Course Description

Systems Development Essentials course is perfect for business analysts and anyone wishing to learn about Agile software development. Study several system's development life cycles, both defined and evolutionary, and examine the context in which different lifecycles could be applied before focusing on an Agile approach.

Topics covered include examining how the systems development effort can be organised; understanding requirements, stakeholders, and roles in an agile environment, and techniques that support iterative development such as prototyping, hothousing, and scenarios.

Target Audience

Business analysts, solution developers, project managers, and anyone who needs a thorough practical understanding of the various systems development approaches, including the Agile framework. Systems Development Essentials is a Specialist Practitioner module on the BCS (ISEB) International Diploma in Business Analysis.

Exam

During this three-day course, you’ll receive all the training you need to prepare for the BCS Systems Development Essentials exam. A pass will contribute (as a Specialist Practitioner module) to the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis.

The exam is included as part of the course cost. The multiple-choice exam consists of 40 questions with a pass mark of 26 out of 40. Currently, the exam must be taken remotely using the BCS online proctoring service.

Course Content

Introduction

• Characteristics of software quality
• The purposes, objectives, and tasks of systems development
• Roles and responsibilities in systems development
• Technical and interpersonal skills of the business analysts and solution developers

Systems architecture

• Enterprise, systems, and infrastructure levels of architecture
• Inputs at an enterprise level
• Inputs at the system and infrastructure level
• Model Driven Architecture

Development approaches

• Bespoke development
• Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software package solutions
• Configuring and customising COTS software package solutions
• Component-based systems development
• Service-based solutions and other approaches
• Evolutionary prototyping

Systems development lifecycles

• Waterfall model
• V model
• Incremental model
• Spiral (evolutionary) model
• Advantages and disadvantages of each approach
• Selection of an appropriate development approach

Methods and approaches

• Detailed study of the Agile approach, including life cycle, deliverables, and roles
• Iterative systems development using the DSDM Atern methodology
• Other agile development methodologies (The Unified Process (UP), Scrum, eXtreme Programming)

Modelling techniques

• Models of the Unified Modeling Language (UML)
• Interpretation and principles of:
• Use case diagram
• Use case description
• Class diagram
• State machine diagram
• Validating models using a CRUD matrix

Requirements in an Agile environment

• Fact-finding approaches:
• Workshops
• Interviewing
• Questionnaires
• Scenario analysis, storyboarding, user stories and hot-housing
• Model office and focus groups
• Functional requirements definition
• Non-functional requirements definition
• Documenting & prioritising requirements
• Human aspects of systems investigation and introducing change

Iterative systems development

• Features of the iterative development approach
• Prototyping
• Categories of prototype
• Timeboxing
• Prototype development plans

Systems design, implementation and maintenance

• Design principles and constraints (legal, ethical, financial)
• Systems deployment and handover
• Post-implementation reviews
• Different types of maintenance
• Estimation and development planning

Quality assurance

• Definitions of software quality
• The V model
• Requirements-driven testing
• Static testing: types of walkthrough and inspection
• Post-project reviews

CASE and CAST tools

• Features of Computer-aided Software Engineering (CASE) and Computer-aided Software Testing tools (CAST)
• Life-cycle coverage
• Requirements traceability
• Advantages and disadvantages of software development support tools