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SLDC

Fatimah Muhammad

Timothy Steward

Josh Elwood

Heath Carter

CISP111

January 26, 2025

SLDC

The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is an essential framework for creating and

maintaining information systems. Its five phases—planning, requirements gathering and

analysis, design, implementation, and maintenance—provide structure and ensure the success of

projects. Each phase plays a critical role in achieving an efficient, effective, and reliable system.

The Planning Phase

The planning phase lays the foundation for the entire project. During this phase, objectives,

scope, budget, timeline, and feasibility are defined. This strategic focus helps organizations avoid

misaligned goals and ensures the project delivers value. Planning is vital as it minimizes risks

and sets realistic expectations for stakeholders.

Key Components:

● Project Scope: Defines the objectives, deliverables, and boundaries of the project.

● Feasibility Study: Assesses technical, operational, and financial viability.

● Resource Allocation: Identifies required resources—team, budget, tools, and

technologies.

● Risk Assessment: Evaluates potential risks and develops mitigation strategies.

● Project Timeline: Establishes schedules and milestones to track progress.

Analysis Phase

In the requirements gathering and analysis phase, the needs of end users and the organization are

identified. Clear, well-documented requirements ensure the system addresses real-world

challenges, avoiding costly changes later. This phase ensures the project is user-focused and

purpose-driven.

purpose-driven.

Key Components:

● Requirements Documentation: Collects detailed functional and non-functional

requirements.

● Stakeholder Interviews/Surveys: Gathers input from users, clients, and stakeholders.

● Gap Analysis: Identifies gaps between current systems and desired outcomes.

● Use Cases & User Stories: Defines how users will interact with the system.

● Requirements Validation: Confirms accuracy and completeness of gathered data.

The Design Phase

The design phase translates requirements into a detailed blueprint. It specifies the system’s

architecture, interfaces, and data flows. A strong design ensures the system is scalable, secure,

and user-friendly. This phase is critical for preventing inefficiencies or technical issues during

development.

Key Components:
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● System Architecture Design: Defines hardware, software, and network infrastructure.

● Data Modeling: Structures data flow, databases, and relationships.

● Interface Design: Creates wireframes or prototypes for user interfaces.

● Technical Specifications: Details programming languages, frameworks, and tools.

● Security Design: Incorporates security protocols and measures.

The Implementation Phase

The implementation phase involves building, testing, and deploying the system. A rigorous

approach ensures the system operates as intended with minimal disruptions. Successful

implementation results in a functional system that aligns with user expectations.

Key Components:

● Coding: Converts design specifications into actual code using selected technologies.

● Unit Testing: Tests individual components to ensure they function correctly.

● Version Control: Manages code versions for collaboration and rollback if needed.

● Integration: Combines different modules to work as a cohesive system.

● Documentation: Creates technical documentation for future maintenance.

The Maintenance Phase

Finally, the maintenance phase ensures long-term effectiveness. By addressing performance

issues, applying updates, and gathering user feedback, this phase extends the system's lifecycle.

Continuous improvement ensures the system remains relevant in changing environments.

Together, these five phases deliver systems that are reliable, efficient, and aligned with

organizational goals. The SDLC fosters a structured approach to development, reducing risks and

optimizing outcomes.

Key Components:

● Bug Fixes: Resolves issues identified after deployment.

● System Updates: Implements improvements, new features, or security patches.

● Performance Monitoring: Continuously tracks system health and performance.

● User Support: Provides helpdesk services for troubleshooting.

● Documentation Updates: Keeps system documentation current with changes.

Key Aspects of the Design Phase:

● System Design: This includes creating detailed blueprints for the system’s architecture.

The system design often includes both high-level design and low-level design

● User Interface (UI) Design: Designers focus on making the system easy to use. This can

include wireframes, mockups, and prototypes

● Database Design: The design of the database schema, relationships, and structures

needed to support the system

● Technology Selection: During this phase, decisions are made about the technologies to

be used, including programming languages, development frameworks, databases, and

hardware

Key Aspects of the Implementation Phase:

● Coding: This is the actual process of writing the code for the system based on the

specifications laid out during the Design phase. Developers use the selected programming

languages and tools to develop the software (Pressman, 2014).

