Understand Different System Life Cycles Information Technology Essay

Before getting into detail, it is important to understand the concept of System Analysis and Design. It is a study of interactive entities, including computer system analysis and designing the process of defining components, modules and etc.

In this assignment I will work on the following three different phases. Each phase will cover the related content in detail. In the first part we will understand the different system life cycles models. In this part, I will discuss different life cycles and will discuss the importance of a following a procedural/staged life cycle in a system investigation.

The second learning outcome is understand the importance of a feasibility study in this we will discuss the components of a feasibility report and the impact of different feasibility criteria on a system investigation.

Third learning outcome is to be able to perform a system investigation in this we will undertake a system investigation to meet a business need. Use appropriate system analysis tools and techniques to carry out a system investigation. Then I will create documentation to support a system investigation and at last I will evaluate how user and system requirements have been addressed.

In this assignment, each issue & process would be discussed in detail to understand the basic concept.

LEARNING OUTCOME #01

UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT SYSTEM LIFE CYCLES

User Requirements

“Swimming upstream”

Architecture Design

Delivery

Testing

Detailed design & Coding

Software Requirements

The Waterfall

Lifecycle Workflow

WATERFALL MODEL

1.1 EVALUATE DIFFERENT SYSTEM LIFECYCLE MODELS

A)

The waterfall model is a sequential design which is mostly used in software development processes because it is very easy to understand. In waterfall the progress can be seen going downwards like a water fall and the progress starts from the user requirements where the analysis collects the information from the client. Then the analysis will collect the software requirements e.g. what do they need for their software department.

Then the analysis makes architecture design, the outline of the program so that they can get an idea how the program will look. After that the analysis makes a detailed design and does the coding. When they complete the detailed design they show to the client that there program will look like this and if the client accepts then the analysis will do the final testing to check if there is any problem and then it’s ready for delivery.

ADVANTAGES OF WATERFALL MODEL

It is very easy to understand and implement.

In this model, output is generated after ever stage so it is highly visibility.

This model is good where quality is more important as compared to cost.

Works well on mature products and weak team.

DISADVANTAGES OF WATERFALL MODEL

If any fault is there in the software it is very costly to go back and correct it.

Difficult to integrate risk management.

Idealized, doesn’t match reality well.

B)

The system lifecycle models, that don’t have any specific structure, are:

Code-and-Fix

Agile

Extreme programming (XP)

COTS

CODE-and-FIX

Code-and-fix model is usually used when there not much use of strategic and it mainly consists of two steps:

First write some code.

Fix problem in the code.

It can also be use with short system which does not require maintenance.

ADVANTAGES

No administrative overhead.

Useful for small projects.

DISADVANTAGES

No documentation

Errors are difficult to trace.

Impossible for large projects.

AGILE

In Agile modeling is an add-on to existing agile methodologies like Extreme programming (XP) and Rational Unified Process (RUP). In Agile modeling, continuous delivery of the software, continuous interaction with customer and continuous update according to the changes.

ADVANTAGES

Lightweight methods suit small-medium size project.

Produces good team cohesion

No overtime.

DISADVANTAGES

There is a lack of emphasis on necessary designing and documentation.

Needs experience and skill if not to degenerate into code-and-fix.

Programming pairs is costly.

EXTREME PROGRAMMING (XP)

Extreme programming is done in pairs and it is test driven development. In XP there is continuous planning, change, delivery. It is a kind of agile software development.

COMMERICAL OFF-THE-SHELF SOFTWARE (COTS)

In COTS using existing commercial software is made by adding some features to it. E.g. using database, spread sheets, word processors, etc.

ADVANTAGES

Fast, cheap solution.

Well defined project, easy to run.

May give all the basic functionality.

DISADVANTAGES

Limited functionality.

Licensing problem, freeware, shareware, etc.

A)

Importance of the following a procedural staged life cycle in a system investigation.

The importance of using the system development is the process which consists of the following stages.

Preliminary investigation: One of the most time consuming task is to identify the real problem of the previous installed system. The analysis has to spend hours and days for understanding the fault in the system. In this stage the analyst makes a survey by the gathering all the available information needed for the system elements and allocation of the requirements to the software.

