1.2.3 Software Development [old]

Question 1

What are the 5 programming methodologies?

Answer 1

• Waterfall lifecycle
• Agile methodologies
• Extreme programming
• Spiral model
• Rapid Application Development

Question 2

Waterfall Lifecycle

Answer 2

Each stage of development is completed one at a time in a linear sequence, from start to finish. Results from a completed stage are input into the next.

Question 3

List the five stages in the waterfall life cycle.

Answer 3

Analysis
Design
Implementation
Evaluation
Maintenance

Question 4

What must be done if a change needs to be made within a project being developed using the waterfall model?

Answer 4

Programmers must revisit all levels between the current stage and the stage at which a change needs to be made.

Question 5

What type of projects would the waterfall method be good for?

Answer 5

Projects which are
- Large scale
- Static and low risk, requiring little user input

For example, a piece of general-purpose software.

Question 6

What type of projects is the waterfall model absolutely unsuitable for?

Answer 6

• High risk projects
• Complex projects

Question 7

When does the waterfall model produce working software?

Answer 7

Late during the life cycle. Problems may not be discovered until it is too late.

Question 8

Waterfall Advantages

Answer 8

• Straightforward to manage
• Clearly documented

Question 9

Waterfall Disadvantages

Answer 9

• Lack of flexibility
• No risk analysis
• Limited user involvement.

Question 10

Agile Methodologies

Answer 10

An iterative process that produces software prototypes over short sprints.

Each prototype is user tested and any feedback and change in requirements will be accounted for in future sprints.

Question 11

What are the 6 stages of agile methodologies?

Answer 11

• Analyse requirements
• Design prototype
• Build prototype
• User feedback
• Refine prototype
• Final Product

Question 12

Agile methodologies focuses less on documentation with the aim of what?

Answer 12

Giving priority to user satisfaction.

Question 13

What is agile methodologies ideal for?

Answer 13

Small to medium projects with unclear initial requirements.

Question 14

Agile Methodologies benefits

Answer 14

• Produces high quality code
• Flexible to changing requirements
• Regular user input

Question 15

Agile Methodologies drawbacks

Answer 15

• Poor documentation
• Requires consistent interaction between user and programmer

Question 16

Extreme Programming

Answer 16

A type of agile model where the development team consists of a pair of programmers alongside a representative end-user.

Question 17

What is extreme programming ideal for?

Answer 17

Small to medium projects with unclear initial requirements requiring excellent usability.

Question 18

Extreme Programming Drawbacks

Answer 18

• High cost of 2 people working on one project
• Teamwork is essential. Programmers must communicate effectively
• Hard to produce high quality documentation, due to iterative nature.

Question 19

Extreme Programming Benefits

Answer 19

• Produces high quality code
• Constant user involvement means high usability.

Question 20

Spiral Model

Answer 20

An iterative version of the waterfall model. Stages are refined and repeated until the final product is complete. The first cycle works towards an initial prototype, and each successive cycle produces a refined prototype.

Question 21

What are the four key stages in the spiral model?

Answer 21

• Analysing system requirements
• Pinpointing and mitigating risks
• Development, testing and implementation
• Evaluating to inform the next iteration

Question 22

What does the spiral model focus on?

Answer 22

Effectively managing risk-heavy projects

Question 23

A project is using the spiral model. What happens if it is found to be too risky at any point?

Answer 23

It is terminated.

Question 24

What is the spiral model good for?

Answer 24

Large, risk intensive projects with a high budget

Question 25

Spiral model drawbacks

Answer 25

• Expensive to hire risk assessors
• Lack of focus on code efficiency
• High costs due to constant prototyping

Question 26

Spiral benefits

Answer 26

• Thorough risk analaysis and mitigation
• Caters to changing user needs
• Produces prototypes throughout

Question 27

Rapid Application Development

Answer 27

An iterative methodology which uses partially functioning prototypes which are continually built upon.

Question 28

How does rapid application development work?

Answer 28

User requirements are initially gathered, and used to develop an incomplete version of the solution which the user trials.

User feedback is used to generate the next improved prototype. This continues until the prototype matches the requirements of the end users, at which point it becomes the final product.

Question 29

What is RAD ideal for?

Answer 29

Small to medium, low budget projects with short time frames.
Projects where user requirements are incomplete/unclear at the start.

Question 30

RAD Drawbacks

Answer 30

• Poorer quality documentation
• Fast pace may reduce code quality

Question 31

RAD Benefits

Answer 31

• Caters to changing user requirements
• Highly usable finished product
• Focus on core features, reducing development time

Question 32

Define algorithm

Answer 32

Set of instructions used to solve a problem.

Question 33

What are good key qualities of algorithms?

Answer 33

• Clearly defined inputs
• Always produces valid outputs for any defined input
• Can deal with invalid inputs
• Always reaches a stopping condition
• Well documented

Question 34

Benefits of a well documented algorithm

Answer 34

Allows modifications to easily be made.

Question 35

What are features of extreme programming?

Answer 35

It is more responsive to changing user needs with short development cycles and very frequent software releases. Checkpoints are incorporated to change or add new user requirements.