Question

1. Now that you have learned about SDLC and its phases, what are the possible output (deliverables) of SDLC?
   
2. What are the different phases and characteristics of RAD? Discuss the benefits of RAD.

Answer 1

Solution:

Deliverables of SDLC:

A Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) represents the phases that a software project goes through in order to define and/or design the software requirements, perform the program changes, test the program cycle to ensure that changes are accurate, and install the changes into the running system.

Each phase of SDLC produces deliverables required by the next phase in the life cycle.

Such delivearbles at each phase of SDLC are as follows:

1. Requirement Phase: The outcome of this phase are Customer Requirement Specification (CRS), Business Specification (BS), etc., that are provides to Development Team.

2. Analysis Phase: The outcome of this phase is the Software Requirement Specification.

3. Design Phase: The outcome from this phase is High-Level Document and Low-Level Document which works as an input to the next phase.

4. Development Phase: The outcome from this phase is Source Code Document (SCD) and the developed product.

5. Testing Phase: The outcome of this phase is the Quality Product and the Testing Artifacts.

6. Deployment & Maintenance Phase: After successful testing, the product is delivered/deployed to the customer for their use. Maintenance should be done as per SLA (Service Level Agreement).

RAD (Rapid application development):

Rapid Application Development is a development model prioritizes rapid prototyping and quick feedback over long drawn out development and testing cycles. With rapid application development, developers can make multiple iterations and updates to a software rapidly without needing to start a development schedule from scratch each time.

RAD is a development model that came into existence once developers realized the traditional waterfall model of development wasn’t very effective.

Phases of RAD:

There are several stages to go through when developing a RAD model including analysis, designing, building, and the final testing phase. These steps can be divided to make them more easily understandable and achievable. The following describes the process included in all RAD models:

Stage 1: Business Modeling

Business modeling step in the RAD model takes information from the company gathered through many business-related sources. This info is then combined into a useful description of how the data can be used when it is processed, and what is making this specific information successful for the industry.

Stage 2: Data Modeling

During the Data Modeling stage, all the information gathered during the Business Modeling phase is analyzed. Through the analysis, the information is grouped into different groups that can be useful to the company. The quality of each data group is carefully examined and given an accurate description. A relationship between these groups and their usefulness as defined in the Business Modeling step is also established during this phase of the RAD model.

Stage 3: Process Modeling

The Process Modeling phase is the step in the RAD model procedure where all the groups of information gathered during the Data Modeling step are converted into the required usable information. During the Process Modeling stage, changes and optimizations can be done, and the sets of data can be further defined. Any descriptions for adding, removing, or changing the data objects are also created during this phase.

Stage 4: Application Generation

The Application Generation step is when all the information gathered is coded, and the system that is going to be used to create the prototype is built. The data models created are turned into actual prototypes that can be tested in the next step.

Stage 5: Testing and Turnover

The Testing and Turnover stage allows for reduced time in the overall testing of the prototypes created. Every model is tested separately to identify and adapt the components quickly to create the most effective product. Since most of the elements have already been examined previously, there should not be any major problems with your prototype.

Characteristics of RAD:

1. RAD USES HYBRID TEAMS

1. Teams should consist of about 6 people, including both
   developers and full-time users of the system plus anyone else
   who has a stake in the requirements.
2. Developers chosen for RAD teams should be multi-talented
   "renaissance" people who are analysts, designers and
   programmers all rolled into one.

2. RAD USES SPECIALIZED TOOLS THAT SUPPORT ...

1. "visual" development
2. creation of fake prototypes (pure simulations)
3. creation of working prototypes
4. multiple languages
5. team scheduling
6. teamwork and collaboration
7. use of reusable components
8. use of standard APIs
9. version control

3. RAD USES "TIMEBOXING" : Secondary features are dropped as necessary to stay on schedule.

4. RAD USES ITERATIVE, EVOLUTIONARY PROTOTYPING

Benefits of RAD:

• Changing requirements can be accommodated.

• Progress can be measured.

• Iteration time can be short with use of powerful RAD tools.

• Productivity with fewer people in a short time.

• Reduced development time.

• Increases reusability of components.

• Quick initial reviews occur.

• Encourages customer feedback.

• Integration from very beginning solves a lot of integration issues.

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