Overwhelmed with setting up a new system?

A poorly performing IT infrastructure, not aligned to your company's goals can severely impact your business, resulting in high operational costs, ineffective decision making and inefficient resource utilization.

So why do small and medium businesses have poor infrastructure design? The answer is simple - infrastructure design is generally overlooked or skipped because of either budget restrictions or poorly skilled I.T. advisors.

In our practice, we use System Development Life Cycle (SDLS) which comprise of five stages.

1. Planning

We identify your business’ strategic objectives and brainstorm how best to get you there. The key at this stage is identifying the scope of the problem and considering a range of different solutions, identifying the best solution (in consultation with you) having regard to resources, cost, time and other benefits.

2. Systems Analysis and Requirements

We work with businesses to deal with their problems (once identified) or proposal for change. Where there is a problem, possible solutions are submitted and analysed to identify the best fit for the ultimate goal(s) of the project, bearing in mind the functional requirements of the project or solution. We also undertake system analysis. This involves analysing the needs of the end users to ensure the new system meets their expectations. This is vital in determining what a business needs and how they can be adequately met, who will be responsible for individual pieces of the project, and what sort of timeline should be expected.

3. Systems Design

At this stage, we detail the necessary specifications, features and operations that will satisfy the functional requirements of the proposed system. We then discuss the detailed design with end users to ensure that design satisfied their needs.

During this phase, we consider what components are required for the system to accomplish its objectives, such as software and hardware requirements, networking capabilities and processing and procedures.

4. Development

The fourth phase is when the real work begins, when the programmer, network engineer and/or database developer are brought on to do the ‘grunt work’ on the project. This work includes using a flow chart to ensure that the process of the system is properly organized.

5. Integration and Testing

This involves testing the newly created system. Testing includes integration and system testing, which essentially testing of programs and procedures normally carried out by a Quality Assurance (QA) professional—to determine if the proposed design meets the initial set of business goals. Testing may be repeated so as to check for errors, bugs and interoperability. This testing will be performed until the end user finds it acceptable. Another part of this phase is verification and validation, both of which will help ensure the program's successful completion.

6. Implementation

The sixth phase is when the majority of the code for the program is written. Additionally, this phase involves the actual installation of the newly-developed system. This step puts the project into production by moving the data and components from the old system and placing them in the new system via a direct cutover. While this can be a risky (and complicated) move, the cut over typically happens during off-peak hours, thus minimizing the risk. Both system analysts and end-users should now see the realization of the project that has implemented changes.

7. Operations and Maintenance

The seventh and final phase involves maintenance and regular required updates. This step is when end users can fine-tune the system, to boost performance, add new capabilities or meet additional user requirements.

what is the benefit of following sdls?

It is a systematic, easy-to-understand and use system that allows us to implement proper decision making that ensures that we reach your business objectives.