Designing an application is more than just analyzing processes and developing new objects. These phases are just the tip of the iceberg.

Once your application has been designed and developed, it is most likely that one or more companies will start using it. When this happens, your software will start a new phase in its life cycle. Let's have a look at the life cycle of a Microsoft Dynamics NAV application:

The Development phase of the application starts with the Fit/Gap analysis, followed by the Design and Build steps we did in the earlier chapters. When that is completed, the Maintenance phase of your application will start.

The Maintenance phase starts with the implementation and taking the software into Production. The first time this will happen, it will be the Microsoft Dynamics NAV implementation in your company. Once this is done, your system will enter the real life cycle where constant improvements will be made to the application.