System Life Cycle

An information system has a life of sorts. It begins as an idea, is defined for consideration, approved, developed, implemented, and serves in a production capacity for a period before it is replaced.

The phases of an information system life cycle can be described in various levels of detail. Here is a simple set of life cycle phases:

1.   System Inception 2.   Project Initiation 3.   Requirements 4.   System Analysis 5.   Software Design 6.   Construction 7.   Testing 8.   Deployment 9.   Production 10. Termination

System life cycle is important from a cost standpoint. As you can see from the graph, most of the cost of a system is loaded in phases 3 through 7. The longer the system is operational the lower the cost of the system over time. When the system must be scrapped, it usually means that the replacement system will be initiating another set of front end loaded costs.

The CEA has the system design experience needed to facilitate the extension of useful education assessment system life. One component of extending system life is the modification of an information system over time. If a vendor is currently fulfilling assessment information needs it may limit an organization’s ability to modify and thereby extend system life.

This need for flexibility through modification may be addressed by adapting an existing well-designed information system for use within the organization. CEA consulting can assist by showing how the shift from external to internal control may be accomplished resulting in more and longer returns from information systems.