Analysis of the requirement: The analyst understands the working of the information and the functions of the software which is required for the system. The analyst makes a brief report of the requirements and tries to analyze the performance of the system which is to be developed.

System design: The analyst makes number of design of the system on the paper or on the computer and sees the rough image made of the system comprises of the all requirements or not. Once this is done analyst will select the best design.

System coding: The analyst translates the code or the programs in such a way that they become in machine readable form. The coding step is very time consuming and involves number of rooms for errors.

System testing: Once the analysis is through with the coding stage he tests the system and sees to it that it is working as per the expectations or not.

System implementation: This is one of the most vital phases as in this phase the analyst actually gives the system to the customer and expects for a positive feedback.

System maintenance: The last stage of the SDLC is that the analyst needs to maintain the system and see to it that it working within the standards set.

(1.2) B)

LEARNING OUTCOME #02

2.1 DISCUSS THE COMPONENTS OF FEASIBILITY REPORT AND WHEN TO USE THE FEASIBILITY STUDY

FEASIBILITY STUDY

Feasibility studies are for both users and the analysis. First, the study often presupposes that when the feasibility document is being made, the analyst is in a position to evaluate solution. Second most studies tend to over look the confusion inherent in system development the constraint and the assumed attitudes.

A feasibility study is conducted to select the best system that meets performance requirements. This entails an identification description an evaluation of candidate system, and the selections of the best system which full fill the requirements.

In Feasibility study there are some fact-finding techniques they are:

Interviews

This is the most commonly used fact-finding technique. Open-ended questions are which allows interviewee to respond in any way that they like. Closed-ended questions are totally opposite of the open-ended questions it is restricting answer to either specific choices or short, direct responses.

Observation

Effective technique for understanding system. This fact-finding is useful when validity of data collected is in question or when complexity of certain aspects of system prevents clear explanation by end-users.

Questionnaires

Special purpose documents that allow facts to be gathered from a large number of people while maintaining some control over their Reponses. There are two types of question, namely free-format and fixed format.

Focus group

Focus group is a technique where a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, and attitudes towards a product, service, idea and etc. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group member.

There are three types of Feasibility:

Economic Feasibility

Market Feasibility

Technical Feasibility

Economic Feasibility

Economic analysis is the most frequently used method for evaluating the effectiveness of a candidate system. More commonly known as cost/benefit analysis, the procedure is to determine the benefit and savings that are expected from a candidate system and compare them with costs.

Market Feasibility

This deals with the description industry details such as their current marketing, plans for future development, competitions they face, customers etc.

Technical Feasibility

Feasibility study addresses about technical part such as about resources required, water availability, road and rail connectivity, location etc. because to start a business to conduct a survey about these are necessary

FEASIBILTY REPORT

The end stage of the feasibility study is a feasibility report directed to management, it evaluate the impact of the proposed changes on the areas in question. The report is a formal document for management use brief enough and sufficiently nontechnical, yet detailed enough provide the basis for system design.

Basically the report contains the summary of findings and recommendations, followed by documentations. The components of the feasibility report are the following:

a) Cover letter: presents the report formally and indicates the findings and changes to be made briefly to the management

b) Table of contents: an index to understand the location of each and every part of the report.

c) Overview: it explains the reason for undertaking a feasibility study and includes the people affected by it and the names of the persons who conducted the study.

d) Detailed findings: provides the details regarding the present system and its defects.

e) Economic Justification: Here detailed cost comparison and cost estimations are presented.

f) Recommendations and conclusions: Here the proposed changes and its effects on present system all are mentioned and as per the study a conclusion is provided for the report.

g) Appendixes document to provide all the necessary documentation within the report for reference.

The components of Feasibility report

Purpose: The purpose of Feasibility report is to present a project parameter and define potential solution to the problem

Structure: First we will write an abstract that concludes the summary of the recommended design, then the introduction which will give us the clear idea of the problem solved, and then comes the list of the design criteria, Then we will descriptions of possible implementation then we will give the recommendation then the graphic design like table and at last come the conclusion.

