Business Information System

Systems Analysis and Design : Part I Systems Development Life Cycle

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Systems development is a set of activities that go into producing a information system solution to an organizational problem or opportunity. This series of distinct activities or identifiable phases can also be viewed as the life cycle of a system that it undergoes during its life time. Each of these phases results in the development of either a part of the system or some documentation associated with the system.

Participants in the Systems Development

System Owners pay for the system to be built and maintained. And, who will ultimately benefit from the systems development project. Users use the system to perform or support the work to be completed. Project Manager is responsible for coordinating all activities and resources needed to complete a project on time. Systems/Business analysts facilitate the development of information systems and computer applications by bridging the communications gap that exists between nontechnical system owners and users and technical system designers and builders.

Participants in the Systems Development

System Designers design the system to meet the users requirements. System Builders/Developers construct, test, and deliver the system into operation. Support Personnel are the technical specialists like database and telecommunications experts, h/w engineers etc. IT Vendors and Consultants sell hardware, software, and services to businesses for incorporation into their information systems.

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

System Analysis
1. Recognition of the need 2. Feasibility Study 3.Requirement Analysis

Systems Design
1. High Level Design 2. Detailed Design

Coding/Programming/Development Testing
1. Unit Testing 2. Integration Testing 3. System Testing 4. Acceptance Testing

Conversion/Implementation/Deployment Production and Maintenance

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Systems Analysis :
Recognition of the need Feasibility Study Requirements Analysis

Systems Analysis
Recognition of the need :
The change in an existing system is desired due to: To overcome problems in an existing system. Origin of new ideas to perform specific tasks in a better way. To take advantage of the opportunities posed by the environment.

Systems Analysis
Internal Reasons for Systems Change:
Expansion of the business in the form of new offices, mergers and acquisitions Change of business location Diversification of business Problems faced in the current system Scope of improvement in existing system

Systems Analysis
External Reasons for Systems Change:
Change in government policies Change of vendors or change in systems of existing vendors Changing consumer needs and preferences Introduction of new standard of quality To compete with other players in the market

Systems Analysis
Feasibility Study :
It is performed to determine whether the proposed solution is feasible from financial, technical or organizational standpoint. It provides Feasibility Study Document which presents alternative solutions along with the trade-off of expected costs and benefits and their expectations in terms of development schedule and required resources. After feasibility study the management takes the go/no-go decision. It is also used to resolve the make-buy decision.

Systems Analysis
Types of Feasibility Study :
Economic Feasibility Technical Feasibility Organizational Feasibility Operational Feasibility Motivational Feasibility Schedule Feasibility

Systems Analysis
Requirement Analysis :
It involves studying the existing system in detail by examining documents, work papers, procedures, observing system operations, and interviewing key users of the system. Which helps to identify the primary owners and users of the system along with the existing h/w and s/w. It also helps to define the problem, identify its causes, specify the solution, identify the information requirements that must be met by the information solution.

Systems Analysis
Requirement Analysis :
Thus, it indentifies who needs what information, where, when, and how. It carefully defines the objectives of the new or modified system. Develops the detailed description of the functions that the new system must perform. A system designed around a wrong set of requirements will either have to be discarded because of poor performance or will need to undergo major modifications.

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Systems Design :
Systems analysis describes what a system should do to meet information requirements, and systems design shows how the system will fulfill this objective. It is the blueprint which consists all the specifications that give the system its form and structure. The design architecture is governed by the SRS document.

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Systems Design :
High Level Design: It aims to identify,
the modules that should be in the system, the specifications of these modules, how they interact with each other to produce the desired results.

Detailed Design :
The internal logic of each of the modules specified in highlevel design is decided.

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Coding :
Translates the design of the system into software program code. The aim is to implement the design in the best possible manner. This phase affects both Testing and Maintenance phases. A well-written code can reduce the testing and maintenance efforts.

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Testing :
It answers the question, Will the system produce the desired results under known conditions? The goal of testing is to uncover requirement, design and coding errors in the program. Testing is the major quality control measure used during software development.

Testing
Unit Testing :
It involves testing each program/module separately and is often done by the programmer himself along with the coding of the program. It is used as a means of locating the errors in the programs, focusing on finding all the ways to make the program fail. Once they are pinpointed, problems can be corrected.

Testing
Integration Testing :
Once individual modules are tested, gradually these are integrated into subsystems, which will eventually integrated into entire system. During integration of modules, integration testing is performed. The goal of this testing is to detect design errors, while focusing on testing the interconnection between modules.

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

System Testing :
Once the system is put together, system testing is performed. The system is tested against the system requirements to see if all the requirements are met and the system performs as specified by the requirements.

Testing
Acceptance Testing :
This testing is performed to demonstrate to the client on the real life data of the client, the operation of the system. This testing is often done at the customers end with real world test data in order to satisfy the customer so that he/she accepts the system.

Testing
Alpha testing :
Alpha testing is simulated or actual operational testing by potential users/customers or an independent test team at the developers' site. Alpha testing is often employed as a form of internal acceptance testing, before the software goes to beta testing. Beta testing comes after alpha testing and can be considered a form of external user acceptance testing. Versions of the software, known as beta versions, are released to a limited audience outside of the programming team. The software is released to groups of people so that further testing can ensure the product has few faults or bugs.

Beta testing :

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Conversion/Implementation/Deployment :
It is the process of changing from the old system to the new system. Four main conversion strategies can be employed : Parallel Strategy Direct cutover Strategy Pilot Study Strategy Phased approach Strategy It requires proper training to be given to the end-users. Also, proper documentation showing how the system works for both technical and end-user standpoint is finalized at this stage.

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Production and Maintenance :
After the new system is installed and conversion is complete, the system is said to be in production. The system will be reviewed by both users and technical specialists to determine how well it has met the original objectives and whether any modifications are in order. Once the system is fine-tuned, it must be maintained while it is in production to correct errors, meet new requirements, or improve processing efficiency. Maintenance involves changes in h/w, s/w, documentation or procedures of system in production.