System Development, Art or Science

System Development, Art or Science believe that systems development is an art. I provide some of the reasons below with the description of the systems development. Systems Development Cycle (SDLC) consists of project identification (selection), project initiation and planning, analysis, logical design, physical design, implementation, and maintenance. The systems development phase begins with enterprise modeling that analyzes current data processing/business function & data needs and with the justification of needs.

However, before an enterprise modeling task is done, the system analysts require an understanding of the information needs of the users. When system analysts initiate systems development phases, the foremost requirement for systems analysts become that they are able to access the information requirements from the users. However, accessing information from users require that system analysts are capable of understanding the business needs, but more important becomes their interpersonal styles so that they can interact with other users cordially.

These qualities of systems analysts are closer to an art form than the science. Again, during the identification phase, often a system is developed on the basis of an organizational problem. Finding problems is not easy however, since again it requires that systems analysts are proficient in judging correctly, what problems are, what opportunities are, and what directives are.

Although system analysts alone do not determine the problems, but still system analysts are required to assess the validity of the problem statement so that developed systems can meet the organizational short-term and long-term goals periodically (Nielsen, 1993). In the design phase, the specification of a detailed computer-based solution which emphasizes the technical or implementation concerns of the system become important.

As logical design consists of the translation of entity relations diagram into normalized data and input-output format, it is always possible to change conceptual schema or view based on the logical view/schemas (external views). Often how new views are integrated depends more to the way the system analysts look at the conceptual deign. In other words, none of the systems analysts agrees on the same logical design of the systems, because each of analysts takes a specific view of the system and its implementation.

This shows that even logical design phase is more like an art than the science. Though physical design of the system is dependent on the logical design, however, as we noted earlier that logical design is more like an art, so it is no surprising that physical design is often built based on the basis of an art rather than a clear-cut reason that are carried out in the science. In recent times, a main goal of user-centered design has become critical in the systems development (Smith and Dunckley, 2002).

This process places the user in a central position for both determining system requirements and ensuring they are met. The benefits of these systems include not only improvements in user efficiency, but also others, such as reduced training costs, reduced user errors, reduced maintenance costs, and increased customer satisfaction. However, the chief requirements in these kinds of systems become to understand the users' information needs.

As we argued earlier, the systems analysts cannot determine information needs scientifically, rather the system analysts are required to obtain this needs by projecting an extrovert interpersonal style that fits more closely to an art form. Design evaluations and maintenance are carried out with users of the systems (Smith and Dunckley, 2002). Although we believe that most of maintenance is routine, but in critical cases how systems are made usable so that users do not suffer their work requires an understanding of working around the system.

This phase again clearly shows that maintenance is not a science but often depends on the experience of the users and systems analysts. Rapid iterations of design and evaluation are often carried in ongoing fashion from early design through implementation. The evaluation steps are performed using an interactive prototyping application that evolves slowly into the final system. Again, we must understand that systems development activities are often carried out based on participant observation and interviewing and discussions. The importance of these activities in systems development is well-known.

At the same time, it is well know that.