Lecture Notes: Understanding Software Development Life Cycle and IT Service Management

Introduction

• Discussion with module lecturer about the lack of feedback from students.
• Importance of understanding and falling in love with the subject, particularly for future bankers.
• Encouragement for interactive sessions and communication in English or Sinhala.

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

• Key Stages

  • Requirement Analysis: Understanding the needs and defining problems.
  • Design: Creating a solution blueprint.
  • Coding: Developing the software.
  • Testing: Ensuring the software addresses the initial problem.
  • Deployment: Moving the tested product to production for use by customers.
  • Maintenance: Ongoing bug fixes and improvements.

• Documents and Specifications

  • User Requirement Specification (URS): Provides all requirements from the development team.
  • System Requirement Specification: Formulated by business analysts to define system needs.
  • User Stories: Detailed requirements prepared by business analysts to guide software developers.

SDLC Models

• Waterfall Model

  • Characteristics: Sequential steps from requirement to deployment, no going back.
  • Issues: Not flexible or adaptable for changing requirements.

• Rapid Application Development (RAD)

  • Characteristics: Fast-paced development, suitable for urgent projects.
  • Issues: Possible quality sacrifice due to speed.

• Spiral Model

  • Characteristics: Risk-focused, iterative process with multiple life cycle passes.
  • Benefits: Addresses risk at each stage before moving to the next.

• V-Model

  • Characteristics: Parallel planning of development and testing stages.
  • Benefits: Verifies each stage before proceeding, minimizing errors.

• Incremental Model

  • Characteristics: Series of mini-waterfalls, adding functionality incrementally.

• Agile Model

  • Characteristics: Flexible, continuous development and testing.
  • Benefits: Adapts to changes quickly, suitable for mobile-first and tech-driven environments.

• Iterative Model

  • Characteristics: Starts with a basic implementation, adds features progressively.

• Big Bang Model

  • Characteristics: All resources focused on development with minimal planning.

IT Service Management (ITSM) - ITIL Framework

• Purpose: Systematic approach to managing IT services with five key stages.

• Stages of ITIL

  • Service Strategy: Align IT services with business goals, manage portfolios and finances.
  • Service Design: Design IT services to meet regulatory and customer demands.
  • Service Transition: Manage changes and deployments with minimal disruption.
  • Service Operation: Day-to-day service management ensuring efficient delivery.
  • Continual Service Improvement: Ongoing improvement of IT services.

• Key Concepts

  • Service Level Agreement (SLA), capacity and availability management.
  • Change management, event monitoring, and access control.
  • Continuous improvement initiatives to enhance IT service quality.

Conclusion

• Importance of understanding SDLC and ITSM for efficient banking operations.
• Encouragement to study and understand practical applications and examples given during the lecture.

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These notes provide an overview of the key points discussed in the lecture regarding software development processes and IT service management principles. The integration of these processes is crucial for effective banking and technology management.