Today, we are talking about the anatomy of a software design document, which provides a productive output of creative solutions. Read this article to find how the EZtek team creates this document step by step. On our channel, we share thoughts on recent developments in the tech industry, follow us not to miss new articles.
What is the Purpose of a Software Design Document?
It describes the product characteristics, architecture, and functional and non-functional requirements. Moreover, it specifies the responsibilities of team members in terms of accomplishing these goals. We are excited to share the EZtek team’s experience in making a software design document.
What is the structure of a Software Design Document?
Each section typically features goals and their detailed description. The simpler the statements are the better. Keep reading to review the structure.
1. Introduction
In this section, we briefly describe the structure of the document and its assets. We define:
- The purpose of the document
- The scope to set the requirements for the software
- Target audience
- Definitions, acronyms, and abbreviations to list the terms with their descriptions
- References to list examples.
2. Overview
In the overview, we list the Main points that will be discussed throughout the document.
3. Executive Summary
This section describes the goals, objectives and strategy of the project.
4. System Overview
Where we describe the functionality and interface of the product and main user activities. Accordingly, the structure of the system overview consists of:
- A short description of the product
- A list of key features
- Main user activities
- The description of subsystems
- The description of additional functionality and design.
5. Future Contingencies
The Future Contingencies section contains a plan that describes risks and their estimated costs. It is probably one of the most valuable sections.
6. Document Organization
- Describe which document organization systems you will use during the project
- Define requirements, wiki storages, libraries and official product docs
- Establish entities responsible for creating and maintaining the documentation.
7. Design Guidelines
This section is a central part of the software design document, where we define design requirements and responsible team members to represent dependencies and risks. Among its areas, we determine:
- Roles
- Responsibilities
- System assumptions: we predict use cases, identify key components and features and list best practices for building functionality.
- Constraints: that prevent it from achieving these goals
- List system dependencies
- Project risks
8. Design Considerations
Which always surround the process and need to be considered early on. Among them are:
- Operational environment
- Development methods
- Architectural strategy
9. System Architecture and Architecture Design
This is a vital segment of a software development plan, a diagram demonstrates software layers and building blocks. In a way that’s clear even to the stakeholders with no development background. You can see the example right here.
The next point to describe is Hardware architecture. The description usually includes the list of hardware and its requirements and a strategy for working with it. In records management, you should list which systems, tools and algorithms the system should use to process and store documents.
10. Design Specification
This section covers many design aspects, such as:
Business requirements: that must be focused on users expectations from the product, competitive advantages and budget constraints.
In creating database design, it is important to decide between relational and non-relational models.
The last point is user interface design. For user interface documentation, you need to analyze each feature and determine how users can achieve their goals.
A well-written software design document lays the foundation for mutual understanding of the product’s goals, a productive search of creative solutions and smooth executions.This video was prepared by the EZtek team. We provide Software development, UI/ UX design and testing services to top brands worldwide. We share the experience of software development processes and help them transform. Follow us not to miss a new article.
