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Milav Dabgar
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Milav Dabgar
Experienced lecturer in the electrical and electronic manufacturing industry. Skilled in Embedded Systems, Image Processing, Data Science, MATLAB, Python, STM32. Strong education professional with a Master’s degree in Communication Systems Engineering from L.D. College of Engineering - Ahmedabad.
Lecture 15: Characteristics of Good Software Design

Lecture 15: Characteristics of Good Software Design

Unit 3: Requirement Analysis and Design (4353202)

Lecture Agenda

  • Recap of NFRs
  • What is Software Design?
  • Key Characteristics of a Good Software Design
  • Modularity
  • Cohesion and Coupling
  • Abstraction and Encapsulation
  • Key Takeaways

Recap of NFRs

Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs) define the quality attributes of a system, such as performance, security, and reliability. They describe 'how' a system should work.

What is Software Design?

Software design is the process of envisioning and defining software solutions to one or more sets of problems. It involves creating a plan for the software's architecture, components, interfaces, and data.

A good design is the blueprint for a successful software product.

Key Characteristics of a Good Software Design

  • Modularity: The software is divided into separate, independent modules.
  • High Cohesion: The elements within a module are closely related.
  • Low Coupling: The modules are independent of each other.
  • Abstraction: Hiding the complex reality while exposing only the necessary parts.
  • Encapsulation: Bundling the data with the methods that operate on that data.
  • Simplicity: The design is easy to understand and maintain.
  • Flexibility: The design can accommodate future changes.

Modularity

Modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined. A modular design makes the system easier to understand, develop, test, and maintain.

Advantages of Modularity:

  • Easier to Understand: Each module can be understood in isolation.
  • Parallel Development: Different teams can work on different modules simultaneously.
  • Easier to Test: Modules can be tested independently.
  • Easier to Maintain: Changes in one module have a limited impact on other modules.

Cohesion and Coupling

Cohesion refers to the degree to which the elements inside a module belong together. We aim for high cohesion.

Coupling refers to the degree of interdependence between software modules. We aim for low coupling.

A good design has high cohesion and low coupling.

Abstraction and Encapsulation

Abstraction is the process of hiding the implementation details and showing only the functionality to the user.

Encapsulation is the bundling of data with the methods that operate on that data, or the restricting of direct access to some of an object's components.

These concepts are fundamental to object-oriented programming.

Key Takeaways

  • A good software design is the foundation of a successful software product.
  • Key characteristics include **modularity, high cohesion, low coupling, abstraction, and encapsulation**.
  • These principles lead to software that is easier to **understand, develop, test, and maintain**.

Next Lecture

Topic: Analysis vs. Design

Q & A

Questions & Discussion