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Life Cycle
Understanding How it Works
Axia College of University of Phoenix
Christopher C. Bewley
1/30/2009
I will be explaining a little more in-depth of how the Systems Development Life Cycle
(SDLC) operates. The SDLC process is a Systems Development Methodology (SDM) “which is
basically the process most businesses go through to develop and maintain an Information
System.” (Ross A. Malaga, (2005) Information Systems Technology, Published by Prentice Hall.
Page 285. Copyright 2005 Pearson Education) The SDLC contains seven major phases; I am
Planning is the step taken to find out if the current system can be updated or if there needs to
be a new system created. To help make that decision four feasibility analyses will need to be
completed, technical, economic, operational, and schedule. The technical analysis will determine
what technologies are present and what can be created to solve the aroused issue. The economic
analysis will find out if the company can afford the new or upgraded Information System (IS)
and if it will benefit the company at all. The operational analysis will determine the reaction that
humans will have with this new system. (Likes, Dislikes, and Employee Cooperation) The
schedule analysis will determine whether or not the proposed completion time is realistic. All
The second step of the SDLC is System Analysis. The System Analysis step is where the
systems analyst in the IT development team determines the exact problems then details an exact
IS solution to the problem as well as a to-do list for future reference in the SDLC. This step must
be completed after the planning and before moving on, to ensure quality in the product being
designed.
The third step of the SDLC is Systems Design. Once the Systems Development Team
understands the requirements needed in order to solve the issues at hand the systems design
phase can start. The Systems Design phase is meant to describe how the Systems Development
team will create this new system. They will examine what functions it will have and what parts it
could contain. There are two main steps in Systems Design; Logical Design and Physical
Design. A Logical Systems Design is mainly a rough draft of what the functions of the new
and/or upgraded IS should do. A Physical Systems Design is a document that describes the steps
the Systems Development Team will go through to meet the requirements of that functionality.
The fourth step of the SDLC is Development. The Development phase can only start after the
first three steps have been completed. Once the Systems Development Team gathers a clear
understanding of the design of the system they can begin building it. Let’s say the option of
purchasing a new system altogether is chosen then the new system must still meet the needs and
requirements of the Systems Design details. This is the phase where Programmers, Network
Engineers, and Database Developers will come into position. Development functions will start
occurring one after the other until all the functions are met and maintained.
The fifth step of the SDLC is Testing. The Testing phase is only applicable once the system is
built. This phase is where the creators test their own work to ensure the new IS runs as the
The sixth step of the SDLC is Implementation. The Implementation phase is where an
installation team installs all the needed components for the new IS. This is where any important
information is transferred from the old system into the new system. This phase is crucial for most
business because employees will have to work with a system that they are not used to, this might
cause frustration. To avoid this there is four ways of implementing a new IS to a company. Direct
Cutover occurs when an old system is being taken out of the equation and a new one put in.
Parallel Conversion is the gradual movement from an old system to a new system. Pilot Testing
is testing one area of an organization and if testing proves a positive effect then the whole
organization moves into using this new IS. Stage Conversion occurs when one part of the system
is applied and operates properly then another part is installed until the whole system is in place.
The seventh and final step of the SDLC is Maintenance. The Maintenance phase is intended
to take care of the undetected errors in the Testing phase that only show up after the system is
being used. Maintenance mainly consists of correcting errors, backing up and recovering data,
Hopefully, by now I have presented everyone with a very clear understanding of the Systems
Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and how each step works together as a domino effect. There
are more options than this in creating an IS. If anyone still has questions I might suggest they