SOFTWARE DESIGN

CLU-CSC 237 PRESENTATION

-AILEME OLUWADAMILOLA CSC/2023/021

 What is Software Design?

 Software design is a process of conceiving, planning and organizing the structure and component of a software
system in order to satisfy specific requirements. It involves translating software requirements into a blueprint for
implementation. Software design focuses on logical structure of the system, data structure, algorithms, and interface.
 Software design can also be defined as the process of planning and creating a blueprint for a software application. It
focuses on ensuring the system meets user requirements, is maintainable, scalable, and efficient.

IMPORTANCE OF SOFTWARE DESIGN

 Quality: The system must meet user requirements, perform reliably and is free of critical errors.
 Efficiency: Proper software design optimizes resource utilization, reduces execution time and ensures smooth
functionality, minimizing wastage of computational resources.
 Time to market: Effective software design streamlines the development process y reducing rework and ensuring
clear requirements, allowing the software to be delivered faster.
 Cost–effectiveness: Well-thought-out design m,inimizes long-term costs by reducing errors, maintenance efforts,
and resource waste, making the software more economical to develop and maintain.
 Software Design Principles

PRINCIPLES of software design

 Modularity: This is the breaking down of a system into smaller independent components called
modules. Break the system into smaller, manageable components or modules to simplify development
and maintenance.
 Abstraction: This focuses on essential features while hiding implementation details. This simplifies
complexity and makes the system easier to understand and extend.
 Coupling: This involves maximizing dependencies between module.
 Cohesion: This involves maximizing the focus of each module on a single task.
 Information Hiding and Security: This is simply protecting sensitive information and implementation
details. Incorporate security measures during design to protect data and functionality.
 Separation of Concerns (SoC): This divides the system so each part addresses a single concern.
 Scalability and Performance: For future growth and optimal performance under varying loads.
 Reusability: Design components to be reusable across different projects or within the same system to
save time and effort in the future.
 Software Design Activities and
Design Patterns
software design ACTIVITIES
 Architectural Design: This defines the overall structure of a system, identifying the major component and
considering the performance, usability and accessibility (e.g. Micro-services, Layered Architecture) based on project
needs.
 Detailed Design: It specifies internal details of each component, defining data structure, algorithm and interface. It
creates detailed design documents.
 User Interface Design: It focuses on the user experience, design layout/navigation. Considers usability and
accessibility.

software design PATTERNS

 Creational Patterns: These focus on object creation mechanism, ensuring that objects are created in a way that is
suitable for the specific situation.
 Structural Patterns: These deal with the composition of classes or objects to form larger structures, focusing on
simplifying relationships between entities. They help create an organized and scalable system.
 Behavioral Patterns: These are concerned with communication and interaction between objects, defining how
responsibilities are distributed.
These patterns provide solutions to common design problems.
 Methodologies and Tools used in
Software in Design
METHODOLOGIES used in software design
 Structured Design: A top down approach which breaks down the system into hierarchical modules.
 Object-Oriented Design: It models the system as a collection of interacting objects.
 Component Based Design: Involves reusing prebuilt software component.
 Agile Design: It is interactive and incremental approach, focusing on flexibility and adaptability. Agile is
commonly used as it promotes collaboration.

Tools and techniques used in software design

These tools are used to visually represent the system's architecture.
 Unified Modeling Language (UML): A standard language for visualizing, specifying, construction and
documenting software system.
 Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERDs): A technique for modeling data relationships.
 Flowchart: A visual representation of algorithms and processes.
 Data Flow Diagram: It shows flow of data through a system.
 Design Pattern: A proven solution to common software design problems.
 Software Design Processes and
Models
Software Design Process
 Requirements Gathering: Understanding the functional and non-functional requirements of the
software system. Understand the problem, gather user requirements, and define objectives.
 Analysis: Breaking down the requirements into smaller components and identifying the interactions
between them.
 Design: Creating the architecture, components, and interfaces of the software system.
 Implementation: Writing the code for the software system.
 Testing and Validation: Verifying that the software system meets the requirements and works as
expected. Plan for unit testing, integration testing, and debugging during design to ensure reliability.

Software Design Models

 Waterfall Model: A linear design process that follows a sequential approach.
 Agile Model: An iterative and incremental design process that emphasizes flexibility and rapid delivery.
 V-Model: A design process that combines the waterfall and agile approaches.
 Software Design Best Practices and
Challenges
Software Design Practices
 Separate Concerns: Divide the software system into smaller, independent components.
 Keep it Simple: Avoid unnecessary complexity and focus on simplicity.
 Use Design Patterns: Apply proven design patterns to solve common design problems.
 Test and Refactor: Continuously test and refactor the software system to ensure quality
and maintainability.

Software Design Challenges

 Complexity: Managing complexity in large software systems.
 Scalability: Designing software systems that can scale to meet growing demands.
 Maintainability: Ensuring software systems are easy to maintain and modify.
 Security: Designing software systems that are secure and protect sensitive data.
 Software Design Trends

Software Design Trends

 Micro-services Architecture: Breaking down large software systems into smaller,
independent services.
 Cloud-Native Design: Designing software systems that take advantage of cloud
computing platforms.
 DevOps: Combining development and operations teams to improve collaboration and
automation.
 Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): Incorporating Al and ML into
software systems to improve automation and decision-making.
There are also additional considerations we make to ensure that the software design is robust, adaptable and aligns with both current
needs and future challenges. Some considerations of those considerations include:
 Dependency Management: Minimize tight coupling between modules to ensure changes in one module don’t break others. Use
dependency injection and design patterns like Factory or Observer.
 Consistency: Maintain uniform coding styles, naming conventions, and design paradigms across the system to improve
collaboration and reduce errors.
 Scalability: Account for both vertical (adding resources to a single machine) and horizontal (adding more machines) scalability.
 Flexibility and Extensibility: Allow for easy addition of new features or adaptation to changing requirements without major
overhauls.
 Error Handling and Logging: Plan robust error-handling mechanisms and detailed logging to aid debugging and improve system
reliability.
 Technology Stack Compatibility: Ensure the design aligns with the chosen technologies, frameworks, and platforms.
 Prototyping: Create prototypes or mockups to validate design ideas and gather feedback early in the development process.
 Ethical Considerations: Design software that adheres to ethical standards, respects user privacy, and avoids biases.
 Design Patterns: Leverage established design patterns (e.g., Singleton, Builder, Strategy) to solve common problems efficiently.
 Documentation: Maintain thorough design documentation, including diagrams, flowcharts, and explanations for decision-making,
to ensure the design is understandable by future developers.
 Iterative Improvement: Be open to refining and improving the design as the project progresses or new requirements emerge.
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THANK
YOU!!!