The Implementation and Coding Phase in the SDLC, Explained

UPI Study › Courses › System Analysis and Design › Free lessons › Lesson 6.7 Free with a free account

The Implementation and Coding Phase in the SDLC

System Analysis and Design · Chapter 6: Database Design, Normalization, and Business IntelligenceSection 6.7 · lesson 45 of 698 min · free with a free account

← Turning Data into Decisions: Warehousing and Mining for Business IntelligenceNext lesson: Inside Application Development: Internal and External Workflows →

Earn 3 college credits for System Analysis and DesignRecommended for credit by NCCRS · Computer Science 390 · self-paced · one payment, lifetime access
Enroll in System Analysis and Design · $250 →Download the syllabus (PDF)

In this lesson

Environments, data migration, changeover strategies, and user training.

  • Identify the core activities of the implementation phase
  • Describe environment setup, and data conversion and its risks
  • Compare direct, parallel, phased, and pilot changeover
  • Explain the role, and the timing, of user training

Transcript

Everything said in the video, section by section (1,062 words). Read along, or search it.

Database Design, Normalization, and Business Intelligence

The Implementation Phase

This section is about the moment a design becomes a real system that people use. The implementation phase. We will look at the activities it involves, the environments a system passes through, and how old data is moved in. Then the four strategies for switching over from an old system, and how users are trained for the change.

What Implementation Involves

6 Overlapping Activities

Implementation takes an approved design, and turns it into a running system that people actually use. Six distinct activities happen in this phase. Coding and configuration writes or configures the software, according to the approved design. Environment setup prepares the technical environment the system will run in. Data conversion and migration moves existing data from the old system into the new one. Testing verifies that the system behaves correctly against its requirements. User training prepares the people who will use it. And changeover switches operations from the old system to the new one. These activities usually overlap, rather than running in strict sequence. The rest of this section looks at the ones most likely to decide whether go-live goes smoothly.

Environment Setup

4 Environments on the Way to Go-Live

Environment setup is preparing the technical environment a system will actually run in. That means provisioning hardware or cloud resources, installing the operating system, database, and middleware, and setting up networking and security. Most systems pass through several environments before real users ever see them. Development is where developers write and unit-test code. Testing, or Q A, is where formal testing happens against the requirements. Staging is a near-identical copy of production, used for a final rehearsal before go-live. And production is the live environment that end users actually use. Here is a common and costly failure. A staging environment that does not match production closely enough. A different configuration, a different data volume, or a missing setting. The system passes every rehearsal, and still fails once it meets the real environment.

Data Conversion and Migration

Moving the Old Data In

Data conversion and migration moves data from the old system, or from manual records, into the new system's structures. It is usually organized around three steps, known as E T L. Extract pulls the data out of the old system's files or database. Transform cleans, reformats, and validates it, and maps the old fields onto the new structure. That step is needed because old data rarely matches the new system's format exactly. Load inserts the transformed data into the new system. Conversion carries real risk. Data can be lost, corrupted, or duplicated. And an old field may not translate cleanly into the new structure, causing mapping errors. So teams typically rehearse the conversion at least once, with data volumes close to production. Problems are caught before they can affect the real migration.

Figure 6.3

4 Changeover Strategies Over Time

Changeover is the act of switching operations from the old system to the new one. There is more than one way to do it. This figure shows four strategies as timelines, with time running left to right. Grey is the old system in use, green is the new system alone, and gold is a transition between them. In a direct changeover, the old system stops and the new one starts at a single point. There is no transition at all. In a parallel changeover, both systems run side by side for a period, before the old one is retired. In a phased changeover, the new system arrives one module at a time. And in a pilot changeover, one group moves to the new system first, and everyone else follows later.

Changeover

Trading Risk Against Cost and Speed

Each strategy trades risk against cost and speed differently. Direct changeover is the fastest and cheapest. But its risk is high, with no fallback beyond restoring from backup. Parallel changeover runs old and new together, and compares their results. Its risk is low, but it doubles the workload and the cost during the overlap. Phased changeover rolls out module by module, rather than all at once. Its risk is moderate. Teams learn between phases, but it takes longer, and the two systems may have to work together in the meantime. Pilot changeover rolls the whole system out, but only to one group first, then expands. Its risk is limited, because any problems are contained to the pilot group. So an organization that wants to minimize risk, and can afford running two systems at once for a while, would choose parallel.

User Training

4 Ways to Train Users

User training prepares the people who will actually use the system to work with it confidently from go-live. It reduces errors, resistance to adoption, and the support burden afterward. There are four common methods. In instructor-led training, a trainer walks a group through the system in structured sessions. In hands-on, or sandbox, practice, trainees work through realistic scenarios in a safe practice copy of the system. Self-paced materials, such as guides, videos, or e-learning modules, let trainees work independently. And in train-the-trainer, a small group is trained first, and then trains the rest of the organization.

Training Timing

When Matters as Much as What

Timing matters as much as content. Training delivered too early is forgotten before go-live. Training delivered too late leaves users unprepared at cutover. So training is usually scheduled close to cutover. And it often follows the shape of the chosen changeover strategy. With a pilot changeover, for example, the pilot group can be trained first. Their experience with the real system is then used to train everyone else.

Key Terms

The Vocabulary of This Section

Let's lock in the key terms. Implementation is the phase that turns an approved design into a running system. A staging environment is a near-identical copy of production, used for a final rehearsal. Data migration moves existing data into the new system, often following the extract, transform, load pattern. Changeover is switching operations from the old system to the new one. Direct changeover uses one cutover point. Parallel runs both systems together. Phased changeover goes module by module. Pilot changeover starts with one group.

