Systems design
Encyclopedia
Systems design is the process of defining the architecture, components, modules, interfaces, and data
for a system
to satisfy specified requirement
s. One could see it as the application of systems theory
to product development. There is some overlap with the disciplines of systems analysis
, systems architecture
and systems engineering
.
If the broader topic of product development "blends the perspective of marketing, design, and manufacturing into a single approach to product development," then design is the act of taking the marketing information and creating the design of the product to be manufactured. Systems design is therefore the process of defining and developing system
s to satisfy specified requirement
s of the user. Until the 1990s systems design had a crucial and respected role in the data processing
industry. In the 1990s standardization
of hardware and software resulted in the ability to build modular
systems. The increasing importance of software running on generic platforms has enhanced the discipline of software engineering
.
Object-oriented analysis and design
methods are becoming the most widely used methods for computer systems design. The UML
has become the standard language in object-oriented analysis and design. It is widely used for modeling software systems and is increasingly used for high designing non-software systems and organizations.
Physical design, in this context, does not refer to the tangible physical design of an information system. To use an analogy, a personal computer's physical design involves input via a keyboard, processing within the CPU, and output via a monitor, printer, etc. It would not concern the actual layout of the tangible hardware, which for a PC would be a monitor, CPU, motherboard, hard drive, modems, video/graphics cards, USB slots, etc.
it involve detail design of user and a product database structure processing and control processor .The H/S personal specification a develop for the proposed system .
(RAD) is a methodology in which a systems designer produces prototypes for an end-user. The end-user reviews the prototype, and offers feedback on its suitability. This process is repeated until the end-user is satisfied with the final system.
(JAD) is a methodology which evolved from RAD, in which a systems designer consults with a group consisting of the following parties:
JAD involves a number of stages, in which the group collectively develops an agreed pattern for the design and implementation of the system.
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
for a system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
to satisfy specified requirement
Requirement
In engineering, a requirement is a singular documented physical and functional need that a particular product or service must be or perform. It is most commonly used in a formal sense in systems engineering, software engineering, or enterprise engineering...
s. One could see it as the application of systems theory
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
to product development. There is some overlap with the disciplines of systems analysis
Systems analysis
Systems analysis is the study of sets of interacting entities, including computer systems analysis. This field is closely related to requirements analysis or operations research...
, systems architecture
Systems architecture
A system architecture or systems architecture is the conceptual model that defines the structure, behavior, and more views of a system.An architecture description is a formal description and representation of a system, organized in a way that supports reasoning about the structure of the system...
and systems engineering
Systems engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed over the life cycle of the project. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more...
.
If the broader topic of product development "blends the perspective of marketing, design, and manufacturing into a single approach to product development," then design is the act of taking the marketing information and creating the design of the product to be manufactured. Systems design is therefore the process of defining and developing system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
s to satisfy specified requirement
Requirement
In engineering, a requirement is a singular documented physical and functional need that a particular product or service must be or perform. It is most commonly used in a formal sense in systems engineering, software engineering, or enterprise engineering...
s of the user. Until the 1990s systems design had a crucial and respected role in the data processing
Data processing
Computer data processing is any process that a computer program does to enter data and summarise, analyse or otherwise convert data into usable information. The process may be automated and run on a computer. It involves recording, analysing, sorting, summarising, calculating, disseminating and...
industry. In the 1990s standardization
Standardization
Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....
of hardware and software resulted in the ability to build modular
Modularity (programming)
Modular programming is a software design technique that increases the extent to which software is composed of separate, interchangeable components called modules by breaking down program functions into modules, each of which accomplishes one function and contains everything necessary to accomplish...
systems. The increasing importance of software running on generic platforms has enhanced the discipline of software engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
.
Object-oriented analysis and design
Object-oriented analysis and design
Object-oriented analysis and design is a software engineering approach that models a system as a group of interacting objects. Each object represents some entity of interest in the system being modeled, and is characterised by its class, its state , and its behavior...
methods are becoming the most widely used methods for computer systems design. The UML
Unified Modeling Language
Unified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
has become the standard language in object-oriented analysis and design. It is widely used for modeling software systems and is increasingly used for high designing non-software systems and organizations.
Logical design
The logical design of a system pertains to an abstract representation of the data flows, inputs and outputs of the system. This is often conducted via modelling, using an over-abstract (and sometimes graphical) model of the actual system. In the context of systems design are included.Physical design
The physical design relates to the actual input and output processes of the system. This is laid down in terms of how data is input into a system, how it is verified/authenticated, how it is processed, and how it is displayed as output.Physical design, in this context, does not refer to the tangible physical design of an information system. To use an analogy, a personal computer's physical design involves input via a keyboard, processing within the CPU, and output via a monitor, printer, etc. It would not concern the actual layout of the tangible hardware, which for a PC would be a monitor, CPU, motherboard, hard drive, modems, video/graphics cards, USB slots, etc.
it involve detail design of user and a product database structure processing and control processor .The H/S personal specification a develop for the proposed system .
Rapid application development (RAD)
Rapid application developmentRapid application development
Rapid application development is a software development methodology that uses minimal planning in favor of rapid prototyping. The "planning" of software developed using RAD is interleaved with writing the software itself...
(RAD) is a methodology in which a systems designer produces prototypes for an end-user. The end-user reviews the prototype, and offers feedback on its suitability. This process is repeated until the end-user is satisfied with the final system.
