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The Software Development Cycle
System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC) is a series of six main
phases to create a hardware
system only, a software system
only or a combination of both to
meet or exceed customers
expectations.System is a broad
and a general term, and as per to
Wikipedia; A system is a set of
interacting or interdependent
components forming an
integrated whole its a term
that can be used in different
industries, therefore Software
Development Life Cycle is a
limited term that explains the
phases of creating a software
component that integrates with
other software components to
create the whole system.
There are various software
development approaches defined and
designed which are used/employed
during development process of
software, these approaches are also
referred as Software Development
Process Models (e.g. Waterfall
model, incremental model, V-model,
iterative model, RAD model, Agile
model, Spiral model, Prototype model
etc.). Each process model follows a
particular life cycle in order to ensure
success in process of software
development. Software life cycle
models describe phases of the
software cycle and the order in which
those phases are executed. Each
phase produces deliverables required
by the next phase in the life cycle.
Requirements are translated into
design. Code is produced according to
the design which is called
development phase. After coding and
development the testing verifies the
deliverable of the implementation
phase against requirements.There are
following six phases in every Software
development life cycle model:
Requirement gathering and
analysis
Design
Implementation or coding
Testing
Deployment
Maintenance
1) Requirement gathering and
analysis: Business requirements are
gathered in this phase. This phase is
the main focus of the project
managers and stake holders.
Meetings with managers, stake
holders and users are held in order to
determine the requirements like; Who
is going to use the system? How will
they use the system? What data
should be input into the system?
What data should be output by the
system? These are general questions
that get answered during a
requirements gathering phase. After
requirement gathering these
requirements are analyzed for their
validity and the possibility of
incorporating the requirements in the
system to be development is also
studied.Finally, a Requirement
Specification document is created
which serves the purpose of guideline
for the next phase of the model.
2) Design: In this phase the system
and software design is prepared from
the requirement specifications which
were studied in the first phase.
System Design helps in specifying
hardware and system requirements
and also helps in defining overall
system architecture. The system
design specifications serve as input
for the next phase of the model.In
this phase the testers comes up with
the Test strategy, where they mention
what to test, how to test.
3) Implementation / Coding: On
receiving system design documents,
the work is divided in modules/units
and actual coding is started. Since, in
this phase the code is produced so it
is the main focus for the developer.
This is the longest phase of the
software development life cycle.
4) Testing: After the code is
developed it is tested against the
requirements to make sure that the
product is actually solving the needs
addressed and gathered during the
requirements phase. During this
phase all types of functional testing
like unit testing, integration testing,
system testing, acceptance testing
are done as well as non-functional
testing are also done.
5) Deployment: After successful
testing the product is delivered /
deployed to the customer for their
use.
As soon as the product is given to the
customers they will first do the beta
testing. If any changes are required
or if any bugs are caught, then they
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will report it to the engineering team. 6) Maintenance: Once when the from time to time. This process where
Once those changes are made or the customers starts using the developed the care is taken for the developed
bugs are fixed then the final system then the actual problems product is known as maintenance.
deployment will happen. comes up and needs to be solved

Projects
Nearly every activity within an
organization could be labeled as a
project possessing unique
characteristics and varying levels of
importance to the organization. A
project is defined as a planned
undertaking of related activities to
reach an objective that has a
beginning and an end.[16] All projects
solve some type of problem, but
projects may also be established
simply to determine and define
feasible alternative solutions to
problems. Seven primary
characteristics of a project include:
[11]
Objective: Each has a specific goal to
reach.
Schedule: Point in time in which they
must be accomplished.
Complexity: Does the technology
exist to achieve the project
objectives?
Size and Nature of Task: Step-by-step
plan of action.
Resources: Labor, personnel,
equipment, materials, facilities, etc.
Organizational Structure: The
'meshing' of project requirements into
the existing organization.
Information and Control Systems:
These must be structured to handle
problems through the typical lines of
authority (Prin. of Project Mgmt).
