Strengths and Weaknesses
Few people in the modern computing world would use a strict waterfall model for their systems development life cycle (SDLC) as many modern methodologies have superseded this thinking. Some will argue that the SDLC no longer applies to models like Agile computing, but it is still a term widely in use in technology circles. The SDLC practice has advantages in traditional models of software development, that lends itself more to a structured environment. The disadvantages to using the SDLC methodology is when there is need for iterative development or (i.e. web development or e-commerce) where stakeholders need to review on a regular basis the software being designed. Instead of viewing SDLC from a strength or weakness perspective, it is far more important to take the best practices from the SDLC model and apply it to whatever may be most appropriate for the software being designed.
A comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of SDLC:
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Control. | Increased development time. |
| Monitor large projects. | Increased development cost. |
| Detailed steps. | Systems must be defined up front. |
| Evaluate costs and completion targets. | Rigidity. |
| Documentation. | Hard to estimate costs, project overruns. |
| Well defined user input. | User input is sometimes limited. |
| Ease of maintenance. | |
| Development and design standards. | |
| Tolerates changes in MIS staffing. |
An alternative to the SDLC is rapid application development, which combines prototyping, joint application development and implementation of CASE tools. The advantages of RAD are speed, reduced development cost, and active user involvement in the development process.
Read more about this topic: Systems Development Life-cycle
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