SIA EXAM

System

A set of detailed components, sub-systems, hardware, software, and people working together a specific set of objectives or common goals

System Integration

The process of connecting and bringing together different computing subsystems, applications, and software nodules so that they act as a single, unified, functional whole.

System Architecture

The conceptual model that defines the structure, behavior, high-level components, modules, interfaces, and data flows of a system.

Enterprise Architecture (EA)

A rigorous description of an enterprise’s structure, encompassing its business processes, organizational structures, data flows, and IT infrastructure, aligned tightly with business goals.

Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)

The use of middleware, integration platforms, and architectural principles to integrate multiple enterprise applications seamlessly

Scalability

The ability of a system to handle a rapidly growing amount of work (e.g., an ecommerce platform surviving a massive spike in traffic during a holiday sale)

High Availability (HA)

Designing systems to remain operational continuously without failure, often utilizing redundant backup servers.

Business-IT Alignment

The principle that every technology invest must directly support a specific business goal (e.g., increasing revenue, reducing operational costs, or ensuring legal compliance)

Interoperability

The ability of completely different computer systems and software to seamlessly exchange and make use of information.

Elimination of Data Silos

Integrates fragmented data sources, ensuring that departments (e.g., Sales, HR, Finance) access unified, real-time information.

Operational Efficiency

Automates workflows across platforms, drastically cutting down manual data re-entry, minimizing human error, and accelerating information flow

Enhanced Decision-Making

Aggregates data streams into comprehensive dashboards, giving executive management accurate metrics for a real-time strategic decisions

Scalability and Flexibility

A well-designed architecture allows businesses to plug in new technologies (like AI services or cloud infrastructure) or scale up operations without tearing down legacy systems.

Cos Efficiency

Reduces long-term IT maintenance overheads by streamlining disparate software assets and preventing redundant application development

Planning & Requirements Analysis

Defining the business problem, assessing feasibility and gathering user requirements

System Design

Creating the architectural blueprint (database schemas, network layouts, user interfaces)

Implementation (Coding)

Translating the design into actual code and building the application

Testing

Rigorously finding the and fixing bugs, ensuring the software meets the initial requirements.

Deployment & Maintenance

Releasing the software to users and providing ongoing updates and support

Waterfall Model

A rigid, linear, sequential approach. You must finish phase 1 before starting phase 2.

Agile Model

An iterative approach where software is built and released in small continuous cycles (sprints).

DevOps Model

A culture combining software Development (Dev) and IT Operations (Ops) to automate

V-Model (Validation and Verification)

An extension of waterfall where every development phase has a corresponding, parallel testing phase.

Iterative/Incremental

Building the systems in small portions (increments), evaluating them, and iteratively expanding the system.

Spiral Model

A risk-driven model that combines iterative development with the systematic aspects of Waterfall, focusing heavily on risk analysis.

RAD (Rapid Application Development)

Minimal formal planning in favor of rapid, iterative prototyping and active user feedback

Big Bang Model

No formal planning or processes; all resources are thrown immediately into writing code.

CapEx (Capital Expenditure)

Buying. Spending a massive amount of money on Day 1 to own physical hardware outright.

OpEx (Operational Expenditure)

Renting. Paying a predictable, ongoing monthly bill for resources you consume

In-House (Insourced)

All computing hardware is located on the company’s premises and managed entirely by internal staff. It provides absolute data privacy but requires massive CapEx and is very slow to scale.

Outsoucred (Managed Services/cloud)

The company rents infrastructure or hires an external third-party vendor. It reduces CapEx to OpEx and provides instant scalability, but the company relies completely on the vendor for security and uptime.

Hybrid Model

A strategic mix of both. Highly sensitive data is kept on heavily secured, in-house servers, while public-facing applications are hosted on the cloud to handle massive user traffic (Cloud Bursting).

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

Renting raw virtual machines networking, and storage space.

PaaS (Platform as a Service)

Renting a ready-made environment specifically designed for developers to deploy applications

SaaS (Software as a Software)

Renting fully finished web-based software delivered directly to the end-user.

Needs Assesment

Defining the exact IT problem and technical requirements before looking externally

RFP (Request for Proposal) Generation

Writing and publishing a document asking third-party vendors to submit solutions and pricing.

Vendor Evaluation

Scoring the submitted bids based on four pillars: Technical Capability, Financial Stability, Security & the pricing structure, and Support & Maintenance.

Contract Negotiation

Finalizing the pricing structure, agreeing on SLA terms, and defining penalty clauses.

Ongoing Management

Continuously monitoring the vendor’s actual performance against SLA.

Availability / Uptime

Guaranteed percentage of time the system is online (e.g., 99.99%)

Response Time

Maximum allowable time for the vendor to acknowledge a critical support ticket

MTTR (Mean Time to Repair)

The average time permitted to completely restore service after an outage

The Promise

The guaranteed performance metric (e.g., 99.9%)

The Proof

How the metrics are calculated and what exceptions exist (e.g., scheduled maintenance on Sundays).

The Remedy (Service Credits)

The financial penalty (usually a bill discount) the vendor pays if they fail to meet SLA.

The Exit Clause

The protocol for terminating the contract, explicitly stating the universal file format in which the vendor must return the company’s data.

Vendor lock-in

Occurs when a company builds its architecture using tools that only exist on one specific cloud provider.

Data Silo (The problem)

Occurs when data is trapped inside one department’s software and cannot be accessed by other departments that need it.

Point-to-Point (P2P) Integration

Connecting A directly to Application B with a custom-written script.

But, as the company grows, P2P becomes unmaintainable.

Hub-and-Spoke (Middleware) Integration

Instead of systems talking directly to each other, they all connect to a central hub. Highly scalable. Adding an 11th system only requires connecting it to hub is called Middleware.

APIs

To allow independent software systems to pass data into the Middleware hun, they use an API (Application Programming Interface).