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Design, Development and Testing

The purpose of systems design

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 1

Overview

Purpose of the design stage of systems development, four things a full system design specifies and modular design.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Name four things a full system design specifies.

Key term

What is modular design?

Evaluation

Give two advantages of designing a system in modules.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is the purpose of the design stage of systems development?

    Model answer

    Design turns the agreed requirements into a detailed plan of how the system will work, covering its inputs, processes, stored data, outputs and interface, so that programmers can build it without having to invent the structure themselves.

  2. 2

    Name four things a full system design specifies.

    Model answer

    A full design specifies the layout of every input screen and printed output, the structure of the stored data, the processing each module performs, and the way the modules link together.

  3. 3

    What is modular design?

    Model answer

    Modular design splits a system into separate self-contained units, each performing one defined job and communicating with the others through agreed inputs and outputs.

  4. 4

    Give two advantages of designing a system in modules.

    Model answer

    Modules can be written and tested by different programmers at the same time, and a fault or a change is confined to one module instead of affecting the whole program.

  5. 5

    What does a structure chart show?

    Model answer

    A structure chart shows the modules of a system arranged in levels, with each module drawn beneath the module that calls it, so the hierarchy of the program can be read at a glance.

  6. 6

    What is pseudocode used for at the design stage?

    Model answer

    Pseudocode sets out the steps of a process in structured English, so the logic can be checked and agreed before anyone writes it in a programming language.

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