chapter 4 - 6

Question 1

What is the purpose of a new software project?

Answer 1

To potentially replace an existing system, such as transitioning from manual to electronic student results preparation.

Question 2

What is requirements engineering?

Answer 2

The process of identifying, eliciting, analyzing, specifying, validating, and managing the needs and expectations of stakeholders for a software system.

Question 3

What is the primary objective of requirements engineering?

Answer 3

To create and maintain a comprehensive and detailed ‘System Requirements Specification’ document.

Question 4

What are the key processes in requirements engineering?

Answer 4

Requirements Elicitation, Requirement Analysis, Requirement Documentation, Requirement Review.

Question 5

What is requirements elicitation?

Answer 5

The phase that entails gathering pertinent information regarding the requirements and expectations of stakeholders for the software system.

Question 6

What methods are used for requirements elicitation?

Answer 6

Interviews, surveys, focus groups, and various techniques to gather insights from stakeholders.

Question 7

What is the use case approach?

Answer 7

An approach that uses a combination of text and pictures to improve the understanding of requirements.

Question 8

What does a use case represent?

Answer 8

An action that achieves a particular task within a system.

Question 9

What is a primary actor in a use case diagram?

Answer 9

An individual or entity that utilizes a system intending to accomplish a specific goal.

Question 10

What is a secondary actor in a use case diagram?

Answer 10

An actor that acts once the primary actor does something (reactionary).

Question 11

What is the purpose of a use case diagram?

Answer 11

To aid in the clarification of requirements, improve communication, guide development, facilitate testing, and optimize user experience.

Question 12

What is a context diagram?

Answer 12

A visual representation of the interactions between external entities and an internal software system.

Question 13

What is a software prototype?

Answer 13

A simulated representation of the visual, functional, and experiential aspects of the final project.

Question 14

What is rapid prototyping?

Answer 14

A method used in agile development where swift and minimal modifications are created for each sprint.

Question 15

What is evolutionary prototyping?

Answer 15

A method where prototypes are created to address ambiguous software requirements, showcasing only understood features.

Question 16

What is incremental prototyping?

Answer 16

An approach involving the development of multiple smaller prototypes focusing on specific features, which are later merged into a final prototype.

Question 17

What are data flow diagrams (DFDs) used for?

Answer 17

To illustrate the flow of data within a system.

Question 18

What are the rules for data flow diagrams?

Answer 18

Data must not flow between two entities, data must not flow between two data stores, a process must have both input and output data flow, etc.

Question 19

What is the purpose of requirements documentation?

Answer 19

To document the requirements identified in the analysis step in a precise, consistent, and unambiguous manner.

Question 20

What is a Software Requirement Specification (SRS)?

Answer 20

A representation of requirements in a consistent format for a particular software product.

Question 21

What are the characteristics of a good SRS?

Answer 21

Correct, unambiguous, complete, consistent, verifiable, modifiable, traceable, and ranked for importance and stability.

Question 22

What is software project planning?

Answer 22

Outlining the project scope, objectives, resources, and timeline for software development.

Question 23

What is size estimation in software development?

Answer 23

Determining the size of the software product that needs to be developed, commonly using Lines of Code (LOC) or Function Points (FP).

Question 24

What is function point analysis?

Answer 24

A measure of the functional size of a software application, representing the functional value delivered to customers.

Question 25

What is an Internal Logical File (ILF)?

Answer 25

Data stored and managed within the application's scope, identified as user-identifiable collections of logically related data.

Question 26

What is an External Interface File (EIF)?

Answer 26

A group of logically related data accessed by the application but maintained by another application.

Question 27

What is an external input (EI)?

Answer 27

A process that handles data or control information originating from outside the application's boundary.

Question 28

What is an external output (EO)?

Answer 28

A process that transmits data or control information beyond the application's boundary.

Question 29

What is an external inquiry (EQ)?

Answer 29

A process that forwards data or control information beyond the application's boundary without altering the system's behavior.

Question 30

What is an external inquiry (EQ)?

Answer 30

An external inquiry (EQ) is a basic process that forwards data or control information beyond the application's boundary. Its main purpose is to present information to a user by retrieving data or control information from an Internal Logical File (ILF) or External Interface File (EIF).

Question 31

What processing logic does an external inquiry (EQ) involve?

Answer 31

The processing logic involved in an EQ does not include any mathematical formulas or calculations, does not generate derived data, and neither maintains any ILF nor alters the behavior of the system during processing.

Question 32

What factors influence the rate per function point in software development?

Answer 32

The rate per function point varies widely depending on factors such as project complexity, geographical location of the development team, industry, and level of expertise required.

Question 33

What are the estimated rates per function point based on project complexity?

Answer 33

For a precise quote, it’s essential to evaluate the specific needs and scope of the project. Based on complexity, one might be looking at: - Simple projects: $20 to $50 per function point - Moderately complex projects: $50 to $100 per function point - Highly complex projects: $100 to $200+ per function point.

Question 34

What is the Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO)?

Answer 34

The Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO) was introduced by Dr. Barry Boehm’s textbook Software Engineering Economics. It is used to estimate the development efforts involved in a project based on the estimation of lines of code in a system and the time.

Question 35

What are the primary purposes of COCOMO?

Answer 35

The primary purposes of COCOMO are to estimate the effort required for a software project, the total project cost, and the schedule time needed to complete the project.

Question 36

How is effort calculation measured in COCOMO?

Answer 36

Effort calculation is measured in person-months, representing the number of people needed to successfully complete the task within a specific timeframe.

Question 37

What is the relationship between effort and development time in COCOMO?

Answer 37

A higher number of persons involved generally leads to a reduction in overall development time, as the workload is distributed among multiple team members.

Question 38

What are the three types of COCOMO models?

Answer 38

The three types of COCOMO models are: 1. Basic Model 2. Intermediate Model 3. Detailed COCOMO Model.

Question 39

What is the Basic COCOMO Model?

Answer 39

The Basic COCOMO Model provides quick and rough estimates of software development effort without detailed calculations. It uses formulas to estimate effort, schedule time, and personnel.

Question 40

What are the coefficients for the Basic COCOMO Model?

Answer 40

The coefficients for the Basic COCOMO Model are: - Organic: a=2.4, b=1.05, c=2.5, d=0.38 - Semidetached: a=3.0, b=1.12, c=2.5, d=0.35 - Embedded: a=3.6, b=1.20, c=2.5, d=0.32.

Question 41

What is the Intermediate COCOMO Model?

Answer 41

The Intermediate COCOMO Model improves the accuracy of cost estimation by incorporating additional cost drivers related to the project's product, hardware, resources, and project parameters.

Question 42

What is the Detailed COCOMO Model?

Answer 42

The Detailed COCOMO Model incorporates qualities of both Basic and Intermediate COCOMO models, accounting for individual development phases and using multipliers for each phase.

Question 43

How does the Detailed COCOMO Model estimate costs?

Answer 43

The Detailed COCOMO Model divides the software into different modules and applies COCOMO to estimate effort for each module, summing the efforts for overall cost estimation.