Chapter 7: Systems Life Cycle

Stages in systems life cycle

1. Analysis
2. Design
3. Development and testing
4. Implementation
5. Documentation
6. Evaluation

7.1 The systems life cycle:

Analysis

Reviewing of an existing system and suggesting a number of improvements.

Correcting data for analysis the current system

Four main ways to collect information:

1. Interview +know actual problem -spending a lot of time.

2. Observation +can see the real problem -people feel uncomfortable.
3. Questionnaires +able to ask many people -limited rage of answers
4. Using existing documentation +help people to understand – not clear

Recording and analyzing information about the current system

Relevant questions will include:

 Where does data originate? What does it consist of?

 How does data enter the system? Who enters the data?
 What data processing takes place? What algorithms are used?
 How is data stored? How secure is it?
 How data is used? Who uses ot?
7.2 The systems life cycle: Design and development

The design stage

The design stage is about identifying modules that will make up the solution to the problem. The
most element of this stage is that of file structure. At the end of the design stage the system
analyst will have design on the:

 data structure
 file formats
 input and output formats
 module specifications
 Relationships that need to exist between the different modules (and systems)
in the organisation.

Design tasks

System flowcharts
The develop stage

They will need to decisions about:

 the fields (include the key fields) that are necessary in each data table
 the data to be stored in each field
 the length of each field
 the links between each data table.

Design tasks

Designing – data capture forms, screen layout, output report, other printed outputs, filed
structures and tables and a testing strategy.
Producing – data flow diagrams and system flowcharts or pseudo code to describe the
system and diagram to describe the relationship between each module in the systems.
Selecting and defining – hardware requirements, software requirement, validation rules
and verification models.

Validation

Validation is an automatic computer check to ensure that the data entered is sensible and
reasonable. It does not check the accuracy of data. For example, a secondary school student is
likely to be aged between 11 and 16. The computer can be programmed only to accept
numbers between 11 and 16.
Data validation is very important. The designers will have to be ensure that they have
designed appropriate validation routines that will test the data input to the system.

Design tasks

Designing – data capture forms, screen layout, output report, other printed outputs, filed
structures and tables and a testing strategy.
Producing – data flow diagrams and system flowcharts or pseudo code to describe the
system and diagram to describe the relationship between each module in the systems.
Selecting and defining – hardware requirements, software requirement, validation rules
and verification models.

Validation

Validation is an automatic computer check to ensure that the data entered is sensible and
reasonable. It does not check the accuracy of data. For example, a secondary school student is
likely to be aged between 11 and 16. The computer can be programmed only to accept
numbers between 11 and 16.
Data validation is very important. The designers will have to be ensure that they have
designed appropriate validation routines that will test the data input to the system.
7.3 The systems life cycle: Testing and implementation

The users interface

Input devices:

 The scanner at the checkout

 hand-held scanners for counting and recording stock – these might also be
used to record special offers or price reductions
 the EPOS/EFTPOS terminal
 a Chip and PIN reader.
Output devices:

 a display screen for the checkout operator

 a display screen for the customer
 a printer for itemized receipts
 a portable bar-code printer attached to the hand-held scanner
The analyst must also check that:

 any messages and user in structions are clear

 all displays are easy t read
  the display is accessible to all customers – it may needed to be adjustable.

Testing data entry

The purpose of test data is to make sure that:

inputs to the system are valid

outputs from the system are accurate
outputs are presented clearly.
The data that is used to test a system will fall into four categories

1. Normal test data.

2. Live data.
3. Extreme test data.
4. Abnormal test data.

Implementation

Implementation means that the old system is replaced by the new system. Implementation can
happen in anyone of four ways:

1. Direct changeover. The old system shuts down and the new system
is implemented immediately, without running two sys
2. Parallel running.
3. Phased implementation.
The choice of which type of implementation to use will depend on certain factors.

