Course: ISEB Systems Development Essentials - 3 days

As people move into analysis, from either a business or technical background, they need to acquire a fundamental understanding of the systems development process, and the role and responsibilities of systems analysts and designers.
This course provides these essential foundations and goes on to focus on systems investigation and quality assurance, as these underpin all successful systems development projects. It also examines how the systems development effort could be organised, and distinguishes between generic lifecycle types, methods and approaches.

At the end of the course delegates may sit an examination to attain the ISEB Business Systems Development certificate in Systems Development Essentials. This course may be taken as part of the programme leading to the ISEB Diploma in Systems Development.

This is an intensive three day course that places emphasis on the practical application of the analysis skills covered. Delegates participate in exercises, and case study tasks.

Those delegates taking the ISEB certificate will need to spend 60-90 minutes each evening on revision and example examination questions.

The recommended combination and sequence of courses for delegates wishing to complete the ISEB Systems Development Diploma is (1) Systems Development Essentials, (2) either Systems Modelling Techniques (UML) or Systems Modelling Techniques (Structured), (3) Systems Design & Implementation Techniques, (4) Software Testing Foundation.

No prior knowledge of analysis techniques is expected.

 
Skills Obtained:

Identify the tasks and disciplines required for systems development and implementation.

Investigate a system

Interpret business requirements and produce systems requirements

Quality assure the systems requirements documentation

Design test cases for the requirements

Describe the commonly-used development lifecycles defined in the syllabus.

Describe in detail one methodology that embraces one (or more) of these lifecycles

Describe the structure and activities of this methodology

Describe, interpret and quality assure the key models that the selected methodology uses for defining the process, static and event perspectives of the system

Make effective use of different methods of interpersonal communications.

Quality assure the systems requirements documentation

Identify different architecture for systems development solutions

Conduct a system review

Explain how CASE tools might be used to support the method

The Role of the Systems Analyst and Designer
Identify the actors/roles and responsibilities within systems development and implementation; Characteristics of the systems analyst/designer

Systems Architecture
Different levels of architecture: Enterprise, Systems, Infrastructure; Inputs at: Enterprise level, Systems level, Infrastructure level; Impacts of design decisions

Development Approaches
Component-based; Evolutionary/iterative/agile; Bespoke development; Software package solutions; Other appropriate approaches

Systems Development Lifecycles
Waterfall; V model; Incremental; Spiral; Other appropriate lifecycles; Structure and content of a chosen representative method

Methodologies
How to interpret three representative models from the method, showing: Process perspective, Data perspective, Event perspective; Products within the chosen method

Systems Investigation
Interviewing; Other fact finding approaches: Workshops, Prototyping, Questionnaires, Scenario analysis, Observation, Documentation Analysis; Human aspects of systems investigation and introducing change

Defining Requirements
Functional Requirements Definition; Non-Functional Requirements Definition; Documenting system requirements

System Design, Implementation and Maintenance
Design principles and constraints (legal, ethical, financial); Sign off and hand over; Aspects of the production environment; Post-implementation reviews; Different types of maintenance

Quality Assurance
Definitions of quality; Requirements-driven testing; Types of walkthrough and inspection; Post-project reviews; Service Level Agreements

CASE tools
Features; Lifecycle coverage; Requirements traceability; Advantages and disadvantages

Case Study
Throughout the course a case study is used to reinforce and practise the topics discussed