Software Development Life Cycle Policy Template
Summary
Defines secure software development requirements across planning, requirements, design, coding, testing, deployment, maintenance, and production support. Covers change management, secure design, reviews, security testing, branching, environments, approvals, roles, and compliance.
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to define consistent and secure processes for software creation and enhancement, enabling high-quality deliverables that meet user needs and regulatory requirements.
Scope
This policy applies to all phases of software development and enhancement across all environments, including development, testing, staging, and production, for both internal tools and externally-facing applications.
Framework Mapping
Appendix A includes mappings to common security and compliance frameworks for this template.
ISO/IEC 27002:2022
8.25 Secure Development Life Cycle8.26 Application Security Requirements
SOC 2 TSC
CC8.1: Change and developmentCC7.2: Secure development practices
NIST CSF v2.0
PR.IP-1: Baseline configurationPR.IP-3: Development lifecycle
NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5
SA-3: System Development Life CycleSA-11: Developer Testing
Complete table of contents
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- 1. Purpose
- 2. Scope
- 3. Policy Statement
- 3.1 Change Management
- 3.2 Requirements Gathering
- 3.3 Planning
- 3.4 Design
- 3.5 Development
- 3.6 Testing
- 3.7 Deployment
- 3.8 Maintenance and Support
- 3.9 Evaluation
- 3.10 Environment and Access Controls
- 4. Roles and Responsibilities
- 5. References and Related Policies
- 6. Definitions
- 7. Policy Exceptions
- 8. Compliance and Monitoring
- 9. Policy Review
- Appendix A: Framework Control Mapping
- Appendix B: Revision History
- Appendix C: Approvals
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