#Briefly summarize the DriverPass project. Who was the client? What type of system did they want you to design?
The DriverPass client provided informational and on-the-road training to its customers to help them pass both their written and on-the-road driving tests. The purpose of the requested system was to systematize the signing up for training as well as providing online training and practice tests.
#What did you do particularly well?
The best part of my work on the projects was the thoroughness of my written business requirements. This is not surprising, since I have spent years employed as a Business Systems Analyst.
#If you could choose one part of your work on these documents to revise, what would you pick? How would you improve it?
I think I could have done a better job on the powerpoint presentation. Rather than repeating the same slide format slide after slide, I could have introduced more design variety in terms of placement of the various points/images, as well varying the color scheme.
#How did you interpret the user’s needs and implement them into your system design? Why is it so important to consider the user’s needs when designing?
I used the interview transcript to interpret the user's needs, as well as the diagram that DriverPass provided. I combined this information with my standard knowledge of web-based applications to devise a design solution that would please the client. If you make too many assumptions about what you think the user will want, you can end up designing a system that is not sufficient for the client. This is why understanding and documentation of the user's needs is so important.
#How do you approach designing software? What techniques or strategies would you use in the future to analyze and design a system?
I design software by first understanding the scope of the need. Next, I dive into the details and document the requirements using both text and activity diagrams. Finally, I come up with my ideas for infrastructure to support the system, that would satisfy the requirements, both functional and non-functional. In the future I am going to make use of UML Use Case diagrams and Sequence diagrams, now that I have learned how to use them. Before, I new what UML was, but I was not comfortable creating UML diagrams. Now I am, and am glad to be familiar now with an industry standard of documentation.