2.2 IMPACT OF DIFFERENT FEASIBILTY CRITERIA ON A SYSTEM INVESTIGATION FOR GARMENT SHOP

Social Factor: It means the product which I ‘am providing to the customers from my shop, is it meeting the customers need and which kind of fashion is going now days or the product which I have are acceptable by the customers. It is a very important factor because if the product doesn’t meet the customer’s requirement then there is no use of the product.

Economic Factor: The analysis performs a research to find out that the product in the shop are full filling the market standard or something else have to be done. The economic factor more commonly known as cost/benefit analysis is the procedure to determine the benefits and saving form the change in present system. If the benefits compensate the cost then, decision would be made to design and implement a changed system.

Time Scale: The basic idea implanted of timescale in here is that, the time to market the product, which means the changes which we apply on the present system and as per the cost estimation when the shop would be ready to hit the market?

The time as a constraint has always been considered by system analyst and programmers, but here in garment shop the estimated time might differ as per the budget, resources, design, etc. needed for the change.

LEARNING OUTCOME #03

3.1 UNDERTAKE A SYSTEM INVESTIGATION TO MEET A ABOVE (garment shop) BUSINESS NEED

Before starting a garment shop I have to collect all the stakeholders’ requirements. There are three main stakeholders; the first stakeholder is the owner of the shop. My requirements are to get profit and as well to give good product to the customers. So the technique I’m using to get profit is, in direct profit by this technique I can attract more customers and will get my profit as well. My requirements are also to keep some workers for my shop. I’m going to keep one person as a supervisor to check that everything is going prefect in the shop.

Then I will keep 2 persons as the cashier and will take record of the incoming and outgoing money during the day and compare the result at the end of each day. Then there will be 3 persons as the sales man so that they will attend the customers is they need help.

The second main stakeholder is the customers. What do the customers want and what do the like? So to know that I’m going to use different technique like I will give questionnaires to people so that I will get there feedback that what are their needs, and I will observation to know how is the market going, what are the prices of different products and what fashion is going on.

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The scope of our shop which I’m going to open is men’s and ladies garments and we are going to keep all kinds garments what are the customer needs and the fashion going now days. If we keep the product which the customers want and like so we will get a good response from the customers and by this we can increase are customers. The products which we are going to put in our shop are of a good brand. The products which we will to our customers we will give them warranty that the color won’t fade and nothing will happen to the garments no matter how many time they will wash it so we will give quality assurance.

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There are some constraints which we have to follow it means that we have set some limitation for something. Cost, we have limited our cost so that we don’t spend the money in some other place and we have to do every work by looking at the budget we have. By limiting our cost it is useful so that we don’t exceed the budget, n It won’t cause us a problem in future.

The organizational policies which i will using in my shop is that the workers won’t be allowed to using mobile phones during working hours, there will be a time set for them, when to have their lunch and dinner and the workers won’t be allowed to go out without the permission of the supervisor and if the broke any rule then they will be fined for it. The legal system is that we have to follow every rule before opening a shop. We should take the permission and approve the location we have selected that is it suitable for a garment. We have to follow every law that is applied on opening a new shop.

Now we come inside the shop. The system that we are going to use in our shop, is a system that keeps all the records for the products which have been sold and which all product are in stock, For this we will using the MS Excel so that every record can entered in it and we have two computer systems so that the customers don’t have to wait for their turn. We have will keep 2 printers also so that the customers get their bills, what they purchased. The cashiers which we will have are trained to do this kind of work on computers.

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Now we will discuss about the problems we can face in opening a garment shop. So the first problem we can face is, if any customers say that they have bought any product from this shop and its having a problem so have solution that we will replace that product with the new one. We have also made parking space for our customers also so that they don’t have to waste their time in finding parking. If any problem occurs in our computer system so we have a backup system that will restore all the pervious information’s. Then we are doing the data collection, it means that we are collecting data to keep it as a record, to make decision about important issues, or to pass information on to other. Data is collected to give information on a specific topic. After collecting the data we will make it into a summary so that it’s easy to understand the information.

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