Systems Development
Lifecycle (SDLC)
Jason C. H. Chen (陳周宏), Ph.D.
Visiting Professor
National Taipei University of Technology
Professor of MIS
Graduate School of Business Administration
Gonzaga University
Spokane, WA 99258 USA
Jason8989.chen@gmail.com
What Are Systems Development Activities?
1. Systems definition/investigation
 Management’s statement of objective and goals for
Analysis
new system
2. Requirements analysis
 Identify features and functions
3. Component design (hardware, software,
network)
 Based on approved user requirements
4. Implementation
 Purchase, build, test, and convert to new system
5. System maintenance (fix or enhance)
 Repair, add new features, maintain
2
What Are Systems Development Activities?
[1]
[2]
[3a]
[3b]
[5]
(Feasibility
Study)
What is it and
Why it is
important?
BPM Provides Requirements for Systems Development
[4]
3
Assess Feasibility
Dimensions of feasibility
Cost/Economic
• _______________ feasibility
 Approximated, “back-of-the-envelope” analysis
 Purpose: eliminate infeasible ideas early
 Consider cost of previous projects, operational and labor
costs
Schedule feasibility
• __________
 Ball park estimate
Technical
• __________
feasibility
 Is it technically likely to meet needs?
Organizational
• _____________
feasibility
 Fit with customs, culture, charter, legal requirements of
organization
Legal and Contractual
 ___________________
feasibility
 Is the proposed system legally?
4
Systems Definition/Investigation (Feasibility Study)
Economic
Feasibility
Can we afford it?
Technical
Feasibility
Does the IT
capability exist?
Legal and
Contractual Feasibility
Is the proposed
system legally?
What are new from
the last slide?
Operational
Feasibility
Will it be accepted?
Schedule
Feasibility
Will it be completed by
the deadline?
Organizational
Feasibility
(Is it a good fit –
objective of the organization
5
Form a Project Team
• Typical three personnel on a development team are:
Manager (or mangers for larger projects)
Specialist:




System analysts
Programmers
Software testers
or, other functional specialist such as accounting,
finance, and marketing
Users:
 Users must be involved in most of SDLC phases
• Depending on nature of project, team may also include
hardware and communications specialists, database
designers and administrators, and other IT specialists.
6
Systems Development
• What happen (and Why) to a project in
the Department of Interior of Taiwan?
Phase Four: Implementation

Focuses on
implementing the
system and
includes the tasks
of



building each of the
five system
components
testing the system
and
converting users to
the new system.
Fig 10-18: SDLC: Implementation Phase
8
System Conversion Approaches
1. Pilot



2.
Phased


3.
System is installed in phases or modules.
Each piece is installed and tested.
Parallel


4.
Implement entire system in limited portion of
business
MRV uses system for selected customers.
Advantage: limits exposure to business if system fails
Complete new and old systems run simultaneously
Very safe, but expensive
Plunge (or direct)


High risk if new system fails, no old system to fall
back on
Only used if new system is not vital to company
operation
9
Installation Conversion Methods: 4 Ps
Cut-over time
Old System
Parallel
New System
Old System
Old System
Old System
New System
New System
New System
Pilot
Phased
Plunge/
10
Direct
Causes of Information Systems Failures
•35+ years of research on causes of
information systems failures
involvement.
1. Lack of user __________
2. Unclear, incomplete, and inconsistent
requirements.
___________
3. Changing requirements and
specifications
ignore
•Many businesses __________
research findings
Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC)