Assignment Directions

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).

3.  Your paper should contain at least 2-3 pages and up to 1-2 pages of diagrams as indicated below.

Your paper should contain at least 2-3 pages of writing and you are encouraged to also provide up to another 1-2 pages of diagrams (which can be embedded throughout your paper, as appropriate).

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.