Design Phase (SDLC)

 What would you do during the design phase in SDLC?

The Design Phase is an crucial phase of the Software Development Life Cycle. The list of requirements that you develop in the definition phase is used to make design choices. In the design phase, one or more designs are created to achieve the project result. Depending on the project subject, the design phase products includes flow-charts, sketches, site trees, HTML screen designs, photo impressions, prototypes, and UML schemas.

The project supervisors use these designs to choose the definitive design that you can produce in the project. The development phase follows it. Once you have selected the design in the definition phase, you cannot make changes in the project’s later stage.

The objectives of the SDLC Design Phase are as follows:

Objectives

Successful completion of the SDLC Design Phase comprises:

• Transformation of all the requirements into detailed specifications covering all the aspects of the system.
• Planning and assessment for security risks.
• Approval for progressing to Development Phase.

Goals

Its primary purpose is to transform all the requirements into complete, detailed system design specifications. Once your design is approved, the Development Team begins its development work.

Deliverables and Approvals in SDLC Design Phase

The deliverables produced during this phase should be reviewed in detail and follow the approval path as defined. A signature page or section must accompany each deliverable requiring approval. Do IT periodically requests copies of these documents as part of the oversight responsibilities.

Approval/ sign-off is required by the customer, developer, tester, and the business analyst ( all the stakeholders, including inheritors). Once they approve it, the focus shifts to the next phase.

Roles & Responsibilities for Design Phase in SDLC

The following people participate in the work activities of the SDLC Design Phase. Their roles are as follows:

Customer: The customer sponsors the project and signs-off the team effort. Plus, it also reviews the strategy and the artifacts.

Business Analyst: It provides the requirements to the design team and reviews the software design and artifacts. 

Project Manager: The project managers finalize the data conversion strategy and the test strategy. Plus, they review the software design and artifacts.

Technical-Architect, Tech-Designer, Design Team: They design the system architecture, software components, etc., along with the design walk-through.

 

Developer/ Construction Team: They assist in finalizing the data conversion strategy. Plus, also reviewing the architecture and the software components. 

Testing Team/ Tester: They assist with identifying and finalizing the testing strategy. Plus, reviewing the architecture and software components. 

Database Team: The database team assists with architecture design and data conversion strategy. The Technical Architect plays the most crucial role and aims to describe the 

required functions and operations like screen layout, business rules, system database layout in detail and provides the architectural plan down to physical level. A system architecture is not just a product of requirements but a result of organizational goals, architect experience, and the technical environment. 

Exit Criteria for Design Phase in SDLC

Completion and reviewal of all the technical specifications (system design documents).

The Master Test Plan artifacts associated with the Design step should be completed, reviewed, and placed in the baseline.

Work on the documents like maintenance manual, training plan, training manual, and user manual has begun and is in progress.

Overall Summary:

The SDLC Design Phase results in one of the two crucial elements to the project: the design. Without a detailed design, the second key element, the system, cannot be constructed, trained upon, implemented, or operated. The decisions that you make in this phase regarding technology, frameworks, configuration, implementation, and change management ensure a solid foundation for the project.

The ambiguous requirements are a great source of project failure, and a poor design ranks second. The SDLC Design Phase deliverables’ approval, completion of the Design project status review, and the approval for proceeding to the next phase signifies the end of the Design Phase.