Maximizing Benefits from IT Project Management

Chapter 8

The Systems Development Life Cycle—Build and Test

The building phase of the system is the core work of the information system implementation effort. It will normally consume more resources and time than all other life cycle phases. However, despite the significant effort, one must avoid the temptation of thinking that it is the most important phase. When the importance of other development phases is ignored, the result can be a system riddled with errors and inconsistencies, which might require patches and improvised on-the-spot changes to correct analysis and design defects. The analysis and design phases are equally if not more important, and due consideration and effort must be exerted in those stages of system development.