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Systems Analysis and Development Approaches

User needs, time and cost

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 1

Overview

Three main factors that shape any systems development project, user needs in a development project and development costs and running costs.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Why is time the dominant factor for a system tied to an external date?

Key term

Explain why involving users throughout development saves money overall.

Key term

Name the three main factors that shape any systems development project.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Name the three main factors that shape any systems development project.

    Model answer

    The three main factors are the needs of the users, the time available and the cost of the development.

  2. 2

    What is meant by user needs in a development project?

    Model answer

    User needs are the things the people who will use the system must be able to do with it, together with the standards of speed, reliability and ease of use they expect.

  3. 3

    Why can the three main factors not all be satisfied fully at once?

    Model answer

    Meeting every user need takes time and money, so a team given a fixed deadline and a fixed budget must limit what it delivers, and a project that adds features must accept later delivery or higher cost.

  4. 4

    How can an immovable deadline damage the quality of a delivered system?

    Model answer

    A team working to a deadline it cannot meet will cut testing and documentation first, so the system reaches the users with more faults in it and is harder to maintain afterwards.

  5. 5

    Give three costs an organisation must budget for beyond the developers' wages.

    Model answer

    An organisation must budget for hardware and software licences, for training its staff, and for maintenance and support once the system is running.

  6. 6

    Distinguish between development costs and running costs.

    Model answer

    Development costs are the one-off costs of building and installing the system, while running costs are the continuing costs of operating it, such as support, licences, power and maintenance.

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