Chapter 5
Domain Analysis
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Chapter Topics
The three components of problem solving.
The problem space vs. the solution space.
Requirements vs. product specifications.
Domains and their boundaries.
Identifying domain concepts for analysis
and modeling.
Domain dictionaries and domain catalog.
Identifying and organizing business rules.
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Domain Analysis
Domain analysis identifies business
concepts that will be refined into the
building blocks of an analysis model for the
information system.
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Domain Analysis and Development
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Problems, Solutions, and Methods
Solving problems involves not a pair but a
trio of components: problem, solution as
method or process, and solution as answer.
Each one can be understood only in
relation to the whole.
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Problems, Solutions, and
Requirements
To build a software system — a product —
we must understand the problem. We must
also understand what is required to solve
the problem before we can decide how to
solve it.
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Problems, Solutions, and Methods
Three components of problem solving: the problem
that we want to solve, the answer to the problem,
and the method to arrive at the answer.
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Context, Method, and Solution
Merely knowing the features of the solution
is inadequate for building it correctly.
We must understand the context to:
find the proper method(s), and
design a solution that takes the context into account.
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Problem Space Versus Solution Space
The three components of problem solving
reside in two organically related spaces:
the problem space and the solution space.
Changing an element within one space has
a ripple effect across both.
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Problem Space
Problem space is the context from which
the problem arises and in which the
solution must operate.
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Solution Space
Solution space defines the territory in
which concrete decisions about the
information system — as opposed to its
features — are made.
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Requirements Versus Product
Specifications
Requirements specify the desired features
of the product or service.
Product specifications define the product
that must realize those features.
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Products and Requirements
Sometimes more than one product or
service can satisfy a requirement. The
choice depends on many factors. The
covered wagon was one of the few choices
before railroads. Though still a choice, we
doubt that it will be used.
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Domain Definition
A business domain is an area of related
activities that operate on a set of shared
rules and concepts:
Business domains are organized domains.
Business domains are goal-oriented.
Business domains can change fast.
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Derived Domains
Patterns of redundancy across domains
Practical and desirable in terms of both
technology and business
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Domains and Subsystems
Domain definition provides a framework for the
conceptual subsystems within the information
system.
Domains and systems or subsystems are not the
same thing.
A system is a set of elements organised to
accomplish a specific purpose and described by
a set of models, possibly from different
viewpoints.
A domain is an area of knowledge or activity
characterised by a set of concepts and
terminology understood by practitioners in that
area.
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Walden Medical Center:
Domain Definitions
(Partial Listing)
Domain Scope Outline
Patient Management: All activities that directly come into contact with patients
fall within this domain, including:
Referrals
Scheduling
Registration, Admissions
Treatments
Patient Billing Issues
Drug Inventory & Pharmaceutical Inventory
Purchasing: Drug Supply Chain
… …
Medical & Lab Medical Equipment Purchasing
Technology: Medical Equipment Inventory
Medical Equipment Maintenance
House Services: Laundry
Cleaning
Food Preparation & Diets
… …
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Walden Medical Center: Snapshot of
Medical Goals
Beds: 800 licensed beds
Doctors: Close to 300 fulltime & 150 participating
Nurses: More than 1,600
Labs: 30
Lab Technicians: 150
Non-Medical Staff: 400
Permanent Research 5
Projects:
Referral Admissions: 5,000
Out-Patient Visits: 10,000
Emergency Admissions: 200 per day
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The Domain Scope
Domain scope defines the boundaries that
separate shared activities, rules and
concepts within a domain from those on
the outside.
Discover and define the boundary
between one sphere of interest and
another
Impose such boundaries if the
complexity of the context or the
requirements threatens to overwhelm
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The Scope of Walden’s
Patient Management
Referral
Appointment
Registration
Medical Service
Hospitalization
Cost & Record Keeping
Discharge
Patient Billing
See page 160 for narritive
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Walden Medical Center:
Domain Definitions
(Partial Listing)
Domain Scope Outline
Patient Management: All activities that directly come into contact with patients
fall within this domain, including:
Referrals
Scheduling
Registration, Admissions
Treatments
Patient Billing Issues
Drug Inventory & Pharmaceutical Inventory
Purchasing: Drug Supply Chain
… …
Medical & Lab Medical Equipment Purchasing
Technology: Medical Equipment Inventory
Medical Equipment Maintenance
House Services: Laundry
Cleaning
Food Preparation & Diets
… …
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Domain Analysis
Domain analysis is analyzing the context of
requirements. It has a two-fold task:
define the context in which the information
system will operate.
discover and define concepts that the product
must incorporate or take into account in order
to meet its objectives.
