Chapter four

4.1.0 Prototype development phase

The basic idea of the system development life cycle is that there is a well-defined process
by which an application is conceived and developed and implemented. The life cycle gives
structure to a creative process. In order to manage and control the development effort, it is
necessary to know what should have been done, what has been done, and what has yet to
be accomplished. The phrases in the system development life cycle provide a basis for
management and control because they define segments of the flow of work, which can be
identified for managerial purposes and specifies the documents or other deliverables to be
produced in each phase.
The phases in the life cycle for information system development are described differently by
different writers, but the differences are primarily in the amount of necessity and manner of
categorization. There is a general agreement on the flow of development steps and the necessity
for control procedures at each stage.
The information system development cycle for an application consists of three major
stages.

1
 4.2.0 The Inception Phase
The Inception Phase is the first phase of software development life cycle the main
objective of the inception phase is to establish the business case for the system and define
the scope of the system.
The inception phase of the Online car rental System project mainly focuses on defining
the project requirements. The primary documents created in the inception phase consist
of the Vision document, Software Quality Assurance Plan and the Project Plan.
 The Vision document, which is one of the outcomes of the inception phase, mainly
focuses on core project requirements and the key features. It also discusses the main
features of the project along with the interfaces of the project. The next document which
is an outcome of the inception phase is the project plan document.
 The project plan document as the name says is mainly used to document the schedule of
the project as well as the time required for each phase of the project. This plan, gives us
an estimate of when the project will be completed.
 The Software Quality Assurance Plan, which is also an outcome of the inception phase
documents the standards and conventions that need to be followed in order to ensure
good quality of the end product. At the end of the inception phase, the developer will give
a presentation to the supervisory committee after submitting all the documents necessary.
This phase will be marked complete, once all the documentation for the phase I is
reviewed and approved by the committee.

4.3.0 ELABORATION PHASE

The next phase in the software development lifecycle is the elaboration phase. The main purpose
of the elaboration phase is to establish a strong architectural foundation for the Online car rental
System project. It is the most critical phase of all the phases of the software development
lifecycle. The entire architectural design of the Online car rental System will be documented
using the appropriate UML diagrams. In this phase, revisions on the initial versions of the Vision
document, Project Plan document will be made based on the suggestions made by the

2
Supervisory Committee members. In the elaboration phase, each component in the Online car
rental System architecture will be documented at the interface level.
Another deliverable of this phase is the Test Plan which documents all the testing activities that
will be carried out on the project and also states how to report and track the test results.
At the end of this phase, the developer will demonstrate an executable prototype of the project
and submit all the documentation required for the phase II of the project. The deliverables of this
phase can be stated as follows:
• Formal Requirement Specification
• Architecture Design
• Test Plan
• Executable Architecture Prototype
Once all the above documents and the prototype is reviewed and accepted by the
Supervisory Committee, the Elaboration phase is said to be complete.
 FORMAL REQUIREMENTS SPECIFICATION

The Object Constraint Language will be used to define and verify the formal
Specification of the product.
 DEVELOPING PROTOTYPE

The architecture executable prototype of the Online car rental System project will be built to
illustrate that all the requirements stated in the project’s vision document have been met.
 TEST PLAN

A test plan will be developed at the end of the Phase II, which documents all the testing activities
that will be performed on the Online car rental system project, to ensure that the project has
satisfied all the requirements that have been mentioned in the vision
Document. This test plan will also include evaluation criteria for all the critical use cases of the
project.

4.4.0 PRODUCTION PHASE

The production phase of the Online car rental System project mainly focuses on the
implementation and testing of the project. In this phase, the entire working code for the project

3
will be constructed and all the documentation pertaining to the project is completed. In this
phase, the entire code for the Online car rental System project will be tested to ensure that it has
met all the requirements. All the test results will also be analyzed and documented. A user
manual is also produced for the project which
Describes how to install, run and use the tool efficiently.
At the end of the production phase, the developer of the project will give a presentation to the
supervisory committee and will also demonstrate the entire working of the software product.
This presentation is the last presentation, and this phase of the project will be completed once the
committee members have reviewed and approved all the documentation and the working code of
the Online car rental System project.