Introduction
The System Development Life Cycle is an invaluable methodology that helps build data systems’ setup and management by heavily formalizing the structure of the organization’s IT systems. This procedure yields flawless designs in pre-test and implementable given that they work in the long term, thereby reinforcing competence and effectiveness. The SDLC supports balancing complicated IT architecture issues by using appropriate resources and doing a precise task. A range of sustainable technologies is therefore made possible by this approach. The SDLC creates the threshold for IT organizations to make infrastructure issues a stepping stone to innovation and enhancement.
Problem Identification
The Problem
In the digital age, many businesses must contend with an incredibly hard job of coping with terrific quantities of data. The old infrastructure systems in the information field can be improved for properly transmitting and processing information in areas with deadly security risks. Data breaches, which have rapidly increased, are the perfect example demonstrating that legacy systems are insecure and cannot install updated security measures. This scenario disintegrates the integrity of the data and results in an information breach, a loss of confidence, and the loss of operational independence for the organization. The urgent redesign and modernization of the system would be considered, which leads to the next strong problem and reason that must be addressed immediately.
Impact on the Organization
The ramifications of the inadequacies and flaws in the current IT systems encompass technical hitches, which are critical, and the damages extend far beyond the organization. The existing problems determine the development of subsequent ones, making operational costs high because expenditure is required to manage the problems that arise. On the other hand, productivity also plunges since outdated software cannot perform, which becomes a stumbling block in the workflow. Apart from that, the security issues related to such outdated systems are of the highest level and are a real danger for the organization, which is exposed to possible data breaches and cyber-attacks. With these, an organization’s overall performance is significantly affected, creating a void in the market share. These vulnerabilities not only require a massive financial outlay for damage control but also affect the organization’s image, focusing customers’ attention on the reliability and loyalty of the brand.
Importance of a Solution
Dealing effectively with all the disadvantages created by obsolete systems is not just about remediation but also about survival and strategic competitiveness in the digital revolution for organizations. Implementing strong and modern solutions in the transboundary section confronts the problem of inefficiency in increasing the security and efficiency of operations (Hababeh et al., 2018). It lays the groundwork for more incisive, knowledge-based decision-making processes and makes organizations savour themselves with market dynamics and customer needs to some extent. In addition, the strategic modification highly adds to the company’s competitive strength in that it installs operational excellence, innovation, and customer confidence. Thus, the modernization of IT infrastructure is a core solution to achieve durable and competitive power in the market.
SDLC Analysis
Planning and Requirements Gathering:
The planning and requirements-gathering phase starts with the underlying SDLCs, which coordinate the organizational goals to guarantee success. The essential stage is properly positioning the IT project’s infrastructure with the company’s targets and showcasing a roadmap for its direction. This process includes interviewing the key stakeholders and involves a structured interview style that gives detailed data and diversified expectations and worries that could be passed through. This direct engagement creates an atmosphere of responsibility and collaboration among involved parties, and ultimately, the solution gets to be more comprehensive and tailored to fit the organizational context.
Moreover, implementing comprehensive document reviews and performing up-to-date system audits are important operations. The audit report offers a current and wide-ranging view of the current state of the IT infrastructure, as it points out the areas that could need some improvements, inefficiencies, and technological gaps that the project aims to solve. At the same time, reviewing existing documentation heals wounds by informing them about difficulties encountered, solutions tried, outcomes achieved, and sealing the past. This data collection method involves the present state and the fact that history provides the information gathering with a contextual framework; hence, the planning process enhances the strategic depth.
Analyzing System Needs
The Data Flow Diagram (DFD) is one of the major tools that depicts how data is passed through an organization’s IT architecture and makes visible inefficiencies and vulnerabilities in data management and security. It is, therefore, capable of mapping different system components starting from data input, which signifies the integration of the parts and how they are liable to bottlenecks, redundancies, and other risks. For example, you might find the bottleneck of the process step marked in the DFD, and it shows that some inefficiencies are used by the slow data handling process and affect overall system performance. Likewise, by looking at the data flow route, making a data flow diagram can detect areas where data moves around insecurely and, therefore, show where you need to improve how data should be encrypted by applying extra security protocols. Therefore, the DFD enrich the system’s data flow visualization and illuminates the crucial points that need to be fine-tuned in these data management and security practices.
System Design
In the terrain of system design, the switch to trendy, scalable, and secure architectures becomes compulsory for organizations that want to get the upper hand in digital environment development. This system is built to make the present operation run smoothly and should be adaptable and easily fulfilled. Scalability is essential in enabling the system to be huge enough to satisfy the requirements of the incoming workflow or user-based work without compromising the performance and security features. Alongside building a strong security policy from the outset, this is also how cybercriminals’ shifts may be slowed and data authenticity and security maintained. The holistic comprehension of system architecture contemplates a future-aspect strategy that previously attenuates how systems evolve regarding adaptability, efficiency, and security (Bidisha L. et al., 2018).
