Systems Development Life Cycle
Systems Development Life Cycle
Model of the Systems Development Life Cycle with the Maintenance bubble highlighted.
The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC), or Software Development Life Cycle in systems
engineering, information systems and software engineering, is the process of creating or altering
systems, and the models and methodologies that people use to develop these systems. The
concept generally refers to computer or information systems.
In software engineering the SDLC concept underpins many kinds of software development
methodologies. These methodologies form the framework for planning and controlling the
creation of an information system[1]: the software development process.
Contents
1 Overview
2 History
3 Systems development phases
o 3.1 Requirements gathering and analysis
o 3.2 Design
o 3.3 Build or coding
o 3.4 Testing
o 3.5 Operations and maintenance
4 Systems development life cycle topics
o 4.1 Management and control
o 4.2 Work breakdown structured organization
o 4.3 Baselines in the SDLC
o 4.4 Complementary to SDLC
5 Strengths and weaknesses
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
[edit] Overview
Systems and Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a process used by a systems analyst to
develop an information system, including requirements, validation, training, and user
(stakeholder) ownership. Any SDLC should result in a high quality system that meets or exceeds
customer expectations, reaches completion within time and cost estimates, works effectively and
efficiently in the current and planned Information Technology infrastructure, and is inexpensive
to maintain and cost-effective to enhance.[2]
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 have been created: "waterfall";
"fountain"; "spiral"; "build and fix"; "rapid prototyping"; "incremental"; and "synchronize and
stabilize".[citation needed]
SDLC models can be described along a spectrum of agile to iterative to sequential. Agile
methodologies, such as XP and Scrum, focus on light-weight processes which allow for rapid
changes along the development cycle. Iterative methodologies, such as Rational Unified Process
and Dynamic Systems Development Method, focus on limited project scopes and expanding or
improving products by multiple iterations. Sequential or big-design-upfront (BDUF) models,
such as Waterfall, focus on complete and correct planning to guide large projects and risks to
successful and predictable results[citation needed]. Other models, such as Anamorphic Development,
tend to focus on a form of development that is guided by project scope and adaptive iterations of
feature development.
In project management a project can be defined both with a project life cycle (PLC) and an
SDLC, during which slightly different activities occur. According to Taylor (2004) "the project
life cycle encompasses all the activities of the project, while the systems development life cycle
focuses on realizing the product requirements".[3]
[edit] History
The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a type of methodology used to describe the
process for building information systems, intended to develop information systems in a very
deliberate, structured and methodical way, reiterating each stage of the life cycle. 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".[4]
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".[4]
[edit] Systems development phases
This section relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this
article by introducing appropriate citations of additional sources. (September 2010)
The System Development Life Cycle framework provides system designers and developers to
follow a sequence of activities. It consists of a set of steps or phases in which each phase of the
SDLC uses the results of the previous one.
A Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) adheres to important phases that are essential for
developers, such as planning, analysis, design, and implementation, and are explained in the
section below. Several Systems Development Life Cycle Models exist, the oldest of which —
originally regarded as "the Systems Development Life Cycle" — is the waterfall model: a
sequence of stages in which the output of each stage becomes the input for the next. These stages
generally follow the same basic steps, but many different waterfall methodologies give the steps
different names and the number of steps seems to vary between four and seven. There is no one
correct Systems Development Life Cycle model.
The SDLC can be divided into ten phases during which defined IT work products are created or
modified. The tenth phase occurs when the system is disposed of and the task performed is either
eliminated or transferred to other systems. The tasks and work products for each phase are
described in subsequent chapters. Not every project will require that the phases be sequentially
executed. However, the phases are interdependent. Depending upon the size and complexity of
the project, phases may be combined or may overlap.[5]
[edit] Requirements gathering and analysis
The goal of system analysis is to determine where the problem is in an attempt to fix the system.
This step involves breaking down the system in different pieces to analyze the situation,
analyzing project goals, breaking down what needs to be created and attempting to engage users
so that definite requirements can be defined. Requirements analysis sometimes requires
individuals/teams from client as well as service provider sides to get detailed and accurate
requirements....often there has to be a lot of communication to and from to understand these
requirements. Requirement gathering is the most crucial aspect as many times communication
gaps arise in this phase and this leads to validation errors and bugs in the software program.
[edit] Design
In systems, design functions and operations are described in detail, including screen layouts,
business rules, process diagrams and other documentation. The output of this stage will describe
the new system as a collection of modules or subsystems.
The design stage takes as its initial input the requirements identified in the approved
requirements document. For each requirement, a set of one or more design elements will be
produced as a result of interviews, workshops, and/or prototype efforts. Design elements
describe the desired software features in detail, and generally include functional hierarchy
diagrams, screen layout diagrams, tables of business rules, business process diagrams,
pseudocode, and a complete entity-relationship diagram with a full data dictionary. These design
elements are intended to describe the software in sufficient detail that skilled programmers may
develop the software with minimal additional input design.
[edit] Build or coding
Modular and subsystem programming code will be accomplished during this stage. Unit testing
and module testing are done in this stage by the developers. This stage is intermingled with the
next in that individual modules will need testing before integration to the main project.
[edit] Testing
The code is tested at various levels in software testing. Unit, system and user acceptance testings
are often performed. This is a grey area as many different opinions exist as to what the stages of
testing are and how much if any iteration occurs. Iteration is not generally part of the waterfall
model, but usually some occur at this stage.
Below are the following types of testing:
Data set testing.
Unit testing
System testing
Integration testing
Black box testing
White box testing
Regression testing
Automation testing
User acceptance testing
Performance testing
Production process that ensures that the program performs the intended task.
[edit] Operations and maintenance
The deployment of the system includes changes and enhancements before the decommissioning
or sunset of the system. Maintaining the system is an important aspect of SDLC. As key
personnel change positions in the organization, new changes will be implemented, which will
require system updates.
[edit] Systems development life cycle topics
[edit] Management and control
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Special:Book&bookcmd=download&collection_id=885a3d0f80bc9716&writer=rl&return_
to=Systems+Development+Life+Cycle