● Unit Testing: As code is written, it is tested to ensure that individual components or

modules work as expected (Sommerville, 2011).

● System Integration: After individual modules are developed, they are integrated into a

complete system, and their interaction is tested (Schwalbe, 2015).

● User Acceptance Testing (UAT): This type of testing ensures that the system meets the

business requirements and that users can operate the system effectively (Laudon &

Laudon, 2016).

● Deployment: Once the system has been fully developed and tested, it is installed or

deployed into a production environment. Users begin to access and interact with the

system (Dennis et al., 2018).

● Training and Documentation: End-users and system administrators are trained on how

to use the system effectively, and the system is documented for future reference and

maintenance
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2 Case Tools Part 1

Through my research I was able to find 2 solid CASE tools in our team's SDLC phases. The

CASE tools I found support various phases, including Planning, Analysis, Requirements

Gathering, and Design. During the Planning phase. These tools involve stuff like “Microsoft

Project” which help with things such as; scheduling, ability of tracking cost, and resource

management. Although the main issue is how costly and difficult these tools can be. Another tool

is something called the “Enterprise Architect” which offers something called UML modeling,

which is ideal for bigger projects even though it's also costly and requires a good amount of

training. For the Analysis phase, something called “Rational Rose” which is a great tool for

object modeling and other diagrams. Again it has a steep learning curve and high cost may limit

the amount of its use. To go along with it there is something called “JIRA” which works well for

teams that use Agile, but it can often be very complicated for teams that don’t use it. It takes a

learning curve to understand. Another tool is “DOORS” which is great for organizing different

requirements, but it again is expensive and can be hard to use. “Balsamiq” which is an online

wireframing software can be easy to use for making simple designs, although it doesn’t do much

beyond that. For Design, “Visual Paradigm” is a great tool for deep in depth system planning,

but very costly and tricky to use. “Lucidchart” which is another software that is relatively simple,

and is great for teamwork. The only downside is that it needs the internet and can get slow with

larger diagrams. In the end with all these tools that are all very beneficial in all sorts of ways and

can help be a major tool for these SDLC phases. The best way to know which tool to use
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depends on the project size, how your team works together, and what things you need in the

project. With each of these tools there is good and bad to each of them and can be very beneficial

to the project.

2 Case Tools Part 2

After diving in and researching some CASE Tools for the design and implementation phase I

was able to find a few great tools! First in the design phase of the SDLC I was able to find the

system’s blueprint. This would include things like defining the system’s architecture and base,

along with the designing of the user interface to be user-friendly, which helps with structuring

the database. There are also decisions made about the technologies that are used, like the

programming languages and databases. Some case tools to use are Microsoft Visio and

Lucidchart. Microsoft Visio is often used to create diagrams and system designs. It is pretty

simple to use these but can be expensive if you are looking for it to do more for you. Lucidchart

is another tool for making wireframes and diagrams, and is also good for team collaboration. The

only catch is the free version is limited and you have to pay for the upgraded version. The

Implementation phase is when the system is actually developed and built. The developers create

the code and test the different parts of the system. After the coding is written, everything is

integrated throughout the system, and final testing is done to make sure it works. When it passes

testing, the system is deployed. A great tool is called JIRA which is used to track progress and

fix issues. The only problem is it can be hard to learn. TestComplete is another tool used for

testing, which helps to catch problems early, but it can be costly and difficult for smaller teams.

In the end, both the Design and Implementation phases are crucial for the successful

development of a system. Microsoft Visio and Lucidchart are great tools that can be used to help

in the design process, while on the other hand JIRA and TestComplete are super beneficial in the
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implementation and testing phases. By choosing the right CASE tools based on the project’s

difficulty and the requirements that are needed ensures that the system is built efficiently,

effectively, and smoothly with minimal issues.

Works Cited

Valacich, J., & George, J. F. (2020). Modern systems analysis and design (9th ed.). Pearson.

Kendall, K. E., & Kendall, J. E. (2020). Systems analysis and design (10th ed.). Pearson.
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