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Finding Domain Concepts
Domain concepts are objects, processes,
people and rules that constitute the goals,
the behavior and the structure of a
domain.
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Finding Domain Concepts
① Discover the essence of the requirements.
Not product specification
② Discover problems that the requirements are
supposed to solve.
Patient Management system should adhere to the
scope: referrals, appointments, registrations etc.
③ Discover the components of the problem.
What is a patient? What type of appointments?
etc
④ Discover related domain concepts.
Appointment, appointment clerk, medical service,
referral source, registration etc.
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Domain Dictionary
Domain dictionary organizes and brands
domain concepts. It is the link between
stakeholders who must verify the
concepts and the analysts who would
use them as the foundation for building
a conceptual model of the system.
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Domain Dictionary
The dictionary organizes domain concepts
(the problem space)
space pertinent to the
system (the solution space).
space
To populate the dictionary, we turn to all
the products of information gathering:
requirements, interviews, manuals.
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Domain Dictionary
The most promising concepts are:
Subjects
“The noun, noun phrase, or pronoun in a sentence or
clause that denotes the doer of the action.”
action.
Objects
“a. A noun or substantive that receives or is affected
by the action of a verb within a sentence. b. A noun
or substantive following and governed by a
preposition.”
These nouns are candidates for becoming objects in
an object-oriented sense.
Verbs
They can indicate processes, but they can also hide
nouns, or grammatical objects: “ordering a book” is a
variant of “placing an order for book.” The object
“order” is hidden in the verb “order.”
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Domain Dictionary
An Example
Medical Service.
Service Depending on the nature
of the medical service, doctors, nurses and
lab technicians provide the patient with
appropriate service (s) for which the
appointment has been made.
Page 160
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The Dictionary Template
Name
Type*
Description
Source
Notes
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The Dictionary Template
Type
Process
A series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result.
A series of operations performed in the making or treatment of a product.
Function
The purpose or the result of one action or a set of actions.
Role
A grouping of any entity.
Object
Something perceptible by one or more of the senses, especially by vision or touch.
Something intelligible or perceptible by the mind. Or we can use Entity instead.
Business Rule
To be discussed in detail later.
Formula.
A statement, especially an equation, of a fact, rule, principle, or other logical
relation.
A method of doing or treating something that relies on an established model
or approach.
Identifier
A symbol that identifies an object.
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Patient Management:
Domain Dictionary
Name Type Description
Appointment Process Scheduling of a patient to receive medical service(s).
Performed by the appointment clerk.
Appointment Object The scheduled date and time for providing a medical service
to a patient.
Appointment Clerk Role Makes appointments for the patient.
Medical Service Object Any service of medical nature provided by medical staff to
a patient: diagnosis, prescription, administration of
drugs, lab tests, etc.
Medical Service Function The act of providing a medical service to the patient by
medical staff.
… … …
Referral Source Role A primary care physician, an emergency medical worker or
an outside hospital that refers a patient for an
appointment to receive a medical service. Patient
himself or herself can be a referral source.
Registration Process Carried out before a set of medical services are performed.
The process gathers new or changed personal and
insurance information for a new or an existing patient.
A hospital ID card may be issued as part of this
process. Performed by the registration clerk.
Registration Clerk Role Performs registration.
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Business Rules
Business rules are a set of detailed policies,
laws, procedures, guidelines and standards
under which an enterprise operates. A
business rule is a statement that defines or
demands adherence to a unit in the set.
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Classification of Business Rules
Classification helps us to correctly
incorporate business rules in the design
and the implementation of an information
system.
Facts
Inferences (derived from condition –
if/then/[else])
Action enablers
Constraints
Computations
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Automation of Business rules
Presentation rules
Workflow rules
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Managing Business Rules
Business rules must be organized,
maintained and verified for the life of a
business, not for the duration of an
application.
Origin traceability
Integrity
Flexibility of presentation
Implementation traceability
Flexibility of maintenance
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Rules Dictionary
Requirements specify features of the
product, while business rules apply beyond
any single solution.
Page 174
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Patient Management:
Business Rules Questionnaire
ID Definition True / Comment
False
001 A patient is anybody who suffers from a medical
condition and is referred to the hospital by a
referral source — a doctor, a medical
emergency worker or another hospital.
003 A patient less than 18-years old must be
accompanied by a related adult or an emergency
medical worker.
006 If the patient bill is not paid within 30 days, then the
bill is considered overdue.
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Next: Conceptual Modeling
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Publishing as Prentice Hall
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