Systems Development Life Cycle

Systems Development Life Cycle

SDLC systems

The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a system of constructing and delivering software applications from the inception stage to completion. The system has a number of advantages. First, it has a systematic approach which allows the developer to thoroughly plan for risks, contingencies, resources, and finances. This stems from the fact that the system has phases with very clear boundaries between one phase and the next one. This allows the developer to make a more structured plan which contains specific deadlines and time frames for delivery. Second, the system is well tested and established and it has been proven to work.  The system has been around since 2001 and if used appropriately it provides very good results.

SDLC, however, has some disadvantages. First, it is a structured method which means that it can be very expensive in terms of man-hours and finances required to build it. Projects that run on SDLC are very costly to run and can result in huge financial strains if the developers do not plan well in advance. This problem is especially more severe when the system is used at a Federal Agency since the government acquisition process normally requires significant levels of foresight so as to develop a contract method which is able to meet the several rapid changes in terms of requirements. In some instances, large contracts which contain the necessary means to accommodate the rapid changes require more time (3 to 6 months), while smaller contracts for commercial services and supplies can be completed fairly quick in less than 30 days.

There are several problems with the smaller contracts since their requirements have to be more clearly defined and this causes a lot of starts and stops during their development.

For instance, one of the most common contracts for SDLC is for the development of licenses that are used to monitor software. Such software is very helpful in helping to fulfill the mission of the SDLC prior to their launching. Another disadvantage of SDLC is the constantly changing nature of the environment due to social media and the tools that are available for engaging the various networks. By the time a contract for SDLC is awarded for a particular supply or service, the requirements most likely will have changed due to the rapid pace of the emerging social media industry. For this reason, it is very difficult to predict the likely timescale for the development of each software in terms of particular stages such as planning, acquiring and completion. The most likely outcome of this is that by the time the SDLC project is implemented it becomes partially outdated and obsolete upon delivery. The biggest disadvantage of SDLC is that it assumes that all requirements can be established before the beginning of the program. Unfortunately, for any SDLC the requirements keep changing and evolving all through the development process.

SDLC is not well suited for those projects whose requirements keep changing due to internal changes in mission or focus or where there are external changes brought about by technological advance or even where there is constantly changing the state of flux. This system if more useful for larger projects which have more rigid requirements and those which require detailed planning, documentation, and huge capital investments.

The optimal computer operating system to deal with the issues arising from the use of SDLC is the Rapid Application Development (RAD). This is an object driven approach used in systems development and also in software creation. RAD and prototyping are very similar in terms of concept and both have the ultimate goal of shortening the time normally taken by the conventional SDLC between the design phase and the implementation phase. In brief, both RAD and prototyping are aimed at meeting the rapidly changing nature of business requirements in a closer way. When one learns the concept of prototyping, it becomes very easy to understand the essentials of RAD, which can be viewed as specific implementation of the prototyping. RAD is more useful in e-commerce and web-based environments which are considered to have a first mover status in terms of business. This means that when a business wants to deliver an application to the web ahead of their competition, their development team may want to experiment with the RAD system. There are three broad phases of RAD which engage both analysts and users in assessment and these are assessment, design and implementation.