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Software Design Document Template
Software Design Document Template
Software design is a process by which the software requirements are translated into a
representation of software components, interfaces, and data necessary for the
implementation phase. The SDD shows how the software system will be structured to
satisfy the requirements. It is the primary reference for code development and, therefore,
it must contain all the information required by a programmer to write code. The SDD is
performed in two stages. The first is a preliminary design in which the overall system
architecture and data architecture is defined. In the second stage, i.e. the detailed design
stage, more detailed data structures are defined and algorithms are developed for the
defined architecture.
This template is an annotated outline for a software design document adapted from the
IEEE Recommended Practice for Software Design Descriptions. The IEEE
Recommended Practice for Software Design Descriptions have been reduced in order to
simplify this assignment while still retaining the main components and providing a
general idea of a project definition report. For your own information, please refer to IEEE
1
Std 10161998 for the full IEEE Recommended Practice for Software Design
Descriptions.
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1
http://www.cs.concordia.ca/~ormandj/comp354/2003/Project/ieeeSDD.pdf
(Team Name)
(Project Title)
Software Design Document
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Software Design Document
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 2
1.1 Purpose 2
1.2 Scope 2
1.3 Overview 2
1.4 Reference Material 2
1.5 Definitions and Acronyms 2
2. SYSTEM OVERVIEW 2
3. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE 2
3.1 Architectural Design 2
3.2 Decomposition Description 3
3.3 Design Rationale 3
4. SYSTEM DESIGN 3
4.1 Object Description 3
4.2 Class Diagram 3
4.3 System Sequence Diagram 3
5. COMPONENT DESIGN 3
6. REQUIREMENTS MATRIX 4
7. APPENDICES 4
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Software Design Document
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purpose
Identify the purpose of this SDD and its intended audience. (e.g. “This software design
document describes the architecture and system design of XX. ….”).
1.2 Scope
Provide a description and scope of the software and explain the goals, objectives and benefits of your
project. This will provide the basis for the brief description of your product.
1.3 Overview
Provide an overview of this document and its organization.
2. SYSTEM OVERVIEW
Give a general description of the functionality, context and design of your project. Provide any
background information if necessary.
3. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
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Software Design Document
responsibilities of the system were partitioned and then assigned to subsystems. Identify each high
level subsystem and the roles or responsibilities assigned to it. Describe how these subsystems
collaborate with each other in order to achieve the desired functionality. Don’t go into too much
detail about the individual subsystems. The main purpose is to gain a general understanding of how
and why the system was decomposed, and how the individual parts work together. Provide a diagram
showing the major subsystems and data repositories and their interconnections. Describe the diagram
if required.
Provide a decomposition of the subsystems in the architectural design. Supplement with text as
needed. You may choose to give a functional description or an objectoriented description. For a
functional description, put toplevel data flow diagram (DFD) and structural decomposition
diagrams. For an OO description, put subsystem model, object diagrams, generalization
hierarchy diagram(s) (if any), aggregation hierarchy diagram(s) (if any), interface specifications,
and sequence diagrams here.
4. System DESIGN
5. COMPONENT DESIGN
In this section, we take a closer look at what each component does in a more systematic way. If
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Software Design Document
you gave a functional description in section 3.2, provide a summary of your algorithm for each
function listed in 3.2 in procedural description language (PDL) or pseudocode. If you gave an
OO description, summarize each object member function for all the objects listed in 3.2 in PDL
or pseudocode. Describe any local data when necessary.
6. REQUIREMENTS MATRIX
Provide a cross-reference that traces components and data structures to the requirements in your
SRS document.
Use a tabular format to show which system components satisfy each of the functional
requirements from the SRS. Refer to the functional requirements by the numbers/codes that you
gave them in the SRS.
7. APPENDICES
Appendices may be included, either directly or by reference, to provide supporting details that could
aid in the understanding of the Software Design Document.
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