Foundation in Systems Development

The Foundation in Systems Development course is aimed at anyone involved - either directly or indirectly - in systems development who wishes to gain an understanding of a broad range of systems development approaches and the tools and techniques used in the development of software solutions. Key course areas include:

System development lifecycles and approaches
Business analysis, requirements engineering and making a business case
Systems modelling and specification techniques and CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) tools
Systems design and architecture
Quality assurance, testing and CAST (Computer Aided Software Testing) tools
Implementation and changeover

The course covers all topics contained within the BCS syllabus and provides participants with knowledge that underpins the higher level Solution Development qualifications.

Course Content

Introduction to systems development

The scope of systems development
Systems development and other disciplines
Offshoring and outsourcing of systems development work

Lifecycle types and their rationales

Lifecycles – waterfall, 'V' model, incremental, evolutionary
The Unified Process
Adaptation and customisation of the lifecycles
Roles and responsibilities in systems development
Project lifecycles

Business analysis

Definition of business analysis
Business analysis in the systems development lifecycle
Outcomes from business analysis

Requirements engineering

Introduction to requirements engineering
Requirements elicitation techniques
Types of requirements
Documenting requirements
Prioritising requirements
Managing requirements
Analysing and validating requirements

Making a business case

Assessing feasibility
Elements of a business case
Identifying, evaluating and selecting options
Cost/benefit analysis
Impact and risk analysis

Programming and development approaches

Drivers affecting the choice of approach
Approaches described: agile software development; object-oriented development; service-oriented development; open source development; Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) solutions

Systems modelling and specification techniques

Reasons for modelling
Modelling from different perspectives - process, data and business rules
Modelling dynamic behaviour
Modelling the user interface
Cross-referencing different modelling techniques
Documentation and specification

Systems design

Systems design in context
Objectives and constraints of design
Input design, data verification and data validation
Input and output technologies
Process and data design
Code and security design

Systems architecture

Types of architecture
Stakeholders and roles in architecture
Management of the architecture
The tiered approach to IT systems development
Service-oriented architecture and service-oriented development applications

Quality and Testing

The definition of software quality
Objectives, limitations and principles of testing
Static and dynamic testing
Confirmation and regression testing

Implementation and changeover

File and data creation
Data mapping and conversion
Supporting documentation
Training
System implementation

Evaluation and maintenance

Maintenance in the systems development lifecycle
Metrics for evaluating a software project
Post-implementation and post-project reviews
Testing in the maintenance stage

Software support tools

Configuration management tools
Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools
Computer aided software testing (CAST) tools

BCS certificates

The course prepares participants to sit the one-hour, multiple-choice examination leading to the Foundation Certificate in Systems Development offered by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

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