SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC)

• Systems development life cycle (SDLC) - a

structured step-by-step approach for
developing information systems
• Typical activities include:
• Determining budgets
• Gathering business requirements
• Designing models
• Writing user documentation
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC)

• The SDLC has 6 phases:

1. Recognition of need
2. Feasibility study and planning
3. Analysis
4. Design
4.1 Development (coding)
4.2 Testing
5. Implementation
6. Maintenance
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC)
SDLC ACTIVITIES
PHASE
1. Recognition of •Preliminary survey/ initial investigation ---
need statement of scope and objectives

2. Feasibility •Evaluation of existing system and procedures

study •Analysis of alternative candidate systems
•Cost estimates

3. Analysis •Data collection --- Gather business

requirements
•Detailed evaluation of present system
 SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC)
SDLC PHASE ACTIVITIES
4. Design •Design the technical architecture --- general design
specifications (general solution)
•Design system models
•Detailed design specifications---- output, input, files,
procedures, interface, testing technique and criteria,
documentation, user training
4.1 Program •Build technical architecture
Development and •Build databases and programs
Testing •Write test conditions
•Perform testing
•Unit testing
•Combined module testing
•User acceptance testing
 SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC)

SDLC PHASE ACTIVITIES

5. Implementation •Write user documentation

•Provide training
•File/system conversion
6. Post- •Build a help desk
implementation •Evaluation
& Maintenance •Maintenance
•Enhancement---Support system changes
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC)
 Phase 1: Planning/initial investigation
• Planning phase –
– What is the problem or opportunity
– involves determining a solid plan for
developing your information system
• Three primary planning activities:
1. Define the system to be developed
• Critical success factor (CSF) - a factor simply
critical to your organization’s success
 Phase 1: Planning
2. Set the project scope
• Project scope - clearly defines the high-level system
requirements
• Scope creep - occurs when the scope of the project
increases
• Feature creep - occurs when developers add extra
features that were not part of the initial requirements
• Project scope document - a written definition of the
project scope and is usually no longer than a
paragraph
 Phase 1: Planning
3. Develop the project plan including tasks,
resources, and timeframes
• Project plan - defines the what, when, and who
questions of system development
• Project manager - an individual who is an expert in
project planning and management, defines and
develops the project plan and tracks the plan to
ensure all key project milestones are completed on
time
• Project milestones - represent key dates for which you
need a certain group of activities performed
 Phase 2: Feasibility Study
• What are the user’s demonstrable needs?
• Is the problem worth solving?
• How can the problem be redefined?
• Results--- Technical/behavioral feasibility, cost
benefit analysis, statement of new system
scope and Objectives
 Phase 3: Analysis
• Analysis phase - involves end users and IT
specialists working together to gather,
understand, and document the business
requirements for the proposed system
– What must be done to solve the problem
– What are the facts
 Phase 3: Analysis
• Two primary analysis activities:
1. Gather the business requirements
• Business requirements - the detailed set of knowledge
worker requests that the system must meet in order to
be successful
• Joint application development (JAD) - knowledge
workers and IT specialists meet, sometimes for several
days, to define or review the business requirements for
the system
 Phase 3: Analysis
2. Prioritize the requirements
• Requirements definition document – prioritizes the
business requirements and places them in a formal
comprehensive document
– Results---- logical model of system e.g. data
dictionary, data flow diagram, databases (pertinent
data).
 Phase 4: Design
• Design phase - build a technical blueprint of how
the proposed system will work
• In general, what is the solution? (output and its
format)
• Specifically, what is the solution (input and files
specifications, databases)
• Processing/ flow of system
• Does the user approve the system
• How well individual programs/modules test out
• Are programs ready for acceptance test
 Phase 4: Design
• Design phase - build a technical blueprint of how the
proposed system will work,
– alternative solutions design,
– cost/benefit analysis,
– hardware, cost, implementation schedule and specifications,
– test plans, formal system test, user approval of system ,
– security audit and operating procedures

• Two primary design activities:

1. Design the technical architecture
• Technical architecture - defines the hardware, software, and
telecommunications equipment required to run the system
 Phase 4: Design
2. Design system models
• Modeling - the activity of drawing a graphical
representation of a design
• Graphical user interface (GUI) - the interface to an
information system
 Phase 4.1: Development
• Development phase - take all of your detailed
design documents from the design phase and
transform them into an actual system
• Two primary development activities:
1. Build the technical architecture
2. Build the database and programs
• Both of these activities are mostly performed by IT
specialists
 Phase 4.2: Testing
• Testing phase - verifies that the system works
and meets all of the business requirements
defined in the analysis phase
• Two primary testing activities:
1. Write the test conditions
• Test conditions - the detailed steps the system must
perform along with the expected results of each step
 Phase 4.2: Testing
2. Perform the testing of the system
• Unit testing – tests individual units of code
• System testing – verifies that the units of code function
correctly when integrated
• Integration testing – verifies that separate systems
work together
• User acceptance testing (UAT) – determines if the
system satisfies the business requirements
 Phase 5: Implementation
• Implementation phase - distribute the
system to all of the knowledge workers and
they begin using the system to perform their
everyday jobs
• Actual operation?, user manuals ready?, any
delays?
 Phase 5: Implementation
• Two primary implementation activities
1. Write detailed user documentation
• User documentation - highlights how to use the system
2. Provide training for the system users
• Online training - runs over the Internet or off a CD-ROM
• Workshop training - is held in a classroom environment
and lead by an instructor
 Phase 5: Implementation
• Choose the right implementation method
– Parallel implementation – use both the old and
new system simultaneously
– Plunge implementation – discard the old system
completely and use the new
– Pilot implementation – start with small groups of
people on the new system and gradually add more
users
– Phased implementation – implement the new
system in phases
 Phase 6: Maintenance
• Maintenance phase - monitor and support
the new system to ensure it continues to
meet the business goals --- system running
well?, require modification?
• Two primary maintenance activities:
1. Build a help desk to support the system users
• Help desk - a group of people who responds to
knowledge workers’ questions
2. Provide an environment to support system
changes
 Project termination
• Changing objectives or requirements of the user
cannot be met by existing project
– Requirements are not clearly defined or understood
– Non- involvement of users
– Inexperienced analysts/programmers
– Feasibility study is poor
– User training is poor
– Hardware is not properly planned
– New system has drastic change
– New system was not user-friendly
• Benefits realized are not justified
• Sudden change in user’s budget as compared to
estimated budget
• Project has cost as well as time creep