Software Development Resources

What is software development and how is it performed?

System or software development is a defined process by which software is conceived, developed and implemented. There are various models to follow within software development, but each process involves the following stages of the investigation or the preliminary survey, the feasibility study, the system analysis, the design of software, the development of software, the software testing and the evaluation, implementation and maintenance.

What is done during the preliminary survey or investigation phase of software development?

A difficult task for the system analyst can be to identify the real problems of the existing software. Without the understanding, the further work could lead to the wastage of effort at a later stage. This step is used to evaluate the project requests. It is not a design study, nor does it include the collection of business system details. It is a collection of information that helps members of a committee evaluate the project merit requests and to make a judgement about its feasibility.

Why is a feasibility study so important in software development?

The use of a feasibility study within software development helps to evaluate the benefits and the cost of the software. A benefit analysis and a rough cost can be sufficient for the top management to make an informed decision either in favour or against any proposed software. The cost can include the cost of the development, design, maintenance and implementation of the software. The benefits can be realised from the accurate and timely generation of the required information that meets the stated objectives of an organisation. The software that is created for an organisations particular system may also be used, to some extent, in other applications.

What is the system analysis phase of software development?

Once the feasibility study has been completed of the software development, with the consent of the management team, the system analyst can then proceed further with the process of development. This phase of software development begins and the system requirements are then determined. It can also include the study of existing systems in some detail and the collection of data to find out the users requirements. The questions to answer are:

Within the organisation, what is being performed?
How is it performed?
How frequently does it occur?
What are the transaction volumes?
How well are the tasks performed?
Do any problems exist?

If there are problems, how serious are they and what are their underlying causes? The system analyst must then consult with a variety of persons to obtain the answers. They have to understand the business and its processes and what problems exist. They should identify the reasons for each problem and offer possible solutions. The tools that can be used to perform this are interviews, questionnaires and on-site observations.

What is done during the design phase of software development?

The goal of this design phase is to identify the user’s needs and build the software that satisfies those needs. Software specialists refer to this phase as logical design. The development of the programme software is known as physical design. The main activities of the design phase are to:

Identify the data requirements
Identify the reports and any other outputs which the software must produce
Identified data to be input, calculated and stored
Any organisational structure changes to the firm
The planning of procedures, forms, files, input and output
The standards for system control, testing and documentation are formulated
The actual design of the database is performed

What is done during the software development phase within software development?

The software is coded. The system analyst then decides whether the organisation requires commercial software or whether the customised programme be developed with the help of programmers. The choice can depend on the cost of each option, the availability of planners and the time it takes to develop the software. Within large organisations, the work can be entrusted to programmers, but in small organisations the work may be assigned to an outside organisation. The software development programmers have the added responsibility of preparing the documentation for the programme, which will include the explanation of the varied procedures, the ways in which they are coded and how they are coded. Documentation is needed within this phase to test the programme and it can help with the maintenance of the system after the application has been installed.

Why is the testing phase so important in software development?

The objective of this phase is to find the errors and fix them. Successful tests find errors. The main objectives of the software testing are as follows:

To ensure the software performs according to the specifics that are laid down at the initial time of the software analysis operation.
To ensure that all controls within the software, work effectively just as they are intended to do so.
To ensure that during the operation period, the software can detect any data entry corrections and processes.
The necessary tests are performed on the software with special test data, and the results are then examined for validity. Some users may receive the allowance to operate on the software so that the analyst can ascertain if the system works in the specific environment.

What is done during the implementation and evaluation phase of software development?

It comprises of software and hardware installation, plus the required training given to each user. The user’s can actually start to use the software in this phase; therefore this phase requires training and appropriate user manuals that they can refer to.

Why is software maintenance required?

Once the implementation process has been performed, the software then requires maintenance so that it may adapt to the changing business requirements. The maintenance is of three types:

Correction – deals with the correction errors within existing software
Adaptation – deals with the software customisation so that is can run in the new environment
Enhancement – deals with the additional capabilities or new functions of the software. If the software requires major modifications, the life cycle then starts again.