The Systems Development Life Cycle: Overview

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An information system includes a computer program, application, or combination of hardware and software that is developed to solve a specific problem. The process of creating an information system is referred to as the systems development life cycle (SDLC).

The SDLC has five phases:

  1. Feasibility and Planning (or Investigation): During the planning phase a feasibility study is conducted to determine whether a new system is a feasible solution. A project plan is developed and approval for the plan is obtained from management. Some authors refer to this phase as the investigation phase.
  2. Analysis: The role of the analysis phase is to identify detailed requirements for the system. What business needs will the information system fill? What outputs will it need to produce? Who will use it? How many users will need to use it at the same time? What other systems will it share data with?
  3. Design: Once the analysis phase has determined what the system will do, the design phase determines how it will do it. During the design phase, each portion of the new system is designed in detail, including the user interface, data structure, and the program design. The design phase often ends with a prototype — a working model of the system.
  4. Implementation: The next phase is to actually create the components of the system. Testing should be an integral part of this phase, ensuring that each component works as it should and that the design plan is being followed. When development is complete, it's time to put the system in place. This can mean installing the software on end-users' computers or uploading a Web site to a Web server.
  5. Maintenance: The work doesn't end with implementation. Ideally, the maintenance phase lasts until the system is no longer in use. The system must be monitored to ensure that it continues to work properly. Errors (or "bugs") may be found that need to be fixed, or new needs may arise which require modifications to the system. If the new needs cannot be met by the original system, the cycle starts over to design a significant modification to the system or to implement a new system.

Techniques such as Rapid Application Development (RAD) and prototyping are often used to speed up the SDLC.

Project management software, such as Microsoft Project, can help manage the SDLC process.


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The system development life cycle:

  1. Conduct a feasibility study of a new system
  2. Identify the requirements for the information system
  3. Design each portion of the information system
  4. Create and test the components of the system
  5. Maintain the system until it is no longer in use