Key Takeaways

What to Carry Forward

To pull this together. Implementation includes coding, environment setup, data conversion, testing, training, and changeover, usually overlapping rather than in strict sequence. Systems pass through development, testing, staging, and production environments. A staging environment that does not match production is a common source of go-live failures. Data conversion follows an extract, transform, load pattern. It carries real risk, which is why it is rehearsed before the real migration. Direct, parallel, phased, and pilot changeover strategies trade risk against cost and speed differently. And user training reduces errors and resistance to adoption. Its timing relative to go-live matters as much as its content.

About System Analysis and Design at UPI Study

System Analysis and Design (Computer Science 390) is a self-paced online course of 69 video lessons in 9 chapters, from the analyst's role and requirements to UML modeling, interface and database design, testing, maintenance and project management. It carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits.

Every lesson transcript is free on pages like this one, and the videos are free with a free UPI Study account. Enrolling adds a practice quiz after each lesson, the graded work and final exam that earn the credit, lifetime access, and an official transcript on completion. UPI Study has helped over 130,000 students with college credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Enroll now → Course details Download the syllabus All Computer Science courses Every course with PRO →

Compare: Software Engineering vs Systems Analysis

Why take it here

Why students take System Analysis and Design with UPI Study

From business problem to working systemSystem Analysis and Design teaches how analysts study a business need and turn it into a system design: requirements, UML and data-flow models, interface and database design, implementation and project management. It is a core course in information systems and IT degrees.
Credit at a fraction of the priceThe same 3 credits can cost $750 or more at a US college. Here it is one payment, self-paced, with lifetime access.
Finish your degree soonerTransfer credits reduce the courses you still owe, so you can graduate earlier or lighten a heavy semester.
Strengthen an applicationA completed college-level course on an official transcript shows admissions and scholarship committees you can do the work.
Study on your own scheduleNo start dates, no deadlines. Watch the lessons, practice, and take the final when you are ready.
130,000+students helped with college creditsACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Where the credit goes

Universities that work with NCCRS

System Analysis and Design carries a NCCRS credit recommendation. These universities work with NCCRS; some are UPI Study's signed partners. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Thomas Edison State UniversityThomas Edison State UniversitySigned partnerUniversity of the PeopleUniversity of the PeopleSigned partnerCharter Oak State CollegeCharter Oak State CollegeSigned partnerStrayer UniversityStrayer UniversitySigned partnerColumbia Southern UniversityColumbia Southern UniversitySigned partnerIndiana TechIndiana TechSigned partnerPenn StatePenn StateWorks with NCCRSSouthern New Hampshire UniversitySouthern New Hampshire UniversityWorks with NCCRSSUNYSUNYWorks with NCCRS +many more cooperating universitiesFind my college →

Find my college → Not listed? Ask Athena in the corner of this page, or book a 15-minute call.

FAQ

Questions students ask us

About The Implementation and Coding Phase in the SDLC

What are the four changeover strategies for replacing an old system?
The four changeover strategies are direct, parallel, phased, and pilot. Direct changeover stops the old system and starts the new one at a single point. Parallel runs both systems side by side for a period before the old one is retired. Phased brings in the new system one module at a time, and pilot moves one group of users first while everyone else follows later.
Which changeover strategy is the least risky, and what does it cost?
Parallel changeover is usually the lowest-risk choice, because the old and new systems run together and their results can be compared before the old one is retired. The price is a doubled workload and higher cost during the overlap. Direct changeover sits at the other extreme: it is the fastest and cheapest, but its risk is high, with no fallback beyond restoring from backup.
What are the risks of data conversion when implementing a new system?
Data conversion can lose, corrupt, or duplicate data, and an old field may not translate cleanly into the new structure, causing mapping errors. Old data rarely matches the new system's format exactly, so it has to be extracted, cleaned, reformatted, validated, and mapped before it is loaded. To catch problems early, teams typically rehearse the conversion at least once with data volumes close to production before the real migration.
Why can a system pass testing in staging and still fail in production?
A system can pass every rehearsal and still fail at go-live when the staging environment does not match production closely enough. Staging is meant to be a near-identical copy of the live environment, but a different configuration, a different data volume, or a missing setting can hide problems. Keeping staging aligned with production is one of the simplest ways to make the final rehearsal meaningful.

About the System Analysis and Design course

How many college credits is System Analysis and Design?
System Analysis and Design (Computer Science 390) carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
How much does System Analysis and Design cost and what is included?
$250, paid once, with lifetime access: all 69 video lessons, a practice quiz after each, the graded work and final exam, and an official transcript when you finish. Students who want several courses choose UPI Study PRO instead.
Which universities accept UPI Study credits?
UPI Study has signed partner agreements with universities such as Thomas Edison State University, University of the People and Charter Oak State College, and works with universities such as Penn State, SNHU and SUNY. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Use "Find my college" on this page to check yours.
How long does System Analysis and Design take?
It is self-paced with no deadlines. The 69 lessons total about 9 hours of video; most students add reading and practice time and finish in a few weeks to a few months, on their own schedule.
How are the exams done?
Quizzes and assignments are online in the course. The final exam is taken online with proctoring; a person on the UPI Study team checks assignments, usually within two days.
How do my credits reach my college?
When the course shows 100% complete, request the official transcript from your dashboard. It is sent to the college you name, and you can send it to more than one. Check your college first with "Find my college" on this page, or ask Athena.

Ready for the full course? Earn 3 credits in System Analysis and Design.

69 video lessons, a quiz after each one, and the graded work that earns the credit. Recommended for credit by NCCRS.

Enroll in System Analysis and Design →Download the syllabusEvery course with PRO →
System Analysis and Design
3 credits · NCCRSEnroll →