Examine the fit between a selected SDLC model and the characteristics of a particular organization; and Examine the fit between a selected SDLC model and the characteristics of a particular project.

Scenario and Summary
Acme Medical Data Storage LLC offers consumers a service that allows them to store their personal medical data on the Internet, for fast and easy retrieval by doctors or other healthcare personnel in the event of a medical emergency. Acme provides a website in which customers can set up an account and enter or update their medical information. On receipt of a signed authorization form, Acme will obtain a copy of a customer’s medical file from the customer’s personal physician, and scan the information into Acme’s database. Acme provides customers with wallet cards and medical ID bracelets telling healthcare personnel how to access the customer’s information online if needed, even if the customer is unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate. Acme charges customers $25 per month for this service, billed automatically to a credit card.
Acme was founded five years ago by Dr. Stanley Livingston, an entrepreneurial physician, and Bill Doors, a talented young computer programmer. The company has grown rapidly and now earns about $10 million in annual revenue. Stanley is President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Bill serves as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO). Bill and Stanley want to continue to grow the company quickly, expand into related services, and take the company public within five more years.
Acme’s Information Systems (IS) staff includes one manager, two systems analysts, five software engineers, two system administrators, one database administrator, two network engineers, and two technicians. The IS group is responsible for the medical records database, the company website, the customer billing system, the company’s internal Local Area Network (LAN), and standard internal business systems for accounting, purchasing, human resources management, and marketing/business intelligence.
Since Acme is a Web-based company that is growing rapidly, the IS staff makes frequent updates and enhancements to its website and medical database to improve performance and offer new features. For example, the company is currently working on an upgrade to allow digitizing and storing x-rays and other medical images. Bill and Stanley both believe that the company must upgrade its technology rapidly to stay ahead of larger, better-funded competitors like Microsoft and Google, both of whom are rumored to be entering the field.
Acme deals with sensitive health-related records; therefore, the company is subject to extensive laws and regulations concerning privacy, security, and information accuracy. Its credit-card billing operation must also comply with numerous financial regulations imposed by government and the major credit-card companies.
Up until now, Acme has not used a formal System Development Life Cycle (SDLC). However, Bill believes that it is time to adopt one, as the IS group has grown to the point where informal methods no longer work well. Bill has asked you, Acme’s newest systems analyst, to investigate how well one particular SDLC model that he has in mind, would work for Acme.
Upon completing this lab, you will be able to:
Describe a selected System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) model in terms of its major phases, characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages;
Examine the fit between a selected SDLC model and the characteristics of a particular organization; and
Examine the fit between a selected SDLC model and the characteristics of a particular project.
Necessary materials: All materials marked with * are already installed in your lab environment.
Background information (Scenario/Summary section above)
Template for memo (BIS261_W1_iLab_Template.docx; download from iLab Files folder in Doc Sharing)
Microsoft Word* for writing the memo
Deliverables
You will deliver a memo to the CIO, in a Word document.
Grading rubric:
Item Percentage
Description of the SDLC model 20%
Favorable factors 40%
Unfavorable factors 40%
100%

iLAB STEPS

STEP 1: Review background information
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Review the case study on Acme Medical Data Storage LLC, given in the Scenario/Summary section above, paying careful attention to the characteristics of the company and its IS projects.
NOTE: This is an individual, not a team, iLab.
In your review, make notes specifying how you would rate the following characteristics of the company and project. These notes will not be turned in, but you will use them in conducting your analysis in Step 2 and preparing your memo in Step 3.
Is the project technology extremely stable, moderately stable, or experimental?
At the start of the project, are the project requirements well known, partially known, or mostly unknown (i.e., experimental)?
Is the project domain heavily regulated, moderately regulated, or lightly regulated by government or other outside agencies?
Is the size of the organization large, mid-sized, or small?
Is the organizational culture bureaucratic, mixed, or entrepreneurial?
Is the organization’s competitive environment slow-paced, moderately paced, or fast-paced?
STEP 2: Analyze SDLC suitability
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Based on the information given in the case study, analyze the suitability of a specific Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) model for Acme Medical Data Storage LLC:
If the last digit of your DSI Number is 0, 1, 2, or 3, use the Waterfall SDLC;
If the last digit of your DSI Number is 4, 5, or 6, use the Unified Process; and
If the last digit of your DSI Number is 7, 8, or 9, use an agile SDLC (Scrum or XP).
In your analysis, examine your notes from your review of the project and organizational characteristics from Step 1, and make additional notes on the following points. These notes will not be turned in, but you will use them in preparing your memo in Step 3.
Is the project technology a good or a poor fit for this SDLC model? (Recall from your reading that good fits are stable technology and waterfall; moderately stable technology and UP; and experimental technology and agile.)
Is the knowledge of project requirements a good or a poor fit for this SDLC model? (Recall from your reading that well-known requirements are a good fit for waterfall; partially known requirements are a good fit for UP; and mostly unknown requirements are a good fit for agile.)
Is the degree of regulation of the project domain a good or a poor fit for this SDLC model? (Heavy regulation is a good fit for waterfall; moderate regulation, for UP; and light regulation for agile.)
Is the size of the organization a good or a poor fit for this SDLC model? (Good fits, generally, are large organizations and waterfall; mid size organizations and UP; and small organizations and agile.)
Is the organizational culture a good or a poor fit for this SDLC model? (Good fits are bureaucratic organizations and waterfall; mixed organizations and UP; and entrepreneurial organizations and agile.)
Is the organization’s competitive environment a good or a poor fit for this SDLC model? (Good fits are slow-paced and waterfall; moderately paced and UP; and fast-paced and agile).
STEP 3: Write memo to Bill
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Write a one-to-two page memo to CIO, Bill Doors, by doing the following steps.
Download the BIS261_W1_iLab_Template.docx template file from the iLab Files folder in Doc Sharing.
In the memo header, enter your name in the From field; enter the current date in the Date field.
In the Introduction section, fill in the SDLC model that you are writing about in the blank (waterfall, Unified Process, or agile).
In the Description of the SDLC Model section, briefly describe the SDLC model that you are writing about in the memo. Refer to any reading assignment in the textbook and to the Lecture for information about this SDLC model, then describe it in your own words; don’t copy the description word for word from the textbook, the Lecture, or another source.
In the Pros for this SDLC Model section, list and briefly explain the factors that are favorable toward Acme adopting this SDLC model. These should be chosen from the factors that you identified as good fits for the SDLC model in your analysis in Step 2. You should write about at least one, but no more than three, favorable factors. If you identified more than three factors as good fits for the SDLC model, choose what you believe are the three most important ones to include in your memo.
In the Cons for this SDLC Model section, list and briefly explain the factors that are unfavorable toward Acme adopting this SDLC model. They should be chosen from the factors that you identified as poor fits for the SDLC model in your analysis in Step 2. You should write about at least one, but no more than three, unfavorable factors. If you identified more than three factors as poor fits for the SDLC model, choose what you believe are the three most important ones to include in your memo.
In your explanation of the favorable and unfavorable factors, refer to specific characteristics of Acme’s organization and its projects that impact the SDLC model. You must make your analysis specific to Acme and its projects. Do not just write about the pros and cons of your SDLC model in general!
Be sure to cite any sources that you use, using the citation style given in the Syllabus.


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