[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-245015-105":53,"doc-detail-245015-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","software-development-for-attorneys-the-basics","Software Development for Attorneys - The Basics","","Software is a core element of modern business operations and is frequently central to high-stakes commercial disputes. Attorneys handling these matters need a clear foundation in how software is defined, how source code differs from compiled binaries, and how development follows structured processes from requirements through design, construction, testing, and go-live. The paper also explains how different methodologies, including waterfall and iterative approaches, affect development, and highlights common systems of record used to track work and data relevant to disputes.",{"@graph":63,"@context":122},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":41,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/software-development-for-attorneys-the-basics/245015/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/software-development-for-attorneys-the-basics/245015.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"eBook King","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-20","2026-09-12",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":47},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114,118],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"What does the document define as software and why does it matter in disputes?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"Software is defined as instructions that tell a computer how to perform tasks. Because it underpins many business operations, it can become central evidence and context in high-stakes commercial disputes.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"How is source code different from software binaries?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"The document explains that software is often stored in machinereadable binary form (zeros and ones), while source code is human-readable instructions used to create the software.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What are the main stages of software development described in the paper?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"It outlines requirements elaboration, design, construction (writing source code), testing (quality control), and implementation or go-live (production use by the customer).",{"name":119,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How do waterfall and iterative methodologies differ?",{"text":121,"@type":109},"In waterfall, the processes are carried out once in sequential order, while iterative (e.g., Agile or Scrum) repeats the process multiple times to build the software piece-by-piece.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":124,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":56},245015,1790614812,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":9,"category_id":40,"category_name":41,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":47,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":144,"read_time":76},962088006270,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","The Basics of Software Development for Attorneys  \nKey concepts for high-stakes commercial disputes involving software and software development  \nApril 2025 v1.0  \nThe Basics of Software Development for Attorneys  \nIn today’s world, software is a central component of many modern business operations, covering everything from supply chain management to online marketing. Businesses often invest substantial amounts of time and money building or implementing complex software systems in seeking a competitive edge for their operations.  \nGiven its complex and valuable nature, software can be and often is at the center of high-stakes commercial disputes. When such disputes arise, attorneys need to understand numerous technical aspects that might beat issue, including how the software was developed, which kinds of tools were used, and which kinds of systems of record might be available that would shed light on the dispute. This paper provides an overview of these topics and provides context for attorneys handling such matters.  \nWhat is Software?  \nSoftware or a computer program is a set of instructions that tells a computer how to perform different tasks. Software can be anything, from applications like Microsoft Word that are operated directly by users, to behind-the-scenes software like print drivers that send data to your printer.  \nIn most instances, software exists in machinereadable binary format. That is, the software is composed of a set of zeros and ones representing instructions to the computer that would be difficult for a human to understand. To understand the software, it is usually necessary to turn to the source code used to create the software in the first place.  \nWhat is Source Code?  \nSource code is a human-readable set of instructions for a computer. Source code may be written in one or more programming languages, which are structured languages used for creating computer programs (shown in the figure below) .  \nFigure 1: Example Source Code  \nShown above is an excerpt of source code written in the JavaScript programming language.  \nSource: jQuery JavaScript Library, [https://github.com/jquery/jquery](https://github.com/jquery/jquery)  \nHow is Software Developed?  \nAs an analogy, consider how a construction company builds a new house for a buyer. The process of building the house will be done in several steps, including (1) starting with determining which features should be in the house, (2) creating blueprints, (3) building the designed house, (4) inspecting the house to make sure it is up to code, and (5) turning the keys over to the buyer.  \nAt its heart, software development follows a similar set of processes to create working software. In general, key software development processes typically include the following:  \n• Requirements elaboration, in which the specific requirements for the software are established, such as specific functions the software must have, constraints, etc. (“determining which features should be in the house”);  \n• Design, in which plans are made for how components of the software will be built and integrated together (“creating blueprints”);  \n• Construction, in which source code is written in accordance with the planned designs (“building the designed house”);  \n• Testing, in which the software is evaluated and subjected to quality control efforts to identify and fix any potential defects (“inspecting the house”); and  \n• Implementation, in which the software is put into production, or operational usage by the customer, known also as reaching “go-live”(“turning the keys over to the buyer”) .  \nThere are different methodologies in the software industry for how these software development processes are carried out. For example, in a waterfall approach, these processes are carried out once and in sequential order. Returning to the homebuilding analogy, in a waterfall approach, the construction company would gather all the requirements first, then make all the blueprints, then build the entir","cbCaibjRSdA5e5k6","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibjRSdA5e5k6","pdf",832700,7,"English","# Software development fundamentals for attorneys\n## What is software\n## What is source code\n## How software is developed\n## Development methodologies\n## Systems of record in software projects","[{\"question\":\"What does the document define as software and why does it matter in disputes?\",\"answer\":\"Software is defined as instructions that tell a computer how to perform tasks. Because it underpins many business operations, it can become central evidence and context in high-stakes commercial disputes.\"},{\"question\":\"How is source code different from software binaries?\",\"answer\":\"The document explains that software is often stored in machinereadable binary form (zeros and ones), while source code is human-readable instructions used to create the software.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the main stages of software development described in the paper?\",\"answer\":\"It outlines requirements elaboration, design, construction (writing source code), testing (quality control), and implementation or go-live (production use by the customer).\"},{\"question\":\"How do waterfall and iterative methodologies differ?\",\"answer\":\"In waterfall, the processes are carried out once in sequential order, while iterative (e.g., Agile or Scrum) repeats the process multiple times to build the software piece-by-piece.\"}]","Software Development for Attorneys - The Basics | PDF",1789224111]