Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
The overall process for developing information systems from planning and analysis through implementation and maintenance
What are the phases of the SDLC?
1. Planning phase
2. Analytics phase
3. Design phase
4. Development phase
5. Testing phase
6. Implementation phase
7. Maintenance phase
Planning Phase
Establishes a high level plan of the intended project and determines project goals
Analysis Phase
Involves analyzing end user business requirements and refining project goals into defined functions and operations of the intended system
Business requirement: part of Analysis Phase
detailed set of business requests that the system must meet to be successful
Design Phase
Establishes descriptions of the desired features and operations of the system including screen layouts, business rules, process diagrams, pseudo code, and other documentation
Development Phase
Involves taking all the detailed design documents from the design phase and transforming them into the actual system
Testing Phase
Involves bringing all the project pieces together into a special testing environment to eliminate errors and bugs, and verify that the system meets all the business requirements defined in analysis phase
Implementation Phase
Involves placing the system into production so users can begin to perform actual business operations with it
Maintenance Phase
Involves performing changes, corrections, additions, and upgrades to ensure the system continues to meet the business goals
What are some of the challenges that face systems development business?
-increase or decrease revenue
-repair or damage to brand reputation
-prevent or incur liabilities
-increase or decrease productivity
Other Systems Development Business challenges
-many projects are never finished
-some projects finish 200 or 300 percent over budget
-some projects finish on schedule and within budget but do not meet their goals
-find errors early: the later in the SDLC an error is found the more expensive it is to
What are the primary reasons for project failure?
-unclear or missing business requirements
-skipping SDLC phases
-failure to manage project scope
-scope creep
-feature creep
-failure to manage project plan
-changing technology
Waterfall Methodology
A sequential, activity-based process or sequence of phases in which the output of each phase becomes the input for the next phase
-inflexible and expensive
-requires rigid adherence to the sequence of steps
-low success rate: 1 in 10
-applying SDLC is dif
Rapid Application Development Methodology (RAD)
Emphasizes extensive user involvement in the rapid and evolutionary construction of working prototypes of a system to accelerate the systems development process
Prototype
A smaller-scale representation or working model of the user's requirements or proposed design for an information system
Prototyping Process includes:
-Investigation/Analysis
-Analysis/Design
-Design/Implementation
-Implementation/Maintenance
PP: Investigation/Analysis
End users identify their business needs and assess feasibility
PP: Analysis/Design
End users and/or IS specialists use application development tools to interactively design and test prototypes
PP: Design/Implementation
Business system prototypes are tested, evaluated, and modified repeatedly
PP: Implementation/Maintenance
The accepted business system can be modified easily since system documentation is stored on disk
Iterative Development
Consists of a series of tiny projects
Agile Methodology
Aims for customer satisfaction through early continuous delivery of useful software components developed by an iterative process using the bare minimum requirements
Project Management
The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project
Project Management Software
Supports the long-term and day-to-day management and execution of the steps in a project
Project Success Criteria and Project Failure Issues
-poor planning or project management
-change in business goals during project
-lack of support from business management
-lack of resources
-lack of support from IT management
-change in technology during project
Well Defined Project Plan
A formal, approved document that manages and controls project execution
-easy to understand and read
-communicated to all key participants
-appropriate to the project's size, complexity, and criticality
-prepared by the team
Future Organizational Trends
-Innovation: finding new
-Social Entrepreneurship: going green
-Social networks: who's who
-Virtual worlds: it's a whole new world
-Virtual workforce: letting employees work from outside the office
What are the advantages of a virtual workforce?
-keeps cars off the road
-helps a company to bolster its green bona fides
-foster's employee retention
-boosts worker productivity
-slashes real estate costs
Outsourcing
an arrangement by which one organization provides a service or services for another organization that chooses not to perform them in-house
What are the factors driving outsourcing growth?
-core competencies
-financial savings
-rapid growth
-the internet
-globalization
What are the benefits of outsourcing?
-increased quality and efficiency of business processes
-reduced operating expenses for head count and exposure to risk for large capital investments
-access to outsourcing service provider's expertise, economies of scale, best practices, and advanced tec
What are the challenges of outsourcing?
-length of contract
-diffculties in getting out of a contract
-problems in foreseeing future needs
-problems in reforming an internal IT department after the contract is finished
-threat to competitive advantage
-loss of confidentiality
-percent of functi
What are the reasons companies outsource?
-tap outside sources of expertise
-concentrate resources on core business
-reduce head count and related expenses
-eliminate the need to reinvest in technology
-reduce costs
-better manage the costs of internal processes
Change Management
the process of building the capacity, capability, and will of an organization to move from an entrenched current state to a unfamiliar future state then leading them through and sustaining them in that change
What are the three important guidelines for effectively dealing with change management?
1. institute change management policies
2. anticipate change
3. seek change
What are the steps in the change management process?
-create a change vision
-define a change strategy
-develop leadership
-build commitment
-manage people performance
-deliver business benefits
-develop culture
-design organziation
In change management, a project manager must focus on managing what three primary areas to ensure success?
1. people
2. communications
3. change
Managing a project includes...
-identifying requirements
-establishing clear and achievable objectives
-balancing the competing demands of quality, scope, time, and cost
-adapting the specifications, plans, and approach to the different concerns and expectations of the various stakehol
Change viewed as an opportunity
-transition requires managing expectations and minimizing pessimism
-need to manage public and private "checking out"
-you still need to deal with some negative implications of positive change
Change viewed with fear and anger
-negative perceptions cause disruptive transition
-transition requires managing active resistance and motivating passive participants
What are the keys to countering end user resistance?
-proper education and training
-end user involvement in organizational changes