Moving to Design
Overview
• This chapter:
– Completes the transition from analysis to design
– Discusses issues related to design of new system
– Describes all design phase activities
– Describes network and architecture design
• Analysis focuses on what system should do –
business requirements
• Design is oriented toward how system will be
built – defining structural components
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Understanding the Elements of
Design
• Design is process of describing, organizing, and
structuring system components at architectural
design level and detailed design level
– Focused on construction
– Like developing blueprints
• Three questions:
– What components require systems design?
– What are inputs to and outputs of design process?
– How is systems design done?
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Components Requiring Systems
Design
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Analysis Objectives to Design
Objectives
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Moving from Analysis to Design
• Design:
– Converts functional models from analysis into models
that represent the solution
– Focused on technical issues
– Requires less user involvement than analysis
• Design may use structured or OO approaches
– Database can be relational, OO or hybrid
– User interface issues
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Traditional Structured and Object-
Oriented Models
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SDLC Phases with Design Phase
Activities
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Design Phase Activities and Key
Questions
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Design and Integrate the Network
• Network specialists establish network based on
strategic plan
• Project team typically integrates system into
existing network
• Technical requirements have to do with
communication via networks
• Technical issues handled by network specialists:
– Reliability, security, throughput, synchronization
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Design the Application Architecture
• Specify how system activities are carried out
• Described during system analysis as logical
models
• After design alternative is selected, detailed
computer processing is designed as physical
models such as: physical data flow diagrams,
structure charts, interaction diagrams
• Approach varies depending on development and
deployment environments
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Design the User Interfaces
• User interface quality is critical aspect of system
• Design of user interface defines how user
interacts with system
– GUI: windows, dialog boxes, mouse interaction
– Sound, video, voice commands
• To user of system, user interface is the system
• User interface specialists: interface designers,
usability consultants, human factors engineers
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Design the System Interfaces
• Systems interfaces enable systems to share and
exchange information
– Internal organization systems
– Interfaces with system outside organization
– New system interfacing with package application that
organization has purchased and installed
• System interfaces can be complex
• Organization needs very specialized technical
skills to work on these interfaces
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Design and Integrate the Database
• System analysis data model used to create
physical database model
• Collection of traditional computer files, relational
database, and/or object-oriented databases
• Technical requirements, such as response times,
determine database performance needs
• Design work might involve:
– Performance tuning
– Integration between new and existing databases
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Prototype for Design Details
• Continue to create and evaluate prototypes
during design phase
• Prototypes confirm design choices:
– Database
– Network architecture
– Controls
– Programming environment
• Rapid application development’s (RAD) design
prototypes evolve into finished system
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Design and Integrate the System
Controls
• Final design activity to ensure system has
adequate safeguards (system controls) to protect
organizational assets
• Controls are needed for all other design activities
– User interface – limit access to authorized users
– System interface – protect from other systems
– Application architecture – record transactions
– Database – protect from software/hardware failure
– Network design – protect communications
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Deployment Environment
• Deployment environment definition bridges
analysis and design
– Hardware
– System software
– Networking
• Common deployment environments in which
system will operate
• Related design patterns and architectures for
application software
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Computer Architectures
• Single-computer architecture
• Multitier architecture
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Single-Computer Architecture
• Architectures that employs a single computer system
executing all application-related software.
