What process is involved in planning a software solution through a sequence of steps to describe all aspects of the software?

The process involved in planning a software solution through a sequence of steps to describe all aspects of the software is software design. This term encompasses creating a blueprint for the software application that outlines its components, their interactions, and how they will work together to fulfill the intended functionality. Software design focuses on the technical details, user interface, architecture, and algorithm choices that will guide the development process.

While software engineering is a broader field that includes the overall development lifecycle, processes, methodologies, and practices that ensure software quality, it does not specifically refer to the detailed planning of software characteristics. Software development is the actual implementation phase where coding happens based on design specifications, rather than the planning phase itself. Software architecture, on the other hand, deals more with the high-level structure of the software system, including its components and their relationships, but it does not encompass all aspects as comprehensively as software design does. Thus, software design stands out as the correct choice for this context.