Algorithm Design & Problem-Solving

Algorithm design and problem-solving

• Understand the program development life cycle, limited to analysis (abstraction, decomposition, identification of the problem/requirements), design (decomposition, structure diagrams, flowcharts, pseudocode), coding (writing program code and iterative testing) and testing (with test data).
• Understand that every computer system is made up of sub-systems, which are made up of further sub-systems.
• Understand how a problem can be decomposed into its component parts: inputs, processes, outputs, storage.
• Use different methods to design and construct a solution to a problem, including structure diagrams, flowcharts and pseudocode.
• Explain the purpose of a given algorithm, including stating the purpose of an algorithm and describing the processes involved in it.
• Understand standard methods of solution, limited to linear search, bubble sort, totalling, counting, and finding maximum, minimum and average values.
• Understand the need for validation checks to be made on input data and the different types of validation check: range, length, type, presence, format and check digit.
• Understand the need for verification checks to be made on input data and the different types of verification check: visual check and double entry check.
• Suggest and apply suitable test data, limited to normal, abnormal, extreme and boundary data.
• Complete a trace table to document a dry-run of an algorithm, including variables, outputs and user prompts at each step.
• Identify errors in given algorithms and suggest ways of correcting these errors.
• Write and amend algorithms for given problems or scenarios, using pseudocode, program code and flowcharts, with precision (e.g. x > y not "x is greater than y").