Which phase brings all the project pieces together into a special testing environment?

Software Development

The system development life cycle framework provides a sequence of activities for system designers and developers to follow. It consists of a set of steps or phases in which each phase of the SDLC uses the results of the previous one.

The SDLC adheres to important phases that are essential for developers, such as planning, analysis, design, and implementation, and are explained in the section below. It includes evaluation of present system, information gathering, feasibility study and request approval. A number of SDLC models have been created: waterfall, fountain, spiral, build and fix, rapid prototyping, incremental, and synchronize and stabilize. The oldest of these, and the best known, is the waterfall model: a sequence of stages in which the output of each stage becomes the input for the next. These stages can be characterized and divided up in different ways, including the following:

Preliminary analysis :

The objective of phase 1 is to conduct a preliminary analysis, propose alternative solutions, describe costs and benefits and submit a preliminary plan with recommendations.
Conduct the preliminary analysis: in this step, you need to find out the organization's objectives and the nature and scope of the problem under study. Even if a problem refers only to a small segment of the organization itself then you need to find out what the objectives of the organization itself are. Then you need to see how the problem being studied fits in with them.

Propose alternative solutions: In digging into the organization's objectives and specific problems, you may have already covered some solutions. Alternate proposals may come from interviewing employees, clients, suppliers, and/or consultants. You can also study what competitors are doing. With this data, you will have three choices: leave the system as is, improve it, or develop a new system.

Describe the costs and benefits.

Systems analysis, requirements definition:

Defines project goals into defined functions and operation of the intended application. Analyzes end-user information needs.

Systems design:

Describes desired features and operations in detail, including screen layouts, business rules, process diagrams, pseudocode and other documentation.

Development:

The real code is written here.

Integration and testing:

Brings all the pieces together into a special testing environment, then checks for errors, bugs and interoperability.

Acceptance, installation, deployment:

The final stage of initial development, where the software is put into production and runs actual business.

Maintenance:

During the maintenance stage of the SDLC, the system is assessed to ensure it does not become obsolete. This is also where changes are made to initial software. It involves continuous evaluation of the system in terms of its performance.

Evaluation:

Some companies do not view this as an official stage of the SDLC, but is it an important part of the life cycle. Evaluation step is an extension of the Maintenance stage, and may be referred to in some circles as Post-implementation Review. This is where the system that was developed, as well as the entire process, is evaluated. Some of the questions that need to be answered include: does the newly implemented system meet the initial business requirements and objectives? Is the system reliable and fault-tolerant? Does the system function according to the approved functional requirements. In addition to evaluating the software that was released, it is important to assess the effectiveness of the development process. If there are any aspects of the entire process, or certain stages,that management is not satisfied with, this is the time to improve. Evaluation and assessment is a difficult issue. However, the company must reflect on the process and address weaknesses.

Disposal:

In this phase, plans are developed for discarding system information, hardware and software in making the transition to a new system. The purpose here is to properly move, archive, discard or destroy information, hardware and software that is being replaced, in a matter that prevents any possibility of unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data. The disposal activities ensure proper migration to a new system. Particular emphasis is given to proper preservation and archival of data processed by the previous system. All of this should be done in accordance with the organization's security requirements.

INSS chapter 11

11.1 Identify the business benefits associated with successful software development

§  The benefits associated with successful software development include:

          Increase in revenues

          Repair to brand reputation

          Prevent liabilities

          Increase in productivity

11.2  Describe the seven phases of the systems development life cycle

§  The seven phases in the SDLC include:

          Planning phase – involves establishing a high-level plan of the intended project and determining project goals

          Analysis phase – involves analyzing end-user business requirements and refining project goals into defined functions and operations of the intended system

          Design phase – involves describing 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 of 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 test for errors, bugs, and interoperability and verify that the system meets all of the business requirements defined in the analysis phase

          Implementation phase – involves placing the system into production so users can begin to perform actual business operations with the system

          Maintenance phase – involves performing changes, corrections, additions, and upgrades to ensure the system continues to meet the business goals

          11.3  Summarize the different software development methodologies

          Agile methodology – aims for customer satisfaction through early and continuous delivery of useful software components developed by an iterative process with a design point that uses the bare minimum requirements

          Waterfall methodology – an activity-based process in which each phase in the SDLC is performed sequentially from planning through implementation and maintenance

          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

          Extreme programming (XP) methodology – breaks a project into tiny phases, and developers cannot continue on to the next phase until the first phase is complete

          Rational Unified Process (RUP) – provides a framework for breaking down the development of software into four gates.

          SCRUM – uses small teams to produce small pieces of deliverable software using sprints, or 30-day intervals, to achieve an appointed goal

          11.4 Define the relationship between the systems development life cycle and software development.

          Software is developed using the systems development life cycle. Regardless of the chosen methodology, each software development project goes through each of the phases in the systems development life cycle from planning to testing to implementation.

