Systems Development Life Cycle

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Model of the Systems Development Life Cycle with the Maintenance bubble highlighted.

The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC), is the process of creating or altering systems, and the
models and  that people use to develop these systems. The concept generally refers to .

In software engineering the SDLC concept underpins many kinds of . These methodologies form the
framework for planning and controlling the creation of an information system: the .

]Overview

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a logical process used by a  develop an , including, and user
(stakeholder) ownership. Any SDLC should result in a high quality system that meets or exceeds
customer expectations, reaches completion within time and cost estimates, works effectively and
efficiently in the current and planned , and is inexpensive to maintain and cost-effective to enhance.

Computer systems are complex and often (especially with the recent rise of ) link multiple traditional
systems potentially supplied by different software vendors. To manage this level of complexity, a number
of SDLC models have been created: "; "fountain". "build and fix"; and "synchronize and stabilize SDLC
models can be described along a spectrum of agile to iterative to sequential. , such as  and , focus on
light-weight processes which allow for rapid changes along the development cycle methodologies, such
as  and, focus on limited project scopes and expanding or improving products by multiple iterations.
Sequential or big-design-upfront (BDUF) models, such as, focus on complete and correct planning to
guide large projects and risks to successful and predictable results
Some agile and iterative proponents confuse the term SDLC with sequential or "more traditional"
processes; however, SDLC is an umbrella term for all methodologies for the design, implementation, and
release of softwareIn  a project can be defined both with a  (PLC) and an SDLC, during which slightly
different activities occur. According to Taylor (2004) "the project life cycle encompasses all the activities
of the , while the systems development life cycle focuses on realizing the product 

History
The systems development lifecycle (SDLC) is a type of methodology used to describe the process for
building , intended to develop information systems in a very deliberate, structured and methodical way,
reiterating each stage of the . The systems development life cycle, according to Elliott & Strachan &
Radford (2004), "originated in the 1960s to develop large scale functional  in an age of large scale .
Information systems activities revolved around heavy  and  routines".

Several systems development frameworks have been partly based on SDLC, such as the  (SSADM)
produced for in the 1980s. Ever since, according to Elliott (2004), "the traditional life cycle approaches to
systems development have been increasingly replaced with alternative approaches and frameworks,
which attempted to overcome some of the inherent deficiencies of the traditional SDLC

Systems development phases

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) adheres to important phases that are essential for developers,
such as , and , and are explained in the section below. There are several Systems Development Life
Cycle Models in existence. The oldest model, that was originally regarded as "the Systems Development
Life Cycle" is the : a sequence of stages in which the output of each stage becomes the input for the next.
These stages generally follow the same basic steps but many different waterfall methodologies give the
steps different names and the number of steps seem to vary between 4 and 7. There is no definitively
correct Systems Development Life Cycle model, but the steps can be characterized and divided in several
steps.
The SDLC can be divided into ten phases during which defined IT work products are created or modified. The tenth phase
occurs when the system is disposed of and the task performed is either eliminated or transferred to other systems. The
tasks and work products for each phase are described in subsequent chapters. Not every project will require that the phases
be sequentially executed. However, the phases are interdependent. Depending upon the size and complexity of the project,
phases may be combined or may overlap.

Initiation/planning
To generate a high-level view of the intended  and determine the  of the project. The  is sometimes used
to present the project to upper management in an attempt to gain funding. Projects are typically evaluated
in three areas of feasibility: economical, operational or organizational, and technical. Furthermore, it is
also used as a reference to keep the project on track and to evaluate the progress of the MIS team. The
MIS is also a complement of those phases. This phase is also called as analysis phase.

Requirements gathering and analysis

The goal is to determine where the problem is in an attempt to fix the system. This step involves  the
system in different pieces and drawing  to analyze the situation, analyzing project goals, breaking down
what needs to be created and attempting to engage users so that definite  can be defined. Requirements
Gathering sometimes requires individuals/teams from client as well as service provider sides to get
detailed and accurate requirements.

Design
In  functions and operations are described in detail, including screen layouts, business rules, process
diagrams and other documentation. The output of this stage will describe the new system as a collection
of modules or .

The design stage takes as its initial input the requirements identified in the approved requirements
document. For each requirement, a set of one or more design elements will be produced as a result of
interviews, workshops, and/or prototype efforts. Design elements describe the desired software features
in detail, and generally include functional hierarchy diagrams, screen layout diagrams, tables of business
rules, business process diagrams, pseudocode, and a complete entity-relationship diagram with a full
data dictionary. These design elements are intended to describe the software in sufficient detail that
skilled programmers may develop the software with minimal additional input.

Build or coding
 and subsystem  code will be accomplished during this stage. Unit testing and module testing are done in
this stage by the developers. This stage is intermingled with the next in that individual modules will need
testing before integration to the main project.

Testing
The code is tested at various levels in . Unit, system and user acceptance testings are often performed.
This is a grey area as many different opinions exist as to what the stages of testing are and how much if
any iteration occurs. Iteration is not generally part of the, but usually some occur at this stage.

Below are the following types of testing:

 Data set testing.

Operations and maintenance
The  of the system includes changes and enhancements before the decommissioning or sunset of the
system.  the system is an important aspect of SDLC. As key personnel change positions in the
organization, new changes will be implemented, which will require system updates.

]Systems development life cycle topics

Management and control
SDLC Phases Related to Management Controls.

