Hi jack,
You're already on the right track! Thinking about software prior to writing
it is extremely important. It's kind of hard to give you everything you need
to know in a nutshell, but I can point you to a rich resource of
information, the Microsoft Patterns and Practices web site:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/practices/guidetype/Guides/.
Basically, I'll give you a few pointers to get you started, but you should
study what is available on the web site I pointed you to.
In the simplest terms, software development is a problem-solving process
that moves incrementally downward from a high level of the business
requirements of an application down to the micro level of writing code to
perform each individual step in a process.
The first step is to define the business requirements in as detailed a
fashion as possible. What is the purpose of the software? What features
should it have? What sort of user interface is required (Windows Form, Web
Application, Web Service, Windows Service, etc). What sort of future
requirements are anticipated? This is extremely important. Often, the
client, customer, or boss doesn't have a clear idea of exactly what is
required. As an analogy, think of building a house. Your client tells you
that he/she wants you to build a house. Well, that only narrows down the
requirments a tiny bit. How many bedrooms should it have? How many
bathrooms? What style of house should it be? What is the type of
landscape/environment will it be situated in? How many doors should there
be? What sort of kitchen, dining room, living room is desired? What sort of
utility rooms are needed? Should it be wood, brick, stone? And so on.
From there, you move to the details of each high-level requirement. Define
as much as you can think of. Determine how long it will take to create each
part. If there are limitations in terms of time and resources, what are the
highest priorities? What is the core functionality? What can be dropped if
necessary? If the client wants a veranda, and doesn't have enough money,
will a deck do?
Once these problems have been solved, you need to determine a plan. You
don't want to put a roof on the house until all of the interior walls are in
place, or start putting in bathrooms until the location of the plumbing is
determined. What should be done first? Second? Third?
Break these down into individual segments. How do you eat an elephant? One
byte at a time! And that is also how test your application. Test each
component as you go. This is called "unit testing." It makes the overall
testing process easier.
From there, it's a repetitive process of building each component and
integrating it into the application.
Again, be sure and read the articles and guides available on the Microsoft
Patterns and Practices web site. They will save you a lot of time and
trouble in the long run.
Best of luck to you!
--
HTH,
Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
Professional Numbskull
Abnormality is anything but average.
