Green software development model: An approach towards sustainable software development

The Software development lifecycle (SDLC) currently focuses on systematic execution and maintenance of software by dividing the software development process into various phases that include requirements-gathering, design, implementation, testing, deployment and maintenance. The problem here is that certain important decisions taken in these phases like use of paper, generation of e-Waste, power consumption and increased carbon foot print by means of travel, Air-conditioning etc may harm the environment directly or indirectly. There is a dearth of models that define how a software can be developed and maintained in an environment friendly way. This paper discusses the changes in the existing SDLC and suggests appropriate steps which can lead to lower carbon emissions, power and paper use, thus helping organizations to move towards greener and sustainable software development.