SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

DEFINITION OF SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

The system development life cycle (SDLC) follows a project through from the initial idea or
innovation to the point where it becomes a functional system. It is a core aspect of the
methodology which is used when defining a project.

Description of System Development Cycle

The System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process applies to information system
development projects ensuring that all functional and user requirements and agency strategic
goals and objectives are met. The SDLC provides a structured and standardized process for all
phases of any system development effort. These phases track the development of a system
through several developmental stages from feasibility analysis, system planning and concept
development; to acquisition and requirements definition; design; development; integration and
testing; deployment and acceptance; though deployment and production; and finally to system
retirement or maintenance.

Stages in System Development Cycle

(i) Preliminary study
(ii) Feasibility study
(iii) Investigative study
(iv) Analysis
(v) Design
(vi) Implementation
(vii) maintenance
(viii) Study review

DESCRIPTION OF EACH STAGE OF SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

(i) Preliminary study: Preliminary system study is the first stage of system development
life cycle. This is a brief investigation of the system under consideration and gives a clear
picture of what actually the physical system is. In practice, the initial system study involves
the preparation of a System proposal which lists the Problem Definition, Objectives of the
Study, Terms of reference for Study, Constraints, Expected benefits of the new system, etc.
in the light of the user requirements. The system proposal is prepared by the System Analyst
(who studies the system) and places it before the user management. In summary, we would
say that system study phase passes through the following steps:
▪ problem identification and project initiation
▪ background analysis
▪ inference or findings

(ii) Feasibility study: After the system proposal is accepted by the management, the next
phase is to examine the feasibility of the system. The feasibility study is basically the test of
the proposed system in the light of its workability, meeting user’s requirements, effective
use of resources and of course, the cost effectiveness. These are categorized as technical,
 operational, economic, schedule and social feasibility. The main goal of feasibility study is
not to solve the problem but to achieve the scope. In short, following decision are taken in
different feasibility study:

Economic feasibility - The likely benefits outweigh the cost of solving the problem which is
generally demonstrated by a cost/ benefit analysis.

Operational feasibility - Whether the problem can be solved in the user’s environment with
existing and proposed system workings?

Organizational feasibility – Whether the proposed system is consistent with the organization’s
strategic objectives?
Technical feasibility - Whether the problem be solved using existing technology and resources
available?

Social feasibility – Whether the problem be solved without causing any social issues? Whether
the system will be acceptable to the society?

(iii) Investigative study: The detailed investigation of the system is carried out in
accordance with the objectives of the proposed system. This involves detailed study of
various operations performed by a system and their relationships within and outside the
system. During this process, data are collected on the available files, decision points and
transactions handled by the present system. Interviews, on-site observation and
questionnaire are the tools to be used for detailed system study. Using the following steps it
becomes easy to draw the exact boundary of the new system under consideration:
▪ Keeping in view the problems and new requirements
▪ Workout the pros and cons including new areas of the system
All the data and the findings must be documented in the form of detailed data flow diagrams
(DFDs), data dictionary, logical data structures and miniature specifications. It includes planning
for the new system, analysis of requirement, system constraints, functions and proposed system
architecture, prototype of the proposed system and its analysis.

(iv) Analysis: Systems analysis is a process of collecting factual data, understand the
processes involved, identifying problems and recommending feasible suggestions for
improving the system functioning. This involves studying the business processes, gathering
operational data, understand the information flow, finding out bottlenecks and evolving
solutions for overcoming the weaknesses of the system so as to achieve the organizational
goals. System Analysis also includes subdividing of complex process involving the entire
system, identification of data store and manual processes.
The major objectives of systems analysis are to find answers for each business process:
What is being done?
How is it being done?
Who is doing it?
When is he doing it? Why is it being done?
How can it be improved?
 It is more of a thinking process and involves the creative skills of the System Analyst. It attempts
to give birth to a new efficient system that satisfies the current needs of the user and has scope
for future growth within the organizational constraints. The result of this process is a logical
system design. System analysis is an iterative process that continues until a preferred and
acceptable solution emerges.

(v) Design: Based on the user requirements and the detailed analysis of a new system, the new
system must be designed. This is the phase of system designing. It is the most crucial phase in
the development of a system. The logical system design arrived at as a result of system
analysis and is converted into physical system design. In the design phase the SDLC process
continues to move from the, what questions of the analysis phase to the how. The logical
design produced during the analysis is turned into a physical design - a detailed description
of what is needed to solve original problem. Input, output, databases, forms, codification
schemes and processing specifications are drawn up in detail. In the design stage, the
programming language and the hardware and software platform in which the new system will
run are also decided. In the design stage, logical design is translated into computer
programming codes after which testing is done to ensure a workable system
Coding
The system design needs to be implemented to make it a workable system. This demands the
coding of design into computer language, i.e., programming language. This is also called the
programming phase in which the programmer converts the program specifications into computer
instructions, which we refer to as programs. It is an important stage where the defined
procedures are transformed into control specifications by the help of a computer language. The
programs coordinate the data movements and control the entire process in a system.

Testing
Before actually implementing the new system into operations, a test run of the system is done
removing all the bugs, if any. It is an important phase of a successful system. After codifying the
whole programs of the system, a test plan should be developed and run on a given set of test
data. The output of the test run should match the expected results. Sometimes, system testing is
considered as a part of implementation process.
Using the test data following test run are carried out:
▪ Program test
▪ System test

Program test: When the programs have been coded and compiled and brought to working
conditions, they must be individually tested with the prepared test data. All verification and
validation be checked and any undesirable happening must be noted and debugged (error
corrected).

System Test: After carrying out the program test for each of the programs of the system and
errors removed, then system test is done. At this stage the test is done on actual data. The
complete system is executed on the actual data. At each stage of the execution, the results or
output of the system is analyzed. During the result analysis, it may be found that the outputs are
not matching the expected output of the system. In such case, the errors in the particular
programs are identified and are fixed and further tested for the expected output.
(vi) Implementation: After having the user acceptance of the new system developed, the
implementation phase begins. Implementation is the stage of a project during which theory
is turned into practice. The major steps involved in this phase are:
▪ Acquisition and Installation of Hardware and Software
▪ Conversion
▪ User Training
▪ Documentation
The hardware and the relevant software required for running the system must be made fully
operational before implementation. The conversion is also one of the most critical and expensive
activities in the system development life cycle. The data from the old system needs to be
converted to operate in the new format of the new system. The database needs to be setup with
security and recovery procedures fully defined.
During this phase, all the programs of the system are loaded onto the user’s computer. After
loading the system, training of the user starts. Main topics of such type of training are:
▪ How to execute the package?
▪ How to enter the data?
▪ How to process the data (processing details)?
▪ How to take out the reports?
The documentation of the system is also one of the most important activity in the system
development life cycle. This ensures the continuity of the system. Generally following two types
of documentations are prepared for any system.
▪ User or Operator Documentation
▪ System Documentation

(vii) Maintenance: Maintenance is necessary to eliminate errors in the system during its
working life and to tune the system to any variations in its working environments. It must
meet the scope of any future enhancement, future functionality and any other added functional
features to cope up with the latest future needs. It has been seen that there are always some
errors found in the systems that must be noted and corrected. It also means the review of the
system from time to time. The review of the system is done for:
▪ knowing the full capabilities of the system
▪ knowing the required changes or the additional requirements
▪ studying the performance.
▪ If a major change to a system is needed, a new project may have to be set up to carry out
the change. The new project will then proceed through all the above life cycle phases.