System
Development Life Cycle
(SDLC)
Who Participates?
Project
Team
Systems Development Participants
Steering committee- The firms that take system strategy seriously
establish a steering committee
◦ Chief Executive Officer
◦ Chief Financial Officer
◦ Senior Management from computer Services & user areas
◦ External Auditors
◦ Management Consultant
Systems Professionals – analyze problems in current systems and
formulate solutions
◦ systems analysts
◦ systems designers
◦ Programmers
Client– the person or organization contracting to have the work done
User – the people who will have contact with the system
Stakeholders: individuals who have an interest in the system but are
not end users
INTRODUCTION
Accountants must understand the entire systems
development process, since they are involved in
several ways:
◦ Helping to specify their needs.
◦ As members of the development team.
◦ As auditors after the fact.
Accountants also help keep the project on track by:
◦ Evaluating and measuring benefits.
◦ Measuring costs.
◦ Ensuring the project stays on schedule.
INTRODUCTION
Effective systems analysis and design
can ensure that developers:
◦ Correctly define the business problem.
◦ Design the appropriate solution.
System Development Life cycle
SDLC is the process of developing
information systems through investigation,
analysis, design, implementation and
maintenance.
SDLC is also known as information systems
development or application development.
SDLC is a systems approach to problem
solving and is made up of several phases,
each comprised of multiple steps:
System Development Life cycle
Problem Definition
Maintenance Feasibility study
Implementation System analysis
System development System design
System Development Life cycle
Problem Definition
Maintenance Feasibility study
Implementation System analysis
System development System design
1.Problem Definition
Analyst prepares a written statement of
the objectives and scope of the problem
Conducts interviews with user
Writes brief description of understanding
of the problem and reviews it with both
groups i.e. users/information analyst
meeting.
1.Problem Definition
Reason for the failure of existing system?
Programming errors in existing system?
Problems in or opportunities for
improving the existing system?
Objectives of system investigation
Overview of proposed system
Expected costs & benefits of proposed
system
System Development Life cycle
Problem Definition
Maintenance Feasibility study
Implementation System analysis
System development System design
2.Feasibility Analysis
Check whether the system is feasible or not
A feasibility study is a test of a system proposal according to
its workability, impact on the organization, ability to meet
user needs and effective use of resources.
Technical feasibility - is the technology necessary available?
Economic feasibility - are the funds available and appropriate for
the system?
Legal feasibility - does the system fall within legal boundaries?
Operational feasibility - can procedural changes be made to make
the system work?
Schedule feasibility - can the project be completed by an
acceptable time period?
Project
Request
Feasibility
Assessment
Feasibility
Assessment
(continued)
System Development Life cycle
Problem Definition
Maintenance Feasibility study
Implementation System analysis
System development System design
3.System Analysis
Analysis is the detailed study of the various operations
performed by the system and their relation ships
within and outside the system
The objective of this phase is to determine
-What must be done to solve the problem?
Understand the existing system
The information needs of the organization and its
end users.
Two tasks are involved
Data gathering
Data analysis
Data Gathering
A number of techniques can be used
◦ Interviews with users and managers
Structured interview – includes only questions that have been
written out in advance
Unstructured interview – interviewer has a general goal but few, if
any questions prepared
◦ Examining current business and systems documents and
output
may include current order documents, computer systems procedures
and reports used by operations and senior management
◦ Sending out questionnaires
◦ Observation of current procedures
by spending time in various departments; a time and motion study
can show where procedures could be more efficient, or to detect
bottlenecks
Data Analysis
Typical tools for data analysis
◦ Entity Relationship diagram
◦ Data flow diagram
◦ Decision table/Decision Tree
◦ Written report
Report to management/ customer/ client
Data Flow Diagrams (DFD)
Tool to graphically represent the
Pr
oc
flow of data in a system
es
s
Da
ta
Fl
ow
e
rc
u
So
Data Store
Decision
Table
Decision
Tree
System Requirements &
recommendations
A detailed list of things the system must be able to do
◦ Highlight problems with current system
◦ The design of the new system will be based on these
requirements
◦ Analyst and management must come to a clear agreement on
requirements
◦ List of possible solutions
◦ Hardware/software recommendations
Report to Management
Summarizes the problems found in the
current system
Describes the requirements for the new
system, including a cost analysis
Makes a recommendation on what course
to take next
Pre-Design considerations
The hardware platform The user interface
which type of computer, how users will interact with the
network capabilities, input, computer system
storage and output devices The modular design
The software of each program in the
programming language, application
package or database The test plan and test data
The outputs Conversion plan
report layouts and screen how the new system is to be
designs implemented
The inputs Documentation
documents, screen layouts, User
validation procedures Technical
System Development Life cycle
Problem Definition
Maintenance Feasibility study
Implementation System analysis
System development System design
4.System Design
System Analysis describes WHAT the system should do to meet the
information needs of users?
