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Case 1 - IT Strategy Case: System Development Case Business Situation ‘Company ABC is considering migrating from an old transaction processing system to anew state-of-the-art ‘custom developed solution. They have asked you to help them understand how to approach this project. They understand that there are multiple vendors/applications within the market that can potentially help them, but they are unsure if the best approach is to go with one of these systems or with a homegrown tool Key information includes: +The new application will need to interface with multiple legacy applications to get data in real-time for transaction processing. However, ABC believes they do not have the infrastructure in place to support any real-time data processing at this point in time. + ABC is currently an “Oracle Shop’, using Oracle solutions for various backend processes. How would this impact this project? + The application has both user interface (UI) components as well as batch processing components + Application performance is of very high concern. The batch processing needs to be completed within very tight windows + The application will be rolled out in a single release on the deployment date. Question 1 How would you explain the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) approach in general and what are ‘Our recommended Answers, Good Answer ‘A good answer will include a description such as a linear sequence of stages to develop a system from planning to analysis to design to implementation. The phases include: + Project Identification and Selection + Project initiation and Planning + Analysis + Design + Implementation + Maintenance Great Answer A great answer will point out that the stages are followed from beginning to end and that revisiting prior stages is not permitted and explain that the phases may have overlap i.e. Design of certain areas will begin while others are still in Analysis, but ideally there should be no backward movement in the Life Cycle. Your Answer Question 2 Why is following an SDLC important? ‘Our recommended Answers, Good Answer ‘A good answer will show basic understanding and include that having a SDLC facilitates thorough project planning and execution and is intended to develop information systems in a very deliberate, structured and methodical way. Great Answer A great answer will show deeper understanding and also include that SDLC brings discipline, rigor, and order to the implementation of complex projects, while facilitating strong knowledge transfer to our clients. Using SDLC will result in a high quality system that meets or exceeds customer expectations, reaches completion within time and cost estimates, and works effectively and efficiently in the current and planned technology infrastructure. Your Answer Your Answer Question 3 What is involved in each phase of the SDLC? ‘Our recommended Answers. Good Answer Project Identification and Selection * Identification of need for new transaction system + Prioritization and translation of need into a development schedule (timeline) + Helps organization to determine whether or not resources should be dedicated to the project Project Initiation and Planni +" Formal preliminary Investigation of the problem at hand, deployment of anew system + Presentation of reasons why system should or should not be developed by the organization Analysis + Study of current procedures and information systems Determine requirements + Study current system (limitations and abilities) ‘Structure requirements and eliminate redundancies Generate alternative designs ‘Compare alternatives (stay with old vs. develop new custom solution in-house vs. outsource) ‘Conduct vendor assessment if appropriate Recommend best alternative Design - Logical Design + Concentrates on business aspects of the system, i.e., how the new system will handle invoicing, billing the customer, showing revenue. Is the UI easy to use, will the deployment date be met? - Physical Design + Technical specifications - Performance is a big concern as well as the interfaces to legacy systems Implementation (Develop) + Hardware and software installation + Programming + User Training + Documentation Maintenance + System changed to reflect changing conditions, i.e., will the new system be able to handle even more daily transactions in the future? + System obsolescence Great Answer A great answer will also include resources in addition to activities in each phase: Project Identification and Selection Project Identification and Selection + Project managers + Project leadership and sponsors Project Initiation and Planning + Project managers + Project leadership + Subject matter experts Analysis + Functional team Determine requirements + Subject matter experts + Functional team Design +” Subject matter experts + Functional team + Technical team Implementation (Develop) + Functional team Technical team ‘Change management team Trainers System developers Subject matter experts Maintenance + Technical team + Change management team Your Answer Case Debrief In general, the SDLC refers to a linear sequence of stages all systems naturally undergo. The six distinct phases are: project identification and selection, project initiation and planning, analysis, design, implementation, and maintenance. Examples of steps during each phase include: identification of need, formal preliminary investigation of the problem at hand, determine requirements, local design, implementation, and system change. A strong candidate wil + Demonstrate understanding of the concept of SDLC + Be able to explain each phase independently and how each phase relates to the others This document was created with Win2PDF available at http://www.win2paf.com. The unregistered version of Win2PDF is for evaluation or non-commercial use only. This page will not be added after purchasing Win2PDF.

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