          11.5  Compare the waterfall methodology and the agile methodology.

          The traditional waterfall methodology is a sequential, activity-based process in which each phase in the SDLC is performed sequentially from planning through implementation and maintenance. The waterfall methodology is one of the oldest software development methods and has been around for more than 30 years. The success rate for software development projects that follow this approach is only about 1 in 10. One primary reason for such a low success rate is that the waterfall methodology does not sufficiently consider the level of uncertainty in new projects and the creativity required to complete software development projects in several aspects

          The agile methodology aims for customer satisfaction through early and continuous delivery of useful software components. An agile project sets a minimum number of requirements and turns them into a deliverable product. Agile means what it sounds like: fast and efficient; small and nimble; lower cost; fewer features; shorter projects.

          For a successful systems development effort you would avoid the waterfall methodology and use an agile methodology.

          11.6 Explain the triple constraints and its importance in project management.

          The triple constraints include scope, resources, and time.  These three components are interdependent and if you change one the others must change. The three primary activities performed by a project manager include choosing strategic projects, setting the project scope, and managing resources and maintaining the project plan.

           

          11.7 Describe the project stakeholders and executive sponsor’s roles in choosing strategic projects.

          Techniques for Choosing Strategic Projects

          Focus on organizational goals—Managers are finding tremendous value in choosing projects that align with the organization’s goals. Projects that address organizational goals tend to have a higher success rate since they are important to the entire organization.

          Categorize projects—There are various categories that an organization can group projects into to determine a project’s priority. One type of categorization includes problem, opportunity, and directives. Problems are undesirable situations that prevent an organization from achieving its goals. Opportunities are chances to improve the organization. Directives are new requirements imposed by management, government, or some other external influence. It is often easier to obtain approval for projects that address problems or directives because the organization must respond to these categories to avoid financial losses.

          Perform a financial analysis—A number of different financial analysis techniques can be performed to help determine a project’s priority. A few of these include net present value, return on investment, and payback analysis. These financial analysis techniques help determine the organization’s financial expectations for the project.

          11.8 Highlight the five components of a project charter.

          Project scope defines the work that must be completed to de-liver a product with the specified features and functions.  A project scope statement describes the business need, justification, requirements, and current boundaries for the project. The business need can be characterized by the problem the results of the project will satisfy. This is important in linking the project with the organization’s overall business goals. The project scope statement includes constraints, assumptions, and requirements—all components necessary for developing accurate cost estimates.

          Project objectives are quantifiable criteria that must be met for the project to be considered a success.

          Project deliverables are any measurable, tangible, verifiable outcome, result, or item that is produced to complete a project or part of a project.

          Project constraints are specific factors that can limit cost estimating options. They include: budget, delivery dates, available skilled resources, and organizational policies.

          1.9 Describe the two primary diagrams most frequently used in project planning.

          A PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) chart is a graphical network model that depicts a project’s tasks and the relationships between those tasks. A dependency is a logical relationship that exists between the project tasks, or between a project task and a milestone.

          A Gantt chart is a simple bar chart that depicts project tasks against a calendar. In a Gantt chart, tasks are listed vertically and the project’s time frame is listed horizontally. A Gantt chart works well for representing the project schedule. It also shows actual progress of tasks against the planned duration.

           

          11.10 Identify the three primary areas a project manager must focus on managing to ensure success.

          There are three primary areas a project manager must focus on managing to ensure success:

          1.Manage People:  Managing people is one of the hardest and most critical efforts a project manager undertakes. How to resolve conflicts within the team and how to balance the needs of the project with the personal/professional needs of the team are a few of the challenges facing project managers. More and more project managers are the main (and sometimes sole) interface with the client during the project. As such, communication, negotiation, marketing, and salesmanship are just as important to the project manager as financial and analytical acumen. There are many times when the people management side of project management made the difference in pulling off a successful project.

          2.Manage Communications:  While many companies develop unique project management frame-works based on familiar project management standards, all of them agree that communication is the key to excellent project management. This is quite easy to state, but not so easy to accomplish! It is extremely helpful if a project manager plans what and how he/she will communicate as a formal part of the project management plan. Most often a document, it is referred to as a communications plan. A project manager distributes timely, accurate, and meaningful information regarding project objectives that involve time, cost, scope and quality and the status of each. The project manager also shares small wins as the project progresses; informs others of needed corrections; makes requests known for additional resources; and, keeps all stakeholders informed of the project schedule.

          3.Manage Change:  Dynamic organizational change is inevitable and an organization must effectively manage change as it evolves. With the numerous challenges and complexities that organizations face in today’s rapidly changing environment, effective change management thus becomes a critical core competency. Change management is a set of techniques that aid in evolution, composition, and policy management of the design and implementation of a system.

          11. 11 Explain the three different types of outsourcing.

          Onshore outsourcing – engaging another company within the same country for services

          Nearshore outsourcing – contracting an outsourcing arrangement with a company in a nearby country

          Offshore outsourcing – using organizations from developing countries to write code and develop systems

           

          Project assumptions are factors that are considered to be true, real, or certain without proof or demonstration. Examples include hours in a work week or time of year the work will be performed.

           

Which phase takes all the detailed design documents?

Which phase establishes a high

In which phase does the firm analyze its end user business requirements and refine project goals into defined functions and operations of the intended system?

What is the overall process for developing information systems from planning and analysis through implementation and maintenance?