13.3. Analysis

The analysis phase of development encompasses a variety of activities that determine what functionality you are going to build into your application. These activities include:

• Specifying what the application needs to do (e.g., compress files, display graphic files of type, etc.)

• Identifying major functions and business areas (e.g., compression, display; targeted to the area of graphics files)

• Planning generally how the application will work (e.g., read one or more files, use 2-Ronnies compression if possible, etc.)

• Prioritizing subsections (e.g., the compression component must be completed but can use an alternative compression algorithm, the graphics types XYZ must be supported but the graphics types ABC may be dropped until later, etc.)

• Deciding whether to build or buy (e.g., are there available beans or classes to handle compression and display? How much are they? How much will building our own cost? Do the purchasable ones provide all essential features?)

• Documenting the requirements