Systems

Development Life
Cycle
 Objectives

• Understand the process of IS

management
• Understand the system development
life cycle (SDLC)
• Understand alternative approaches to
system development
The System Development Life Cycle
What is an information system (IS)?

Hardware, software, data, System—Set of components

people, and procedures that that interact to achieve
work together to produce common goal
quality information
Businesses use many types
of systems

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 Where do information Systems Projects Originate?

New or changed IS development projects come

from problems, opportunities, and directives
and are always subject to one or more
constraints. Most maintenance of
existing IS projects come from users
discovering real problems with existing IS.
 Where do information Systems Projects Originate?

1. Problems – may either be current,

suspected, or anticipated. Problems
are undesirable situations that
prevent the business from fully
achieving its purpose, goals, and
objectives.
Where do information Systems Projects Originate?

2. An Opportunity – is a chance to
improve the business even in the
absence of specific problems. This
means that the business is hoping to
create a system that will help it with
increasing its revenue, profit, or
services, or decreasing its costs.
Where do information Systems Projects Originate?

3. A Directive – is a new requirement

that is imposed by management,
government, or some external influence
i.e.
are mandates that come from either an
internal or external source of the
business.
Constraints are limitations and compromises
that come with the soon to be developed IS.
 SDLC
• SDLC stands for
– Systems / Software
– Development
– Life
– Cycle
• What does it mean?
 The systems development life cycle
(SDLC)
• Describes seven phases required to evolve an
IT system, from an initial feasibility study
through maintenance of the completed
application.
 The System Development Life Cycle

• It was started in the 1960s and 1970s as the first

documented approach to computer systems
development. Ensures that all the stages of the
development system are thought about, planned,
monitored and completed.

• SDLC is an organisational process of developing and

maintaining systems. It helps in establishing a
system plan, because it gives the overall list of
processes and sub-processes required in developing
a system.
 The System Development Life Cycle

• SDLC is the process by which an IS comes to

life and maintains its usefulness to a business
as it moves from inception to replacement.

• A framework that describes the activities

performed at each stage of a software
development project.
 The Need for Structured Systems
Development
• Evolution of IS development
– From “art” to a “discipline”: In the early days of computing it
was considered an art that a very few people could master.
– Standardized development methods: The techniques used to
build an IS varies greatly from individual to individual. It was
very difficult to integrate and maintain. To address this
problem, info. Sys. professionals decided to use a disciplined
approach of introducing common methods, techniques, and
tools for building information systems
– Software engineering: This evolution led to the use of the
term software engineering to define what system analyst &
programmer do.
 The Need for Structured Systems
Development
Options for Obtaining Information Systems
1. Build your own
2. Buy a prepackaged system from a software development
company or consulting firm. Example: Payroll system.
3. Outsource development to a 3rd party: outside
organization custom build a system to an organization’s
specifications. Good option when an organization does not
have adequate resources or expertise.
4. End user development: Individual users and departments
build their own custom systems to support their
individuals. Example MS. Excel.
The Need for Structured Systems
Development
 The Need for Structured Systems
Development
System Construction Process
1. Identify a large IT problem to solve
2. Break the large problem into several smaller,
more manageable pieces
3. Translate each “piece” (small problem) into
computer programs
4. Piece together each program into an overall
comprehensive IS that solves the problem
 The Need for Structured Systems
Development
• The Role of Users in the Systems Development
Process
– It is important for all members of the organization to
understand what is meant by system development and
what activities occur.
– Effective partnership: A close and mutually respectful
working relationship between analysts and users is a key to
project success.
 The Need for Structured Systems
Development
• Systems analysis and design – the process of
designing, building, and maintaining information
systems
– The individual who performs this task is called
Systems analyst
– Organization wants to hire System analyst because
they have both technical and managerial expertise.
 The systems development life cycle
(SDLC)
• Describes seven phases required to evolve an IT
system, from an initial feasibility study through
maintenance of the completed application.
The systems development life cycle
The System Development Life Cycle
What are the phases of the system development cycle?
Phase 2. Analysis
▪ Conduct preliminary investigation
Phase 1. Planning ▪ Perform detailed analysis activities:
Phase 3. Design
▪ Review project requests Study current system
▪ Acquire hardware
▪ Prioritize project Determine user requirements and software, if
requests Recommend solution necessary
▪ Allocate resources
▪ Develop details of
▪ Identify project system
development team

Phase 5. Support Phase 4. Implementation

▪ Conduct post-implementation ▪ Develop programs, if necessary
system review ▪ Install and test new system
▪ Identify errors and enhancements ▪ Train users
▪ Monitor system performance ▪ Convert to new system

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The System Development Life Cycle
Who participates
in the system
development life
cycle?

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 Phase 1: Conceptual Planning

• It is during this phase that a need to acquire or

significantly enhance a system is identified, its
feasibility and costs are assessed, and the risks
and various project-planning approaches are
defined.
Conceptual Planning-Considerations
• Evaluation criteria
– Strategic alignment: The extent to which the
project is viewed as helping the organization
achieve its strategic objectives and long-term
goal.
– Potential benefits: The extent to which the
project is viewed as improving profits,
customer service, and the duration of the
benefits.
 Conceptual Planning-Considerations

