What is the Systems Development Life Cycle? The systems development life cycle, of SDLC, is the process of determining if/how an information system can support one or more business needs, designing that system,
building it, and delivering it. Technically, support may fall into this as well. What is a systems analyst? A systems analyst is a person who analyzes business situations in order to identify opportunities for improvement, and then designs systems that implement those same
improvements.
Systems analysts play a key role in the SDLC, working closely with all project team members.
A change agent is someone who is tasked with reducing resistance to change within an organization before the implementation of a new system. Systems analysts are often also change agents. Change agents:
- Identify and implement needed organizational
improvements
- Train and motivate others in using the system
What are some of the key skills that a systems analyst needs?
A systems analyst needs the following sets of skills:
- Technical: Understand the technical environment of the business, as-is and to-be.
- Business: Understand how IT can be
applied to business situations.
- Analytical: Problem-solving.
- Interpersonal: Don't piss folks off.
- Management: Know how to handle people, timelines, and risk.
- Ethical: Don't be a dick.
What are the roles of a systems analyst?
A systems analyst can be any of the following
roles:
Business Analyst
Requirements Analyst
Infrastructure Analyst
Change Management Analyst
Project Manager
What is the primary goal of a systems analyst?
The primary goal of a systems analyst is to create a wonderful system.
What is a business analyst?
A business analyst is a systems analyst that focuses on the business issues that surround a system.
What is an infrastructure analyst?
An infrastructure analyst is a systems analyst that focuses on the technical infrastructure surrounding the system, and changes that might be needed. They also ensure the new system fits to current organizational standards.
What is a change management analyst?
A change management analyst is a systems analyst that focuses on people and management issues surrounding the system and its installation.
What is a project manager?
A project manager is a systems analyst who focuses on ensuring that the project is on-track as far as timeline, budget, and deliverable value.
What is a requirements analyst?
A requirements analyst is a systems analyst who focuses on obtaining and refining systems requirements from stakeholders.
What are the four fundamental phases of the systems development life cycle?
The four fundamental stages of the systems development life cycle are:
- Planning
- Analysis
- Design
- Implementation
Within the systems development life cycle, what are phases?
Stages within the systems development life cycle are a series of steps, each relying on various techniques to produce specific deliverables.
What deliverables are expected from the Planning phase of the systems development life cycle?
Within the
planning phase of the systems development life cycle, there are the following deliverables:
- The system request
- The project plan
- The work plan
- The staffing plan
- The standards list
- The risk assessment
What deliverables are expected from the Analysis phase of the systems development life cycle?
Within the analysis phase of the systems development life cycle, there are the following deliverables:
- The system proposal
- Requirements definitions
- Use cases
- Process models
- Data models
What deliverables are expected from the Design phase of the systems development life cycle?
Within the design phase of the systems development life cycle, there are the following deliverables:
- An alternative matrix
- System specifications
- Architecture report
- Hardware & software specification
- Interface design
- Physical process model
- Program design
- Database and file specification
- Physical data model
What deliverables are expected from the implementation phase of the systems development life cycle?
Within the implementation phase of the systems development life cycle, there are the following deliverables:
- Test plan
- Programs
- Documentation
- Migration plan
-- Conversion plan
-- Business contingency plan
-- Training plan
- Support plan
- Problem
report
- Change request
- Post-implementation audit report
A deliverable is a document that explains a various, specific parts of the new system.
What is the main focus of the Planning phase of the systems development life cycle?
The planning phase of the systems development life cycle focuses on the process of understanding why an information system should be built, and determining how the project team will go about building it.
What are the steps of the Planning phase of the systems development life cycle?
The two steps of the planning phase of the systems development life cycle are:
- Project initiation
- Project management
What goes on during the project initiation step? What phase does it occur in?
The project initiation step occurs within the planning phase, and focuses on identifying the potential system's business value to the organization.
What goes on during the project management step? What phase does it occur in?
The project management step occurs within the planning phase, and it focuses on the creation of work plans, hiring staff, and enacting techniques to help the project team control and direct the project.
What is the main focus of the Analysis phase of the systems development life cycle?
The Analysis phase of the systems development life cycle focuses on who will use the system,
what the system will do, and where and when it will do it.
During this phase, the team investigates potential improvement opportunities within the existing system, and develops concepts for the next one.
What are the steps of the Analysis phase of the systems development life cycle?
The three
steps of the analysis phase are:
- Analysis strategy
- Requirements gathering
- System proposal
What goes on during the analysis strategy step? What phase does it occur in?
The analysis strategy step takes place in the analysis phase, and focuses around studying the as-is system in order to gain ideas on designing the new system.
What goes on during the requirements gathering step? What phase does it occur in?
The requirements gathering step takes place in the analysis phase, and focuses around the gathering and analysis of stakeholder requirements, in order to gain ideas on the new system.
What goes on during the system proposal step? What phase does it occur in?
The system proposal step takes place in the analysis phase, and focuses around the developing an official proposal to be delivered to the project sponsor, or other key individuals, depending on political environment.