Joint application design (JAD)
Joint application designJoint application design
Joint application design is a process used in the prototyping life cycle area of the Dynamic Systems Development Method to collect business requirements while developing new information systems for a company...
(JAD) is a methodology which evolved from RAD, in which a systems designer consults with a group consisting of the following parties:
- Executive sponsor
- Systems Designer
- Managers of the system
JAD involves a number of stages, in which the group collectively develops an agreed pattern for the design and implementation of the system.
Systems design: Topics
- Requirements analysisRequirements analysisRequirements analysis in systems engineering and software engineering, encompasses those tasks that go into determining the needs or conditions to meet for a new or altered product, taking account of the possibly conflicting requirements of the various stakeholders, such as beneficiaries or users...
- analyzes the needs of the end users or customers
- BenchmarkingBenchmarkingBenchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and/or best practices from other industries. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost...
— is an effort to evaluate how current systems perform
- Systems architectureSystems architectureA system architecture or systems architecture is the conceptual model that defines the structure, behavior, and more views of a system.An architecture description is a formal description and representation of a system, organized in a way that supports reasoning about the structure of the system...
- creates a blueprintBlueprintA blueprint is a type of paper-based reproduction usually of a technical drawing, documenting an architecture or an engineering design. More generally, the term "blueprint" has come to be used to refer to any detailed plan....
for the design with the necessary specifications for the hardware, software, people and data resources. In many cases, multiple architectures are evaluated before one is selected.
- DesignDesignDesign as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
— designers will produce one or more 'models' of what they see a system eventually looking like, with ideas from the analysis section either used or discarded. A document will be produced with a description of the system, but nothing is specific — they might say 'touchscreen' or 'GUI operating system', but not mention any specific brands;
- Computer programmingComputer programmingComputer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
and debuggingDebuggingDebugging is a methodical process of finding and reducing the number of bugs, or defects, in a computer program or a piece of electronic hardware, thus making it behave as expected. Debugging tends to be harder when various subsystems are tightly coupled, as changes in one may cause bugs to emerge...
in the software world, or detailed design in the consumer, enterprise or commercial world - specifies the final system components.
- System testingSystem testingSystem testing of software or hardware is testing conducted on a complete, integrated system to evaluate the system's compliance with its specified requirements. System testing falls within the scope of black box testing, and as such, should require no knowledge of the inner design of the code or...
- evaluates the system's actual functionality in relation to expected or intended functionality, including all integration aspects.
See also
- Architectural pattern (computer science)Architectural pattern (computer science)An architectural pattern in software is a standard design in the field of software architecture. The concept of a software architectural pattern has a broader scope than the concept of a software design pattern...
- Electronic design automationElectronic design automationElectronic design automation is a category of software tools for designing electronic systems such as printed circuit boards and integrated circuits...
- Electronic system levelElectronic system levelElectronic system level design and verification is an emerging electronic design methodology that focuses on the higher abstraction level concerns first and foremost. The term Electronic System Level or ESL Design was first defined by Gartner Dataquest, a EDA-industry-analysis firm, on February...
- Embedded systemEmbedded systemAn embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...
- Graphical system designGraphical system designGraphical system design is a modern approach to designing measurement and control systems that integrates system design software with COTS hardware to dramatically simplify development. This approach combines user interfaces, models of computation, math and analysis, Input/output signals,...
- Operating Systems Design and ImplementationOperating Systems Design and ImplementationOperating Systems Design and Implementation is a biennial Computer Science academic conference organized by USENIX. It alternates with SOSP, and it is the most prestigious multi-track operating systems conference....
- Structured Systems Analysis and Design MethodStructured Systems Analysis and Design MethodStructured systems analysis and design method is a systems approach to the analysis and design of information systems. SSADM was produced for the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency , a UK government office concerned with the use of technology in government, from 1980 onwards.- Overview...
- Systems Development Life CycleSystems Development Life CycleThe systems development life cycle , or software development life cycle in systems engineering, information systems and software engineering, is a process of creating or altering information systems, and the models and methodologies that people use to develop these systems.In software engineering...
- Systems thinkingSystems thinkingSystems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish...
Further reading
- C. West ChurchmanC. West ChurchmanCharles West Churchman was an American philosopher and systems scientist, who was Professor at the School of Business Administration and Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of California, Berkeley...
The Design of Inquiring Systems: Basic Concepts of Systems and Organization. Basic Books, New York, 1971, SBN 465-01608-1 - Levin, Mark Sh., Composite Systems Decisions, Springer, New York, 2006
- Maier, Mark W., and Rechtin, Eberhardt, The Art of Systems Architecting, Second Edition, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2000
- Saltzer, J.H, et al., End-to-End arguments in Systems Design in: ACM Transactions in Computer Systems Vol. 2, nr 4 (Nov 1984), pp 277–288.
- Ulrich, Karl T. and Eppinger, Steven D., Product Design and Development, Second Edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill, Boston, 2000
External links
- http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:Systems+design&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title Internet definitions
- Interactive Systems Design by Chris Johnson, 1993
- Department of Systems Design Engineering, Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
- System Design and Management, Systems Design and Management at the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, Cambridge, MA, USA - Course on System Design by Mark Sh. Levin