The Systems Development Life Cycle: Jasmin Rose A. Dales
The Systems Development Life Cycle: Jasmin Rose A. Dales
Life Cycle
Jasmin Rose A. Dales
Project Initiation
Project initiation involves obtaining a
detailed understanding of the user
problem
and
proposing
multiple
alternative solutions. Each of these
proposals is assessed in terms of its
feasibility and cost-benefit characteristics.
Depending upon the nature of the
project and the needs of the organization,
a
system
will
require
in-house
development, a commercial package, or
Systems Analysis
- Is the foundation for the rest of the SDLC
- Is actually a two-step process involving an
initial survey of the current system and
then an analysis of the users needs.
Second,
when
the
new
system
is
implemented, the users must go through a
conversion
process.
The
analyst
must
determine what tasks, procedures, and data will
be phased out and which will continue. To
specify these conversion procedures, the
analyst must know not only what is to be done
by the new system but also what was done by
the old one.
Gathering Facts
The survey of the current system is
essentially a fact-gathering activity. The
facts the analyst gathers are pieces of
data that describe key features, situations,
and relationships of the system. System
facts fall into the following broad classes:
DATA SOURCES
USERS
DATA STORES
PROCESSES
DATA FLOWS.
CONTROLS
TRANSACTION VOLUMES
ERROR RATES
RESOURCE COSTS
BOTTLENECKS AND
REDUNDANT OPERATIONS.
Fact-Gathering Techniques
OBSERVATION
Observation involves passively watching the
physical procedures of the system.
TASK PARTICIPATION
Participation is an extension of observation,
whereby the analyst takes an active role in
performing the users work.
Fact-Gathering Techniques
PERSONAL INTERVIEW
Interviewing is a method of extracting facts
about the current system and user perception
about the requirements for the new system.
Performance reports
Accounting records
System flowcharts
Charts of accounts
Source documents
Policy statements
Transaction listings
Descriptions of procedures
Budgets
The
requirements
statement within the
report establishes an
understanding between
systems professionals,
management,
users,
and other stakeholders.
The primary purpose for
conducting
systems
analysis is to identify
user needs and specify
requirements
for the new system.