Outputs: Updated requirements documents, change logs, impact analyses, traceability reports, and stakeholder communications.

System Design & Modeling

System Design: The process of defining the architecture, components, modules, interfaces, and data for a system to satisfy specified requirements. It's the bridge between requirements and implementation.
System Analysis: The process of studying a system to understand its components, their interactions, and how they contribute to the system's overall function.
Elements of a System Design:
- Architecture: The high-level structure of the system, defining its major components and their relationships.
- Modules/Components: Smaller, cohesive units that perform specific functions.
- Interfaces: The points of interaction between components or with external systems/users.
- Data: The information processed, stored, and transmitted by the system.
Major Tasks: Initializing design definition, establishing design characteristics (e.g., performance, security), assessing design alternatives, and managing the design process.
Factors Affecting Technology Trade-offs:
- Scale of Product: Small embedded systems vs. large enterprise applications.
- Time-to-Market: Pressure to deliver quickly may lead to simpler designs.
- Cost: Development, manufacturing, and operational costs.
- Efficiency: Resource utilization (CPU, memory, power).
- User Experience/Support: Ease of use, learnability, and maintainability.
- Maintainability & Reliability: How easy it is to fix bugs and ensure consistent operation.
- Scalability: Ability to handle increased load or data volume.
MVC (Model-View-Controller) Design Pattern: A common architectural pattern for separating concerns in application development:
- Model: Manages data and business logic.
- View: Presents data to the user (User Interface).
- Controller: Handles user input, updates the model, and selects the view.
System Modeling: Creating abstract representations of a system using standardized notations, most commonly the Unified Modeling Language (UML).
- Perspectives:
  - External: Shows the system's context and interaction with its environment.
  - Interaction: How users or other systems interact with the system.
  - Structural: The static organization of the system.
  - Behavioral: The dynamic behavior of the system as it executes.
- UML Diagrams:
  - Activity Diagrams: Illustrate the flow of control or actions in a system.
  - Use Case Diagrams: Describe system functionality from the user's perspective.
  - Sequence Diagrams: Show the order of interactions between objects.
  - Class Diagrams: Depict the static structure of a system, including classes, attributes, operations, and relationships.
  - State Diagrams: Model the behavior of an object or system across different states.
Context Models: Illustrate the system's operational environment and its boundaries with other systems or external entities.
Interaction Models: Focus on how the system inte