Furthermore, human-computer interaction (HCI) principles significantly contribute to system structure development and enhance users’ involvement and efficiency. System development objectives are to ensure a satisfactory user experience and ease of use, with the clock as the foremost priority. This type of design ensures a shorter learning curve for the users, resulting in rapid mastery of the skill for the new user. A user-oriented design strategy applies the accessibility principle to develop flexibility that can be embraced by all categories of users at all levels of technology. The system permits the participation of a much larger segment of users, and such a policy brings in rapid growth in the number of users in a very short time. The usability improvement further increases user responsibility, reduces error-proneness, and improves task speed by simplifying each. Applying human factors in designing systems will improve usability and effectiveness. (Ogunyemi et al., 2018).
System Testing
Before the system is implemented, an intensive testing process is performed to guarantee its quality, precision, and security, guaranteeing that it meets the performance standards that are critically needed. This strategy of multilayer testing based on unit testing is a starting point where particular units are assessed in isolation to ensure they work according to the specifications. Then integration testing comes into place to ensure that these parts can work together smoothly; any problems might arise from interactions between different parts. Lastly, system testing assesses the entire integrated system to ensure it runs correctly and provides expected results in real-world scenarios. Hence, this approach to testing is paramount to getting rid of failures in the system that may cause system instability and breach of security, leading to downtime. According to Alazzawi and Rahmatullah (2023), system testing is a pivotal element in software development, serving as an anchor for delivering reliable and robust solutions in the IT industry.
System Implementation
The new system will be deployed in sync with the development of the corresponding training system that is being developed, taking into account that all users will adapt to working with the new system and have a sense of comfort and competence with the new technology (Kenge & Khan, 2020). The training covers hands-on sessions, detailed documentation, and various support tools that can be used to answer queries and address difficulties. On the one hand, the strategic transition plan ensures that operations are not disrupted. The systems are phased out, with some being run temporarily in harmony through parallel running, ensuring the continuity of business processes. Blending targeted training capitalizing on data and transition planning oriented towards modern users are the pivotal factors influencing resistance to change. This promotes a shift from efficiency negatives towards positives among the user community.
Maintenance
The maintenance policy for this new system is intricate and comprehensive, and it would cover all the bases necessary for its long-term sustainability and consistency in the face of changing business, technical conditions, and trends. Through this model, periodic software upgrades will be carried out, including installing the latest bug fixes and improvements to the system to handle new threats and fulfil user requirements. User support is a key part of this strategy, focusing on responding to customers quickly, solving the problems that arise, and using the feedback to try to improve the situation. Furthermore, a regular monitoring system is undertaken to see whether the system is performing its role efficiently; in that way, it is maintained as modern regarding technological innovations and business efficiency (Chen et al., 2021).
Conclusion
The application of the SDLC approach offers a valuable aid to the struggle of managing IT infrastructure that is logically, thoroughly, and methodically managed. By implementing the SDLC in its different phases, the companies will have a powerful tool to increase their productivity and be well-armed against online security dangers simultaneously. This endeavour showed that the applied approach measures are the keystone of the considerably successful decision for the technological issues. Through applying this strategic approach to the SDLC, the technical solutions implemented have become comprehensive and flexible and allowed us to build a robust future and a resilient system.
References
Alazzawi, A., & Rahmatullah, B. (2023). A Comprehensive Review of Software Development Life Cycle Methodologies: Pros, Cons, and Future Directions. Iraqi Journal For Computer Science and Mathematics, 4(4), 173-190. https://www.iasj.net/iasj/download/7e28313890452e4f
Biswas, S., Sharif, K., Li, F., Nour, B., & Wang, Y. (2018). A scalable blockchain framework for secure transactions in IoT. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 6(3), 4650-4659. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8481466/
Chen, Y., Liu, Y., & Jiang, T. (2021). Optimal maintenance strategy for multi-state systems with single maintenance capacity and arbitrarily distributed maintenance time. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 211, 107576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2021.107576
Hababeh, I., Gharaibeh, A., Nofal, S., & Khalil, I. (2018). An integrated methodology for big data classification and security for improving cloud systems data mobility. IEEE Access, 7, 9153-9163. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8594554/
Kenge, R., & Khan, Z. (2020). A research study on the ERP system implementation and current trends in ERP. Shanlax International Journal of Management, 8(2), 34-39. https://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:sijm&volume=8&issue=2&article=006
Liou, J., & Duclervil, S. R. (2020). A survey on the effectiveness of the secure Software Development life cycle models. In Springer eBooks (pp. 213–229). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50244-7_11
Ogunyemi, A., Lamas, D., Lárusdóttir, M., & Loizides, F. (2018). A systematic mapping study of HCI practice research. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 35(16), 1461–1486. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2018.1541544
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