Test Field Data Test Test

# name type Test data type What testing okay?

Short Data is
1 FirstName Text Freddie Normal accepted Yes

Short Data is
2 Text Austin Normal accepted Yes

Short Abnorma
3 Text Lookkaew27 l Data rejected No

Short Data is
4 Text Tan Normal accepted Yes

FamilyNam Short Data is

5 e Text Brooks Normal accepted Yes

Short Abnorma
6 Text Sang_tong l Data rejected No
 Short Abnorma
7 Text Ninth9 l Data rejected No

Short Abnorma
8 Text Kwala* l Data rejected No

Short Data is
9 TG Text One Normal accepted Yes

Short Data is
10 Text Two Normal accepted Yes

Short Data is
11 Text Three Normal accepted Yes

Short Data is
12 Text Four Normal accepted Yes

Date/ Abnorma
13 DoB Time 14/02/2020 l Data rejected No

Date/ Data is
14 Time 14/05/2013 Normal accepted Yes

Date/ Data is
15 Time 31/12/1974 Normal accepted Yes

Date/ Abnorma
16 Time 32/33/34 l Data rejected No

Short Abnorma
17 Gender Text Man l Data rejected No

Short Abnorma
18 Text Woman l Data rejected No

Short Data is
19 Text Female Normal accepted Yes

Short Data is
20 Text Male Normal accepted Yes

Short Abnorma
21 Instrument Text Blueguitar? l Data rejected No

Short Data is
22 Text Flute Normal accepted Yes
 Short Data is
23 Text Violin Normal accepted Yes

Short Data is
24 Text Piano Normal accepted Yes

Data is
25 Own Yes/No N Normal accepted Yes

Abnorma
26 Yes/No Maybe l Data rejected No

Data is
27 Yes/No Yes Normal accepted Yes

Data is
28 Yes/No Y Normal accepted Yes

Short Data is
29 SerialNo Text K32TUVE Normal accepted Yes

Short Abnorma
30 Text GEW2^*GHK l Data rejected No

Short AFH43GS29 Abnorma

31 Text G l Data rejected No

Short Data is
32 Text L3F4RHJX Normal accepted Yes

Abnorma
33 Orchestra Yes/No Sometimes l Data rejected No

Data is
34 Yes/No No Normal accepted Yes

Abnorma
35 Yes/No Not really l Data rejected No

Data is
36 Yes/No Yes Normal accepted Yes

Short Data is
37 Teacher Text Miss N Boyd Normal accepted Yes

Short Abnorma
38 Text Miss 87 days l Data rejected No
 Short Data is
39 Text Mrs M Potts Normal accepted Yes

Mrs
something
Short whose begin Abnorma
40 Text with N l Data rejected No

LessonWee Data is
41 k Number 1 Normal accepted Yes

Abnorma
42 Number 0.5 l Data rejected No

Abnorma
43 Number 5.0 l Data rejected No

Abnorma
44 Number 2.03 l Data rejected No

Abnorma
45 Costweek Currency 5 l Data rejected No

Data is
46 Currency 5.00 Normal accepted Yes

Abnorma
47 Currency 9 l Data rejected No

Abnorma
48 Currency 0.6 l Data rejected No

Short Abnorma
49 Notes Text +5 l Data rejected No

Short Abnorma
50 Text ^^* l Data rejected No

Short Abnorma
51 Text XD l Data rejected No

Short Abnorma
52 Text – l Data rejected No

7.4 The systems life cycle: Documentation and evaluation

Technical documentation

 Validation rules
 Hardware and software requirements
 Input and output formats
 Programming langue

User documentation

 How to save a file

 How to search, sort and print
 FAQ
 How to load software/install/run software

Systems flow charts

Evaluation

Evaluation actually takes place during each stage of the cycle, as the analyst and team work out
what is required, how to solve problems and implement and test solutions. There is also a
distinct evaluation stage that comes at the end of the entire development cycle. As with all other
stages of the systems life cycle there will be a report. There are two considerations:

1. Why do we need to evaluate the new system?

Organisations need to establish how well the new system works in order to be able to report
to the systems analysts.

2. How do we make an evaluation?

 Make a comparison between the new system and the one it has replaced.
 Once the systems has been in operation for a short time period it will be
possible to identify the limitations of, and quite possibly improvement to, the
system.
 Equally important are the views of the users who are using the system on a
day-to-day basis.