Data Component Design

Definition

Data design is the design subactivity involving the design of an application's data components (e.g., the content of a website).

Goals

• Produce, document, and maintain the detailed tactical structure and behavior of the application’s data components.

Objectives

To meet these goals, the typical objectives of data component design are to:

• Determine the logical structure of the data component in terms of:
  • Data types.
  • The relationships between them.
• Maximize the quality of the data component design:
  • In terms of correctness, completeness, consistency, and understandability.
  • To meet the requirements (operational, informational, and quality).
  • To meet the design constraints, and
  • To conform to the database and information architectures.
• Maximize the productivity of the design team (e.g., reuse of existing designs, reuse of design conventions, and existence of example documents).

Examples

Typical examples of data component design include the design of:

• Encapsulated data components.
• Content

Preconditions

Data component design typically may begin when the following preconditions hold:

• The initiation phase has started.
• The database team is initially staffed and adequately trained in design.
• The user experience team is initially staffed and adequately trained in design.
• The following documents are largely complete and are relatively stable:
  • Requirements Documents:
    • Application Vision Statement
    • Requirements Executive Summary
    • System Requirements Specification
    • External API Specification
    • Glossary
    • Domain Model Document
  • Architecture Documents:
    • System Architecture Document
    • Information Architecture Document
    • Software Architecture Document

Completion Criteria

Data component design is typically complete when the following postconditions hold:

• The design of the data components has been documented.
• The deliverable work products in the design work product set have:
  • Passed evaluation.
  • Been accepted by the customer.
  • Been delivered to the customer.

Tasks

Data component design typically involves the following producers performing the following design tasks in an iterative, incremental, parallel and time-boxed manner:

• Database Team, which performs data design:
  • Design Reuse
  • Design Prototyping
  • Design Production
  • Design Refactoring
  • Design Documentation

Environments

Data component design is typically performed using the following environment(s) and associated tools:

• Engineering Environment:
  • Whiteboards
  • Word processing tool
  • Modeling tools

Work Products

Data component design typically results in the production of all or part of the following work products:

• Diagram Work Products:
  • Data Design Diagram
• Design Work Products:
  • Database Design Document

Guidelines

• TBD