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PDLC and SDLC: Partners, Not Rivals – Security Practices

January 22, 2025

In part one of this two-part series, we established that PDLC (Product Development Life Cycle) encompasses SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle), and that organizations should adopt both rather than treating them as separate or interchangeable approaches, especially in a world where most “products” are software-based.

This second article dives into the security angle for both PDLC and SDLC. When discussing software security, the focus typically lands on SDLC alone. However, this approach is too narrow for a product-driven landscape. Why? Because SDLC covers only the software portion, while threats today spread far beyond the application code.

Comparing Security Practices of PDLC and SDLC

Here’s the reality: in a world where software companies do everything they can to deliver their products as fast as possible, security can’t just be about the code or the infrastructure. It must be about the product, end to end. That’s where the shift from SDLC-focused security to PDLC-focused security becomes critical. The PDLC isn’t just about building software, it’s about building and managing the entire product, from ideation to decommissioning. And in a modern threat landscape where risks extend far beyond the boundaries of application code, PDLC-focused security is how you keep your product and your business safe.

Let’s take a closer look again at the various stages of PDLC and SDLC but this time, let’s add another layer, security practices for per each framework:

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PDLC Stage SDLC Stage PDLC Security Practices SDLC Security Practices
Idea Generation & Conceptualization No direct SDLC equivalent Identify preliminary regulatory/compliance needs, baseline security posture N/A (No code yet, no direct SDLC security actions)
Market Research & Analysis No direct SDLC equivalent Evaluate compliance frameworks (HIPAA, PCI-DSS), data privacy laws, threat landscape N/A (Still no code; SDLC security actions have not started)
Product Design & Definition Requirements Analysis (SDLC) Define overall product-level security requirements, ensure alignment with market-driven compliance Translate product security requirements into software-level security threats and security specs (e.g., OWASP ASVS)
Prototyping & Feasibility Testing System Design (SDLC) Validate product-level security assumptions, ensure secure design patterns at product architecture level Perform secure architecture reviews, map security controls into system design, identify critical code-level mitigations
Development & Engineering (Incl. Software) Implementation (Coding) (SDLC) Ensure supply chain security (third-party components), maintain compliance oversight, product-level data protection policies Implement secure coding practices, conduct code reviews with a security focus, perform SAST/DAST
Testing & Quality Assurance (Full Product) Testing (SDLC) Execute full product-level penetration tests, validate supply chain integrity, ensure compliance audits Conduct software-level vulnerability scanning, fuzz testing, IAST, and security regression tests
Go-To-Market (Marketing & Launch) Deployment (SDLC) Harden deployment environments at the product level (secure configurations, protected delivery channels), ensure compliance sign-off Secure the software deployment pipeline, apply hardened configurations, finalize environment-level security settings
Post-Launch Support & Iteration Maintenance (SDLC) Continuous product-level security monitoring (SIEM, supply chain monitoring), periodic compliance reassessment, incident response planning Apply patches, fix bugs, remediate software vulnerabilities, maintain secure coding and release practices
Product Retirement / Sunset No direct SDLC equivalent Secure decommissioning at product-level (data sanitization, IP protection), compliance check for final asset handling Remove or archive code securely, ensure no residual software vulnerabilities remain accessible, revoke credentials

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Three crucial insights:

  1. In an Secure Product Life Cycle focused approach, security is introduced at a point where significant design and architectural decisions are already made
  2. Many existing security processes before stage four (Development & Engineering) are either nonexistent or conducted manually
  3. Across stages, there is one common thread - Context. Security Teams need business context in every step, from mapping the regulatory and compliance requirements to understanding when and why a product should be deprecated 

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The conclusion - Security should be integrated in every stage

Since organizations developing software-based products operate largely within the PDLC, security must be integrated into every stage, not just during code creation. Success in this model hinges on understanding the broader business context, which acts as the connective tissue across all phases. Tools like Prime Security can help automate and streamline this process, ensuring that security follows the product from concept to retirement.

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