Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
• What are the characteristics of the target hardware, including memory size and
auxiliary storage space?
Performance characteristics
• Are there any speed, throughput, or response time constraints on the system?
• Are there size or capacity constraints on the data to be processed by the system?
Error handling and extreme conditions
• How should the system respond to input errors?
• How should the system respond to extreme conditions?
System interfacing
• Is input coming from systems outside the proposed system?
• Is output going to systems outside the proposed system?
• Are there restrictions on the format or medium that must be used for input or
output?
Quality issues
• What are the requirements for reliability?
• Must the system trap faults?
• What is the maximum time for restarting the system after a failure?
• What is the acceptable system downtime per 24-hour period?
• Is it important that the system be portable (able to move to different hardware or
operating system environments)?
System Modifications
• What parts of the system are likely candidates for later modification?
• What sorts of modifications are expected (levels of adaptation)?
• Are the users willing to tailor an application?
• What kind of interface is required?
• Might unwary adaptations lead to unsafe system states?
Security Issues
• Must access to any data or the system itself be controlled?
• Is physical security an issue?
Resources and Management Issues
• How often will the system be backed up?
• Who will be responsible for the back up?
• Who is responsible for system installation?
• Who will be responsible for system maintenance?
