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The Ultimate Guide To Understanding and Using A System Development Life Cycle
The Ultimate Guide To Understanding and Using A System Development Life Cycle
In This Article
A system development life cycle is similar to a project life cycle. In fact, in many cases,
SDLC is considered a phased project model that defines the organizational, personnel,
policy, and budgeting constraints of a large scale systems project. The term “project”
implies that there is a beginning and an end to the cycle and the methods inherent in a
systems development life cycle strategy provide clear, distinct, and defined phases of
work in the elements of planning, designing, testing, deploying, and maintaining
information systems.
Those involved in the SDLC include the c-suite executives, but it is the project/program
managers, software and systems engineers, users, and the development team who
handle the multi-layered process. Each project has its own level of complexity in
planning and execution, and often within an organization, project managers employ
numerous SDLC methods. Even when an enterprise utilizes the same methods, different
project tools and techniques can differ dramatically.
The SDLC framework provides a step-by-step guide through the phases of implementing
both a physical and software based system. A variety of models are available, but
whether utilizing the oldest method of SDLC, the waterfall method, adopting an Agile
method, or employing a hybrid of several methods, all methods embrace a phased
iterative structure that you can adapt to your organization’s needs.
You may find phases with varying naming conventions, but these are the most common
stages of SDLC. Organizations may adopt any, all, or a variation of these phases:
Following each phase of a system development life cycle the team and project manager
may establish a baseline or milestones in the process. The baseline may include start
date, end date, phase/stage duration, and budget data. These baseline assists the
project manager in monitoring performance.
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There is an increased interest in system security at all levels of the life cycle, that include
the elements of confidentiality, information availability, the integrity of the information,
overall system protection, and risk mitigation. Aligning the development team and the
security team is a best practice that ensures security measures are built into the various
phases of the system development life cycle. For example, SAMM, the Software
Assurance Maturity Model is a framework that aids organizations in evaluating their
software security practices, building security programs, demonstrating security
improvements, and measuring security-related activities. In addition, governance and
regulations have found their way into technology, and stringent requirements for data
integrity impact the team developing technology systems. Regulations impact
organizations differently, but the most common are Sarbanes-Oxley, COBIT, and HIPAA.
Each company will have their own defined best practices for the various stages of
development. For example, testing may involve a defined number of end users and use
case scenarios in order to be deemed successful, and maintenance may include
quarterly, mandatory system upgrades.
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Benefits of a Well-Defined System Development Life Cycle
There are numerous benefits for deploying a system development life cycle that include
the ability to pre-plan and analyze structured phases and goals. The goal-oriented
processes of SDLC are not limited to a one-size-fits-all methodology and can be adapted
to meet changing needs. However, if well-defined for your business, you can:
Have a clear view of the entire project, the personnel involved, staffing
requirements, a defined timeline, and precise objectives to close each phase.
Base costs and staffing decisions on concrete information and need.
Provide verification, goals, and deliverables that meet design and development
standards for each step of the project, developing extensive documentation
throughout.
Provide developers a measure of control through the iterative, phased approach,
which usually begins with an analysis of costs and timelines.
Improve the quality of the final system with verification at each phase.
Many of the methods are considered inflexible, and some suffer from outdated
processes.
Since you base the plan on requirements and assumptions made well ahead of the
project’s deployment, many practitioners identify difficulty in responding to
changing circumstances in the life cycle.
Some consider the structured nature of SDLC to be time and cost prohibitive.
Some teams find it too complex to estimate costs, are unable to define details early
on in the project, and do not like rigidly defined requirements.
Testing at the end of the life cycle is not favorable to all development teams. Many
prefer to test throughout their process.
The documentation involved in a structured SDLC approach can be overwhelming.
Teams who prefer to move between stages quickly and even move back to a
previous phase find the structured phase approach challenging.
Other models and methods include Synchronize and Stabilize, Dynamic Systems
Development (DSDM), Big Bang Model, Fountain, and Evolutionary Prototyping Model,
among others. Each has elements of a defined stepped process with variations to adapt
for flexibility.
Choosing the right SDLC method is critical for the success of your development project as
well as for your business. There is not a hard and fast rule that you must choose only a
single methodology for each project, but if you are to invest in a methodology and
supporting tools, it is wise to utilize them as much as possible. To choose the right
methodology you must first:
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The project manager is responsible for executing and closing all the linear steps of
planning, building, and maintaining the new or improved system throughout the
process.
Other elements for the project manager involve administration of human elements
including communication, change management strategies, and training, initiating and
driving the planning for the project, setting and monitoring goals, providing avenues for
communication and training, and keeping track of budgets and timelines. The project
manager is the overall control agent for a strong SDLC process.
Regardless of the process implemented and the tools used, all require the crucial
element of documentation to support findings, close iterative phases, and to analyze
success. Today’s increasing demand for data and information security also factor into the
overall planning, training, testing, and deployment of a system. However, one of the
most important elements of success of any SDLC method continues to be in the initial
planning, followed by choosing the appropriate framework and method, and finally
sticking to, deploying, and maintaining a robust project plan.
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with milestones and dependencies to track progress, and set up automated alerts to
notify you as anything changes. Share your plan with your team and key stakeholders to
provide visibility, and assign tasks to individuals to ensure nothing slips through the
cracks.
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Discover why today’s most innovative system and software development teams use
Smartsheet to sprint, test, and deliver.
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