CS603 Midterm Short Notes by Almas Afzal

CS603 SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN · SHORT NOTES FOR MIDTERM · SYLLABUS TOPIC 01 TO 76 · Topic_1 · Design (What & Why)

What is Design?

Design can be defined by two ways:

•  As a Verb
•  As a Noun

As a Verb: It is defined to make draw plans from something, for examples Clothes or buildings. As a Noun: It is defined as a drawing or sets of drawings showing how a building or product is to be made and how it will work and look.

What is Software Design?

Software Design is the process of defining the architecture, components, modules, interfaces, and data for a software system to satisfy specified requirements. It acts as a blueprint for software development and ensures that the system is structured, maintainable, and efficient.

It includes design principles, patterns, and methodologies to create high-quality software

Why do we use Design?

We design things to improve situations, solve problems ans explore alternatives.

Topic_2 · Software Design (Objectives) · 1. System Specification

System specification defines what the software should do.

•  Functional & Non-functional Requirement
•  User Needs & Constraints
•  Hardware & Software Requirements

2. The Software Design Process

The software design process is a structured approach that includes:

Requirement Analysis – Understanding what the system should do.

Architectural Design – Defining the system’s high-level structure.

Detailed Design – Designing individual components/modules.

Validation & Verification – Checking the design to avoid errors.

3. A Blueprint For implementation

Software design acts as a blueprint (plan) that guides developers. Diagrams (UML, Flowcharts) to visualize system components.

Architecture patterns (MVC, Layered Architecture) to organize code.

Coding standards & guidelines to ensure quality.

During the design phase , software engineers apply their knowledge of:

•  The problem domain
•  Implementation Technologies

Basic Objectives of Software Design:

•  It translates system specification into plans for the technical implementation of the software.
•  It serves as a technical plan for implementation.
•  It specifies the overall structure and organization of the eventual code.

The system or Program should meets the customer’s needs.

A Software Should be:

•  Easy to Implement
•  Efficient
•  Easily Extendible to meet new needs

Topic_3 & 4

Software Design (Complexity & Size)

Poorly designed programs are difficult to understand & Modify.

Software design complexity refers to how difficult it is to understand, modify, test, or maintain a software system. It depends on: