Level 3 Cambridge Technical

Unit 6 – Application Design

LO1: Understand how applications are

designed
Learning Outcomes
P1 – Describe the key stages in • M1 - Compare and contrast different
application development models
application development
 LO1: Understand how
applications are designed
P1 – Describe the key stages in application development

Phases of the product

development life cycle:
• Requirements Analysis
• Design
• Implementation
• Testing
– Unit testing
– Integration testing
– Product testing
– Acceptance testing
• Deployment
• Maintenance
 Requirements Analysis
Some would argue that this is the most important stage in the whole
development cycle. It requires heads of department to communicate and
implement certain processes and to do so fluidly between each
department.
This is where the project manager would gather as much information as
possible from the client via a varied means of data collection methods.
Using this information they would then create a report to outline these
requirements and to identify and analyse any potential issues or
restrictions that could arise, any competitive boundaries, specifications
that would need to be identified based on the clients requirements (so the
system’s purpose, its context, any assumptions that are being made and
constraints on the system lifecycle). An identification of any functional
(requirements from the client that affect the actual technical functionality
of the system – for example a navigation system must be present) or
non-functional requirements (client requirements that are not affected by
the functional requirements, for example colour schemes, ease of use, etc)
would be outlined and analysed.
 Design
Once the requirements have been identified, analysed and agreed by the team and the
client, the next stage is to start the design. This doesn’t mean that the designers will start
building the system straight away. The design team will take the information from the
systems analysis stage and start to draw up diagrams and sketches of the proposed system
and its functions. Diagrams could include:
Entity Relationship Diagrams
Data Flow Diagrams
Class Diagrams
Wireframe Designs
Storyboards
Mood boards
All these will then map out an easier route to take when it comes to the creation of the
system. For example, if you know that page 3 must be connected to pages 5 and 6 then
you can implement that much easier and you have it written down and in the form of a
diagram or a sketch to map it out.
These designs will then be presented back to the client before the system is created to
eliminate any issues or conflicts that the client may have with the design before they are
implemented. The design team will, again, gain feedback from the client based on these
designs and make any necessary changes that would be outlined by the client’s feedback.
Once these changes are made and the final design solution is completed, the SDLC moves
on to the next stage.
 Implementation
This stage is where the actual system is created. The implementation team (for
example, a website or an app will have page designers to create and incorporate the
pages, coders to write any specific code to perform the functional requirements
and incorporate it into the pages, graphic designers to create suitable aesthetics,
etc) will take the final design solution and following the designs strictly, they will
create the required prototype/final product. This is, of course, done in stages. The
team will, firstly, create an implementation plan to map out the stages which need
to take place and who is responsible for their completion by what date, etc. Unit
testing and integration testing is carried out throughout the entirety of the
implementation stage and should anything fail testing or be identified as an area for
improvement then this will be flagged and the implementation plan will be
revisited.
Once the system is at the stage that meets the requirements of the client and the
final design solution has been implemented, then the SDLC moves on to the next
stage.
 Testing
The implementation team have performed unit testing and integration testing, however
these are only the preliminary test done at the implementation stage. Once the system
is complete and running, then more tests may need to be completed, such as:
– Functional Testing – Do the specified functional requirements work as requested?
– System Testing – Does the system work in different environments?
– Usability Testing – Testing from the users point of view. Does the GUI look good? Is
the navigation in a suitable place? Is the text readable for all types of users, etc
– Acceptance Testing – Testing performed by the client to make sure they are happy
with the system and it meets all the requirements from their point of view
– Beta Testing – Carried out in a “real life” situation and filters through to the next
stage of the SDLC. The clients customers/employees will start to use the system for
its purpose under the agreement that it is at a “beta stage” and that bugs may exist.
Again, any issues that arise would be reported back to the development team for
addressing.
– Product Testing – Similar to beta testing and again filters through to the
deployment stage of the SDLC, however it would be later in the SDLC once all other
issues identified have been addressed. It is a way of getting the public to test your
product/system for free, on the basis that they provide the feedback you require
once finished.
 Deployment
Otherwise known as “going live”, the system is released for use. The development
team will either manually set up or send out software to setup the system with
instructions on how to do so. There should be monitoring algorithms running in the
background so that logs can be viewed and maintained and any anomalies are
detected and dealt with appropriately when the product is actually deployed. These
logs will be stored locally and sent to the development team every hour/day/week.
During the first x amount of y, the BETA version will be the only one available for use
(if BETA testing is employed), then once the development team are happy the system
is running optimally, the full version is usually released. There are sometimes further
tests that take place (open and closed BETA for example) however these are only
needed if they are relevant.
Once the system has been released and in full use, the development team will
continue to observe for an agreed amount of time. Next is transferring ownership of
the product, which comes after documentation is signed by both parties to state the
system is now owned by the client and the development team can then close the
deployment phase.
 Maintenance
This phase occurs once the deployment phase is in full motion. It is the stage where the
development team will provide updates, bug fixes, etc for an agreed amount of time
(agreed with the client at requirements analysis stage). The majority of off the shelf
software packages make their money from licenses and upgrades for the software,
rather than the purchase of the software itself.

For bespoke applications Maintenance can take three forms

• Corrective maintenance when the application is discovered still to contain bugs
• Adaptive maintenance when the application needs to be updated to meet new
requirements
• Perfective Maintenance Performance improvements or changes requested by the
customer
 LO1: Understand how
applications are designed
Your Tasks:
P1: Describe the key activities of different stages in application
development
Using the cyclical development model
• Create a report covering each step the model takes to achieve its
purpose. The report should include:
– Title Page
– Contents Page
– Appropriate headings/subheadings
– Bibliography

Your report can be in the form of a word processed document, a presentation with detailed speaker notes, a
video presenting the information to an audience, or an information guide on the product development lifecycle