What is the main focus of the Design phase of the systems development life cycle?
The main focus of the design phase of the systems development life cycle is determining how the system will operate, at least in terms of the hardware, software, and network infrastructure, as well as the UI, forms, and reports, and finally the specific programs, databases, and files required.
What are the steps of the Design phase of the systems development life cycle?
The four steps of the design phase of the systems development life cycle are:
- Design strategy
- Architecture
design
- Database and file specifications
- Program design
What goes on during the design strategy step? What phase does it occur in?
The design strategy step of the systems development life cycle takes place during the design phase, and focuses on how the system will be designed, either in-house, or out-of-house, with consultants or with a package.
What goes on during the architecture design step? What phase does it occur in?
The architecture design step takes place during the design phase, and focuses on describing the hardware, software, and network infrastructure that are going to be used.
What goes on during the database and file specification step? What phase does it occur in?
The database and file specification step takes place during the design phase, and focuses on what data will be stored, and where it will be stored at.
What goes on during the program design step? What phase does it occur in?
The program design step takes place during the design phase, and focuses on defining what programs will be written, and what they will do.
What is the main focus of the Implementation phase of the systems development life cycle?
During the implementation phase of the SDLC, the system is built/purchased, and installed. This is generally the longest and most expensive part of the process.
What are the steps of the Implementation phase of the systems development life cycle?
There are three steps within the implementation phase of the SDLC. They are:
- System Construction
- Installation
- Support Plan
What goes on during the system construction step? What phase does it occur in?
The system construction step belongs in the implementation phase, and it revolves around building the system and testing it to ensure it works as planned.
What goes on during the installation step? What phase does it occur in?
The installation step takes place during the implementation phase, and it is when the old system is shut down and removed, and the new one is installed and turned on.
What goes on during the support plan step? What phase does it occur in?
The support plan step takes place during the implementation phase, and it focuses on performing post-implementation reviews, as well as identifying changes needed for the system.
When is a project identified?
A project is identified when someone in the organization identifies a business need to build a system. Needs arise when an organization identifies a unique and competitive way to use IT.
What is Business Process Management (BPM)?
Business Process Management is a methodology used by organizations to continuously improve end-to-end business processes.
What are the three main "forms" of business process management?
The three main forms of business process management are:
- Business Process Automation (BPA): Where technology is used to complement or substitute/automate manual processes.
- Business Process Improvement (BPI): Creating new, re-designed processes to improve
workflows and/or use new technologies.
- Business Process Reengineering (BPR): Fundamentally changing the way the organization operates.
What is a project sponsor?
A project sponsor is a person (or group) who has an interest in a new system's success. Project sponsors usually come from a business function, and understand the business value of said system. They work throughout the SDLC to keep the project moving in the right direction, from a business perspective, and serve as a primary point of contact for the project team.
What is a system request?
A system request is a document that describes the business reasons for building a system, and summarizes the value that the system is expected to bring. This is generally created by the project sponsor, as a part of a formal "system selection" process.
What are the key elements of a system request?
The key elements of a system
request are:
- A project sponsor
- A clearly defined business need
- The required capabilities of the system
- The expected benefits the system will bring
- Any special issues or constraints that need to be considered while assessing the project.
What becomes of the system request after completion?
Once the system request is completed, it is submitted to the approval committee or project management office. This group reviews the request and decides whether or not to investigate the project by conducting a feasibility analysis.
What is a feasibility analysis?
A feasibility analysis is a process that guides an organization in determining whether or not they should proceed with a project. Feasibility analysis identifies important risks associated with a project, should it be approved.
What are the three areas that a feasibility analysis assesses?
A feasibility analysis will assess the three following areas:
- Technical Feasibility
- Economic Feasibility
- Organizational Feasibility
What is technical feasibility?
Technical feasibility is the measure of whether a system can be successfully
designed, developed, and installed within the time and resource constraints given.
It asks "CAN we build it?"
Risks are generally unfamiliarity with the business application or the technology, the size of the project, and cross-compatibility with existing systems.
What is economic feasibility?
Economic feasibility is, in essence, a cost-benefit analysis. The initial investment, as well as ongoing costs, are compared to ongoing benefits, in order to determine a return on investment (ROI), and a break-even-point on the initial investment. It asks "SHOULD we build it?"
Present value is the actual worth of a future cash flow in today's dollars.
What is the net present value?
Net present value is the difference between the present value of the benefits and the present value of the costs of a project.
What are the steps needed to conduct an economic feasibility analysis?
The steps needed to conduct an economic feasibility analysis are:
1. Identify costs and benefits.
2. Assign values to costs and benefits.
3. Determine cash flows.
4. Assess economic value (calculate return on investment, break-even point, net present value).
What is organizational feasibility?
Organizational feasibility is a measure of how well a system will be ultimately accepted by its users/organization. "If we build it, will they come?"
How can organizational feasibility be determined?
There are multiple ways organizational feasibility can be determined. The first, and most basic, is to consider how well the goals of the project align with the goals and strategies of the organization.
A second way is to conduct a stakeholder analysis.