Digi Note SDLC Eng 08 08 17

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www.mahendraguru.com
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE

CYCLE
The systems development life cycle (SDLC), also referred to as the
application development life-cycle, is a term used in systems
engineering, information systems and software engineering to
describe a process for planning, creating, testing, and deploying an
information system.
The systems development lifecycle concept applies to a range of
hardware and software configurations, as a system can be composed
of hardware only, software only, or a combination of both.
A systems development life cycle is composed of a number of clearly
defined and distinct work phases which are used by systems engineers
and systems developers to plan for, design, build, test, and deliver
information systems. Like anything that is manufactured on an
assembly line, an SDLC aims to produce high-quality systems that
meet or exceed customer expectations, based on customer
requirements, by delivering systems which move through each clearly
defined phase, within scheduled time frames and cost estimates.
Computer systems are complex and often (especially with the recent
rise of service-oriented architecture) link multiple traditional systems
potentially supplied by different software vendors.
To manage this level of complexity, a number of SDLC models or
methodologies have been created, such as waterfall, spiral, Agile
software development, rapid prototyping, incremental, and
synchronize and stabilize.
SDLC is used during the development of an IT project, it describes
the different stages involved in the project from the drawing board,
through the completion of the project.
The SDLC is not a methodology per se, but rather a description of the
phases in the life cycle of a software application. These phases
(broadly speaking) are, investigation, analysis, design, build, test,
implement, and maintenance and support.
All software development methodologies (such as the more commonly
known waterfall and scrum methodologies) follow the SDLC phases
but the method of doing that varies vastly between methodologies.
In the Scrum methodology, for example, one could say a single user
story goes through all the phases of the SDLC within a single two-
week sprint. Contrast this to the waterfall methodology, as another
example, where every business requirement (recorded in the analysis
phase of the SDLC in a document called the Business Requirements
Specification) is translated into feature/functional descriptions
(recorded in the design phase in a document called the Functional
Specification) which are then all built in one go as a collection of
solution features typically over a period of three to nine months, or
more.
These methodologies are obviously quite different approaches yet,
they both contain the SDLC phases in which a requirement is born,
then travels through the life cycle phases ending in the final phase of
maintenance and support, after-which (typically) the whole life cycle
starts again for a subsequent version of the software application.
The product life cycle describes the process for building information
systems in a very deliberate, structured and methodical way,
reiterating each stage of the product's life.
The systems development life cycle, according to Elliott & Strachan
& Radford (2004), "originated in the 1960s, to develop large scale
functional business systems in an age of large scale business
conglomerates. Information systems activities revolved around heavy
data processing and number crunching routines".
Several systems development frameworks have been partly based on
SDLC, such as the structured systems analysis and design method
(SSADM) produced for the UK government Office of Government
Commerce in the 1980s. Ever since, according to Elliott (2004), "the
traditional life cycle approaches to systems development have been
increasingly replaced with alternative approaches and frameworks,
which attempted to overcome some of the inherent deficiencies of the
traditional SDLC".
Phases
The system development life cycle framework provides a sequence of
activities for system designers and developers to follow. It consists of
a set of steps or phases in which each phase of the SDLC uses the
results of the previous one.
The SDLC adheres to important phases that are essential for
developers, such as planning, analysis, design, and implementation,
and are explained in the section below. It includes evaluation of
present system, information gathering, and feasibility study and
request approval.
A number of SDLC models have been created: waterfall, fountain,
spiral, build and fix, rapid prototyping, incremental, synchronize and
stabilize. The oldest of these, and the best known, is the waterfall
model: a sequence of stages in which the output of each stage becomes
the input for the next. These stages can be characterized and divided
up in different ways, including the following:
Preliminary analysis:
The objective of phase 1 is to conduct a preliminary analysis, propose
alternative solutions, describe costs and benefits and submit a
preliminary plan with recommendations.
1. Conduct the preliminary analysis: in this step, you need to find
out the organization's objectives and the nature and scope of the
problem under study. Even if a problem refers only to a small
segment of the organization itself, you need to find out what the
objectives of the organization itself are. Then you need to see
how the problem being studied fits in with them.
2. Propose alternative solutions: In digging into the organization's
objectives and specific problems, you may have already covered
some solutions. Alternate proposals may come from
interviewing employees, clients, suppliers, and/or consultants.
You can also study what competitors are doing. With this data,
you will have three choices: leave the system as is, improve it, or
develop a new system.
3. Describe the costs and benefits.
Systems analysis, requirements definition:
Defines project goals into defined functions and operation of the
intended application. It is the process of gathering and interpreting
facts, diagnosing problems and recommending improvements to the
system. Analyzes end-user information needs and also removes any
inconsistencies and incompleteness in these requirements.
A series of steps followed by the developer are:
1. Collection of Facts: End user requirements are obtained
through documentation, client interviews, observation and
questionnaires,
2. Scrutiny of the existing system: Identify pros and cons of the
current system in-place, so as to carry forward the pros and
avoid the cons in the new system.
3. Analyzing the proposed system: Solutions to the shortcomings
in step two are found and any specific user proposals are used
to prepare the specifications.
Systems design:
Describes desired features and operations in detail, including screen
layouts, business rules, process diagrams, pseudocode and other
documentation.
Development:
The real code is written here.
Integration and testing: Brings all the pieces together into a special
testing environment, then checks for errors, bugs and
interoperability.
Acceptance, installation, deployment:
The final stage of initial development, where the software is put into
production and runs actual business.
Maintenance:
During the maintenance stage of the SDLC, the system is assessed to
ensure it does not become obsolete. This is also where changes are
made to initial software. It involves continuous evaluation of the
system in terms of its performance.
Evaluation:
Some companies do not view this as an official stage of the SDLC,
while others consider it to be an extension of the maintenance stage,
and may be referred to in some circles as post-implementation review.
This is where the system that was developed, as well as the entire
process, is evaluated. Some of the questions that need to be answered
include: does the newly implemented system meet the initial business
requirements and objectives? Is the system reliable and fault-
tolerant? Does the system function according to the approved
functional requirements? In addition to evaluating the software that
was released, it is important to assess the effectiveness of the
development process. If there are any aspects of the entire process, or
certain stages, that management is not satisfied with, this is the time
to improve. Evaluation and assessment is a difficult issue. However,
the company must reflect on the process and address weaknesses.
Disposal:
In this phase, plans are developed for discarding system information,
hardware and software in making the transition to a new system. The
purpose here is to properly move, archive, discard or destroy
information, hardware and software that is being replaced, in a
manner that prevents any possibility of unauthorized disclosure of
sensitive data. The disposal activities ensure proper migration to a
new system. Particular emphasis is given to proper preservation and
archival of data processed by the previous system. All of this should
be done in accordance with the organization's security requirements.

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SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE

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