Report on Approaches to System Development

            The methodology for the development of a system has a diversity of approaches. It is referred as SDLC or system development life cycle. Some of the most widely and commonly used models are the Agile, V-shaped, Waterfall, and Spiral models. Central strategic aspect is the point where the framework or model that will guide the process of development. Not only client satisfaction is affected but a project is also delayed by the incorrect life cycle.

Rapid Application Development of Approaches to System Development

        In the 1970s, it was originally conceptualized and the model of rapid application development was formalized and developed by James Martin in the beginning of 1990s. It is actually grounded on the rule that errors and delays are inevitably entailed by the gradual structured life-cycles, urging the need for another or substitute methodology. When deadlines are considered very important the swiftness of development of a software is important, RAD seems to present itself as a very compatible solution. RAD comprises of guidelines and tools that make short-time development easier within a predefined timebox or time frame. Furthermore, the product is not created in successive stages until a complete and final delivery. It follows the priorities which are set by the business and some of these guidelines and tools include code debugging, testing, generation, process and data modelling, and planning methods (Beynon-Davies, Carne and Mackay).

        When considering Rapid Application Development, it is significant to note that both customers and developers are involves in increments and it becomes necessary to create a balanced state between structural stability and flexibility. Methodologies of RAD can follow four-stage or three-stage cycles. The four-stage cycle seems to consist of cutover, construction, user design, and requirements planning. Meanwhile, in the three-stage cycle, user design and requirements planning are consolidated into an individual iterative activity.

            During planning, it is possible to analyze requirements, opportunities, and alternatives along with risks. This will create a base for a definition of the scope and goals of project. It will also enable the timebox’s establishment which is a limited period. Then, each increment is developed in a model comprising of spiral through testing, prototyping, and design. This method is very effective in pushing the whole team closer to the goals of a project by providing the necessary information and key deadlines. There are various advantages of Rapid Application Development as it focuses on effective client-developer communication and swift delivery. This development approach would be beneficial for the development of CMA because it doesn’t only serve to bring goals of a project closer to the team but it also helps in building the setup which is easier and simpler to navigate. It can help Gerry in resolving the issue of keeping the tract of clients’ information and making CMA not only better but also simpler so that it can be used effectively.

Agile Life Cycle Model of Approaches to System Development

        In 2001, the idea for the model of agile software development was proposed by seventeen software developers in just an attempt to bring the best traits of other models similar to agile in a single framework. Ever since then, development’s agile methods have become quite popular and there are eleven principles that guide models of agile development. These are simply summed as:

Highest priority is the satisfaction of customers.

Alterations in requirements are welcomed and not considered a hurdle.

In terms of effective projects, motivated individuals are very important.

Direct conversation is paramount to effective collaboration.

Software is offered constantly in consecutive releases.

Working application is the measure of the progress of a project.

Viable development has to be promoted.

Emphasis on design and technical quality.

It is significant to favor simplicity.

Self-organizing teams are considered the best form of development of projects.

On team improvement, there must be consistent discussions.

The general path included in the development of an agile process includes:

Project approval and selection:

         During this very stage, a developer establish the requirements, purpose, and scope of the project. A developer can also do this through an analysis of risk assessments and alternatives for each and every idea.

Project Initiation:

        After the development of a concise project with a respective scope and goals, a team is formulated with appropriate tools and environment together with a working environment in which the system is based.

Construction iterations:

        A working software is released by the developer in successive increments that will be accommodating the evolution of requirements just as outlined by various stakeholders. For an effective project, extensive testing and close collaboration of each and every iteration are considered significant.

Product release:

        In this stage, focus is more on the testing of system together with necessary final documentations and reworks. As the program is released, training is provided to users for maximizing operational integration (Lindvall, Muthig and Dagnino).

Prototyping Model of Approaches to System Development

        Prototyping model can actually be considered as a process that is a part of a large SDLC or a central approach that seems to define SDLC. The emphasis is more on the development of a software rather than documentation. What makes this model better for CMA is that it is a user-centric approach because the feedback of users is important for the development of subsequent prototypes and gradually, the overall product. A crucial step stage in the methodology of this model is that it analyzes the needs and requirements of users. Furthermore, it seems to encourage changes.

