Any ramblings and blog posts associated with the UNISA ICT 2621 tag should be considered study notes for my lectures…
Objectives of Chapter 9
- Discuss the issues related to managing and coordinating the activities of the SDLC
- Explain the major components and levels of design
- Describe each major design activity
- Develop a simple network diagram
- Describe common deployment environments and matching application architectures
Key Words & Definitions
- architectural design – broad design of the overall system structure; also called general design or conceptual design
- detail design – low level design that includes the design of specific program details
- interface designers – specialists in user interface design; also called usability consultants or human factors engineers
- computer network – a set of transmission lines, equipment, and communication protocols to permit sharing of information and resources
- local area network – a computer network in which the distances are local, such as within the same building
- wide area network – a computer network spread across large distances, such as a city, state or nation
- router – network equipment that directs information within the network
- Internet – a global collection of networks that use the same networking protocol – TCP/IP
- World Wide Web - a collection of resources such as files and programs that can be accessed over the internet using standard protocols
- intranet – a private network that is accessible to a limited number of users, but which uses the same TCP/IP protocol as the internet
- extranet – an intranet that has been extended outside the organization to facilitate the flow of information
- virtual organization – a loosely coupled group of people and resources that work together as though they were an organization
- virtual private network – a network with security and controlled access for a private group but built on top of a public network such as the internet
- network diagram – a model that shows how application layers are distributed across locations and computer systems
- single-computer architecture – architecture that employs a single computer system executing all application-related software
- multitier architecture – architecture that distributes application-related software or processing load across multiple computer systems
- clustered architecture – a group of computers of the same type that share processing load and act as a single large computer system
- multicomputer architecture – a group of dissimilar computers that share processing load through specialization of function
- centralized architecture – architecture that locates all computing resources in a central location
- distributed architecture – architecture that deploys computing resources in multiple locations connected by a computer network
- server – a process, module, object, or computer that provides services over a network
- client – a process, module, object, or computer that requests services from one or more servers
- three-layer architecture – a client/server architecture that divides an application into the view layer, business layer, and data layer
- data layer – the part of three layer architecture tat interacts with the database
- business logic layer – the part of three-layer architecture that contains the programs that implement the business rules of the application
- view layer – the part of three-layer architecture that contains the user interface
- web services architecture – a client/server architecture that packages software into server processes that can be accessed via Web protocols
- middleware – computer software that implements communication protocols on the network and helps different systems communicate
Example Questions on this Section
- What are the key questions that must be decided and implemented with regard to assigning tasks to team members?
- The term centralised architecture describes deployment of all computer systems in a single location. Centralised architecture is generally used for large-scale processing applications, including both batch and real-time applications. Give the characteristics of Information Systems in these industries.
- List the seven steps in developing a structure chart
Project Management Revisited: Execution and Control of Projects
Understanding the Elements of Design
Design Activities
Network Design
The Deployment Environment and Application Architecture