slr6 - software development

Question 1

Describe the general software development lifecycle

Answer 1

1 Feasibility
2 Requirements
3 Analysis and design
4 implementation
5 testing
6 Deployment
7 evaluation

Question 2

What are the 5 development methodologies

Answer 2

Waterfall
RAD - Rapid application development
Spiral
Agile
Extreme programming

Question 3

Describe the waterfall model

Answer 3

Each phase has a well-defined start and end point with clear goals for each stage
The waterfall model allows you to move back on a previous stage as well as forwards

Question 4

Describe Rapid application development

Answer 4

Following the initial approval of a feasible program, increasingly refined prototypes are made

Question 5

What is agile

Answer 5

A group of methodologies that focus on the idea that requirements will shift throughout development

Question 6

What is an algorithm

Answer 6

a sequence of steps designed to perform a task

Question 7

Describe black box testing

Answer 7

Simply checks if an input produces the expected output

Question 8

Describe white box testing

Answer 8

Testing that all the algorithms are functioning as intended

Question 9

Why is being able to move backwards on previous stages an important feature of the development cycle

Answer 9

Developers often have to rework earlier stages when new features are needed

Question 10

Which stages of the development cycle are repeated with RAD

Answer 10

Analysis
Design/ implementation
Testing/ evaluation

Question 11

What are the 4 stages of the spiral model

Answer 11

Determine objectives
Identify and resolve risks
Development and test
Plan the next iteration

Question 12

What are the advantages of the waterfall methodology

Answer 12

Simplicity makes it easy to manage
Everyone on the project is clear about their responsibilities at each stage
Clear objectives
Easy to see if the project is on schedule

Question 13

What are the disadvantages of the waterfall methodology

Answer 13

carries a lot of risk
The user doesn’t get to see the product until the project is nearly finished
If requirements are misunderstood, then the project wont be easy to fix - it is not suitable for high risk projects

Question 14

What are the advantages of RAD

Answer 14

Requirements don’t need to be completely clear from the start
Focus groups can be used to gather requirements
Continuous feedback means that the software is likely to have excellent usability

Question 15

What are the disadvantages of RAD

Answer 15

The focus is on usability not efficiency
Regular contact with the client must be maintained
Scales poorly for larger teams

Question 16

What are the advantages of the spiral methodology

Answer 16

Subtitle for projects that have a high risk since risk management is as the heart of this model

Question 17

What are the disadvantages of the spiral methodology

Answer 17

Complex nature of risk analysis means that costs are high
The project suffers if risk analysis is done poorly

Question 18

What are the advantages of agile and extreme programming

Answer 18

The quality of end code is likely to be high
Very productive development team due to the core principles of respect and collaboration

Question 19

What are the disadvantages of agile and extreme programming

Answer 19

Requires close collaboration - unlikely to work remotely
Client must have a full time representative working with the dev team
Some of the processes involved can be expensive

Question 20

When would agile and extreme programming be appropriate for a project

Answer 20

When the emphasis of the project is on the quality of final code

Question 21

When would the spiral model be appropriate for a project

Answer 21

Large scale projects with a lot of risk – especially when the user doesnt fully understand initial requirements

Question 22

When would RAD be appropriate for a programming project

Answer 22

When the initial requirements are not fully understood

Question 23

When would the waterfall methodology be appropriate for a project

Answer 23

Ease of management makes it appropriate for large scale development projects

Question 24

Describe the analysis stage of software development

Answer 24

The process of defining a problem and its solution

Question 25

Describe the design stage of software development

Answer 25

The stage in which the technical details of the project are decided

Question 26

What is done in the programming stage that simplifies the larger problem

Answer 26

the program is broken down into different modules and algorithms

Question 27

Why is white box testing limited

Answer 27

You are unable to check for missing features in the project

Question 28

How is black box testing limited

Answer 28

It doesn’t focus on the internals of the program and only checks to see if the expected output is generated

Question 29

Describe alpha testing

Answer 29

Testing carried out internally by the development team

Question 30

Describe beta testing

Answer 30

Testing carried out by a small number of users

Question 31

In what ways is alpha testing limited

Answer 31

It is only carried out by a small number of people so some bugs may be missed

Question 32

Why is alpha testing important

Answer 32

It often reveals errors and omissions that the developers havent noticed

Question 33

Why is beta testing used by developers

Answer 33

It is an accurate simulation of how end users will use the product

Question 34

Describe the evaluation stage of software development

Answer 34

A post implementation review where the system is critically analysed 3–6 months after the feature is implemented

Question 35

What are the main basis for evaluating a project

Answer 35

Effectiveness, Usability and maintainability