        Among all the above models, prototyping model is the best one for Gerry as it will allow him to create a program that not only keeps the track of clients but also identifies changes. It can create a program that is simple and ready to be changed anytime. Considering the fact that it is capable of creating an easy user-interface, it ensures that users are able to learn the whole process themselves gradually. Gerry can take the advantage of this aspect to save his time and invest it in the core functions of his business (Hill and Beachman).

Answer No. 2

Handling New CMA of Approaches to System Development

To: Gerry and Susan

By:

Date: 29 April, 2019

        Gerry has analyzed that every client of iBOS has a certain agreement with the company and there are some clients as well with more than one agreement. Since there are numerous clients, it is very difficult to record the details of the agreements. The new CMA will give me the options regarding inputting the information about an agreement of a client like comments, end data, and start date. There will be a pop-up that will have blank spaces for the input of information.

        Once the client has a signed the agreement, this information can be recorded using the new CMA. This option can be accessed once the agreement comes back from the client. Since it was also important to make sure that aspects regarding the service such as price interval of a service, price of a standard service, data of service which is no longer offered, and date at which service was offered first had to be recorder, the CMA will provide me the capability of recording information about all of these aspects with an addition of description of service, and name of service. This type of information will be recorder in a pop-up page before the client signs an agreement.

        It will also allow me to record the starting data of the service and the ending data. Both of these points will be manual and I will have to input these by myself when the agreement has been returned by the client. In terms of the price, both the price interval and price rate will be recorder as well. These aspects are not available in the previous system and it creates a major issue for Gerry because he is unable to distinguish between the clients due to it. Since the system is very complex, workers are unable to find a solution and Gerry doesn’t want anyone to control or modify the system.

        The new CMA system allows the user to input all the information about the client before sending an agreement to the client. What makes it better than before is that all controls are simple and there are buttons which enables the user to understand the whole process in a more convenient way. Before sending agreement to a client, all the personal information like name and contact details can be placed in the pop-up which will be stored into the main database of the organization. Later on, this form can be sent to the client. This form can be further modified when a client becomes a potential one. For instance, more details can be added in the form to ensure that every detail about the client is stored in the database. In order to resolve the issue of invoices, it has a separate section in the form which allows the user to easily distinguish where to input the information. Not only inputting invoice information is made easier but it also becomes very simple to understand it.

Previous CMA system of Approaches to System Development

        In the previous CMA system, transactions and invoicing are duplicated. In the MYOB accounting package and MYOB, there was actually an unusual interaction and it was created by Gerry himself. This process was very complicated and Susan was unable to use it because only Gerry was capable of it. Furthermore, Susan believed that it was faulty and correct records were not kept be it. The most important issue of the system was that it was not user-friendly and not anyone could just operate it.

        Gerry was the only one to use it and anyone other than Gerry would be confused to manage clients because there were not basic options available in comparison with other web-applications. This complexity of the system made only understanding the work very tough and time-consuming. Susan found the system very complicated and a junior couldn’t be trained in using the system which meant that she had to do most of the work all by herself. There are different aspects in the system but they were very difficult to be operated and even the navigation seems like an impossibility. These were some of the most prominent issues with the previous CMA and the new CMA is not only enhanced but is also user-friendly. There are options for every action that the user has to take which makes guiding the user very easy. Since the interface focuses a lot on the user, understanding the system has become easy and anyone can be trained in using it. It keeps the confidentiality of the whole network while enabling better options

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References of Approaches to System Development

Beynon-Davies, Paul, et al. "Rapid application development (RAD): an empirical review." European Journal of Information Systems 8.3 (1999): 211-223.

Hill, Timothy J. and Bruce J. Beachman. "Prototyping model for components of a software program." U.S. Patent 7,133,874 (2006).

Lindvall, Mikael, et al. "Agile software development in large organizations." Computer 37.12 (2004): 26-34.