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Knowledge/A Level/H446/02 Algorithms and programming/Computational Methods/Problem decomposition

Problem decomposition

Problem decomposition.

2.2.2 Computational Methods

Computational Methods — Note 3 of 6

Candidates need to be able to decompose a problem described in a scenario into smaller parts that can be solved.

What you need to know

Problem decomposition breaks a recognised problem into smaller sub-problems, each of which can be solved, tested and developed separately before being combined into a full solution.

What to know

  • Decomposition breaks a problem into smaller sub-problems until each one is simple enough to solve directly.
  • Benefits: each part is easier to understand, code, test and debug; different people can work on different parts at the same time; reusable components can be identified.
  • Structure diagrams show how the problem is broken down.
  • Decomposition is used together with abstraction: decompose to break the problem up, abstract to remove irrelevant detail from each part.

Exam technique

  • Tip:Apply decomposition to the scenario in the question, naming specific sub-problems.
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Back to Computational Methods

Computational Methods

Note 3 of 6

  1. 1Features that make a problem solvable by computational methods
  2. 2Problem recognition
  3. 3Problem decomposition
  4. 4Use of divide and conquer
  5. 5Use of abstraction
  6. 6Backtracking, data mining, heuristics, performance modelling, pipelining and visualisation
Topic overview