systems development methodology

Describe a systems development methodology that you would recommend for a student completing college. Justify your recommendation based on the features of the system and the environment in which it will be developed. Include phases, life-cycle model, and analysis approach.In addition to the case study questions, answer the following questions:

Describe the fundamental purposes of the systems analysis, systems design, and implementation phases of the SDLC and the activities in each phase.

Compare and contrast the Waterfall Model and Spiral Life Cycle Model for these activities.

Compare and contrast these activities in the traditional versus the object-oriented versions of the SDLC.

Sample Paper

4 Step SDLC Model/Iterative SDLC model

This model is the additional variation of the 7 step SDLC model. It has four stages with parallelism among its steps. The primary aims of the iterative design are to provide quicker development process. After comprehending the requirements of a proposed system, all requirements are reduced into smaller sets. In the iterations, a set of conditions get transformed into an artifact then joined with a solution from the previous iteration. The process goes on until the system becomes complete. All requirements then get successfully added to the developed system. The system is therefore developed bit by bit. In 4 step SDLC model, both iterative, as well as incremental approaches are utilized. At some point, several iterations may be in progress thus using parallelism power. This method also called the gradual build or evolutionary acquisition. Successful implementation of the iterative model needs some validations as well as verifications for requirements coupled with rigorous testing activities. In all iterations, there are steps such as requirement analysis, design, development, and testing. The four necessary steps in this model are Requirement Analysis, Design, and Development, Testing and Implementation.  The activities of the full stage resemble those in 7 steps model. In this model, the entire process of software development is broken into many builds. After the preliminary requirement analysis, one of many builds starts working in parallel. Each build always has, design and development, testing, and implementation. During the requirement analysis, functional as well as non-functional requirements of the proposed system get identified.             The requirements are the broken into smaller sets. Each set gets used in each build. Many dependencies exist among all builds .  Therefore, independent builds always run in parallel. In a build, first, the design as well as development process develops partial software based requirements for the build. The partial product is then thoroughly tested followed by implementation. In succession, all the goods from all builds get integrated with one other leading to the building of complete software. This model has particular application in that it is suitable for systems for which the requirements are totally known for the requirement analysis, limited time, new technology being used in development process, resource scarcity or risks of change in  the conditions  are  expected  coming days.

Reasons for the recommendation

The advantages associated with this model are that; the model helps in the quicker development of the software or the system. The model makes it possible for results to be obtained earlier as well as periodically in the development process. The model supports parallel as well as incremental development. With this model, it is easy to track and evaluate the progress of the system development lifetime. The model requires lesser effort as well as cost in incorporating necessary changes in the process of development. The process makes it easy to debug, and the test is and takes less time. Testing is also efficient as it applies to other parts of the software.  Risk analysis assists in the exploration and mitigation if possible. The viable product is also delivered in iteration. The model has shorter initial operation time suitable for mission critical as well as larger projects.

Comparison and Contrast between Waterfall Model and Spiral Life Cycle Model

The 4 step (waterfall) SDLC model is a particular variation of seven step (Spiral) SDLC model.  The four step SDLC model (waterfall) applies to some specific conditions outlined above.  Seven step models (Spiral) follow suit by having applicability to particular situations.  Apart of having an ability to be used in any software development project, it generates good outcomes, in particular, conditions .The seven steps SDLC model is mainly applied to small as well as medium projects which do not involve critical missions. As a contrast, the (waterfall) SDLC mode particularly suits mission critical as well as massive projects.  Fro time consumption point of view, the traditional SDLC model takes more than in the iterative SDLC model. The ability to incorporate changes in the development process is easier in iterative than in the traditional SDLC approach. Analysis of risks, as well as management, is highly efficient and comfortable in I four step SDLC model when compared to the seven step model. In the iterative model, periodically the operational unit of the total system gets delivered.  This assists to validate the progress and to track it .In seven step SDLC approach, the entire system gets delivered at a go.  This situation becomes a motivating factor to make tracking as well as measuring the progress highly stressful for seven step l SDLC approach.  As another extreme contrast, the traditional SDLC approach consumes a lot of time,   capital as well as resources which is not the case in the four step SDLC model. Therefore, the main similarity between them is base on the fact that both are aimed at addressing particular user needs while differences are many based on comparative analysis.