Software design description: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 17:08, 25 July 2023

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{{refimprove|date=September 2014}}

{{IEEE software documents}}

A '''software design description''' (a.k.a. '''software design document''' or '''SDD'''; just '''design document'''; also [[Software Design Specification]]) is a representation of a software design that is to be used for recording design information, addressing various design concerns, and communicating that information to the design’s stakeholders. <ref>{{Cite book|title=IEEE Standard for Information Technology--Systems Design--Software Design Descriptions|journal=IEEE STD 1016-2009|date=July 2009|pages=1–35|url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5167255|doi=10.1109/ieeestd.2009.5167255|isbn=978-0-7381-5925-6 }}</ref> An SDD usually accompanies an architecture diagram with pointers to detailed feature specifications of smaller pieces of the design. Practically, the description is required to coordinate a large team under a single vision, needs to be a stable reference, and outline all parts of the software and how they will work.

==Composition==

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== IEEE 1016 ==

'''IEEE 1016-2009''', titled ''IEEE Standard for Information Technology—Systems Design—Software Design Descriptions'',<ref name="IEEE1016">{{cite book|title=IEEE Standard for Information Technology — Systems Design — Software Design Descriptions |publisher=IEEE |date=2009-07-20 |doi=10.1109/IEEESTD.2009.5167255 |isbn=978-0-7381-5925-6 |title=IEEE Standard for Information Technology--Systems Design--Software Design Descriptions }}</ref> is an [[IEEE]] standard that specifies "the required information content and organization" for an SDD.<ref>IEEE 1016, ''Abstract''.</ref> IEEE 1016 does not specify the medium of an SDD; it is "applicable to automated databases and design description languages but can be used for paper documents and other means of descriptions."<ref>IEEE 1016, ''Abstract''.</ref>

The 2009 edition was a major revision to IEEE 1016-1998, elevating it from recommended practice to full standard. This revision was modeled after [[IEEE 1471|IEEE Std 1471-2000]], ''Recommended Practice for Architectural Description of Software-intensive Systems'', extending the concepts of [[IEEE 1471#IEEE Conceptual Framework for Architecture Description|view, viewpoint, stakeholder, and concern]] from architecture description to support documentation of high-level and detailed design and construction of software. [IEEE 1016, ''Introduction'']