Systems Development and Project Management

11.1 Identify the business benefits associated with successful software development.
Successful software development can benefit a business by ensuring reliability to drive business operations or to ensure the products work. The successful implementations of software encourage management of software development risks. Understanding this process and the implementations with help organizations avoid any possible software development consequences and ensures success.

11.2 Describe the seven phases of the systems development life cycle.
The systems development life cycle consists of planning, analysis, design, development, testing, implementation and maintenance. Planning is the more critical stage in systems development because it determines project goals and a detailed plan of the projected project. In order for an organization to be successful it must carefully plan the activities. The analysis phase evaluates the set of business requests that systems must meet in order to have success and processes project goals into functions and operations of a system. The vision of features and operations of a system is described through the design phase. All these design documents from the design phase are then translated into the actual system.  In order to ensure the business meets all system requirements all aspects of the project must be untied in a special testing environment in the testing phase. Assembling the system in order for users to perform business operations is performed in the implementation stage. The final stage in the systems development life cycle is maintenance, which implements changes, corrections, additions, and upgrades to ensure the system meets business goals. This phase is maintained throughout the life of the system because as business is constantly evolving the system must be maintained to evolve with the business.  

11.3 Summarize the different software development methodologies.
Different software development methodologies include the traditional waterfall methodology and agile software development methodology that are primarily broken into rapid application development methodology, extreme programming methodology, rational unified process methodology and SCRUM methodology. The waterfall methodology is the least efficient methodology based on the sequential movement through the systems development life cycle. The agile software development methodology provides fast and efficient results with fewer features at a lower cost. Rapid application development is a fast approach that focuses of a creating a prototype that resembles the desired system by involving users in the analysis, design and development processes. Extreme programming methodology divides the project into phases that must be completed sequentially. Rational unified processes provide a blueprint for dividing the software development into four gates, inception, elaboration, construction and transition. Scrum methodology includes small teams that each produces pieces of software within 30 day intervals in order to achieve the goal.

11.4 Define the relationship between the systems development life cycle and software development.

The systems development life cycle are specific steps and procedures that need to be followed as the base of all systems development methodologies. Software development is specific to the software and systems used.

11.5 Compare the waterfall methodology and the agile methodology.

 Different software development methodologies include the traditional waterfall methodology and agile software development methodology that are primarily broken into rapid application development methodology, extreme programming methodology, rational unified process methodology and SCRUM methodology. The waterfall methodology is based on the sequential movement through the systems development life cycle. This methodology is very specific to following requirements of what will not change. Waterfall is expensive, inflexible and follows the steps in the process. This is not an adequate systems development methodology.  The agile software development methodology provides fast and efficient results with fewer features at a lower cost. Through continuous delivery of useful software components this methodology achieves customer satisfaction. This method introduces functionality by supporting quick feedback. Accountability is maintained through this method as well as the measurement for satisfaction of end users.