Tuesday 23 July 2013
PROJECT MANAGEMENT – SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE (SDLC)
This contains the planning, designing, analysis and user evaluation phases.
1. Overview
The System Development Life Cycle Overview The System Development Life
Cycle Overview Information systems and products do not just happen
usually the result of a process that identifies problems and creates
solutions to them.
The most successful information technology systems are those that are
able to properly solve problems within an organisation.
Development of information products and systems will follow a process
that involves different phases.
Other names this process is given, : system life cycle, system
development life cycle and system development methodology.
System development life cycle (SDLC):
 The Planning phase
 The Analysis phase
 The Design phase
 The Implementation phase
 The Use/Evaluation phase
2. The Planning Phase
Factors which may prompt change within organisations for example:
 A change in government policy
 The introduction of a new or amendment to existing legislation.
 Market trends
 Community attitudes and values
 Availability and cost equipment
 Desire for increased competitiveness.
 Employment agreements
 Health and safety
Regarding the reason: Proper Planning is important to the development of
any computer based information:
 the scope of the project to be defined
 potential problem areas to be identified
 the sequence of the tasks to be identified
 for the provision of a basis for control.
Planning phase will normally follow a sequence of steps including:
 recognising the problem
 defining the problem
 setting project objectives
 identifying constraints
 conducting feasibility studies

creating project proposals
Tuesday 23 July
2013

establishing control mechanisms.
A GANTT chart may be used to assist in the planning of a new
Note - the planning that takes places in this process is not
of the program or system, it is the steps that take place to
project and set the objectives that will be used to evaluate
success of the final solution.
system.
the planning
define the
the overall
3. The Analysis Phase
The analysis phase of the SDLC is where existing system(s) are studied
with the aims of designing a new or improved system.
In this phase important decisions are made and setting goals for the
system to achieve.
Data must be gathered on the strengths and weaknesses of the existing
system by using methods:
 observation
 research
 interviewing
 sampling to trace procedural paths and information flows
The analysis phase has the following steps:
 announcing the project
 creating the project team
 defining information needs
 defining system performance criteria
 creating a design proposal
At the conclusion of the analysis phase a decision on whether or not to
proceed with the project must be made.
Decision will be made based upon the information that is contained within
the design proposal.
Everything need to be clear in design proposal example what resources
will be required to complete the project and the set of major goals and
time frame for the project.
4. The Design Phase
Is where the new system will be designed.
In this phase the processes and data required by the new system are
defined
Some projects may have a number of different ways to solve the problem
It is important that a number of different alternatives are investigated
to ensure that the most efficient and effective solution is adopted.
Steps to follow in this phase:
 preparing a detailed system design
 identifying and evaluating alternative system configurations


selecting the best configuration
preparing an implementation proposal
Tuesday 23 July 2013
5. The Implementation Phase
Is where physical and conceptual resources that are required for the
project are obtained and integrated into the existing system to produce
the final working system.
Steps
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


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
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to follow:
planning and announcing the implementation
acquiring the hardware resources
acquiring the software resources
preparing the physical facilities
educating the participants and users
preparing an implementation schedule or changeover
changing over to the new system.
6. The Use/Evaluation Phase
Once the system has been implemented - final phase in the project will be
the use and evaluation phase.
In this phase the system should meet the objectives that were identified
in the planning phase.
Steps in use/evaluation phase:
 using the system
 auditing the system
 maintaining the system
 re-engineering proposals.
Methods by which data can be gathered for this phase:
 recording equipment breakdowns
 monitoring staff absentee rates
 logging help desk enquiries
 surveying customers
For each of these methods - some or all of the following criteria may be
applied:
 efficiency (time, cost, effort)
 effectiveness (timeliness, accuracy, relevance, completeness)
 maintainability