• Potential costs and resource availability: The

number and types of resources the project
requires and their availability.
• Project size / duration: The number of
individuals and the length of time needed to
complete the project
• Technical difficulty / risks: The level of
technical difficulty involved to complete the
project within a given time and resources.
Phase 2: Systems Analysis and user
requirements definition.
• This phase begins after the project has been defined and
appropriate resources have been committed. The user
requirements definition phase is based on the processes
that users conduct in their day-to-day activity.
• The user requirements should clearly describe what part
of the user process (activity) should be automated or
enhanced, and the expected capabilities and features.
• The key output of this phase is a summary document of
user requirements that explains what the system is
supposed to do. This phase also involves collecting,
defining and validating functional, support and training
requirements.
System Analysis
– Collecting System Requirements: Requirement collection is process
of gathering and organizing information from users, managers,
business processes, an documents to understand how a proposed
system should work.
• System analysts use a variety of techniques to collect system
requirements
– Interviews: analysts interview people
– Questionnaires: analysts design and administer surveys.
– Observations: analysts observe workers at selected times
– Document analysis: analysts study business documents
• Critical Success Factors (CSF): analysts ask each person to define
her own personal CSFs.
• Joint Application Design (JAD): Special type of a group meeting
where all users and analysts meet at the same time
Phase 2: System Analysis

– Modeling Organizational Data: To construct an

information system, systems analysts must
understand what data the information system
needs in order to accomplish the intended
tasks. To do this, they use data modeling tools
to collect and describe data to users.
• Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)
– Modeling Organizational Processes and Logic
• Data flows
• Processing logic
A sample ERD for students
 Phase 3: Systems Design
• The design phase is a complex and critical step in
determining which system design, based on
systems engineering and technology analysis,
meets the user and system requirements.
• During this phase, functional, support and training
requirements are translated into preliminary and
detailed designs.
• Decisions are made to address how the system
will meet functional requirements. For
non-technical solutions, the design may simply be
a support process to be implemented over time.
A sample ERD for students
System Design

– Designing forms and reports

– Designing interfaces and dialogues
– Designing databases and files
– Designing processes and logic
 Phase 4: Systems Development and
Testing.
• The system development phase is the execution of the approved design and in
some cases may blend into the implementation phase. A smaller test system is
sometimes a good idea in order to get a “proof-of-concept” validation prior to
committing funds for large scale fielding of a system without knowing if it
really works as intended by the user.
• During this phase, systems are developed or acquired based on detailed design
specifications. The system is validated through a sequence of unit, integration,
performance, system, and acceptance testing. The objective is to ensure that the
system functions as expected and that sponsor's requirements are satisfied.
• This phase requires strong user participation in order to verify thorough testing
of all requirements and to meet all business needs.
 System dev’t & testing
– Software programming
– Software testing
• Developmental: Programmers test the correctness of
individual modules and the integration of multiple
modules.
• Alpha: Software tester tests whether it meets design
specifications.
• Beta: Actual system users test the capability of the system
in the user environment with actual data.
Phase 5: Systems Implementation.
• Implementation includes all necessary activity
to procure, receive, configure, and install the
new or revised system. During this phase, the
new or enhanced system is installed in the
production environment, users are trained, data
is converted (as needed), the system is turned
over to the sponsor, and business processes are
evaluated. This phase includes efforts required
to implement, resolve system problems
identified during the implementation process,
and plan for sustainment.
System Implementation
– System conversion
• Parallel
• Direct
• Phased
• Pilot
– System documentation, training, and support
• User and reference guides
• Training and tutorials
• Installation procedures and troubleshooting guides
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 Phase 6: Operations and
Maintenance
• The system becomes operational during this phase. The
emphasis during this phase is to ensure that sponsors’ needs
continue to be met and that the system continues to perform
according to specifications by conducting maintenance and
enhancements as determined by periodic reviews.
• Hardware and software maintenance and upgrades are
performed to ensure effective system operations.
• User training continues during this phase, as needed, to
acquaint new users to the system or to introduce new
features to current users. Additional user support is provided,
as an ongoing activity, to help resolve reported problems.
 Maintenance and Review
• Maintenance (correcting bugs &
scheduled maintenance)
• Enhancement (adding functionality)
 Phase 7: Systems disposition
• This phase represents the end of the system's life cycle. It
provides for the systematic termination of a system to ensure
that vital information is preserved for potential future access
and/or reactivation.
• The system, when placed in the Disposition Phase, has been
declared surplus and/or obsolete and has been scheduled for
shutdown.
• The emphasis of this phase is to ensure that the system (e.g.,
equipment, parts, software, data, procedures, and
documentation) is packaged and disposed of in accordance
with appropriate regulations and requirements.
 Deliverables at different stages of SDLC
1. System Study - Problem Statement
2. Feasibility study- Feasibility Report
3. System Analysis - Specifications of the present system
4. System Design - Specifications of Proposed System
5. Coding- Programs, their documentation and user manuals
6. Testing and evaluation - Test and Evaluation Result
7. Implementation - Defining system requirements, program
loading / installation, user training and system conversion
/ changeover
8. Maintenance- Error Removal, addition of new
requirements as well as removal of unwanted functional
component.
 SDLC - Advantages

• Focus on goals
• Controls: milestones, checklist,
accountability
• Involves the use of CASE tools
• Hierarchical decomposition
• Designed for user & manager
involvement
 SDLC - Reasons for Failure
• Scope too broad or too narrow
• Lack of needed skills
• Incomplete specifications
• Lack of management/user involvement
• Too time-consuming
Other Terminology for SDLC phases

• Many organizations and many authors use

different terminology for the phases of the
SDLC
• However essentially the same activities are
performed.
• Refer to examples of other terminology
 Read about

• Alternative methodologies (to SDLC) are

available:
– Prototyping.
– Water Fall
– Joint application development (JAD)
– Rapid application development (RAD)
 Review Questions

• What do you understand by system

development life cycle?
• Discuss the importance of system
analysis and design in the development
of a system.
• With a well labelled diagram, explain the
different stages in system development
life cycle.
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