Feasibility Study

• study to evaluate feasibility of proposed project or system.

• Main aim of feasibility study:determine whether
developing the product
– financially worthwhile
– technically feasible.
• First roughly understand what the customer wants:
– different data which would be input to the system,
– processing needed on these data,
– output data to be produced by the system,

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 Activities during Feasibility Study

• Work out an overall understanding of the problem.

• Formulate different solution strategies.
• Examine alternate solution strategies in terms of:
• resources required,
• cost of development, and
• development time.

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 Activities during Feasibility Study

• Perform a cost/benefit analysis:

– to determine which solution is the best.

–you may determine that none of the

solutions is feasible due to:
• high cost,
• resource constraints,
• technical reasons.

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Requirements Analysis and Specification

• Aim of this phase:

–understand the exact requirements of the
customer,
–document them properly.
• Consists of two distinct activities:
–requirements gathering and analysis
–requirements specification.

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 Goals of Requirements Analysis

• Collect all related data from the

customer:
–analyze the collected data to clearly
understand what the customer wants,
–find out any inconsistencies and
incompleteness in the requirements,
–resolve all inconsistencies and
incompleteness.

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 Requirements Gathering

• Gathering relevant data:

–usually collected from the end-users
through interviews and discussions.
–For example, for a business accounting
software:
• interview all the accountants of the
organization to find out their requirements.

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 Requirements Analysis (CONT.)

• The data you initially collect from

the users:
–would usually contain several
contradictions and ambiguities:
–each user typically has only a partial
and incomplete view of the system.

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 Requirements Analysis (CONT.)

• Ambiguities and contradictions:

– must be identified
– resolved by discussions with the customers.

• Next, requirements are organized:

– into a Software Requirements Specification (SRS) document.

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 Requirements Analysis (CONT.)

• Engineers doing requirements

analysis and specification:
–are designated as analysts.

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 Design
• Design phase transforms
requirements specification:
– into a form suitable for
implementation in some
programming language.

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 Design
• In technical terms:
–during design phase, software
architecture is derived from the SRS
document.
• Two design approaches:
–traditional approach,
–object oriented approach.

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 Traditional Design Approach

• Consists of two activities:

–Structured analysis
–Structured design

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 Structured Analysis Activity

• Identify all the functions to be performed.

• Identify data flow among the functions.
• Decompose each function recursively into sub-functions.
– Identify data flow among the subfunctions as well.

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 Structured Analysis (CONT.)

• Carried out using Data flow diagrams

(DFDs).
• After structured analysis, carry out
structured design:
–architectural design (or high-level design)
–detailed design (or low-level design).

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 Structured Design

• High-level design:
– decompose the system into modules,
– represent relationships among the modules.
• Detailed design:
– different modules designed in greater detail:
• data structures and algorithms for each module are designed.

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 Object Oriented Design
• First identify various objects (real world entities) occurring
in the problem:
– identify the relationships among the objects.
– For example, the objects in a pay-roll software may be:
• employees,
• managers,
• pay-roll register,
• Departments, etc.

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 Implementation

• Purpose of implementation phase

(coding phase):
–translate software design into source
code.

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 Implementation

• During the implementation phase:

–each module of the design is coded,
–each module is unit tested
• tested independently as a stand alone unit,
and debugged

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 Implementation (CONT.)

• The purpose of unit testing:

–test if individual modules work correctly.
• The end product of implementation
phase:
–a set of program modules that have been
tested individually.

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 Integration and System Testing

• Different modules are integrated in a planned manner:

– modules are almost never integrated in one shot.
– Normally integration is carried out through a number of steps.
• During each integration step,
– the partially integrated system is tested.

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Integration and System Testing

M1 M2

M3 M4

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 System Testing

• After all the modules have been

successfully integrated and tested:
–system testing is carried out.
• Goal of system testing:
– ensure that the developed system functions
according to its requirements as specified in
the SRS document.

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 Maintenance

• Maintenance of any software

product:
–requires much more effort than the
effort to develop the product itself.
–development effort to maintenance
effort is typically 40:60.

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 Maintenance (CONT.)

• Corrective maintenance:
– Correct errors which were not discovered during the
product development phases.
• Perfective maintenance:
– Improve implementation of the system
– enhance functionalities of the system.
• Adaptive maintenance:
– Port software to a new environment,
• e.g. to a new computer or to a new operating system.

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 Classical Waterfall Model

• Classical waterfall model divides life cycle into phases:

– feasibility study,
– requirements analysis and specification,
– design,
– coding and unit testing,
– integration and system testing,
– maintenance.

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 Classical Waterfall Model

Feasibility Study

Req. Analysis

Design

Coding

Testing

Maintenance

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 Classical Waterfall Model (CONT.)

• Most organizations usually define:

– entry and exit criteria for every phase.
• They also prescribe specific methodologies for:
– specification,
– design,
– testing,
– project management, etc.

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 Drawbacks of classical water fall model

• 1. no feedback paths
• 2. difficult to accommodate changes
• 3. No overlapping of phases
• 4. Limited customer interactions

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 Iterative Waterfall Model

• Classical waterfall model is idealistic:

–assumes that no defect is introduced
during any development activity.
–in practice:
• defects do get introduced in almost every
phase of the life cycle.

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 Iterative Waterfall Model (CONT.)

• Defects usually get detected much

later in the life cycle:
–For example, a design defect might go
unnoticed till the coding or testing
phase.

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 Iterative Waterfall Model (CONT.)

• Once a defect is detected:

– we need to go back to the phase where it was introduced
– redo some of the work done during that and all subsequent
phases.
• Therefore we need feedback paths in the classical
waterfall model.

