Database Design - The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Vocabulary flashcards covering the SDLC phases, information systems, and maintenance concepts.

Information System

Provides for data collection, storage, and retrieval; composed of people, hardware, software, databases, application programs, and procedures.

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

A framework that traces the life cycle of an information system and maps out and evaluates database design and application development; consists of five phases and is iterative rather than sequential.

Five phases of SDLC

Planning, Analysis, Detailed Systems Design, Implementation, and Maintenance.

Planning (SDLC)

Initial assessment and feasibility study; assess flow-and-extent requirements; evaluate alternatives; determine hardware/software needs and costs; decide whether to continue/modify/replace the existing system.

Analysis (SDLC)

Thorough audit of user requirements; study existing hardware and software; goal: better understanding of functional areas and problems.

Detailed Systems Design

Designer completes design of system processes; includes technical specifications; outlines steps for converting from old to new system; plans training; submitted for management approval.

Implementation (SDLC)

Hardware, DBMS software, and applications installed; database design implemented; coding, testing, and debugging cycle continues until delivery; tables, views, and user authorizations created.

Maintenance (SDLC)

Three maintenance activities: corrective, adaptive, and perfective; uses CASE to produce better systems within time and cost; CASE-produced apps are structured, documented, and standardized.

Iterative SDLC

SDLC is iterative rather than strictly sequential; phases may be revisited and refined as needed.

Initial assessment

Part of Planning; early evaluation of project viability.

Feasibility study

Part of Planning; evaluates whether the project is technically, economically, and operationally feasible.

User requirements

Requirements gathered to understand what the system must do; defined in Analysis.

Logical system design

A logical representation of the system’s structure derived during Analysis and planning.

Detailed system specification

A precise description of the system's components and behavior produced in Detailed Systems Design.

Coding, testing, and debugging

Activities in Implementation to convert specifications into working software and verify correctness.

Installation

Part of Implementation; hardware, DBMS, and applications are installed; system is configured.

Fine-tuning

Optimization of system performance during Implementation.

Creation of tables and views

Database objects created during Implementation to support the new system.

User authorizations

Setting access controls for users in the new system.

Management approval

Formal approval from management for detailed system design before implementation.

Computer-aided systems engineering (CASE)

A technique used to structure, document, and standardize software development to produce better systems within a reasonable time and cost.

Corrective maintenance

Repairing defects in the system after deployment.

Adaptive maintenance

Modifying the system to operate in a changing environment or requirements.

Perfective maintenance

Enhancing system performance, maintainability, or features.