Unit 5 Learning Outcome 3: Explain the steps in System Development Life Cycle

Explain the steps in System Development Life Cycle
The System Development Life Cycle is a multistep, iterative process, structured in a methodical way. This process is used to model or provide a framework for technical and non-technical activities to deliver a quality system which meets or exceeds a business’s expectations or manage decision-making progression. 
Planning
In the planning phase, the objective of the project is determined and the requirements to produce the product are considered. Estimation of resources, such as personnel and costs, is prepared, along with a concept for the new product. All of the information is analyzed to see if there is an alternative solution to creating a new product. If there is no other viable alternative, the information is assembled into a project plan and presented to management for approval. 
Analysis
During the analysis stage the project team determines the end-user requirements. Often this is done with the assistance of client focus groups, which provide an explanation of their needs and what their expectations are for the finished product and how it will perform. The project team documents all of the user requirements and gets a sign-off from the client and management to move forward with system design.
Design
The design phase is the “architectural” phase of system design. The flow of data processing is developed into charts, and the project team determines the most logical design and structure for data flow and storage. For the user interface, the project team designs mock-up screen layouts that the developers use to write the code for the actual interface.
Implementation
This phase comes after a complete understanding of system requirements and specifications; it’s the actual construction process after having a complete and illustrated design for the requested system. In the Software Development Life Cycle, the actual code is written here, and if the system contains hardware, then the implementation phase will contain configuration and fine-tuning for the hardware to meet certain requirements and functions. In this phase, the system is ready to be deployed and installed in customer’s premises, ready to become running, live and productive, training may be required for end users to make sure they know how to use the system and to get familiar with it, the implementation phase may take a long time and that depends on the complexity of the system and the solution it presents.
Operation Support System
The final phase involves maintenance and regular required updates. This step is when end users can fine-tune the system, if they wish, to boost performance, add new capabilities or meet additional user requirements.