SDLC Essay Example

SDLC Essay To solve the operational problems of various organizations, a number of system development life cycle (SDLC) methodologies were created. The SDLC describes the several stages involved in developing information systems, which usually includes software requirements analysis, systems design, systems development, system testing, and release and maintenance. The waterfall methodology was the first SDLC methodology created. It involves a sequence of stages or phases where each phase has to be accomplished first before you proceed to the next. Then, the output of an accomplished stage becomes the input for the next stage (Kay, 2002). A number of problems were encountered in adopting this methodology, one of which is that the system requirements must be specified in advance (Kay, 2002).Hence, many other SDLC methodologies were developed. First, the prototype development SDLC is a cyclic version of the waterfall methodology wherein a prototype is created, tested, and iterated as necessary unt il an acceptable prototype is achieved. The rational unified process (RUP) takes an â€Å"an iterative, requirements-driven, and architecture-centric approach to software development† (Kruchten, 2004 cited in Ambler, 2005). Based on the SDLC spiral method, the RUP’s system development is organized into four phases where each stage consists of executable reiteration.The rapid application development (RAD) emphasizes on developing a high-quality system faster by creating a prototype as early as possible to be tested and refined (Kay, 2002). RAD, however, works best only under certain conditions, such as when the end-user is a small group. Finally, the agile development methodology consists of four phases: iteration 0, development iterations, release, and production. One of its advantages is â€Å"the feedback cycle between the generation of an idea and the realization of that idea† is shortened, thereby minimizing the risk of misunderstanding (Ambler, 2005). Meanw hile, Microsoft solutions framework is a flexible framework designed to provide business-driven solutions considering the following approaches: Project Management, Risk Management, and Readiness Management.