2.2: Problem Solving and Programming Flashcards
1
Q
What is meant by software development methodology?
A
- The arrangement of phases and how programmers move from one phase to another - both forwards and backwards
2
Q
What is meant by the term ‘SDLC’?
A
- Software Development Lifecycle
- Phases of software development
3
Q
What are the stages of the SDLC?
A
- Feasibility
- Requirements
- Analysis and design
- Implementation
- Testing
- Deployment
- Evaluation
- Maintenance
4
Q
What happens during the feasibility stage?
A
Figuring out if the problem is solvable
5
Q
What happens during the requirements stage?
A
Working out what the solution needs to do
6
Q
What happens during the analysis and design stage?
A
Working out how the solution needs to do it
7
Q
What happens during the implementation stage?
A
The solution is coded
8
Q
What happens during the testing stage?
A
Checking if it actually works
9
Q
What happens during the deployment stage?
A
Installing the program in the target environment
10
Q
What happens during the evaluation stage?
A
Checking in with the user - is the solution complete?
11
Q
What happens during the maintenance stage?
A
Ensuring it continues to function properly by the way of improvements, patches and updates
12
Q
What are the 5 types of development methodologies?
A
- Waterfall
- RAD
- Spiral
- Agile
- Extreme programming
13
Q
Describe the waterfall methodology.
A
- It has a cascading effect from one phase to another
- Each phase has a well defined start and end point with identifiable deliverables
- A slight evolution of the waterfall model allows you to move back to a previous stage as well as forwards - this reflects the fact that developers often have to rework earlier stages in light of knowledge gained as development progresses
14
Q
Describe the RAD methodology.
A
- Methodology that involves producing successive prototypes of the software until a final version is produced and approved
- Following the initial approval of a feasible program, increasingly refined prototypes are made with reduced functionality
- These are designed, coded, test and evaluated with the end user
- Your user might decide they are happy with the system or that they want further improvements, which will start a new cycle
15
Q
Describe the Spiral model methodology.
A
- Risk-driven development methodology.
- The spiral model is more of a guide for development teams, allowing them to adopt elements of one or more other methodologies like waterfall or RAD
- This model is better thought of as a process model generator, where decisions on the software development methodology are made based on the risks identified
16
Q
Describe the agile methodology.
A
- Refers to a group of methodologies
-These methodologies focus on the idea that requirements will shift and change during development - this can only be dealt with by producing software in an iterative way - They are a more refined form of older concepts behind RAD
- The product is built in a series of iterations known as sprints
- These are short, time-boxed periods when a team has focused goals to complete a set amount of work
- Each sprint should ideally be a bite-sized piece of focused work, taking no longer than one to four weeks
17
Q
Describe the extreme programming methodology.
A
- Aims to produce very high quality code
- Encourages developers to adopt a set of common practices that focus on the values of:
- Simplicity
- Communication
- Feedback
- Courage
- Respect
- It is considered an agile framework as it encourages regular, small, iterative software releases
18
Q
What are the 5 core practices that are considered to boost the overall quality of completed solutions for a project?
A
- Collective code ownership
- Continuous integration
- Code standards
- Refactoring
- Paired programming
19
Q
What are some advantages of the waterfall model?
A
- 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
20
Q
What are some disadvantages of the waterfall model?
A
- Carries a lot of risk
- The user doesn’t get to see the product for the first time until the project is near its end
- Misunderstanding requirements can lead to a project that is not easy to fix
- Requirements must be very well understood, so this model is not suitable for complex projects
21
Q
Where would a waterfall model likely be used?
A
- Large-scale development projects assuming they are well-understood and carry little risk
22
Q
What are some advantages of RAD?
A
- 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
23
Q
What are some disadvantages of RAD?
A
- 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
24
Q
What types of projects would RAD work well in and why?
A
- Projects were the initial requirements are not fully understood, as the iterative nature prevents development from becoming side tracked
25
What are the advantages of the spiral model?
- Risk management is at the heart of this model
- Excellent for projects that contain a high level of risk
26
What are the disadvantages of the spiral model?
- Complex nature of risk analysis increases costs- risk management is a highly specialised skill
- If risk analysis is done badly, the project suffers
27
What projects would a spiral model be suitable for?
- Large-scale problems and those that involve a high degree of risk, especially where the user doesn't fully understand their requirements upfront
28
What are the advantages of agile and extreme programming?
- Emphasised programming, so the quality of end code is likely to be very high
- Core principles and processes promote respect and collaboration, leading to a very productive development team
29
What are the disadvantages of agile and extreme programming?
- Requires a team of programmers working in close collaboration - unlikely to work well if the team is widely distributed geographically
- Client must be able to commit to having a fulltime representative working with the development team
- Some of the processes involved in extreme programming such as paired programming can be quite costly
30
What type of projects would agile and extreme programming be suitable for?
- If the project has an emphasis on the quality of finished code, then those 2 strategies are ideal
31
What is the flowchart symbol for a terminal (Start/Stop)?
- A circle
32
What is the flowchart symbol for a process?
- A rectangle
33
What is the flowchart symbol for a decision?
- A rhombus
34
What is the flowchart symbol for Input/Output?
- A paralelogram
35
What is the flowchart symbol for a subroutine?
- A rectangle with 2 diagonal lines
36
What are the 4 most common testing strategies?
- Black-box testing
- White-box testing
- Alpha testing
- Beta testing
37
What is black-box testing?
- Simply checks whether an input produces the expected output
- Code efficiency is not important as long as inputs return the desired outputs
- Ideally, every possible input should be checked during this method of testing, however it is often not feasible
38
What is white-box testing?
- Involves testing the algorithms in the code and making sure all parts of those algorithms function as intended.
- On each test run, the path of execution is noted so it can be compared with other runs
- Identifies and tests all the possible paths of execution through a program
- Also checks the overall efficiency of the code
39
What is alpha and beta testing?
- Carried out when software is nearly ready for release and can be tested as a complete solution
- They apply especially to commercial software such as computer games
40
What is the difference between alpha and beta testing?
- Alpha testing typically occurs first and is limited to internal employees and their friends and families
- Beta testing is usually opened up to a wider community and is usually done through a public beta program
41
What are the 4 types of test data?
- No data
- Erroneous data
- Normal data
- Boundary data
42
What is 'no data' test data used for?
- Checks whether the user enters no data
43
What is 'erroneous' test data?
- Data that should be rejected by the program
44
What is 'normal' test data?
- Data that should be accepted by the program without causing errors
45
What is 'boundary' test data?
- Data of the correct type that is on either edge of the accepted validation limits