The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) phases serve as a programmatic guide to project activity
and provide a flexible but consistent way to conduct projects to a depth matching the scope of the project.
Each of the SDLC phase objectives are described in this section with key deliverables, a description of
recommended tasks, and a summary of related control objectives for effective management. It is critical
for the project manager to establish and monitor control objectives during each SDLC phase while
executing projects. Control objectives help to provide a clear statement of the desired result or purpose
and should be used throughout the entire SDLC process. Control objectives can be grouped into major
categories (Domains), and relate to the SDLC phases as shown in the figure.

To manage and control any SDLC initiative, each project will be required to establish some degree of a 
(WBS) to capture and schedule the work necessary to complete the project. The WBS and all
programmatic material should be kept in the “Project Description” section of the project notebook. The
WBS format is mostly left to the project manager to establish in a way that best describes the project
work. There are some key areas that must be defined in the WBS as part of the SDLC policy. The
following diagram describes three key areas that will be addressed in the WBS in a manner established
by the project manager.

Work breakdown structure organization

Work Breakdown Structure.

The upper section of the  (WBS) should identify the major phases and milestones of the project in a
summary fashion. In addition, the upper section should provide an overview of the full scope and timeline
of the project and will be part of the initial project description effort leading to project approval. The middle
section of the WBS is based on the seven Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) phases as a guide
for WBS task development. The WBS elements should consist of milestones and “tasks” as opposed to
“activities” and have a definitive period (usually two weeks or more). Each task must have a measurable
output (e.g. document, decision, or analysis). A WBS task may rely on one or more activities (e.g., ) and
may require close coordination with other tasks, either internal or external to the project. Any part of the
project needing support from contractors should have a  (SOW) written to include the appropriate tasks
from the SDLC phases. The development of a SOW does not occur during a specific phase of SDLC but
is developed to include the work from the SDLC process that may be conducted by external resources
such as contractors.

Baselines in the SDLC

Baselines are an important part of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). These baselines are
established after four of the five phases of the SDLC and are critical to the iterative nature of the model .
Each baseline is considered as a milestone in the SDLC.

 Functional Baseline: established after the conceptual design phase.

 Allocated Baseline: established after the preliminary design phase.
 Product Baseline: established after the detail design and development phase.
 Updated Product Baseline: established after the production construction phase.
Complementary to SDLC
Complementary  to Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) are:

 Joint Applications Design ()

  (RAD)
  (XP); extension of earlier work in Prototyping and RAD.
  Development
Comparison of Methodologies (Post, & Anderson 2006)
Open
SDLC RAD Objects JAD Prototyping End User
Source
Control Formal MIS Weak Standards Joint User User
Time Frame Long Short Medium Any Medium Short Short
Users Many Few Few Varies Few One or Two One
MIS staff Many Few Hundreds Split Few One or Two None
Transaction/DS
Transaction Both Both Both DSS DSS DSS
S
Interface Minimal Minimal Weak Windows Crucial Crucial Crucial
Documentation
Vital Limited Internal In Objects Limited Weak None
and training
Integrity and
Vital Vital Unknown In Objects Limited Weak Weak
security
Reusability Limited Some Maybe Vital Limited Weak None
Strengths and weaknesses
Few people in the modern computing world would use a strict for their Systems Development Life Cycle
(SDLC) as many modern methodologies have superseded this thinking. Some will argue that the SDLC
no longer applies to models like Agile computing, but it is still a term widely in use in Technology circles.
The SDLC practice has advantages in traditional models of software development, that lends itself more
to a structured environment. The disadvantages to using the SDLC methodology is when there is need for
iterative development or (i.e. web development or e-commerce) where stakeholders need to review on a
regular basis the software being designed. Instead of viewing SDLC from a strength or weakness
perspective, it is far more important to take the best practices from the SDLC model and apply it to
whatever may be most appropriate for the software being designed.

A comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of SDLC:

Strength and Weaknesses of SDLC 
Strengths Weaknesses
Control. Increased development time.
Monitor Large projects. Increased development cost.
Detailed steps. Systems must be defined up front.
Evaluate costs and completion
Rigidity.
targets.
Documentation. Hard to estimate costs, project overruns.
 Well defined user input. User input is sometimes limited.
Ease of maintenance.
Development and design standards.
Tolerates changes in MIS staffing.

An alternative to the SDLC is , which combines prototyping, Joint Application Development and
implementation of CASE tools. The advantages of RAD are speed, reduced development cost, and active
user involvement in the development process.

It should not be assumed that just because the waterfall model is the oldest original SDLC model that it is
the most efficient system. At one time the model was beneficial mostly to the world of automating
activities that were assigned to clerks and accountants. However, the world of technological evolution is
demanding that systems have a greater functionality that would assist help desk
technicians/administrators or information technology specialists/analysts.

.
Further reading

 Blanchard, B. S., & Fabrycky, W. J.(2006) Systems engineering and analysis (4th ed.) New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.
 Cummings, Haag (2006). Management Information Systems for the Information Age. Toronto,
McGraw-Hill Ryerson
 Beynon-Davies P. (2009). Business Information Systems. Palgrave, Basingstoke. ISBN: 978-0-
230-20368-6
 , Retrieved on June 22, 2006 from the World Wide Web:
 , Retrieved on June 22, 2006 from the World Wide Web:
 This article was originally based on material from the , which is   under the .
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