or refines the software itself. It’s a governance or funding step that happens before or alongside the project, but it doesn’t move the software through the development stages. So budget approval isn’t a typical SDLC step, whereas requirements gathering, design, and implementation are.