Information System Development Life Cycle Models - High Level Models and Methodologies for Information Systems - page 20

Chapter 2
Information System Development Life
Cycle Models

2.1 Introduction

With the increasing evolution and complexity of information technologies, there has
emerged a multiplicity of applications for information systems (IS): They assist in
corporate transactions, they connect business and of

ce data, and they support users
in the architecture of strategy. The complexity of their nature and objectives requires
the harnessing of technology and user experience to create systems that meet their
expected purpose. In essence, system development consists of this process of cre-
ating an information system, with all the variables that it entails and which usually
need to be taken into account: its ability to be user-friendly, how well it functions, if
it meets the needs of the organization in which it will be integrated, and so forth.
The life cycle of an IS development begins with its creation and ends with its
termination. Along this process, it goes through various stages, which have been
discussed to some extension in existing literature. Cohen ( 2010 ) outlines
“ requirements, analysis, design, construction (or coding), testing (validation),

installation, operation, maintenance, and the less emphasized retirement as the key

components of the development process. According to Jirava ( 2004 ), the conven-
tional

”

five phases: Investigation, User Requirements,
Analysis, Design, Implementation and Release.

“ life cycle is composed of

”
Generally speaking, the life cycle is perceived as the time frame that spans from
the development of a new system to its eventual retirement. It is a process that starts
with the emergence of an idea, goes through its implementation, and ends with its
termination, moving across all the intermediate stages in which its viability and
usability are prioritized (Jirava 2004 ).
However, IS are very complex structures. They are built with a speci

c goal, for

a speci c organization. Because of this speci city, each system development pro-

cess requires a guiding framework to con gure, outline, and monitor the progress of

the development along all the stages of the life cycle. Although the methods
employed in this framework depend on the peculiar characteristics of each project,