Question

1. Choose any model of the SDLC and analyze the tasks at each stage as described below. Write at least one full paragraph for each stage of the SDLC including what it consists of and how you would apply that stage to the Case Study as described below.

Apply the Systems Development Life Cycle to the case described below. Choose any model of the Systems Development Life Cycle and analyze the tasks you would need to accomplish at each stage of the Systems Development Life Cycle for that model. You may use any of the SDLC models I gave you in the Lessons area in the Week 1 or Week 2 Lessons, or any other model of your own choice. However, be sure to state which model you are using and provide a URL to the resource(s) you consulted on that model so that I can compare your analysis of the case study against the specific Systems Development Life Cycle model that you chose for your analysis.

For example, if the model you follow has a Systems Initiation phase, you should explain to me how you would conduct the initial investigation. Who are the stakeholders that you would need to talk to? What information would you need to gather to establish the requirements of the project and how would you gather that information? What kind of feasibility study would you conduct and how would you do it? How would you conduct your cost-benefit analysis in this stage? What should be the end result of this stage?

You will have to identify the appropriate questions to ask yourself and to answer for each stage of your Systems Development Life Cycle, similar to what I have done for the Systems Initiation phase above. Part of this assignment is for you to understand and explain to me what needs to be accomplished in each phase and how that would specifically look for the Case Study below.

You must use your own general knowledge about organizations to make reasonable assumptions appropriate to the case study, since you will not be given every possible detail of the case. For example, who do you think the stakeholders would be? Think about the students, the faculty, the staff and administration of a typical university, etc., and identify all of the possible groups of stakeholders. You will have to think beyond the short description below and use your own general knowledge to complete the scenario and provide a full analysis of the Case Study.

2. Include details like specific questions and examples as indicated below.

Be as detailed as possible in your analysis. For example, if you are discussing how you would conduct a feasibility study, give a couple examples of specific questions you would ask. For another example, if you are describing how the Systems Design phase applies to the case study, include a couple examples of design items relevant to this case, such as an Entity Relationship Model for part of this system, or an example of a use case for your system, or the details of one or more classes you would create in this system. In this assignment, you are not required to create full design specifications, but you are encouraged to provide enough examples of design items to demonstrate your understanding of how you would approach the case study. For example, instead of delineating ALL classes you would need to create, choose one class and develop it as fully as you can, to illustrate that you understand the basics of creating an object class (with a class name, some class attributes, and some appropriate class methods).

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Case Study

You are leading a team of software developers at a university. The university’s President has approached you about developing a new information system for tracking student course registrations. The system will need to contain information about students, faculty, and courses. Students should be able to use the system to browse course descriptions and the schedule of classes for each semester, add classes to their schedule, and drop classes from their schedule.

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Answer 1

We use Agile SDLC Model for this solution

introduction of Agile Model

Agile as defined by Merriam-Webster is the ability to move with quick easy grace, like a dancer . Agile are resourceful and adaptable.As it applies to software development, the Agile method is more than a series of frameworks and practices; it is understanding the changing environment and facing the tempest.

Phases of the Agile SDLC Model

In the Software Development Life Cycle model, Agile combines iteration and incrementation to focus on rapid adaptability. Incremental builds in the Agile model are known as iterations which typically last anywhere from one to three weeks. Various models exist but the one I will be addressing is a six-phase version. Those six phases are:

1-  Concept: the envisioning of the project

2 - Inception: discussions and decisions made about initial requirements

3 - Iteration: project development commences

4 - Release: quality assurance and reporting

5 - Production: consistent optimization of the project is a must

6- Retirement: activities cease

The goal of the Agile model is to deliver a working product as soon as possible. Therefore, the iterations possess their own cycle of development intent on providing something to the customer throughout the entire process. Each iteration possesses its own workflow phases and those are:

1 - Requirements: customer and stakeholder feedback for the current iteration

2 - Development: defined requirements in order to design and develop

3 - Testing: quality assurance and documentation development

4 - Delivery: integration of product into production

5 - Feedback: customer and stakeholder feedback in preparation for next iteration

Case Study: Applying the Agile Model to solve case study

The best application of the Agile methodology to this case study would be utilizing a specific form of agile called Adaptive Software Development due to its dynamic nature in regards to product evolution. This method has three of its own phases:

1- development phase

Before breaking down the Adaptive Software Development, it is important to understand that iterations in the Agile method need to be short. Smaller mistakes/issues are easier to learn from and adapt to compared to large ones. With that caveat, the first phase of Adaptive Software Development is Speculate: too strict of a plan prevents the team’s ability to move the project in the appropriate directions either to innovate or avoid issues. When designing the university’s new site, we would come up with a mission statement in the Speculate phase. What is the product intended to do? Give students an easier way to register and track enrollments. Why should it be done? Students have far more to worry about than something as trivial as registering courses. What patterns would be applied? All things that are important since speculation is adaptive. The Adaptive Software Development also suggests creating what is known as mission artifacts in the speculations phase. Things like project vision (clearly defined risks and requirements), product data sheets (user categories and features), and specification outlines (competition and customer satisfaction). Finally, the mission established in the speculation phase focuses on value produced with our site: The perception of value in this case would be the ease of selecting and adding or removing courses for the students. For the faculty it may be the ability to look at student records and information.

2 - collaboration phase

During the collaboration phase, we would actually work with the stake-holders to find the right ways to represent them. The whole of the development process is largely done here. The team will utilize each of the member’s strong points or diversity to optimize our program. One person for example may be skilled at the back end, building databases where are student’s information is stored. Others may be more in tune with front end work, making the website look nice, working in sync with members of the team specializing in user experience . A key piece of the collaboration phase is collectively owning work. The app is completed faster when fingers are not pointed at others for mistakes. As stated earlier, a key decision in choosing this methodology is the ability to adapt to mistakes quickly.

3 - learning phase

The learning phase is essentially what every team member brings to the party. Learning from mistakes, receiving feedback from constant customer interaction, and introspection are all keys when it comes to learning in the Adaptive Software Development. Since Adaptive Software Development emphasizes learning throughout the entire development process, one could say this is the most important phase. During our learning phase, we would conduct events such as customer focus groups to gather input from the customer. It is important to note, that typically developers do not discuss anything during these focus groups. We let the client use the new system and provide feedback. Our discussions would take place in a Technical Review environment.

In a TR, the facilitator sets the tone and controls the flow of the meeting. The producer is our developer team that is presenting the new school website for review by the team. An individual would be designated as a recorder in order to keep notes of any issues. Reviewers examine the producer’s work and identify any inconsistencies.

The method of Agile used in this case study was chosen because we have a situation where the customers and stake-holders are readily available for input, a key component of any agile method. Furthermore, with a well-defined product to start with, there was little to no requirement for planning.