Enumerate Potential Candidate Systems

This step identifies the candidate systems that are capable of producing the outputs included in the generalized flowcharts. This requires a transformation from logical to physical system models. Another aspect of this step is consideration of the hardware that can handle the total system requirements. In the safe deposit case, it was found that virtually any microcomputer system with more than 128K-byte memory and dual disk drive will do the job. It was also learned that a microcomputer can be designed to. Interface with the bank's mainframe. In this design, actual processing is handled by the microcomputer, whereas information such as payments and credits are transmitted to the main computer files for proper adjustment through the customer's checking account. The question here is which microcomputer (IBM, Apple, Digital, etc.) should be selected? This is taken up in step 6 of the study.

An important aspect of hardware is processing and main memory. There are a large number of computers with differing processing sizes, main memory capabilities, and software support. The project team may contact vendors for information on the processing capabilities of the system avail­ able.