Development Methodologies

Question 1

Phases to create a solution for a problem in a computer system.

Answer 1

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Question 2

Software development methodology

Answer 2

how the phases are sorted

Question 3

Stages of SDLC

Answer 3

• Feasibility
• Requirements
• Analysis/Design
• Implementation
• Testing
• Deployment
• Evaluation
• Maintenance

Question 4

Feasibility

Answer 4

Is the problem solvable?

Question 5

Deployment

Answer 5

Installing into target environment

Question 6

Waterfall Methodology

Answer 6

• Cascading effect from one phase to another.
• Each stage is well defined start + end - identifiable deliveries.

Question 7

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Answer 7

• Producing successive prototypes until a final version.
• Iteration
• Following the initial approval of a feasible program, increasingly refined prototypes are made with reduced functionality.
• Design + code + test + evaluate with end user.

Question 8

Spiral methodology

Answer 8

• Risk-driven
• Guide + other elements from methodologies can be adopted
• Process model generator

Question 9

Agile Methodology

Answer 9

• Group of methodologies
• Focus on the idea that requirements shift during development.
• Iterative way
• Series of iteration called SPRINTS

Question 10

Sprints

Answer 10

Short time-boxed periods when a team has focused goals to complete a set amount of work.
- no longer than one to four weeks

Question 11

Extreme Programming

Answer 11

•agile framework
•encourages small iterative software releases

Question 12

Benefits to the Waterfall methodology

Answer 12

• Simplicity makes it easy to manage
• Everyone on the project is very clear on their responsibilities at each stage
• Clear deliverables
• Easy to see if a project is running to schedule

Question 13

Disadvantages to the Waterfall methodology

Answer 13

• Carries a lot of risk
• The user doesn’t get to see the product for the first time until the end
• Misunderstanding requirements can lead to a project that is not easy to fix
• Requirements must be very well understood, so it’s not suitable for complex projects

Question 14

What types of projects is the Waterfall methodology suitable for?

Answer 14

• Ease of management can make it suitable for large-scale development projects, assuming they are well-understood and carry little risk

Question 15

Benefits to Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Answer 15

• Requirements don’t need to be entirely clear from the start
• Focus groups involving the user can be used to gather requirements without the need for full formal requirements document upfront
• Continuous feedback from the client means the solution is likely to have excellent usability

Question 16

Disadvantages to RAD

Answer 16

• Focus on usability rather than how the product works - not suited for projects where code efficiency is very important
• Regular contact with client must be maintained at all times
• Scales poorly for large projects with big teams

Question 17

What types of projects is the RAD methodology suitable for?

Answer 17

Initial requirements are not fully understood, iterative nature prevents development from becoming side-tracked

Question 18

Spiral benefits

Answer 18

• Risk management is at the heart of this model
• Excellent for projects that contain a high level of risk

Question 19

Disadvantages to RAD

Answer 19

• Complex nature of risk analysis increases costs - risk management is a highly specialised skill
• If risk analysis is done badly, the project suffers

Question 20

What type of projects is the spiral methodology suited to?

Answer 20

Large-scale problems and those that involve a high degree of risk, especially where the user doesn’t fully understand their requirements upfront

Question 21

benefits to agile and extreme programming

Answer 21

• emphasises programming - quality of end code very high
• core principles and processes promote respect and collaboration, very productive team

Question 22

disadvantages to agile and extreme programming

Answer 22

• Requires a team of programmers working in close collaboration - unlikely to work if team widely distributed geographically
• Client must be able to commit to gave a full-time representative working with the development team
• Paired programming costly

Question 23

What type of projects are suited for agile and extreme programming?

Answer 23

Projects that emphasise on the quality of finished code