Many folks today have experience building simple applications such as a Facebook app or an iPhone app. These individuals may not see the need to have a development process with distinct steps, plans, and models. Often these individuals built an app they envisioned themselves. Hence they were the client, user, stakeholder, analyst, design, and tester all in a single person. It is very different to build an application where there are multiple users, multiple developers, and multiple testers. Function decisions must be discovered and then remembered, (i.e., documented). Designs must be communicated across multiple programmers, acceptance tests must be coordinated, and so forth. Trying to build even a medium sized system without a project plan and a development methodology will spell disaster.

With all this in mind, please provide your responses to the following in a forum posting:

What purpose does systems analysis serve? Is it really necessary? Why?

Is it important to build models? What function do they serve? How do the developers ensure that they understand the requirements? How do they remember what decisions were made by the user (and themselves)?

Look at the six core processes. Are there better ways to execute a project? Are the six core processes a minimal set? Are there things missing that should be added?

How long should we keep documentation and models that were built? Should we have external documentation that must be maintained?

Is it important to have a formal SDLC? What are the alternatives? How formal should it be?