Where does the SDLC end…?
We are in the process of reviewing and finalizing our VSTS Developer Readiness Program, whereby I will try and report on the VSTS good, the bad and the ugly on a regular basis.
What was the highlight of today was a heated debate as to where the responsibility of a solution builders ends, which was sparked off by me saying that it would be great to be able to import a datacenter into a logical datacenter model, with all the configuration settings … then proceed to model the new solution and finally test not only the deployment, but verify that the actual physical implementation has not changed in the interim.
The debate that erupted revolved around the question whether we as system builders develop and supply a solution strictly according to specifications, or whether we get involved in the deployment of the solution.
Reading systems analysis design methods by J. Whitten, L. Bentley and K. Dittman, the definition of a system builder is as follows and I quote: System builders construct, deploy, and maintain the information system. Hence, they tend to view an information system in terms of the actual working hardware and software to implement the system.
I tend to share the position of my colleague that I get most satisfaction out of seeing system users actively using our solutions, which means that my stakeholding spans from system initiation, right through to actual deployment and maintenance, driven by passion.
Whether it is the right decision to get involved in or show an interest in the deployment of the solution is open for debate. What is your opinion?