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Running head: WEEK ONE SUPPORTING ACTIVITY ELEMENT K

Week One Supporting Activity Element K Greg L. Fowler BSA/375 June 04, 2012 Charles Bocage

WEEK ONE SUPPORTING ACTIVITY ELEMENT K Week One Supporting Activity Element K

The Payroll department has proposed deploying a new system developed by the IT department. To determine the proper Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), the IT department must follow certain procedures to ensure a successful SDLC. The SDLC is a structured process for developing high quality software applications or products. A typical SDLC process consists of various phases, such as planning, analysis, design, development, testing, and maintenance. Specific tasks are performed in each phase of SDLC. Each phase is carried out in a sequential manner starting from the planning phase and culminating in the maintenance phase. Generally, the output of a phase serves as the input for the next phase. Sometimes more than one phase can be executed simultaneously based on requirements. The Software Development Life Cycle chosen for the Payroll department is the waterfall model. The waterfall model is one of the earliest models in which phases is executed sequentially. The life cycle of software development starts with the first stage and moves down through the various stages until the last stage: implementing the software in a live environment. Stages in the waterfall model are cascaded so that each stage will start only when all tasks identified in the previous stage are complete. The phases in the waterfall model do not overlap with each other, thereby making the model quite easy to use. The waterfall model is best suited for projects where a time limit is not the primary requirement.

Requirement Analysis Phase

WEEK ONE SUPPORTING ACTIVITY ELEMENT K In the requirement analysis phase, all requirements from the end user are gathered and consolidated. It is in this phase that the end user assumes importance and his expectations and requirements of the project are obtained. The collected information is analyzed to verify its validity. After confirmation from management, the requirements are incorporated into the requirement specification document which will be the input for the next phase in the waterfall model.

Software Design Phase


In the software design phase, the requirement specification that is prepared in the requirement analysis phase is analyzed and the system design created. In this phase, hardware, and software requirements of the project are identified, and documented. Also the architecture of the system to be developed is defined as part of system design specifications. These specifications will be the input for the next phase in the waterfall model.

Implementation Phase
In the implementation phase, system design specifications are analyzed and logical partitions or modules identified. These modules are developed separately by independent teams of developers either as subsystems or as units of a larger system. These units are then tested independently by the very development teams that developed the units. This type of testing is called unit testing in that the unit is tested to verify that it meets system design specifications.

WEEK ONE SUPPORTING ACTIVITY ELEMENT K

Integration testing is a level of testing performed after integrating components to find defects in interfaces and in the interaction among components. Testing the interaction among components is also called component integration testing. Testing of the system with other external systems is called system integration testing. Integration testing is done at various levels, after every step of integrating smaller components to form larger units. At the lower-level, where components are integrated into subsystems, testing is done by developers. At the higher level, where subsystems are integrated into a system, testing is done by developers or the testing team.

Operation and Maintenance Phase


The operation and maintenance phase is the last phase of the waterfall model, and it is probably the only phase that never ends. After the deployment of the system, problems that arise periodically need to be resolved. This process of fixing errors or bugs as they arise during the functioning of the system in the real life environment is called the maintenance phase.

Benefit
The main benefit of the waterfall model is that planning and scheduling can be done quite easily. This is solely because each phase begins only after the completion of the previous phase. Here the start time and the completion time of each phase can be clearly defined, leading to precise estimation of project completion.

Conclusion

WEEK ONE SUPPORTING ACTIVITY ELEMENT K

The waterfall Software Development Life Cycle is the best SDLC to use when designing the new system to be deployed for the Payroll department. If the IT department uses this SDLC it will prove to be successful.

WEEK ONE SUPPORTING ACTIVITY ELEMENT K

References
Dennis, A. (2009). Systems Analysis and DesignSystems Analysis and Design (4th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.. Valacich, J.S., & Hoffer, J.A. (2009). Essentials of Systems Analysis and Design (4th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

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