SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

H Mushonga
 ICT system

A system that uses any form of digital technology to

input and process data and output the information
which goes directly to a human or into another
system

Their purpose is to make a particular ‘process’

within an organization more efficient. They deal
with the input and process of data in order to
produce information.
 SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
• Systems development is the activity of creating or
modifying ICT systems.

• People inside a company can develop systems, or

companies can use outsourcing (hiring an outside
company to perform some or all of a systems
development project).

• Outsourcing allows a company to focus on what it

does best and delegate other functions to companies
with expertise in systems development.
Why are new systems developed?

• Current one is out of date

• Technology has moved on
• Competitors have developed new systems
• The organisation has grown
• A new part of the company is established that
requires IT support
• The company wants to improve the quality of a
repetitive task
Why systems development sometimes
fails
• Systems development failures can be a result of poor
planning and scheduling, poor requirements
determination, and lack of user involvement.

• One strategy for improving the results of a systems

development project is to divide it into several steps,
each with a well-defined goal and set of tasks to
accomplish
What method is often followed to
develop an ICT system?

The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

The system development life cycle

It is a method / model which aims to maximise the

chances of a successful project
 Stages of the SDLC
1. Analysis
2. Design
3. Constructing the solution
4. Testing
5. Installing
6. Review and maintenance
 Analysis
• What is the problem you intend to solve?
• What does the existing system do?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the existing
system?
• What is required of the new system? (Client/User
requirements)
• Who will be using the new system and if necessary who
will be viewing the final product? (End Users and
Audience)
• Are there any constraints that may be placed on the
new solution, e.g. legal requirements?
 Methods used to analyse the current
situation

• Interviews at all levels

• Questionnaires/Surveys
• Analysis of existing paper work
• Observation of users of the current system
 Deliverables from analysis
• User Requirements
• List of tasks and subtasks that need to be completed
• A Gantt Chart to show scheduled timings
• An assessment of user skills
• Hardware and Software requirements and limitations
• Performance indicators of evaluation criteria matching
the client/users requirements
 Note
• The analysis phase describes WHAT the project is
going to do
• The design phase explains HOW it is going to do it
 System design

• Focus is on how the system will accomplish its

objectives.

• This is where issues related to hardware, software,

networking , data storage, security and many others
will be discussed and determined .

• As such system design consists of design activities

that ultimately produce physical system
specifications satisfying the functional requirements
that were developed in the system analysis process.
 Hardware Evaluation Factors
Hardware Evaluation factors Ratings
PERFORMANCE: What is its speed, capacity and throughput
COST : What is its lease or purchase price ? What will be its cost of operation and
maintenance ?
RELIABILITY ; What are the risk of malfunction and its maintenance requirements? What are
its error control and diagnostic features?
COMPATIBILITY : Is it compatible with existing hardware and software? Is it compatible with
hardware and software provided by competing suppliers?
TECHNOLOGY: does it use a new untested technology , or does it run the risk of
obsolescence?
ERGONOMICS: Has it been “human factors engineered” with the user in mind ?Is it user
friendly, designed to be safe , comfortable , and easy to use?
CONNECTIVITY :Can it be easily connected to wide area and local area networks that use the
different types of network technologies and bandwidth alternatives
SCALABILITY: Can it handle the processing demand of a wide range of end users ,transactions
, queries , and other information processing requirements ?
SOFTWARE: Are system and application software available that can best use this hardware?

SUPPORT:ARE the services required to support and maintain it available?

OVERALL RATING
 Software Evaluation Factors
Software Evaluation factors Ratings
QUALITY : Is it bug free , or does it have many errors in its program code
EFFICIENCY: Is the software a well developed system of program code that does not
use much CPU time , memory capacity , or disk space?
FLEXIBILITY: Can it handle our business processes easily , without major
modifications?
SECURITY: Does it provide control procedures for errors, malfunctions , and
improper use?
CONNECTIVITY:Is it web enabled so it can easily access the Internet or intranet on
its own , or by working with WEB browsers or other network software?
MAINTENANCE: Will new features and bug fixes be easily implemented by our
software developers?
DOCUMENTATION: is the software well documented ? Does it include help screens
and helpful software agents?
HARDWARE: Does existing hardware have the features required to best use this
software?
OTHER FACTORS: What are its performance costs, reliability , availability,
compatibility, technology ,ergonomics , scalability and support characteristics ?
OVERALL RATINGS
 Deliverables of the system design
stage
• Details of file definitions, data structures and
processes
• Design of outputs
• A test strategy and plan

(a data structure is a data organisation, management and storage

format that enables efficient access and modification)
 Ways to construct an ICT solution
1. Customising a package
– Using a generic or special purpose package and simply
customising it
– May require compromises (not able to fully customise)
– Less risky
– More help and support available

2. Writing Code
– This is when you build the solution from scratch
– More flexible
– Likely to take longer
– Likely chance of errors
Documentation of construction is essential for both
 Deliverable from Construction

• Working system
• Documentation of the solution
• Draft version of the user guide
 Deliverables from testing

• Test data and results

• Modified user guide
• Client approval to install
 What to consider during installation
The type of changeover
1. Direct – Company literally switches off the old system
and switches on the new one.
2. Parallel – The company runs both the old and new
system in parallel for a time.
– Once they are sure it is working properly and staff are
ready they will do a complete change over.
3. Phased – Old system is still active but parts of the new
system are used e.g. The front end input screens are
used but run the old systems back end.
4. Pilot – complete new system is installed in a small
number of departments / branches.
 Deliverables from the installation
phase

• Fully functional solution

• Full documentation
• User guides
• Technical documentation
 Review and Maintenance

• Corrective maintenance: Putting right any reported

errors once the system is operational

• Adaptive maintenance :Altering the system to meet

new organisation, legislation or security
requirements

• Perfective maintenance: Where any inefficiencies

are tweaked i.e. make the system even better
 SDLC Models
SDLC models:
1. Waterfall Model
2. Iterative Model
3. Spiral Model
4. V-Model
5. Big Bang Model
6. Prototype Model

**In your spare time research on the above models