CASE STUDY
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SDLCMODELS.docxDifferent Models of SDLC
Last week, you were introduced to the Systems Development Life Cycle by examining a five-phase Systems Development Life Cycle model. The phases were Systems Initiation, Systems Analysis, Systems Design, Systems Implementation, and Systems Design.
There are different models of the SDLC as well. These models are listed below and in the Addition Resources there are direct links to a discussion.
· Waterfall SDLC
· Iterative SDLC
· Unified Process Framework
· Spiral SDLC
· V-Model SDLC
· Big Bang SDLC
· Agile SDLC
· RAD SDLC
· Software Prototype SDLC
The Waterfall model is one of the earliest and simplest to understand as it consists of phases that are completed sequentially. The Iterative SDLC model uses iterations (repeated cycles) through life cycle processes. The Unified Process is an iterative and incremental framework that is also architecture focused and risk based. There are many variations of the Unified process and it is very popular. The Spiral SDLC model combines architecture and prototyping in stages. The V-Model SDLC model expands on the Waterfall model with a test stage after each development cycle. The Big Bang SDLC does not have any processes and so is very simple but also very risky. The Agile SDLC allows the customer to see results and make changes. Each of these models have advantages and disadvantages and is used with specific techniques. The RAD (Rapid Application Development) SDLC is incremental with prototyping. Software Prototype SDLC uses prototypes for the functionality of the application but these prototypes do not represent exact logic in the programs. Each of these SDLC models has its own phases although they may be tailored to fit the needs of the application.
Where do the SDLC models and phases fit in project management? Project management has its own life cycles including initiation, planning, execution, and closing. Requirements maps to initiation, Design maps to planning, and Construction and Implementation map to execution. Then you have to identify the milestones. See https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-managing-sdlc-8232 for a discussion of the SDLC in the context of project management.
There are many other Systems Development Life Cycle phases and the number of phases in each model varies, with some having as few as five phases and others having up to nine phases. All models typically encompass the same activities, although some models group certain activities together while other models divide the same activities into separate phases.
Here is another example of a Systems Development Life Cycle with Five Phases: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/system_analysis_and_design/system_analysis_and_design_development_life_cycle.htm
Notice that this model breaks the Systems Development Life Cycle into the following five phases:
1. Planning
2. Analysis
3. Design
4. Implementation
5. Maintenance
Now we will review and compare a number of popular Systems Development Life Cycle models to give you an idea of how they differ. Note also that the Systems Development Life Cycle is sometimes called the Software Development Life Cycle, but it still refers to the same set of processes.
Systems Development Life Cycle Models with Six Phases
The following Systems Development Life Cycle model breaks the phases of systems development into the following six phases:
1. Requirement gathering and analysis
2. Design
3. Implementation or coding
4. Testing
5. Deployment
6. Maintenance
What are the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) phases?
Another Systems Development Life Cycle model breaks the phases of systems development into a similar set of six phases:
1. Analysis
2. Design
3. Implementation
4. Quality Assurance
5. Deployment
6. Support & Maintenance
What is SDLC? 6 Phases of the Software Development Life Cycle
A Systems Development Life Cycle Model with Seven Phases
Some Systems Development Life Cycle models break the phases of systems development into seven phases. Consider this model, which breaks the phases of systems development into the following phases:
1. Planning
2. Systems Analysis & Requirements
3. Systems Design
4. Development
5. Integration & Testing
6. Implementation
7. Operations & Maintenance
The Seven Phases of the System-Development Life Cycle
Which phase has been added to this model? Why do you think it was broken out as a separate phase?
A Systems Development Life Cycle Model with Nine Phases
Finally, consider the following Systems Development Life Cycle checklist developed by the Federal Government:
This document focuses on how to integrate Records Management into the Systems Development Life Cycle. However, you can see that the model of the Systems Development Life Cycle that they are following contains nine phases:
1. Concept Development
2. Requirements Document
3. Design
4. Detailed Design
5. Development
6. Integration & System Testing
7. Deployment & Acceptance
8. Production
9. Retirement & Rollover
What activities do you think are encompassed within each of the above phases? How do these phases compare to the phases of other Systems Development Life Cycle models that we have reviewed?
Additional Resources
Systems Analysis and Design Tutorial. (n.d.).
References/Works Cited:
System Development Life Cycle. (n.d.)
