A Comparative Analysis of SDLC and Prototype Development Methods

This report provides a comparative analysis of two primary system development approaches: the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and prototyping. The SDLC approach, characterized by its structured, sequential phases, including planning, analysis, design, development, testing, and implementation, is suitable for medium to large projects. It emphasizes thorough planning and documentation but can be inflexible to changing requirements. In contrast, the prototyping approach involves building preliminary versions of the system, allowing for iterative feedback and adjustments throughout the development process. The report highlights the advantages of prototyping, such as the ability to incorporate user feedback early and adapt to changing requirements, making it ideal for interactive systems. The report also contrasts these two approaches by discussing their suitability for different project types, their handling of requirement changes, and their impact on system error complexity. The report concludes by emphasizing that both approaches have their own benefits and are suitable for short-term projects, focusing on reducing system development and maintenance costs.

Information system development approaches
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Comparison between SDLC and Prototype
There are several system development approaches that are used by developers. In this
case, only SDLC and prototyping approaches would be discussed. In SDLC approach, the system
has to go through all six stages namely; project planning which determines the scope as well as
solution requirements (Grant, Jackson & Clachar, 2018). It is mainly used to determine the
resources and benefits to be realized from the project undertaking. The next stage is system
requirements analysis where project functionalities are considered. Usually, this stage is mainly
used to make sure customer’s functional requirements are given highest priority. The third stage
is system design which describes in to detail the project features, specifications and other
operations that will help in achieving functional requirements of the proposed system. The fourth
stage involves real system development. According to Dawson & Dawson (2014), it is at this
stage where production work is set in place. At this stage, system developers are changed with
responsibility of installing and making any required changes. The fifth stage is integration and
testing which is usually done by quality assurance department to analyze and determine if the
developed system meets specifications and requirements set at initial stages. The sixth stage is
implementation of project where current system is installed for use and production. The last
stage is system operations and maintenance where end users have capability to make some minor
changes such as configurations. Consequently, the system development results can only be
viewed after final version. Additionally, system developers are faced with freezing requirement
because they cannot change requirements before next iteration (Centobelli, Cerchione &
Esposito, 2018). Finally, system complexity in terms of error increases in relation to the nature of
the model. The SDLC is mainly used in development of medium to large projects.

On the other hand, prototype is a system development techniques which involves
building the proposed system at its preliminary stages or just a working physical model. Since
prototype is just a model of the real system, it has to be built, test it and rework on it iteratively
until all system requirements and specifications are fully met (Lombriser & Valk, 2011).
Prototypes can be used for various purposes in regard to its stage of development. First, a
prototype can be used to analyze required system approach if developed as a concept model.
Additionally, it can be used to evaluate developed system feasibility if its purpose was to
determine project implementation viability. Moreover, horizontal prototype are used in the
system development for project scope and requirements clarification. Further, vertical prototype
are used as early testers of the proposed system database design and its components. The system
user can preview the project anytime and at any stage (Isaias & Issa, 2015). Consequently,
developers are free to change system requirements after prototype has been built. Lastly, system
error complexity is low because developers are able to detect and change defectiveness at early
stages (Grant, Jackson & Clachar, 2018). It is usually used when there is need to analyze and
develop an interactive system.
Contrast between SDLC and Prototype
Both SDLC and Prototype approaches are divided into phases where system developers
need to meet specific project objectives. Both SDLC and prototype approaches are focused in
reducing system development and maintenance cost. Finally, both approaches are suitable for
developing short-term projects (Rainer & Cegielski, 2011).

References
Centobelli, P., Cerchione, R., & Esposito, E. (2018). Aligning enterprise knowledge and
knowledge management systems to improve efficiency and effectiveness performance: A
three-dimensional Fuzzy-based decision support system. Expert Systems with
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Dawson, C., & Dawson, R. (2014). Software Development Process Models: A Technique for
Evaluation and Decision
‐Making. Knowledge and Process Management, 21(1), 42-53.
Grant, E. S., Jackson, V. K., & Clachar, S. A. (2018). Towards a Formal Approach to Validating
and Verifying Functional Design for Complex Safety Critical Systems. GSTF Journal on
Computing (JoC), 2(1).
Isaias, P., & Issa, T. (2015). High level models and methodologies for information systems.
Lombriser, P., & van der Valk, R. (2011). Improving the Quality of the Software Development
Lifecycle with Gamification.
Rainer, R. K., & Cegielski, C. G. (2011). Introduction to information systems. Hoboken, N.J:
John Wiley & Sons.