BCS Certificate in Systems Development Essentials

Key areas include:

• examining how the systems development effort can be organised

• distinguishing between generic lifecycles

• exploring the DSDM Atern approach and roles

• looking at other Agile methods such as Scrum

• interpreting UML techniques, such as Use Case Diagrams and Class Diagrams

• considering other techniques that support iterative development, such as facilitated workshops, scenarios and hothousing

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 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 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 hand over

• 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 Computeraided

Software Testing tools (CAST)

• Life-cycle coverage

• Requirements traceability

• Advantages and disadvantages of software development support tools

BCS certificates

This course prepares delegates to sit the one-hour, open book, examination leading to the certificate in Systems Development Essentials offered by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. The certificate is a core module in the BCS Diploma in Solution Development and is also a specialist practitioner module in the BCS Diploma in Business Analysis. The exam is not included.