Small systems lifecycle

Question 1

Waterfall model phases

Answer 1

Requirement gathering and analysis
System design
Implementation
Integration and Testing
Deployment of system
Maintenance

Question 2

Waterfall advantages

Answer 2

Simple and easy to use
Clearly defined stages
Works well for small projects
Process and results well documented

Question 3

Waterfall disadvantages

Answer 3

High risk/uncertainty
Cant accommodate changing requirements.
No working software produced until late during life cycle.

Question 4

Spiral model description

Answer 4

Iterative approach. Stages are visited and revisited in a constant quest for perfection. Each completed cycle referred to as iteration of development.

Question 5

Spiral model stages

Answer 5

Identification
Design
Construct/Build
Evaluation and Risk Analysis

Question 6

Spiral model advantages

Answer 6

Changing requirements can be accommodated
Allows extensive use of prototypes
Requirements can be captured more accurately
Users can see the system early
Development can be divided into smaller parts, and risky parts can be developed earlier, helping in better risk management.

Question 7

Spiral model disadvantages

Answer 7

Management more complex
End of project may not be known early
Not suitable for small/low risk projects due to cost
Complex process
Spiral may go on indefinitely
Large number of intermediate stages requires excessive documentation.

Question 8

RAD description

Answer 8

Rapid Application Development breaks analysis design implementation and testing stages into series of short development cycles, with 5 stages.

Question 9

RAD Stages

Answer 9

Business modelling
Data modelling
Process modelling
Application generation
Turnover.

Question 10

RAD Advantages

Answer 10

Changing requirements can be accommodated.
Progress can be measured.
Iteration time can be short with use of powerful RAD tools.
Productivity with fewer people in short time.
Reduced development time
Increased reusability of components
Integration from beginning solves many integration issues.
Encourages customer feedback.

Question 11

RAD Disadvantages

Answer 11

Depends on technically strong team members for identifying business requirements
Only systems that can be modularized can be built using RAD
Highly skilled developers/designers
High dependency on modelling skills
Inapplicable to cheaper projects, as cost of modeling and automated code gen is very high
Management is more complex
Requires user involvement throughout lifecycle
Suitable for project requiring shorter development times.