Module 3
Phase 3: System design
It is important to remember that the focus of this phase within the SDLC is on the
design content and layout. How specific forms or reports are implemented (e.g.,
the programming language or screen painter code) is left for a later stage.
Although coding sheets are still used, their importance has diminished because
of significant changes in system operating environments and the evolution
of automated design tools.
Consequently, the creation of new tools and development environments was
needed to help analysts and programmers develop these graphical and flexible
designs.
Analysts must complete two important activities in the systems design phase, as
illustrated in the Figure below
A. designing the human interface
B. designing databases.
A. Designing the human interface
There are guidelines to follow when designing the human-computer interface.
Which is the process of designing forms and reports, providing guidance on the
deliverables produced during this process.
Form
A document that contains some predefined data and may include some areas
where additional data are to be filled in; typically based on one database record.
Examples of forms are product order forms, employment applications, and class
registration sheets, electronic spreadsheet, computer sign-on or menu, and an
automated teller machine (ATM) transaction layout.
Report
A passive document that contains only predefined data for reading or viewing
typically contains data from many unrelated records or transactions.
Examples of reports are invoices, weekly sales summaries by region and
salesperson, and a pie chart of population by age categories.
Differences and similarities between forms and Reports
A report is only for reading and often contains data about multiple unrelated
records in a computer file.
On the other hand, a form typically contains data from only one record or is, at
least, based on one record, such as data about one customer, one order, or one
student.
The guidelines for the design of forms and reports are similar.
The Process of Designing Forms and Reports
Designing forms and reports is a user-focused activity that typically follows a
prototyping approach.
B. Designing Database
During the analysis phase, analysts create process models to represent how the
business system will operate. At the same time, analysts need to understand the
information that is used and created by the business system (e.g., customer
information, order information). In that aspect, we discussed how the data flows
through the processes, organized and presented.
A data model is a formal way of representing the data that are used and created
by a business system; it illustrates people, places, or things about which
information is captured and how they are related to each other.
In the design phase, analysts draw a physical data model to reflect how the
data will physically be stored in databases and files. At this point, the analysts
investigate ways to store the data efficiently and to make the data easy to retrieve.
Project teams usually use CASE tools to draw data models. Some of the CASE
tools are data modeling packages creating a logical data model. Although there are
several ways to model data, we will present one of the most commonly used
techniques:
Entity relationship diagramming, a graphic drawing technique developed by
Peter Chen that shows all the data components of a business system. We will first
describe how to create an entity relationship diagram (ERD) and discuss some
style guidelines.
Elements of an Entity Relationship Diagram
There are three basic elements in the data modeling language (entities, attributes,
and relationships), each of which is represented by a different graphic symbol
known as chen Figure above summarizes the three basic elements of ERDs and the
symbols we will use.
Entity: The entity is the basic building block for a data model. It is a person, place,
event, or thing about which data is collected. For example, an employee, an order,
or a product.
An entity is depicted by a rectangle, and it is described by a singular
noun spelled in capital letters.
Weak Entity Strong Entity
For example, John Smith and Susan Jones could be instances of the
customer entity.
Attribute: An attribute is some type of information that is captured about an
entity.
Attributes are nouns that are listed within an entity.
For example, last name, home address, and e-mail address are all attributes of a
customer.
One or more attributes can serve as the identifier, the attribute(s) that can
uniquely identify one instance of an entity and the attributes that serve as the
identifier are noted by an asterisk next to the attribute name or underlined (primary
key). like the customer ID number, matric no, first/ last name but need to be sure
there will not be duplicate.
Multivalue Attribute Composite Attribute Derived Attribute
Phone no First/Last/other Names Age from Date of Birth
No. of children City/ Street/House no
Single Attribute
It is usually used as primary key. E.g Matric no. Id no
Relationship: Relationships are associations between entities, and they are shown
by lines that connect the entities together. Every relationship has a parent entity
and a child entity, the parent being the first entity in the relationship, and the child
being the second.
Relationships should be clearly labeled with active verbs so that the connections
between entities can be understood. If one verb is given to each relationship, it
is read in two directions.
Strong Relationship Weak Relationship
Cardinality or Constraint Relationships have two properties. First, a relationship
has cardinality, which is the ratio of parent instances to child instances. To
determine the cardinality for a relationship, we ask ourselves: “How many
instances of one entity are associated with an instance of the other?” Remember
that an instance is one occurrence of an entity, The cardinality for binary
relationships (i.e., relationships between two entities) is 1:1, 1: N(M), or M: N(M),
For instance,
Parent: child -1:1, 1: M
Student: Course - M: 1, M: M
Bank: Customer - 1: M, M: M
Student: Department – M: 1
Matric no: Student -1:1
Building Entity Relationship Diagrams
Step 1: Identify the Entities
Step 2: Add Attributes and Assign Identifiers
Step 3: Identify Relationships among Entities
Examples
1. A college course may have one or more scheduled sections. Attributes of
COURSE include Course ID, Course Name, and Course Units. Attributes of
SECTION include Section Number and Semester ID. Draw the ERD for the
model.
Entity Relationship Model
Entity Attribute Relationship Constraint
Course Course ID Have 1:m
Course Name
Course Unit
Section Semester ID Have 1:1
Section Number
Entity Relationship Diagram
2. Any bona fide student with records of Name, matric no,
D.O.B. Address will register for each course with Title, Code
belonging to their respective department. Any student is
entitled to a department and a supervisor with an Identity
code and staff Id respectively. Generate an ERM and ERD
from the information.
Entity Relationship Model (ERM)
Entity Attribute Relationship Constraints
Student Name Register M:M Student :
Matric no Course
D.O.B
Address
Course Course Title Belong M :1
Course code Course :Department
Department Identity code Belong M:1 Student:
Department
Supervisor Staff Id Entitle M:1 Student:
Supervisor
Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)
M 1
Student Course
Department
Matric no M M Course M 1
Code Identity code
M rr
D.O.B. Course
Title
Address
Supervisor
Staff ID
Practice Question
1. Draw the relationships that follow.
• A patient must be assigned to only one doctor, and a doctor can
have many patients.
• An employee has one phone extension, and a unique phone
extension is assigned to an employee.
• A movie theater shows many different movies, and the same
movie can be shown at different movie theaters around town.
2. Draw an entity relationship diagram (ERD) for the following
situations:
Whenever new patients are seen for the first time, they complete
a patient information form that asks their name, address, phone
number, and insurance carrier, all of which are stored in the
patient information file. Patients can be signed up with only one
carrier, but they must be signed up to be seen by the doctor.
Each time a patient visits the doctor, an insurance claim is sent to
the carrier for payment. The claim must contain information about
the visit, such as the date, purpose, and cost. It would be possible
for a patient to submit two claims on the same day.