1.2.3 - software development

Question 1

waterfall lifecycle

Answer 1

Has a series of stages, each of which have to be completed before moving on to the next one. Each stage is large ad thorough and produces a large amount of documentation.

Question 2

5 stages of the waterfall cycle

Answer 2

1- requirements
2- analysis
3- design
4- implementation
5- testing
6- deployment
7- testing

Question 3

requirements stage of the waterfall lifecycle

Answer 3

• project team will work with the client to set out requirements for the whole program.
• these will be very hard to change after this stage is completed.

Question 4

analysis stage of the waterfall lifecycle

Answer 4

The project team analyses:
- what solutions they have ready to implement
- what they can use or adapt to produce a solution

Question 5

design stage of the waterfall lifecycle

Answer 5

The project team produces a solution design that meets all of the user’s requirements.

Question 6

2 advantages of waterfall lifecycle

Answer 6

1- Easy to manage as team is only focusing on one stage at a time.
2- Fewer production issues during development due to amount of time invested into previous stages.

Question 7

disadvantages of waterfall lifecycle

Answer 7

1- Inflexible and doesn’t cope with changing requirements which can cause delays and significant cost increases.
2- Doesn’t work very well for complex or long term projects as it would take too long to get through each stage.
3- Can be very difficult for the project team to capture all the user requirements in one go as the client often doesn’t know what they want.

Question 8

usage of waterfall life cycle

Answer 8

• works well for small to medium projects
• effective when the client has a very clear picture of what they want to be developed.

Question 9

agile methodology

Answer 9

• has a series of stages
• some of these stages are repeated to allow people to change their requirements and develop a product over sprints

Question 10

user stories in agile methodologies

Answer 10

Descriptions of the different ways that the system will be used, what it will look like and what they expect it to do.

Question 11

Describe a sprint in agile methodologies.

Answer 11

• A development sprint is a short time frame during which a specific user story is completed.
• A sprint planning meeting is held to prioritise and categorise these user stories and set up the work for the sprint.
• The product is a fully working deliverable that the client can use instantly.

Question 12

What happens after a sprint in agile methodologies?

Answer 12

• The deliverable is given to the client.
• The product is evaluated and this info is fed back into the next sprint planning meeting.
• The sprint planning meeting and the sprint are repeated until the full scope of the project is agreed as finished.

Question 13

3 advantages of agile methodology

Answer 13

1- The client can take a product to the market quicker.
2- Clients can receive incremental updates for the product.
3- The final product has absolute certainty that it is what the clients wanted as they are constantly involved with its development.

Question 14

3 disadvantages of agile methodology

Answer 14

1- Less predictability compared to waterfall in terms of time and cost and the process constantly repeats.
2- Requires higher time input from the client as they are constantly required for feedback and consultation throughout the development process.
3- Can easily go off track and a project can last well beyond the initial idea, which means high cost and time.

Question 15

usage of agile methodology

Answer 15

Best suited to projects where the client has a good idea of what they want but they also have a lot of time to invest into controlling the project and feeding back on it.

Question 16

stages of extreme programming

Answer 16

1- extreme planning
2- extreme designing
3- extreme programming
4- extreme testing
5- acceptance testing

Question 17

extreme planning stage of extreme programming

Answer 17

• Client is in constant contact with the project team to establish requirements.
• The project then goes into the ‘planning game’ to plan out releases and what will be in each iteration.

Question 18

extreme designing stage of extreme programming

Answer 18

The project team will build simple designs to implement the needed functionality.

Question 19

extreme programming stage of extreme programming

Answer 19

The programmers work in pair with one coding and the other critiquing the code.

Question 20

extreme testing stage of extreme programming

Answer 20

• the code is tested in units
• integration testing is also completed to ensure it works together and the code is reviewed for efficiency and quality.

Question 21

acceptance testing stage of extreme programming

Answer 21

• The client feeds back on the product in its current stage.
• This is then taken into the next iteration of extreme planning for the next release.

Question 22

3 advantages of extreme programming

Answer 22

1- Can produce a product quickly that the client can use.
2- Constantly refactored in response to client feedback which saves time and money for developing.
3- Lower risk of failure.

Question 23

3 disadvantages of extreme programming

Answer 23

1- The project can be too code-focused and not design-focused so may not be best possible product.
2- Produces little to no documentation.
3- If the developers are split geographically, it can cause issues when it is time for code review.

Question 24

usage of extreme programming

Answer 24

Best suited to projects where the client has a constantly changing set of requirements and needs a product quickly at the lowest possible price.

Question 25

4 stages of spiral methodology

Answer 25

1- identification
2- design
3- construction
4- evaluation and risk assessment

Question 26

identification stage of spiral methodology

Answer 26

• The client and project team collaborate to establish requirements.
  2- Also used to review what has been achieved before and what needs to be added.

Question 27

design stage of spiral methodology

Answer 27

1- conceptual
2- architectural
3- logical
4- physical

Question 28

construction stage of spiral methodology

Answer 28

During the first spiral, a concept version will be built to get feedback from the client, then functionality will be added in each spiral.

Question 29

evaluation and risk assessment stage of spiral methodology

Answer 29

Evaluate the product by the client and assess the risk of what still needs to be done.

Question 30

advantages of spiral methodology

Answer 30

• A product can be developed at each cycle and more added to the system after each spiral.
• The client is able to see the product being developed to ensure it is what they want.

Question 31

3 disadvantages of spiral methodology

Answer 31

1- Can easily fall off track.
2- Requires significant time investment from client.
3- Produces poor documentation.

Question 32

usage of spiral methodology

Answer 32

The client should have a clear idea of what they want and be willing to make a big time investment.

Question 33

types of agile methodologies

Answer 33

1- spiral
2- extreme programming
3- RAD

Question 34

3 stages of RAD

Answer 34

1- analysis and design
2- build, demonstrate and refine
3- testing and implementing

Question 35

analysis and design stage of RAD

Answer 35

• Project team will look at user requirements and what they can adapt or use from other projects.
• A simple design is produced.

Question 36

build, demonstrate and refine stage of RAD

Answer 36

• Develop a product
• Demonstrate to client
• Refine product based on feedback

Question 37

2 disadvantages of rapid application development

Answer 37

1- Requires heavy time input from client.
2- System focuses on delivering a product that is simply good enough, not perfect.

Question 38

Usage of RAD

Answer 38

Best suited to large project with short time scales, where it is important to have a timely release to keep market relevance.