Sdlc

Systems Development Life Cycle Checklists The System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process applies to information system development projects ensuring that all functional and user requirements and agency strategic goals and objectives are met. The SDLC provides a structured and standardized process for all phases of any system development effort. These phases track the development of a system through several development stages from feasibility analysis, system planning and concept development; to acquisition and requirements definition; design; development; integration and testing; deployment and acceptance; though deployment and production; and finally to system retirement. The Records Management (RM) Profile1 recommends that agencies embed records management requirements in the earliest stages of the SDLC. The following document is a checklist to assist agencies to integrate RM into the SDLC. The checklist identifies certain points in the SDLC process where the agency may propose to establish records management review and approval to ensure that sound RM practices are incorporated into the development of its proposed IT systems. While the attached SDLC diagram demonstrates these stages in a linear “waterfall” systems development methodology, the checklist can be used with other systems development methodologies as well, such as “spiral,” “parallel,” “rapid application development (RAD)” and “prototyping” by modifying the checklist to fit the phases of the preferred SDLC method used. The checklist provides three to five basic questions about records management and recordkeeping for each phase of the SDLC lifecycle process. The checklist questions are intended to begin a more detailed discussion with agency records managers, IT and CPIC staff, and program managers and staff that will help identify recordkeeping requirements in each phase, with a great emphasis on identifying records management requirements at the earliest stages of project planning, initiation and