Software design Software design is a process of problem solving and planning for a software solution.

After the purpose and specifications of software are determined, software developers will design or employ designers to develop a plan for a solution. It includes low-level component and algorithm implementation issues as well as the architectural view.

Overview
The software requirements analysis (SRA) step of a software development process yields specifications that are used in software engineering. If the software is "semi automated" or user centered, software design may involve user experience design yielding a story board to help determine those specifications. If the software is completely automated (meaning no user or user interface), a software design may be as simple as a flow chart or text describing a planned sequence of events. There are also semi-standard methods like Unified Modeling Language and Fundamental modeling concepts. In either case some documentation of the plan is usually the product of the design. A software design may be platform-independent or platform-specific, depending on the availability of the technology called for by the design. Software design can be considered as putting solution to the problem(s) in hand using the available capabilities. Hence the main difference between Software analysis and design is that the output of the analysis of a software problem will be smaller problems to solve and it should not deviate so much even if it is conducted by different team members or even by entirely different groups. But since design depends on the capabilities, we can have different designs for the same problem depending on the capabilities of the environment that will host the solution (whether it is some OS, web , mobile or even the new cloud computing paradigm). The solution will depend also on the used development environment (Whether you build a solution from scratch or using reliable frameworks or at least implement some suitable design patterns

Software design topics

Design concepts
The design concepts provide the software designer with a foundation from which more sophisticated methods can be applied. A set of fundamental design concepts has evolved. They are: 1. Abstraction - Abstraction is the process or result of generalization by reducing the information content of a concept or an observable phenomenon, typically in order to retain only information which is relevant for a particular purpose.

2. Refinement - It is the process of elaboration. A hierarchy is developed by decomposing a macroscopic statement of function in a stepwise fashion until programming language statements are reached. In each step, one or several instructions of a given program are decomposed into more detailed instructions. Abstraction and Refinement are complementary concepts. 3. Modularity - Software architecture is divided into components called modules. 4. Software Architecture - It refers to the overall structure of the software and the ways in which that structure provides conceptual integrity for a system. A good software architecture will yield a good return on investment with respect to the desired outcome of the project, e.g. in terms of performance, quality, schedule and cost. 5. Control Hierarchy - A program structure that represents the organization of a program component and implies a hierarchy of control. 6. Structural Partitioning - The program structure can be divided both horizontally and vertically. Horizontal partitions define separate branches of modular hierarchy for each major program function. Vertical partitioning suggests that control and work should be distributed top down in the program structure. 7. Data Structure - It is a representation of the logical relationship among individual elements of data. 8. Software Procedure - It focuses on the processing of each modules individually 9. Information Hiding - Modules should be specified and designed so that information contained within a module is inaccessible to other modules that have no need for such information.

Design considerations
There are many aspects to consider in the design of a piece of software. The importance of each should reflect the goals the software is trying to achieve. Some of these aspects are: Compatibility - The software is able to operate with other products that are designed for interoperability with another product. For example, a piece of software may be backward-compatible with an older version of itself. Extensibility - New capabilities can be added to the software without major changes to the underlying architecture. Fault-tolerance - The software is resistant to and able to recover from component failure. Maintainability - The software can be restored to a specified condition within a specified period of time. For example, antivirus software may include the ability to periodically receive virus definition updates in order to maintain the software's effectiveness. Modularity - the resulting software comprises well defined, independent components. That leads to better maintainability. The components could be then implemented and tested in isolation before being integrated to form a desired software system. This allows division of work in a software development project.

Packaging - Printed material such as the box and manuals should match the style designated for the target market and should enhance usability. All compatibility information should be visible on the outside of the package. All components required for use should be included in the package or specified as a requirement on the outside of the package. Reliability - The software is able to perform a required function under stated conditions for a specified period of time. Reusability - the software is able to add further features and modification with slight or no modification. Robustness - The software is able to operate under stress or tolerate unpredictable or invalid input. For example, it can be designed with a resilience to low memory conditions. Security - The software is able to withstand hostile acts and influences. Usability - The software user interface must be usable for its target user/audience. Default values for the parameters must be chosen so that they are a good choice for the majority of the users.

Modeling language
A modeling language is any artificial language that can be used to express information or knowledge or systems in a structure that is defined by a consistent set of rules. The rules are used for interpretation of the meaning of components in the structure. A modeling language can be graphical or textual. Examples of graphical modeling languages for software design are: Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is an example of a Process Modeling language. EXPRESS and EXPRESS-G (ISO 10303-11) is an international standard generalpurpose data modeling language. Extended Enterprise Modeling Language (EEML) is commonly used for business process modeling across a number of layers. Flowchart is a schematic representation of an algorithm or a stepwise process, Fundamental Modeling Concepts (FMC) modeling language for softwareintensive systems. IDEF is a family of modeling languages, the most notable of which include IDEF0 for functional modeling, IDEF1X for information modeling, and IDEF5 for modeling ontologies. Jackson Structured Programming (JSP) is a method for structured programming based on correspondences between data stream structure and program structure LePUS3 is an object-oriented visual Design Description Language and a formal specification language that is suitable primarily for modelling large object-oriented (Java, C++, C#) programs and design patterns. Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a general modeling language to describe software both structurally and behaviorally. It has a graphical notation and allows for extension with a Profile (UML).

Alloy (specification language) is a general purpose specification language for expressing complex structural constraints and behavior in a software system. It provides a concise language based on first-order relational logic. Systems Modeling Language (SysML) is a new general-purpose modeling language for systems engineering.

Design patterns
A software designer or architect may identify a design problem which has been solved by others before. A template or pattern describing a solution to a common problem is known as a design pattern. The reuse of such patterns can speed up the software development process, having been tested and proven in the past.

Usage
Software design documentation may be reviewed or presented to allow constraints, specifications and even requirements to be adjusted prior to programming. Redesign may occur after review of a programmed simulation or prototype. It is possible to design software in the process of programming, without a plan or requirement analysis, but for more complex projects this would not be considered a professional approach. A separate design prior to programming allows for multidisciplinary designers and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to collaborate with highly-skilled programmers for software that is both useful and technically sound.

Guidelines for good technical design documents

I recently realized that Yahoo! search gives me a great ranking on these keywords - but then doesn't link to anything relevant. That's a great question nonetheless... So here are some guidelines. What makes a good technical design doc varies greatly based on the environment, the level of uncertainty and changes expected, the level of formalism expected or required, the audience and stakeholders, and how the document fits into your SDLC. There are some guidelines that are good to keep in mind in any case:

Only be as formal as you need to be - sometimes you don't need a document; discussions and brainstorming on a whiteboard might be sufficient Start on the right foot by giving your document a relevant and clear title, a file name consistent with its content, a version history table, and a table of content Don't write a Victorian novel - use bullet points and tables, and keep sentences short

When documenting object oriented designs, make sure readers can quickly find and grasp each class' name, responsibility, and relationships to other classes (see CRC for more details) A picture is indeed worth a thousand words - block diagrams, class diagrams, ER diagrams, and interaction diagrams are great tools that are easy to create. Keep them simple (their intent is to give the big picture), and make it easy on yourself (if you're good at MS Visio great; otherwise paper and scanner might be sufficient) Make it as short and condensed as can be - the objective is not to write as much as you can; the objective is to describe the technical design as precisely and concisely as possible - most of us are not great writers, and most of us hate reading verbose tech docs Do yourself a favor, read the Elements of Style by Strunk and White - it's short and to the point, and will help make the writing process less painful for you