[InfoMan] Lesson 2 - Development Life Cycle

System Development Life Cycle

• Detailed, well-planned development process

• Time consuming, but comprehensive

• Long developmental cycle

Planning

Purpose: To develop a preliminary understanding of a business situation and how information systems might help solve a problem or make an opportunity possible.

Planning

Deliverable: A written request to study the possible changes to an existing system or the development of a new system that addresses an information systems solution to the business problems or opportunities.

Analysis

Purpose: To analyze the business situation thoroughly to determine requirements, to structure those requirements, and to select among competing system features

Analysis

Deliverables: The functional specifications for a system that meets user requirements and is feasible to develop and implement

Design

Purpose: To elicit and structure all information requirements; to develop all technology and organizational specifications

Design

Deliverables: Detailed functional specifications of all data, forms, reports, displays, and processing rules; program and database structures, technology purchases, physical site plans, and organizational redesigns

Implementation

Purpose: To write programs, build data files, test and install the new system, train users, and finalize documentation

Implementation

Deliverables: Programs that work accurately and to specifications, documentation, and training materials

Maintenance

Purpose: To monitor the operation and usefulness of a system, and to repair and enhance the system

Maintenance

Deliverables: Periodic audits of the system to demonstrate whether the system is accurate and still meets user's needs

Enterprise Modeling

- Analyze current data processing

- Analyze the general business functions and their database needs

- Justify need for new data and databases in support of bus

Conceptual Data Modeling

- Identify scope of database requirements for proposed information system

- Analyze overall data requirements for business function(s) supported by database

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Iterative process of rapidly repeating analysis, design, and implementation steps until they converge on the system the user wants