SOFTWARE PROTOTYPINGBY TAPIWA B. MUNYANYI

CONTENTS • DEFINITION• OBJECTIVES OF SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING• FEATURES OF SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING• APPLICATIONS OF SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING• ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING• WHEN TO USE THE PROTOTYPE MODEL• QUESTIONS TO THE FLOOR

DEFINITION

• ACCORDING TO THE WAYBACK MACHINE DICTIONARY (2009) SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING IS THE ACTIVITY OF CREATING PROTOTYPES OF SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS, I.E., INCOMPLETE VERSIONS OF SOFTWARE PROGRAMS BEING DEVELOPED

OBJECTIVES OF SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING

• SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING HAS MANY OBJECTIVES TO HELP A FIRM SAVE COSTS OF FIXING THE SOFTWARE IF IT FAILS.

• OBJECTIVES INCLUDE (GOLOBORODKO ET AL. 2013):

1. TO GIVE A COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN FLOW WHICH IS VERIFIED TO THE IMPLEMENTATION STAGE OF THE SOFTWARE.

2. TO OBTAIN A GENERIC COMPUTING PATH AND ARCHITECTURE FOR COMPLEX DRIVING ASSISTANCE APPLICATIONS.

3. TO MAKE BIG DATA EASIER TO READ IN SCIENCE LABORATORIES, AND SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING IS NECESSARY FOR ACCURACY OF THE DATA BEING ANALYZED

THESE STEPS PROVIDE A CLEAR IDEA FOR DESIGNERS TO FOLLOW SO THAT THEY CREATE A SYSTEM THAT WORKS AND MINIMIZE THE RISK OF FAILURE (ANDERS ET. AL 2016).

FEATURES OF SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING

APPLICATIONS OF SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING• ANDERS’ (2016) ARTICLE, THEY STATE THAT

THE HIGH-SPEED REQUIREMENTS OF EMBEDDED IMAGE PROCESSING APPLICATIONS ARE BEST SERVED WITH MODERN SYSTEM-ON-CHIP SYSTEMS.

• THEY PROVIDE A HARDWARE/SOFTWARE STRUCTURE IN WHICH LOW LEVEL, TIME CONSUMING, DATA INTENSIVE, AND REPETITIVE FUNCTIONS ARE MOVED INTO HARDWARE, WHILE THE HIGH-LEVEL REASONING IS DONE IN SOFTWARE.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING

ADVANTAGES• USERS ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT

• SINCE IN THIS METHODOLOGY A WORKING MODEL OF THE SYSTEM IS PROVIDED, THE USERS GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SYSTEM BEING DEVELOPED.

• ERRORS CAN BE DETECTED MUCH EARLIER.

• QUICKER USER FEEDBACK IS AVAILABLE LEADING TO BETTER SOLUTIONS.

• MISSING FUNCTIONALITY CAN BE IDENTIFIED EASILY

• CONFUSING OR DIFFICULT FUNCTIONS CAN BE IDENTIFIED REQUIREMENTS VALIDATION, QUICK IMPLEMENTATION OF, INCOMPLETE, BUT FUNCTIONAL, APPLICATION.

DISADVANTAGES• LEADS TO IMPLEMENTING AND THEN REPAIRING WAY OF

BUILDING SYSTEMS.

• PRACTICALLY, THIS METHODOLOGY MAY INCREASE THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SYSTEM AS SCOPE OF THE SYSTEM MAY EXPAND BEYOND ORIGINAL PLANS.

• INCOMPLETE APPLICATION MAY CAUSE APPLICATION NOT TO BE USED AS THE FULL SYSTEM WAS DESIGNED INCOMPLETE OR INADEQUATE PROBLEM ANALYSIS.

WHEN TO USE SOFTWARE PROTOTYPING

• PROTOTYPE MODEL SHOULD BE USED WHEN THE DESIRED SYSTEM NEEDS TO HAVE A LOT OF INTERACTION WITH THE END USERS.

• TYPICALLY, ONLINE SYSTEMS, WEB INTERFACES HAVE A VERY HIGH AMOUNT OF INTERACTION WITH END USERS, ARE BEST SUITED FOR PROTOTYPE MODEL. IT MIGHT TAKE A WHILE FOR A SYSTEM TO BE BUILT THAT ALLOWS EASE OF USE AND NEEDS MINIMAL TRAINING FOR THE END USER.

• PROTOTYPING ENSURES THAT THE END USERS CONSTANTLY WORK WITH THE SYSTEM AND PROVIDE A FEEDBACK WHICH IS INCORPORATED IN THE PROTOTYPE TO RESULT IN A USEABLE SYSTEM. THEY ARE EXCELLENT FOR DESIGNING GOOD HUMAN COMPUTER INTERFACE SYSTEMS.

• QUESTIONS TO THE FLOOR