Design Activities-Written Assignment4
Benjamin Torrales
Thomas Edison State College

Abstract
The purpose of this document is to further understand the different activities that are performed during the Design Phase of the Software Development Life Cycle. Design Activities are done in parallel and is composed of Network Integration, Application Architecture and Software, User Interfaces, System Interfaces, Database Integration, Design Details, and Integration of System Controls (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 330). One should take into consideration that some of the details utilize in Design Activities are output of the System Analysis Phase (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 330). Furthermore each of the activities will generate a blueprint for the final design documents (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 330).

Design Activities-Written Assignment 4
Introduction
Design Activities utilizes a lot of the outputs generate by the Analysis Activities (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 330). It is during the Design Activities that a detail system is drawn and this is when a specific technology is recommended (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 330). Every activity in this phase becomes part of the final design and part of the design document (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 330). The Design activities is composes of seven different tasks that are executed at the same time in the Design Activities phase (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 330). As part of this research/essay document we will dive further into these different activities. The goal of this document is thoroughly discuss the different user, system interfaces. We will look at database integration, and the various controls. We will get a further understanding who should be involved for each activity, and the importance of each activity. We will uncover the benefits of standardization, documenting findings, and why is important to obtain user and management sign off during the process.

Design and Integrate the Network
During the Design and Integrate Network activity it will be determined how the systems will communicate in the organization (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 331). Though systems and network s can be built and implemented together normally a system will be implemented as part of an existing network (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 331). When designing a system there should be certain considerations to the Network limitations and during the design activity one should consider technical issues, reliability, security, throughput, and synchronization (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 331). Though all steps are important this step is critical since it will determine if the proposed system will be part of a new network or part of an existing network as stated earlier if part of an existing network we would need to consider the limitations of that network and provide alternative solutions that can fit the limitations of the existing infrastructure. During this step it is imperative to get users and the Information Technology Group. From a personal experience with more than ten years in the field I like to engage users as much as possible because they are ultimately the people that will utilize the system and the people most likely complain about any network deficiencies. From and the Information Technology we can gather a lot of the backbone of the infrastructure such as Router, Switches, connection speeds, and if there are any other systems that can cause problem with the proposed solution.
Design the application architecture and software
Design the Application Architecture and Software activity determines the role of each user and/or group. Furthermore, it is during this phase that the workflow is determined and the interaction between the system and people is materialized (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 331).
As part of this activity it is determined if the system would be new or replacing an old system. Normally based on experience if the system implemented is new there is more work to be done since all access policies will need to be determined and the actual workflow designed. However, if the system being implemented is replacing an old system then most right access and policies will remain the same. It is imperative to understand the system activities and what are the expectations from the new system. If remote access is required the infrastructure needs to be in place to support request in addition another area that should be taken into consideration is growth since this will guide the design from a hardware perspective (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 331). Though users are important for this step the Purchasing Directors or Department, Managers should be involved in this step since they will need to sign off in hardware and software purchase.
Design the User Interfaces
The Design the User Interface activity guides the Design according to each user role in the organization (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 332). From an end user perspective the User Interface is the system this is where the user will interact with the system conceptually, perceptually, and physically (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 332). As we work similar throughout these activities one must consider how the system will be used by the end user web based, mobile devices, operating systems, and browsers (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 332). One of the main challenges I find based on experience is that when a system is access by the end user as web based application it depends on the type of Web Browser being used you can have different views to the system which can be problematic to the end users and those supporting the web application. This activity is important because it provides the value of the system providing the end users to be efficient and return on investment to stakeholders. It is important for End User to be involved and sign off on this activity and for managers to sign off on it if it meets the requirements of the end users.
Design System Interfaces
The Design System interface activity focuses on the interaction of the new system with legacy systems. As part of this activity the Systems Analyst should be aware of all the system that is part of the organization infrastructure (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 333). Furthermore when designing the system interface one must take into consideration any connections either internal to the company or third party vendors external to the company (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 333). It is important to have Managers and head of Department involve during this activity since it provides the System Analyst to understand how the system will interact with other systems. This step will be important specially if integrating with current systems.
Design and integrate the Database
The Design and Integrate the Database activity is filled with many technical challenges and requirement that an Analyst should consider (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 333). Integration of the New Database with legacy system is important since it will allow for backward compatibility in addition it will allow the new database structure to access old records from the new system if necessary. As technology and roles in the organization changes all the tables and attributes must be taken into consideration when the database of the system is designed. It is important for the Information Technology or Information System Department to be involved during this activity since they can provide the backend information required to integrate the new database system (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 333).
Prototype for Design Details
The Prototype for Design Details activity acts as a testing phase for the system to be implemented (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 333). In addition to performing testing this activity functions as a guide that will ensure that all the design activities have been understood and it meets the requirements of the project (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 331). This in essence shows the ability of the new system to be integrated with the current infrastructure (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 334). During this phase is important to have Management, Information Technology, and End Users involved. This will require an all hands on Deck from a System Perspective so feedback is provided and allow for tweaking the system and move forward.
Design and Integrate the System Controls
Last but not least the Design and Integrate the System Controls provides the robustness required for the system to operate protecting the organization most valuable assets which is the information generated from the Data (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 334). Security plays a major role and access by hackers can cause harm to a company systems causing major setbacks in the organization (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 334). The different level of access and security can deter hackers from accessing your system (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 334). Since security as a major role a security consultant should be consider for this activity (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 334). At all time the data and information generated by the system should be safe and secure (Satzinger, Jackson, Burd 2008, pg. 334). The individuals that should be involved for this would be management and the information technology department since it requires for Management to guide approval on the various access levels and the information technology will be the individuals responsible for executing the policies.
Conclusion
As part of this conclusion we will need to take into consideration all the different activities that will part of the Design process. Furthermore one must take into consideration that all the activities work in parallel and that standardization of the process can help in greatly improve the activity of the Design. In addition one must consider that all the steps will required to be documented. It is imperative to get user and management sign off which will work as an approval. This will make sure that all the requirements have been met from an User and Management perspective.
References
Satzinger, John W.; Jackson, Robert B.; Burd, Stephen D. (2008-03-28). Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World. Cengage Textbook.