Project Management
What is 'Project Management'
The planning and organization of an
organization's resources in order to
move a specific task, event or duty
toward completion. Project
management typically involves a one-
time project rather than an ongoing
activity, and resources managed
include both human and financial
capital.
A project manager will help define the
goals and objectives of the project,
determine when the various project
components are to be completed and
by whom, and create quality control
checks to ensure that completed
components meet a certain standard.
In the past, a company typically
decided to undertake a project effort,
assigned the project and the
"necessary" resources to a carefully
selected individual and assumed they
were using some form of project
management. Organizational
implications were of little importance.
Although the basic concepts of
project management are simple,
applying these concepts to an
existing organization is not. Richard P.
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Olsen, in his article "Can Project
Management Be Defined?" defined
project management as "the
application of a collection of tools and
techniquesto direct the use of
diverse resources toward the
accomplishment of a unique,
complex, one-time task within time,
cost, and quality constraints. Each
task requires a particular mix of these
tools and techniques structured to fit
the task environment and life cycle
(from conception to completion) of
the task." [11]
Employing project management
technologies minimizes the disruption
of routine business activities in many
cases by placing under a single
command all of the skills,
technologies, and resources needed
to realize the project. The skills
required depend on each specific
project and the resources available at
that time. The greater the amount of
adjustments a parent organization
must make to fulfill project objectives,
the greater chance exists for project
failure. The form of project
management will be unique for every
project endeavor and will change
throughout the project.[11]
The project management process
typically includes four key phases:
initiating the project, planning the

project, executing the project, and
closing the project. An outline of each
phase is provided below.
Initiating the Project
The project management techniques
related to the project initiation phase
include: [16]
Establishing the project initiation
team. This involves organizing team
members to assist in carrying out the
project initiation activities.
Establishing a relationship with the
customer. The understanding of your
customer's organization will foster a
stronger relationship between the two
of you.
Establishing the project initiation
plan. Defines the activities required to
organize the team while working to
define the goals and scope of the
project.
Establishing management
procedures. Concerned with
developing team communication and
reporting procedures, job
assignments and roles, project
change procedure, and how project
funding and billing will be handled.
Establishing the project management
environment and workbook. Focuses
on the collection and organization of
the tools that you will use while
managing the project.
Planning the Project
The project management techniques
related to the project planning phase
include:[16]
Describing project scope,
alternatives, and feasibility. The
understanding of the content and
complexity of the project. Some
relevant questions that should be
answered include:
What problem/opportunity does the
project address?
What results are to be achieved?
What needs to be done?
How will success be measured?
How will we know when we are
finished?
Divide the project into tasks. This
technique is also known as the work
breakdown structure. This step is
done to ensure an easy progression
between tasks.
Estimating resources and creating a
resource plan. This helps to gather
and arrange resources in the most
effective manner.
Developing a preliminary schedule. In
this step, you are to assign time
estimates to each activity in the work
breakdown structure. From here, you
will be able to create the target start
and end dates for the project.
Developing a communication plan.
The idea here is to outline the
communication procedures between
management, team members, and
the customer.
Determining project standards and
procedures. The specification of how
various deliverables are produced
and tested by the project team.
Identifying and assessing risk. The
goal here is to identify potential
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sources of risk and the consequences
of those risks.
Creating a preliminary budget. The
budget should summarize the
planned expenses and revenues
related to the project.
Developing a statement of work. This
document will list the work to be done
and the expected outcome of the
project.
Setting a baseline project plan. This
should provide an estimate of the
project's tasks and resource
requirements.
Executing the Project
The project management techniques
related to the project execution phase
include:[16]
Executing the baseline project plan.
The job of the project manager is to
initiate the execution of project
activities, acquire and assign
resources, orient and train new team
members, keep the project on
schedule, and assure the quality of
project deliverables.
Monitoring project progress against
the baseline project plan. Using Gantt
and PERT charts, which will be
discussed in detail further on in this
paper, can assist the project manager
in doing this.
