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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