LORMA Colleges Chapter 2 METHODOLOGY This chapter discusses the software development

methodology utilized by the researchers. It presents the scope and delimitation of the study, data gathering tools and sources of data.

Software Development Methodology Extreme programming (XP) is a software development

methodology which is intended to improve software quality and responsiveness to changing customer requirements. As a type of agile software development, it advocates frequent "releases" in short development cycles (time boxing), which is intended to improve productivity and introduce

checkpoints where new customer requirements can be adopted. The researchers utilized Extreme Programming (XP) as their software development methodology because it organizes people to produce higher quality software more

productively. XP attempts to reduce the cost of changes in requirements by having multiple short development cycles, rather than a long one. In this doctrine changes are a natural, inescapable and desirable aspect of software

development projects, and should be planned for instead of attempting to define a stable set of requirements. Extreme

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

Methodology

14

LORMA Colleges programming also introduces a number of basic values,

principles and practices on top of the agile programming framework. XP consists of four (4) activities: planning, design, coding and testing shown in Figure 2 below. Figure 2 Extreme Programming Methodology Model

Planning.

Programmers

must

listen

to

what

the

customers need the system to do, what business logic is needed. They must understand these needs well enough to give the customer feedback about the technical aspects of how the problem might be the solved, or cannot and be solved. is

Communication

between

customer

programmer

further addressed in the Planning Game.

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

Methodology

15

LORMA Colleges After the researchers were given permission to conduct a study at Bacnotan District Hospital (See Appendix A for sample), they started data gathering and conducted

interviews to the staffs of the Out Patient Department in processing documents of the patients, the researchers also asked the process of admitting patients, the researchers also conducted series of interviews with the staff of the Records and Billing Section. Design. From the point of view of simplicity, of

course one could say that system development doesn't need more than coding, testing and planning. If those activities are performed well, the result should always be a system that works. In practice, this would not work. One can come a long way without designing but at a given time one would get stuck. The system becomes too complex and the

dependencies within the system cease to be clear. One can avoid this by creating a design structure that organizes the logic in the system. Good design would avoid lots of dependencies within a system; this means that changing one part of the system would not affect other parts of the system After the researchers determined the things and

functionalities that the client needed, they planned and designed the functionalities that the system needs. The

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

Methodology

16

LORMA Colleges system would need a module for registering patients,

viewing their records, and the previous profiles of the patients that were confined or visited the hospital. Coding. The advocates of XP argue that the only truly important product of the system development process is code software instructions a computer can interpret. Without code, there is no working product. Coding suitable can also be used can to also figure help out to the most

solution.

Coding

communicate

thoughts about programming problems. A programmer dealing with a complex programming problem and finding it hard to explain the solution to fellow programmers might code it and use the code to demonstrate what he or she means. Code, say the proponents of this position, is always clear and concise and cannot be interpreted in more than one way. Other programmers can give feedback on this code by also coding their thoughts. The researchers agreed the modules to be implemented, they started coding and making the modules designated to them. The researchers meet once a week to discuss the

progress of the modules they were designated. After they finished their modules they put it up together to finally finish the system.

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

Methodology

17

LORMA Colleges Testing. implemented testing Unit a tests have and been set made to the should be

using

framework and

universal can be

suite,

integration

system

validation

done every day. Customer test (acceptance test) is done by the customer and focus on the overall is features obtained and from

functional

system.

Acceptance

test

customer stories that have been implemented as part of the software releases. The researchers tested each of their modules and they let fellow researchers test their system to see if there are errors in the system. Once an error comes up, they fix it and remove the error.

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

Methodology

18

LORMA Colleges Data Gathering Techniques Different researcher to gathering obtain techniques pertinent are utilized by in the the

information

development of the system. Structured Interview. This technique is utilized by the researcher in to specifically the identify the existing by the

processes

the

HIS,

problems

encountered

Bacnotan District Hospital and to identify the requirements needed in the was development developed of the proposed for system. the An

interview

specifically

medical

personnel (See Appendix B for sample). Document Analysis. This technique was chosen by the researchers to analyze, review and studies the usability of the forms which are being utilized by the medical personnel for the purpose of identifying the input and output of the proposed system. The following medical forms reviewed are Patient Record Form, Therapeutic Sheet, Clinical Face

Sheet, History and Physical Examination Form, Doctor Orders Form, Progress Notes Sheet, Nurses Notes Sheet, IVF

Consumption Form and Billing Statement Form. Observation. This was conducted by the researcher to gain information on the existing procedures of the Bacnotan District Hospital to suffice the additional data needed for the system. Bachelor of Science in Information Technology