Module 4: Design

Requirements
Functionality
Reliability
Maintainability







Presented by: Jessie R. Tutor


Design Requirements
The design requirements document or software requirements specification
contains the requirements for the new system, describes the alternatives that were
considered, and makes a specific recommendation to management. This important
document is the starting point for measuring the performance, accuracy and
completeness of the finished system before entering the system design phase.
Because the system requirements can be lengthy, you should format and
organize it so it is easy to read and use. The system requirements should include a
cover page and a detailed table of contents. You also can add an index and a glossary
of terms to make the document easier to use. The content of the system requirements
document will depend on the company and the complexity of the system.
System Design
The purpose of System design is to create a blueprint that will satisfy all
documented requirements for the system. At this stage, you design the user interface
and identity all necessary outputs, inputs and processes. In addition, you design internal
and external controls, including computer based and manual features to guarantee
that the system will be reliable, accurate, maintainable and secure. During the systems
design phase, you also determine the application architecture, which shows
programmers how to transform the logical design into program modules and code.
The result of this phase is documented in the system design specification and
presented to management and users for review and approval. Management and user
involvement is critical to avoid any misunderstanding about what the new system will
do, how or will to do it, and what it will cost.
The function of the system design is to provide a management a simple and well
design module for easier use. Also to present a complete design for the new info
system, along with detailed cost, staffing and scheduling.
The goal of systems design is to build a system that is effective, reliable and
maintainable.
A system is effective if it satisfies the defined requirements and constraints. The
system also must be accepted by users who use it to support the organizations
business objectives.
A system is reliable if it adequately handles errors, such as input errors,
processing errors, hardware failures, or human mistakes, ideally, all errors can be
prevented. Unfortunately, no system is completely foolproof, whether it is a payroll
system, a telephone switching system, an internet access system, or space shuttle
navigation system. A more realistic approach building a reliable system is to plan for
errors, detect them as early as possible, allow for their correction, and prevent them
from damaging the system itself.
A system is maintainable if it is well designed, flexible, and developed with future
modifications in mind. No matter how well a system is designed and, implemented, at
some point it will need to be modified; modifications will be necessary to correct
problems, to adapt to changing user requirements, to enhance the system, or to take
advantage of changing technology. Your systems design must be capable of handling
future modifications or the system soon will be outdated and fail to meet requirements.
Looking at Figure1.0, it is clear that, on average, for every $1 spent development,
$2 are spent on maintenance. In fact, some experts claim that figure 1.0 is an
understatement, and that for every $1 spent on development, $3 or more are spent on
maintenance over the life of the information system [Yourdon, 1992].

Maintenance Activities include changing programs, procedures, or documentation to
ensure correct system performance, adapting the system to changing requirements;
and making the system operate more efficiently.
There are four main maintenance activities:
Adaptive Maintenance adds enhancements to an operational system and
makes the system easier to use. An enhancement is a new feature or capability.
The need for adaptive maintenance usually arises from business environment
changes such as new products or services.

Preventive Maintenance to avoid problems, preventive maintenance requires
analysis of areas where trouble is likely to occur. Like perfective maintenance,
the IT department normally initiates preventive maintenance. Preventive
Figure 1.0
The Average Percentage of the Devoted to
Development and to Maintenance
development
maintenance
maintenance often results to increase user satisfaction, decrease downtime and
reduced. The possibility of future system failure.

Corrective Maintenance is fixing of faults in the information system. Frequently
the faults to be fixed are in the code, but corrective maintenance also includes
the repair of all other artifacts of an information system, including the
specification document, design document, manuals, and so on.

Perfective Maintenance consist of changes made to the information system
because the client wishes to extend the functionally of the system. For example,
the client may want the system to have a shorter response time or to be able to
handle pricing in euros in addition to dollars.
Now consider perfective maintenance and adaptive maintenance, which together
are known as enhancement. When enhance ment is performed, the requirements
change. More specifically, in the case of perfective maintenance, the requirements
change because the client wants the functionality of the system to be extended; in the
case of adaptive maintenance, the requirement change because the environment has
changed. In both cases, therefore, there is a change in the requirements, and this
change in return induces changes to the specification document, design document, and
implementation. In other words, each enhancement of an information system can be
viewed as a complete cycle as itself,starting with the requirements phase and ending
with implementation. It should go without saying that planning, testing, and
documentation are intrinsic aspects of enhancement, as they are of every information
system activity, without exception.
In general, maintenance is far more profitable than development. Its not just that,
for every dollar spent on development, two or three dollars are spent on maintenance.
The keypoint is that profit margins for maintenance can be much higher than for
development.
In addition, to maintain the effectiveness of the system design you should follow
same guidelines:
a.) Data should be entered into the system where and when it occurs because
delays cause data errors.
b.) Data should be verified when it is entered, to catch errors immediately.
c.) Automated methods of data entry should be use whenever possible.
d.) Access for data entry should be controlled and all entries or changes to critical
data values should be reported.
e.) Every instance of entry and change to data should be logged.
f.) Data should be entered into a system only once.
g.) Data duplication should be avoided.


References:
Systems Analysis and Design 7
th
Edition By: Gary B. Shelly; Thomas J.
Cashman; Harry J. Rosenblatt 2008 Course Technology, Cengage Learning:
ISBN-13: 978-1-4239-1222-4

Introduction to object-oriented analysis and design by Stephen R. Schach
2004 by The McGraw- Hill Companies, Inc.: ISBN 0-07-282646-0