Managing changes to the baseline
project plan.
Maintaining the project workbook.
Maintaining complete records of all
project events is necessary. The
project workbook is the primary

source of information for producing all
project reports.
Communicating the project status.
This means that the entire project
plan should be shard with the entire
project team and any revisions to the
plan should be communicated to all
interested parties so that everyone
understands how the plan is evolving.
Closing Down the Project
The project management techniques
related to the project closedown
phase include:[16]
Closing down the project. In this
stage, it is important to notify all
interested parties of the completion
of the project. Also, all project
documentation and records should be
finalized so that the final review of
the project can be conducted.
Conducting post project reviews. This
is done to determine the strengths
and weaknesses of project
deliverables, the processes used to
create them, and the project
management process.
Closing the customer contract. The
final activity is to ensure that all
contractual terms of the project have
been met.
The techniques listed above in the
four key phases of project
management enable a project team
to:[3]
Link project goals and objectives to
stakeholder needs.
Focus on customer needs.
Build high-performance project
teams.
Work across functional boundaries.
Develop work breakdown structures.
Estimate project costs and schedules.
Meet time constraints.
Calculate risks.
Establish a dependable project
control and monitoring system.
A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart,
adapted by Karol Adamiecki in 1896
and independently by Henry Gantt in
the 1910s,[1] that illustrates a project
schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the
start and finish dates of the terminal
elements and summary elements of a
project. Terminal elements and
summary elements comprise the
work breakdown structure of the
project. Modern Gantt charts also
show the dependency (i.e.,
precedence network) relationships
between activities. Gantt charts can
be used to show current schedule
status using percent-complete
shadings and a vertical "TODAY" line
as shown here.
Although now regarded as a common
charting technique, Gantt charts were
considered revolutionary when first
introduced.[2] This chart is also used
in information technology to
represent data that has been
collected.
The first known tool of this type was
developed in 1896 by Karol
Adamiecki, who called it a
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harmonogram.[3] Adamiecki did not
publish his chart until 1931, however,
and only in Polish, which limited both
its adoption and recognition of his
authorship. The chart is named after
Henry Gantt (18611919), who
designed his chart around the years
19101915.[4][5]
One of the first major applications of
Gantt charts was by the United States
during World War I, at the instigation
of General William Crozier.[6]
In the 1980s, personal computers
allowed for widespread creation of
complex and elaborate Gantt charts.
The first desktop applications were
intended mainly for project managers
and project schedulers. With the
advent of the Internet and increased
collaboration over networks at the
end of the 1990s, Gantt charts
became a common feature of web-
based applications, including
collaborative groupware.
What is a 'PERT Chart'
A PERT chart is a project
management tool that provides a
graphical representation of a project's
timeline. PERT, or Program Evaluation
Review Technique, was developed by
the United States Navy for the Polaris
submarine missile program in the
1950s. PERT charts allow the tasks in
a particular project to be analyzed,
with particular attention to the time
required to complete each task, and

the minimum time required to finish
the entire project.
BREAKING DOWN 'PERT Chart'
A PERT chart is a graph that
represents all of the tasks necessary
to a project's completion, and the
order in which they must be
completed along with the
corresponding time requirements.
Certain tasks are dependent on serial
tasks, which must be completed in a
certain sequence. Tasks that are not
dependent on the completion of other
tasks are called parallel or concurrent
tasks and can generally be worked on
simultaneously. PERT charts are
preferable to Gantt charts because
they more clearly identify task
dependencies; however, the PERT
chart is often more challenging to
interpret. As such, project managers
frequently employ both
methodologies.
Systems Analysis and Design
Information Gathering:
Interactive Methods Five Steps
in Interview Preparation
Five Steps in Interview Preparation
The five major steps in interview
preparation are explained below.
These steps include a range of
activities from gathering basic
background material to deciding who
to interview.