– Mainframe-based
– Users interact with the system via input/output devices of
limited functionality that are directly connected to the
computer
– All system user are required to locate near the computer
– Easy to design, build, operate and maintain
– Capacity limitation-> impractical or unusable for large
information systems
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Multitier Architecture
• Architecture that distributes
application related software or
processing load across multiple
computer systems To
To
Workstation
• 2 types Connections
Workstation
Connections
– Clustered architecture
• Group of computers of the same
type that share processing load and
data storage capacity
• Cluster acts as a single system
• Located near one another so that
they can be connected with short
high-capacity communication links
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Multitier Architecture
• Multi-computer architecture
– A group of dissimilar computers that share processing load
through specialization of function
– Hardware and O/S are not required to be as similar as in a
clustered architecture
– A suite of application or system programs and data resources
is assigned to each computer system
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Centralized Architecture
• Architecture that locates all computing resources in a
central location
• Used for large-scale processing applications, including
both batch and real-time applications
• Characteristics for candidate
– Some input transactions do not need to be processed in real time
– Online data-entry personnel can be centrally located
– The system produces a large amount of periodic outputs
– A high volume of transactions occurs b/w high-speed computers
• Banking, insurance, and catalog sales
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Distributed Architecture
• Architecture that deploys computing resources in
multiple locations connected by a computer
network
– Distributes system across several computers and
locations
– Relies on communication networks for geographic
connectivity
• Client-server architecture dominant model for
distributed computing
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Computer Networks
• Set of transmission lines, specialized hardware,
and communication protocols
• Enables communication among different users
and computer systems
• Local area network (LAN) less than one kilometer
long – connects computers within single building
• Wide area network (WAN) over one kilometer
long – implies much greater, global, distances
• Router – directs information within network
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A Possible Network Configuration for
RMO
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The Internet, Intranets, and Extranets
• Internet – Global collection of networks that use
TCP/IP networking protocols
• Intranets
– Private networks using same TCP/IP protocol as the
Internet
– Limited to internal users
• Extranets
– Intranet that has been extended outside the
organization
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Application Architecture
• Specification of the technologies to be used to
implement information systems.
• Client-Server divides programs into two types
• Server – manages information system resources
or provides well defined services for client
• Client – communicates with server to request
resources or services
• Advantage – Deployment flexibility
– Location, scalability, maintainability
• Disadvantage – Potential performance, security,
and reliability issues from network 27
Client-Server Architecture
• Client-Server divides programs into two types
• Server – manages information system resources
or provides well defined services for client
• Client – communicates with server to request
resources or services
• Advantage – Deployment flexibility
– Location, scalability, maintainability
• Disadvantage – Potential performance, security,
and reliability issues from network
communication
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Interaction among Client, Server, and
a Service-Related Data Store
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Client-Server Architectural Process
• Decompose application into client and server
programs, modules, or objects
– Identify resources or services that can be centrally
managed by independent software units
• Determine which clients and servers will execute
on which computer systems
• Describe communication protocols and networks
that connect clients and servers
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Three-Layer Client-Server
Architecture
• Layers can reside on one processor or be
distributed to multiple processors
• Data layer – manages stored data in databases
• Business logic layer – implements rules and
procedures of business processing
• View layer – accepts user input and formats and
displays processing results
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Three-Layer Architecture
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Spectrum of Client-Server Architecture
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Middleware
• Computer software that implements communication
protocols on the network and helps different systems
communicate
• Connects parts of an application and enables requests
and data to pass between them
• Examples of middleware
– DBMS protocol: ODBC and SQL
– Web protocol: HTTP, XML
– Object interface: CORBRA
– Web application: Microsoft’s .NET, Sun’s J2EE
• Designers reply on standard frameworks and protocols
incorporated into middleware
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Internet and Web-based Application
Architecture
• Web is complex example of client-server
architecture
• Can use Web protocols and browsers as
application interfaces
• Benefits
– Accessibility
– Low-cost communication
– Widely implemented standards
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Negative Aspects of
Internet Application Delivery
• Breaches of security
• Fluctuating reliability of network throughput
• Slow, throughput speeds to home users
• Volatile, changing standards
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Network Design
• Integrate network needs of new system with
existing network infrastructure
• Describe processing activity and network
connectivity at each system location
• Describe communications protocols and
middleware that connects layers
• Ensure that network capacity is sufficient
– Data size per access type and average
– Peak number of access per minute or hour
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Network Diagram for RMO
Customer Support System
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Summary
• Systems design is process of organizing and
structuring components of system to allow
construction (programming) of new system
• Design phase of project consists of activities that
relate to design of components of new system
– Application architecture, user interfaces, system
interfaces, database, network diagram, system
controls
– Prototyping may be required to specify any part or all
of the design
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Summary (continued)
• Inputs to design activities are diagrams, or
models, built during analysis
• Outputs of design are also set of diagrams, or
models, to describe architecture of new system
and detailed logic of programming components
• Inputs, design activities, and outputs are different
depending on whether a structured approach or
an object-oriented approach is used
• Architectural design adapts to development
environment and decomposes design into layers
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