Module:Software Engineering Principles
Module code:XJCO2912
Year:2019-2012
Assignment:Software Design Brief - written report
Assignment weighting: 15%
Due:7th November 2019 – VLE submission
Brief
The assignment is to develop and document a software design brief suitable to give to a software development team so that they can estimate effort and produce an initial quote for the work.
Scenario
Your university wants to support the good mental health of its students. It would like to commission an app and has set aside £100,000 for the app’s development. The idea is that students concerned about their mental health could download the app and use it to record, review and get advice that will support them through the challenges of university life. The app should be fully tested and operation for next year’s induction (i.e. September 2020).
The university will pay £10,000 for the best software design and have invited you and a number of your competitors to submit four page design briefs. They will use these to decide who to commission for the design. You will have to do the design brief for free in the hope that your design is commissioned. The university have said that they want to see designs that are creative, ambitious and that make use of both integration with existing university systems (attendance, timetables, marks, medical records, etc) and the latest advances in smart phone technologies (location, alerts, camera, embedded AI etc.). However the design must also be achievable within the budget and timescale and must be embody sound software engineering principles and address any legal, ethical and sociological issues.
Your task
Investigate the range of potential requirements that you might select for your chosen solution. You have a wide range of choices available and you only need to choose some of those for your solution. Your approach is up to you but it would be sensible to do three iterations of investigation and design – the first should be a broad investigation to help you choose a candidate design, the second should investigate specific requirements to help you “flesh out” your design and the third should be “polishing” to format your design brief in the required format. Your final design brief should be in line with University’s aims, it should address a clearly articulated need, and should be technically and practically feasible.
You are expected to draw on and apply the techniques and understanding you have acquired on this module. You may work with other students to discuss the range of issues and options but you must submit an individual piece of work. Each report is checked by Turnitin for plagiarism against current students, previous students and other universities as well as against online sources.
Report Structure
The following report structure is recommended but you are welcome to improve on it:
Introduction
Summarise your understanding of the University’s aim and explain what you have chosen to focus on and why. Describe the investigation of requirements that you have conducted and the key points that have informed your choice of design. Who are the stakeholders and what interest do they have in the solution?
Summary of the proposed solution
Describe your proposed solution in non-technical terms. State who will use your solution, why and when. Describe what effort is required by the user to use your proposed solution and what value the user will get in return. Describe any other users and uses of the solution including any systems that you expect your solution to interface with.
Requirements
Draw a use case diagram to show the system, its users and uses. This should include any system actors. Make sure that all human users have a clear value proposal. Write short narrative that summarises the use case diagram. List any key non-functional requirements.
Using the Proposed Solution
Write a user story to illustrate how you imagine your proposed system might be used. You may choose to include some prototypes of proposed screens or an activity diagram or interaction diagram to supplement your story.
Implementing the Proposed Solution
Draw an implementation diagram (deployment and component combined) to show the hardware and network infrastructure for your proposed solution together with the software components that will be required. Describe what will be required in terms of both new and existing hardware, networking, software and interfaces to implement the system. What technology platforms will be used? How will the non-functional requirements be addressed?
Conclusion
Identify any legal, ethical and sociological issues and explain how your solution will address them. Make a conclusion explaining why your proposal follows sound software engineering principles and is achievable within the budget and timescale. What are the limitations of your proposed solution and what outstanding issues have not been addressed?
Assessment Criteria
Your assignment should demonstrate that you can:
•Apply a range of tools and approaches from the module to design a system.
•Structure a report based on your design.
•Demonstrate an ability to work as a software engineer.
Your report should:
Be logically structured
Use good English
Use neat diagrams where appropriate
Include accurate and consistent referencing where appropriate
Use correct spelling and punctuation.
Word Count: There is no word limit but there is a strict 4 page limit. Font size for the report should not be smaller than Arial 11 but may be smaller in tables or diagrams provided these are still clear and legible. Hand drawn diagrams and prototypes are perfectly acceptable.