Software release life cycle
![Software release life cycle map](/Images/godic/202412/24/Software_dev2.svg2040.png")
![Milestones in a product life cycle: general availability (GA), end of life announcement (EOLA), last order date (LOD), and end-of-life (EOL)](/Images/godic/202412/24/ProductEndOfLifeCycle2040.png")
A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software: ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help improve software or fix bugs still present in the software.