The significance of application lifecycle management (ALM) in development is that it provides a structured approach to overseeing an application from its inception to retirement. ALM encompasses planning, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance phases, ensuring that each step is managed effectively. This holistic view facilitates better collaboration among teams, improves change management, and enhances the quality of the final product. By streamlining processes and fostering communication, ALM ultimately enables faster delivery of applications that better meet business objectives and user requirements.