Systems development life cycles and methodologies guide the development of software, services, and other products and may serve other purposes within an organization. For example, the Mesquida and Mas (2015, February) article describes how software life cycle processes were used as a framework to help support the integration of information security best practices into software development and use.

Consider your studies, reflect on your experience with the development processes in organizations, and provide your own analysis to respond to the following questions in your initial post:

What systems development processes have you been a part of in your work history? Briefly describe the type of methodology used by an organization with which you are familiar. Also, describe any roles you have had during a systems life cycle process.

What are your observations about how these processes worked? What did the methodology help the developers and organization achieve? Was the organization using the methodology to support activities other than systems development?

How important do you think it is for an organization to use a formal methodology in its systems development efforts?

What are the benefits of following a systems development methodology, and what are the downsides?

Response Guidelines

Return to the discussion at the end of the week to read and review the posts of your peers. Does anyone else’s experience resonate with your own? Post a comment and add questions to further explore the experiences of your classmates. Also, in your response posts, comment on whether the methodologies described by a peer could be used to support or inform activities other than systems development.