Software Project: Design and Implementation of Quadratic Solver

This project focuses on the design and implementation of a quadratic equation solver using Java. The project begins with an introduction to the problem and relevant software design methodologies, including agile development, prototyping, and waterfall models, tailored to user and project needs. It details the conceptual design, system users (primarily intermediate-level students), and software design content. Key aspects include the Java-based implementation, user interface design principles, and the importance of user experience. The project also covers the software requirements, interface design, and the use of text boxes and buttons for user interaction. The results and observations section demonstrates the application's functionality, including input validation and the display of solutions. The report includes a discussion of the design and development process, data flow diagrams, and references to relevant software engineering literature, such as Somerville's work. The software aims to provide a user-friendly interface for students solving quadratic equations, emphasizing time-saving and accessibility of solutions.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND ANALYSIS.............................................................................................3
SYSTEM USER......................................................................................................................................3
SOFWARE DESIGN CONTENT...........................................................................................................4
INTERFACE DESIGN............................................................................................................................4
RESULTS AND OBSERVATION.............................................................................................................5
DISCUSSION.............................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................5
References...................................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Some of the mathematical problems need to be solved using quadratic equations. Some of the
quadratic equations can easily be demystified using intuitive methods or by just looking but
some have very varied coefficients and would require long calculations to find the root or the
solutions. The software design techniques follow some of the project management flows such as
agile development, prototyping, waterfall project management, or rapid development schemes.
All these methods are implemented depending on the needs of the user as well as the needs of the
project and its constraints. The software methodologies and process models used in the modern
age of software design are:
(i) Prototyping process model
(ii) Evolutionary process model
(iii) Spiral process model
(iv) Unified process models
(v) Agile methodology such as Scrum, XP, and AUM.
The key aim of using the prototyping process model is to validate the user requirements for new
software before progressing too far into the development process. These prototypes of the system
software are developed to satisfy each section. The process model adopted for the software
design depends on the size of the system. The prototypes used tend to be less disposable once the
user requirements are established. The agile development model offers a predictive nature of the
conventional software development. It is perceived as an illusion. It is characterised by involving
very small but highly competent development teams. The principal measure of progress in this
model is the working code. The changes in requirements are accepted even when submitted a bit
late. The developers, customers, and managers play different roles though they are in one team.
The software delivery is the key aim of the model or software development method as opposed
to the analysis and design. In this project, the system software end product was of more
importance to than the design and analysis process. This does not however rule out the need for
conceptual design in the project. Scrum is an agile approach that seeks to prioritize the
requirements that are achieved in astute time intervals with regular team input.
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND ANALYSIS
SYSTEM USER
A system user refers to the person who interacts with the system after it is designed by the
programmer in a given programming language. The system user interacts with the end product.
A good programmer ensures that the user has a good user interface and the system interaction is
friendly. The system user interacts with the system as shown in the results and observation
section of the report. The students, especially those at Intermediate level, are able to solve
quadratic equations. The software targets the middle school students who are actively solving
algebraic equations and quadratic equations in their mathematics class. The system aims at
enabling the system user to solve the equations within a short span of time. The merits accruing
from such a system are the time saving and fast access to solutions.

SOFWARE DESIGN CONTENT
The software follows the metaphor structure of any other site page. The software is designed in
Java. The software requirements are as follows:
(i) The main page of the application requires a HOME button
(ii) One should be in a position to navigate through the software using the BACK button
(iii) One should send data to the system application for processing using the SUBMIT
button
(iv) There should be a responsive dialog box when a user enters the wrong input. For
instance, if a user enters a character where a number is needed, the software should
catch this error and inform the user of invalid input. The system in the same line
ensures that the user is able to enter the value again after the dialog box has been
closed.
(v) Text boxes are useful where a user is required to enter values for processing.
Java programming language is a useful and very robust language. It is machine independent as a
result of the bytecode it creates when the java code is run. The bytecode can run on any java
virtual runtime machine. It is the most suitable language for any application as it is flat form
independent and can run or execute in the same form. It is quite adaptable when it is run on
different machines running different system themes. This ensures that the system user is not
distracted by the new designs for the new application. A student can use the application from
different environments while at school or during their library hours.
INTERFACE DESIGN
The user interface (UI) is key in the use and effectiveness of software. A user tends to judge a
software more based on the interface than its functionality. A poorly designed interface can
cause a user to make adverse mistakes while interacting with the system. Poor use of interface
designs is a major factor for the disregard of some software systems. Most users of business
systems interact with these systems using the graphical user interface that should have the
software requirements stated in the section above. The legacy text-based interfaces are used
when the software seeks to inform more than prompt for data inputs. The user interface design
process for this system is as shown below,
Executable
prototype
Design
prototype
Produce paper-
based design
prototype
Produce
dynamic design
prototype
Evaluate design
with end-users
Implement
final user
interface
Evaluate design
with end-users
Analyse and
understand user
activities

Some of the User Interface design principles are
(i) User familiarity
(ii) Consistency
(iii) Minimal surprise
(iv) Recoverability
(v) User guidance
(vi) User diversity
Most programmers and software designers tends to incorporate the Model-View-Controller
approach as a way of supporting the multiple presentations of data (Somerville, 2000). Some
evaluation of a user interface design should be carried out to assess its suitability. The full-scale
evaluation is very expensive and impractical for most systems. The interface should be evaluated
against a usability specification. It is not common to have such a specification produced.
RESULTS AND OBSERVATION
This is the home page of the application where user enters or sign into application it displays this
page.
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
The main page displays the main page of the application where students should enter the values. If
user enters invalid value it shows an error message as invalid input value.

Checking page after enter the user data values need to submit to check the given values to calculate the
equation
The results on the solutions of the quadratic equation in graphical form can be shown as follows

(i) Result one
(ii) Result two
(iii) Result three

System design documentation is as shown below,
A data flow diagram is used to describe the application functionalities. The application users the
modelled two levels of DFD namely level 0 and level 1.
(i) Level 0
(ii) Level 1

References
Somerville, I. (2000). Software Engineering. McGrawHill publishers.