BCS Certificate in Systems Development Essentials

As people move into analysis, from either a business or technical background, they need to acquire a fundamental understanding of the systems development process, and the role and responsibilities of systems analysts and designers.

This course provides these essential foundations and goes on to focus on systems investigation and quality assurance, as these underpin all successful systems development projects. It also examines how the systems development effort could be organised, and distinguishes between generic lifecycle types, methods and approaches.

At the end of the course delegates may sit an examination to attain the BCS Business Systems Development certificate in Systems Development Essentials. (These delegates should also book course code SDEEX-2). This course may be taken as part of the programme leading to the BCS Diploma in Systems Development.

 This is an intensive three day course that places emphasis on the practical application of the analysis skills covered. Delegates participate in exercises, and case study tasks.

Those delegates taking the BCS certificate will need to spend 60-90 minutes each evening on revision and example examination questions. Candidates with special examination requirements should consult the BCS web site (www.bcs.org.uk) for the BCS Special Needs policy. Note that the BCS must be advised at least four weeks in advance of any special requirements.

On completion of this course, delegates will be able to:

• Identify the tasks and disciplines required for systems development and implementation.
• Investigate a system.
• Interpret business requirements and produce systems requirements.
• Quality assure the systems requirements documentation.
• Design test cases for the requirements.
• Describe the commonly-used development lifecycles defined in the syllabus.
• Describe in detail one methodology that embraces one (or more) of these lifecycles.
• Describe the structure and activities of this methodology.
• Describe, interpret and quality assure the key models that the selected methodology uses for defining the process, static and event perspectives of the system.
• Make effective use of different methods of interpersonal communications.
• Identify different architecture for systems development solutions.
• Conduct a system review.
• Explain how CASE tools might be used to support the method.

The recommended combination and sequence of courses for delegates wishing to complete the programme leading to the BCS Systems Development Diploma is (1) Systems Development Essentials, (2) either Systems Modelling Techniques (UML) or Systems Modelling Techniques (Structured), (3) Systems Design & Implementation Techniques, (4) Software Testing Foundation.