System Design describes HOW the system will accomplish this
objective?
“Design” refers to the technical specifications that will be applied
in construction of a system
How should the problem solved?(it stresses on following activities)
1. User Interface (interactions between user & computer systems)
2. Data design (Logical structure of database and files)
3. Process design. (Software design)
‘The design must specify what type of H/W, S/W and people
resources will be needed’
Design
The new system is actually planned
Divided into two sub phases
Preliminary design
Several key decisions must be made
Detail design specifications
Output requirements
Input requirements
Files and databases
System processing
System controls and backups
Build or Buy?
Custom Software Packaged Software
◦ Developed by user ◦ Horizontal
◦ Developed at user Many org types
request by outside ◦ Vertical
vendor Industry specific
Acquire Hardware/Software
Technical specifications
Solicit vendor proposals
Test & evaluate
◦ Benchmark Test
Make a decision
Requirements
Input Output
Things to consider Things to consider
◦ The medium ◦ The input medium
(paper, screen, etc.) (captured at the source,
of the output keyed from source
◦ The types of document)
reports needed and ◦ The fields needed, how
what data is needed they are laid out on the
for the reports input screen, etc.
◦ Input validation may be
necessary
Input/Output Design
Mockup
(User)
Layout Chart
(Programmer)
Files and Databases
Things to consider
◦ How files are organized
Sequentially, directly, or by another method
◦ The format of the records making up the data
files
Database Design
Table structure definitions & relationships
Security
System Development Life cycle
Problem Definition
Maintenance Feasibility study
Implementation System analysis
System development System design
Phase 4: Development
Schedule and monitor the two principal
activities
Programming
Testing
There are several project scheduling tools
available
Programming
Prepare program design specifications
Use logic flowcharts and pseudocode to
facilitate code development
Gantt chart
Pert chart
Testing
Unit testing – verifies that individual
program units work
◦ Perform testing with test data
System testing – determines whether all
program units work together as planned
Volume testing – uses real data in large
amounts
◦ Determines whether the system can handle a
large volume of data
System Development Life cycle
Problem Definition
Maintenance Feasibility study
Implementation System analysis
System development System design
Phase 5: Implementation
Steps involved in starting the new system
Training
Equipment conversion
File conversion
System conversion
Auditing
Evaluation
Maintenance
Training
Teach users how to use the system
◦ The system will do no better than the people
using it
◦ Develop user’s manual to aid users who are
not familiar with the system
◦ Hands-on training is best
Equipment Conversion
Items to consider
◦ Delivery schedules must be coordinated
◦ Terminals or personal computers must be
networked
◦ Devices on the system must be
compatible
File Conversion
Ifexisting files are manual, they must be
keyed in or scanned into the system
◦ Manual files must be kept current while data is
being input into the new system
If existing files are computer-based,
programs must be written to convert the
files into the format needed for the new
system
System Conversion
Four approaches
◦ Direct conversion – the user simply stops using the
old system and starts using the new one
◦ Parallel conversion – the old and new systems are
both used until users are satisfied with the new system
works
◦ Phased conversion – the system is implemented one
part at a time
◦ Pilot conversion – the entire system is used by a
designated set of users
Conversion Options
System Development Life cycle
Problem Definition
Maintenance Feasibility study
Implementation System analysis
System development System design
Evaluation
Determines how well the system is
meeting the original requirements,
benefits, and budgets
◦ Evaluation can be performed by the analyst
and someone from the organization
◦ Evaluation can also be performed by an
independent third party
Maintenance
The emphasis during this phase is to ensure that needs
continue to be met and that the system continues to
perform according to specifications.
Routine hardware and software maintenance and upgrades
are performed to ensure effective system operations.
User training continues during this phase, as needed, to
acquaint new users to the system or to introduce new
features to current users.
Role of the Accountant in SDLC
• How can accountants be involved in all
stages of the SDLC?
•In the planning stage, accountants provide some of the
information used to evaluate the feasibility of the
proposed project and participate in making that
decision.
Role of the Accountant
In the requirements Analysis and Design
stages,
Accountants participate in identifying user
information needs, developing the logical
and physical models and specifying
controls.
Accountants with good IT skills may
participate in the coding stage.
Role of the Accountant
During the implementation stage,
accountants are involved in testing the
accuracy of the new database and the
application programs that will use that
data.
Finally, accountants use the database
system to process transactions