Read Background Material
Read and understand as much
background information about the
interviewees and their organization
as possible. This material can often
be obtained on the corporate Web
site, from a current annual report, a
corporate newsletter, or any
publications sent out to explain the
organization to the public. Check the
Internet for any corporate information
such as that in Standard and Poors.
As you read through this material, be
particularly sensitive to the language
the organizational members use in
describing themselves and their
organization. What you are trying to
do is build up a common vocabulary
that will eventually enable you to
phrase interview questions in a way
that is understandable to your
interviewee. Another benefit of
researching your organization is to
maximize the time you spend in
interviews; without such preparation
you may waste time asking general
background questions.
Establish Interviewing Objectives
Use the background information you
gathered as well as your own
experience to establish interview
objectives. There should be four to six
key areas concerning HCI, information
processing, and decision-making
behavior about which you will want to
ask questions. These areas include
HCI concerns (the usefulness and
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usability of the system; how it fits
physical aspects; how it suits a users
cognitive capabilities, whether it is
engaging or aesthetically pleasing;
and whether using the system is
rewarded with desired
consequences), information sources,
information formats, decision-making
frequency, qualities of information,
and decision-making style.
Decide Whom to Interview
When deciding whom to interview,
include key people at all levels who
will be affected by the system in
some manner. Strive for balance so
that as many users needs are
addressed as possible. Your
organizational contact will also have
some ideas about whom should be
interviewed.
Prepare the Interviewee
Prepare the person to be interviewed
by calling ahead or sending an email
message and allowing the
interviewee time to think about the
interview. If you are doing an in-depth
interview, it is permissible to email
your questions ahead of time to allow
your interviewee time to think over
his or her responses. Because there
are many objectives to fulfill in the
interview (including building trust and
observing the workplace), however,
interviews should typically be

conducted in person and not via
email. Interviews should be kept to 45
minutes or an hour at the most. No
matter how much your interviewees
seem to want to extend the interview
beyond this limit, remember that
when they spend time with you, they
are not doing their work. If interviews
go over an hour, it is likely that the
interviewees will resent the intrusion,
whether or not they articulate their
resentment.
Decide on Questions Types and
Structure
Write questions to cover the key
areas of HCI and decision making that
you discovered when you ascertained
interview objectives. Proper
questioning techniques are the heart
of interviewing. Questions have some
basic forms you need to know. The
two basic question types are open-
ended and closed. Each question type
can accomplish something a little
different from the other, and each has
benefits and drawbacks. You need to
think about the effect each question
type will have.
It is possible to structure your
interview in three different patterns: a
pyramid structure, a funnel structure,
or a diamond structure. Each is
appropriate under different conditions
and serves a different function, and
each one is discussed later in this
chapter.
A Data Flow Diagram (DFD) is a
diagrammatic representation of the
information flows within a system,
showing:
how information enters and leaves
the system,
what changes the information,
where information is stored.
In SSADM a DFD model includes
supporting documentation describing
the information shown in the
diagram. DFDs are used not only in
structured system analysis and
design, but also as a general process
modelling tool. There are a number of
commercial tools in the market today
which are based on DFD modelling.
SSADM uses DFDs in three stages
of the development process:
Current Physical DFDs. These record
the results of conventional fact
finding.
Current Logical DFDs. The logical
information processing of the current
system
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Required Logical DFDs. The logical
information processing requirements
of the proposed system.
4. Advantages of DFDs
a simple but powerful graphic
technique which is easily understood.
represents an information system
from the viewpoint of data
movements, which includes the
inputs and outputs to which people
can readily relate.
the ability to represent the system at
different levels of details gives added
advantage (you can include the
advantages of decomposition listed
earlier)
helps to define the boundaries of the
system.
a useful tool to use during interviews.
serve to identify the information
services the users require, on the
basis of which the future information
system will be constructed.
A data flow shows the flow of data
from a source to a destination. The
flow is shown as an arrowed line with
the arrowhead showing the direction
of flow. Each data flow should be
uniquely identified by a meaningful
descriptive name (caption).