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Iterative Waterfall Model (CONT.)

Feasibility Study

Req. Analysis

Design

Coding

Testing

Maintenance

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 Iterative Waterfall Model (CONT.)

• Errors should be detected

in the same phase in which they are
introduced.
• For example:
if a design problem is detected in the
design phase itself,
the problem can be taken care of much more
easily than, if it is identified at the end of the
integration and system testing phase.

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 Phase containment of errors

• The principle of detecting errors as close to its point

of introduction as possible:
– is known as phase containment of errors.
• Iterative waterfall model is most widely used model.
– Almost every other model is derived from the waterfall
model.

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 Prototyping Model

• Before starting actual development,

– a working prototype of the system should first be built.
• A prototype is a toy implementation of a system:
– limited functional capabilities,
– low reliability,
– inefficient performance.

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 Prototyping Model (CONT.)

• The reason for developing a prototype is:

–it is impossible to ``get it right'' the first
time,
–we must plan to throw away the first
product
• if we want to develop a good product.

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 Prototyping Model (CONT.)

• The developed prototype is submitted to the customer for

his evaluation:
– Based on the user feedback, requirements are refined.
– This cycle continues until the user approves the prototype.
• The actual system is developed using the classical waterfall
approach.

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 Prototyping Model (CONT.)
Build Prototype

Customer
Requirements satisfied
Customer
Gathering Quick Design Evaluation of Design
Prototype

Implement
Refine
Requirements Test

Maintenance

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 Prototyping Model (CONT.)

• Even though construction of a working prototype

model involves additional cost --- overall
development cost might be lower for:
– systems with unclear user requirements,

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 Incremental Model

• Incremental Model is a process of software development

where requirements divided into multiple standalone modules
of the software development cycle.
• In this model, each module goes through the design,
implementation and testing phases.
• Every subsequent release of the module adds function to the
previous release.
• The process continues until the complete system achieved.

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 Incremental Model

Advantage of Incremental Model

•Errors are easy to be recognized.

•Easier to test and debug
•More flexible.
•Simple to manage risk because it handled during its iteration.
•The Client gets important functionality early

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 Incremental Model

Disadvantage of Incremental Model

•Total Cost is high.

•Well defined module interfaces are needed.

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 Evolutionary Model

• Incremental + Iterative Model

• Evolutionary model:
– The system is broken down into several modules which
can be incrementally implemented and delivered.
• First develop the core modules of the system.
• The initial product skeleton is refined into
increasing levels of capability:
– by adding new functionalities in successive versions.

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 Evolutionary Model (CONT.)

• Successive version of the product:

–functioning systems capable of
performing some useful work.
–A new release may include new
functionality:
• also existing functionality in the current
release might have been enhanced.

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 Evolutionary Model (CONT.)

C
A AB A
B

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 Advantages of Evolutionary Model

• Users get a chance to experiment with a partially

developed system:
– much before the full working version is released,
• Helps finding exact user requirements:
– much before fully working system is developed.
• Core modules get tested thoroughly:
– reduces chances of errors in final product.

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 Disadvantages of Evolutionary Model

• Often, difficult to subdivide problems

into functional units:
–which can be incrementally implemented
and delivered.
–evolutionary model is useful for very
large problems,
• where it is easier to find modules for
incremental implementation.

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 Spiral Model

• Proposed by Boehm in 1988.

• Each loop of the spiral represents a phase of the
software process:
– the innermost loop might be concerned with system
feasibility,
– the next loop with system requirements definition,
– the next one with system design, and so on.
• There are no fixed phases in this model, the
phases shown in the figure are just examples.

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 Spiral Model (CONT.)

• The team must decide:

– how to structure the project into phases.
• Start work using some generic model:
– add extra phases
• for specific projects or when problems are identified during a project.
• Each loop in the spiral is split into four sectors (quadrants).

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 Spiral Model (CONT.)

Determine Identify &

Objectives Resolve Risks

Review and
plan for next Develop Next
phase Level of Product

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 Objective Setting (First Quadrant)

• Identify objectives of the phase,

• Examine the risks associated with these objectives.
– Risk:
• any adverse circumstance that might hamper
successful completion of a software project .
• Find alternate solutions possible.

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 Risk Assessment and Reduction (Second Quadrant)

• For each identified project risk,

– a detailed analysis is carried out.
• Steps are taken to reduce the risk.
• For example, if there is a risk that the requirements are
inappropriate:
– a prototype system may be developed.

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 Spiral Model (CONT.)

• Development and Validation (Third quadrant):

quadrant
– develop and validate the next level of the product.
• Review and Planning (Fourth quadrant):
quadrant
– review the results achieved so far with the customer and
plan the next iteration around the spiral.
• With each iteration around the spiral:
– progressively more complete version of the software gets
built.

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 Spiral Model as a meta model

• Subsumes all discussed models:

– a single loop spiral represents waterfall model.
– uses an evolutionary approach --
• iterations through the spiral are evolutionary levels.
– enables understanding and reacting to risks during each iteration
along the spiral.
– uses:
• prototyping as a risk reduction mechanism
• retains the step-wise approach of the waterfall model.

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Comparison of Different Life Cycle Models

• Iterative waterfall model

– most widely used model.
– But, suitable only for well-understood problems.
• Prototype model is suitable for projects not well
understood:
– user requirements

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Comparison of Different Life Cycle Models
(CONT.)

• Evolutionary model is suitable for large problems:

– can be decomposed into a set of modules that can be incrementally
implemented,
– incremental delivery of the system is acceptable to the customer.
• The spiral model:
– suitable for development of technically challenging software products
that are subject to several kinds of risks.

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