10. Summary

• The Design phase is about planning the project in detail so that that system will meet user requirements.
• Detailed project planning is carried out at this stage
• Project planning tools include gantt and PERT charts amongst others
• The data capture method is to be defined (screen, paper forms etc)
• The data input specification needs to be developed
• The data output details are to be specified
• System diagrams, Data Flow Diagrams and Flow charts are useful tools for this work
• Business modeling is often a good idea to provide context
• A data dictionary should be included if the system has data files and databases
• A poor system requirements document will most likely lead to a poor outcome.
• A good system requirements document will make success more likely