Unit 1.3 Notes on Program Design and Development

Daily Video 1

  • Use a development process to develop a program
  • Design a program and its user interface
  • A development process can be ordered and intentional or exploratory in nature
  • Common phases when developing a program: investigating and reflecting, designing, prototyping, testing
  • Requires refinement and revision based on feedback, testing, and reflection: may require revisiting phases
  • Break the project into smaller pieces and make sure each piece works before adding it to the whole
  • Investigate to determine requirements, constraints, concerns and interests of customer
  • Investigate by: collecting data through surveys, user testing, interviews, direct observations
  • Requirements describe how a program functions and may include a description of user interactions that a program should provide
  • Design phase that outlines how to accomplish a program’s goal may include: brainstorming, planning/storyboarding, organizing the program into modules and functional components, creation of diagrams, develop testing strategy
  • Constantly test your program

Daily Video 2

  • When developing a program, it is important to cite and acknowledge code segments used from either another source or developed collaboratively
  • When acknowledging someone else, include the origin of code or authors name in the program documentation
  • Team of people usually work on a program by each focusing on different functional components
  • Each member’s work should be credited in program documentation
  • Sometimes credit is given with comments in the code
  • Many developers use code segments, procedures, algorithms made by others who aren’t part of the project so it is important to credit them

Daily Video 3

  • Describe the purpose of a code segment or program by writing documentation
  • Program documentation: a written description of the function of a code segment, event, procedure, or program and how it was developed EX: comments (don’t effect how the program runs)
  • Should actively document throughout development to help development as well as maintaining correct programs
  • Program documentation created to: describe the program, list specifications, describe different parts of the program, list of contributors
  • Document process: beginning: list specifications, during: keep track of progress, after: explain overall process
  • Documentation improves: programming process efficiency, ability to test and refine program, responding to bugs
  • How to comment:

Quiz

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