Programming Solution Proposal Essay

Computer programs can help us solve everyday issues that might seem impossible. Household budgeting is an issue that burdens many Americans. Every individual is ultimately responsible for managing his or her finances. Developing a computer program that can help individuals manage their budget will greatly improve their life quality. The program would have to follow the program development cycle model and use the modular approach. Identifying Budget Issues The biggest challenge that many American families are facing after the 2008 recession is managing a monthly budget adequately. The fact is that many families increased their debt by borrowing more than their allocated budget. Americans need to learn to live base on how much they earn. Our first reaction, when in debt, would be to make up excuses as to why we are in that situation. Some of us will even try to blame relatives or credit card companies when faced with excessive debt. It is families, who do not budget properly, that end up losing their homes and vehicles to banks or lenders (msn, 2009). Who is Responsible? The task of managing your budget according to your earnings is a decision and responsibility that is ultimately yours. The first step to take when budgeting is to acknowledge your debt problem and stop finding justifications for it. The problem can be excessively stressful and it is recommended to seek assistance through friends, family, or even better from an organization that guides people through debt reduction. A non-profit organization, such as the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, will probably be the best option. To start getting a handle of the problem, one must establish a number of how much is owed (msn, 2009). Developing a Program Technology, at present day, is an important tool that can be used to our advantage to solve almost any issue. Many families that might be facing budgeting and even foreclosure issues might not be aware that such tools exist. The process of creating a computer program that will help us budget our monthly income can greatly improve our quality of life. Such program must follow the program development cycle and contain the three main components of a computer program; input, process, and output (Venit & Drake, 2009). Program Development Cycle The first step of the program development cycle is to analyze the problem. We need to fully understand the problem that needs to be solved. We also need to analyze which information is available to us. The initial information available to us is our monthly net pay, and our monthly economic obligations. We also need to establish our desired output, establishing a budget, and determine how our known information will help us achieve those results. At this point we might also become aware of information that is not included but is necessary in order to identify the problem properly. Such information may include unexpected expenses, depositing money into a savings account, etc. (Venit & Drake, 2009). The next step of the cycle is designing a program to solve the problem. The designing step of the program development cycle will yield a flowchart that will outline how the actual program is executed based on the known variables. The flowchart will include a starting point, inputs, assignments, If conditions, loops, outputs, and an ending point. The evaluation of each step of the program development cycle might yield additional subtasks that might need to be added to the original flowchart. This step also involves writing an algorithm in pseudocodes which will instruct the program on what to do. The last two steps of the cycle involve writing the pseudocode statements in program code. The program code will depend on which computer language is chosen. Finally the program needs to be executed to determine if it runs properly. A re-evaluation of the program might be needed if the program does not execute properly (Venit & Drake, 2009). The goal of the program is to aid the average household to adequately manage a budget. Modular Approach The modular approach that will be taken to create this budgeting program will ensure the creation of the proper program to solve the issue. The approach will first consider the major tasks that need to be accomplished. A module will be created for each task in the program. The tasks can later be broken down into sub-tasks as deemed necessary by the programmer. These sub-tasks will then be assigned sub-modules. The amount of sub-tasks is determined by the complexity of the problem and how many are needed to solve the problem. The purpose of breaking down tasks is to make the program much easier and simpler. The model that is used to break down tasks is called the top-down design (Venit & Drake, 2009). Conclusion Developing a computer program that can help individuals manage their budget will greatly improve their life quality.