Final

Question 1

Define the software development process and list its stages

Answer 1

This process represents the life cycle of a software product and its stages are:

1. requirements gathering
2. design
3. implementation
4. testing
5. maintenance.

Question 2

Which phase of development do you have the most interaction with the clients?

Answer 2

Requirements

Question 3

True/False - Requirements gathering is the phase of development where you have the most interaction with the clients.

Answer 3

True.

Question 4

“Experience is the product’” is one of the key ideas from the book. What is the main idea that this statement is proposing?

Answer 4

Design with the user experience in mind:

• Don’t think of products and services as standalone offerings.
• Use a system oriented mindset that better serves people’s needs.
• Think of customers as people not as consumers

Question 5

A key message of the ”Subject to Change” book is to not approach a design problem assuming you will create a product, a service, and a system. What should you begin with that will lead to identifying the components that will deliver it?

Answer 5

Begin with the experience and then develop the components to deliver it.

Question 6

What type of language should be used in a requirements document?

Answer 6

Natural language.

• Easy to understand by the stakeholders.
• They can use the language of the application if the stakeholders understand it.
• Avoid computer jargon.

Question 7

An example of the ”Subject to Change” book of a design which didn’t work was of the music keyboard which would allow the user to browse the Internet to download songs and music lessons. What mistake did the keyboard’s manufacturer make during the design process which caused the system to be difficult to use?

Answer 7

They didn’t start by designing what they wanted the user to experience.

They approached internet connectivity as a feature without considering how the user would interact with it

Question 8

The processes which measure and control efficiency are well understood, but are not sufficient to provide a competitive advantage. What is now necessary to realize a competitive advantage?

Answer 8

Design.

Question 9

List two objectives of performing reviews

Answer 9

• Uncover errors.
• To verify requirements.
• To ensure the software meets a standard.
• For system uniformity.
• To make projects more manageable.
• Training

Question 10

What are sample driven reviews?

Answer 10

Identify the components of a system with the largest number of faults and then focus the reviews on those items.

Reviewing everything can be impractical.

Question 11

What is a rule of thumb for traditional presentations?

Answer 11

1-6-6 or 1-7-7 There should be one idea per slide, no more than six or seven lines of text, and no more than six or seven words per line.

The idea is to not overwhelm the audience

Question 12

Describe what is visual brainstorming.

Answer 12

Instead of shouting out ideas, the team works to build a model of the product.

A different approach which solves some of the problems found in regular brainstorming. These include dominant personalities, fixating on a seemingly good idea too quickly, and the noisy chaotic environment of a session.
Some similarities with paper prototyping

Question 13

List the steps involved in paper prototyping

Answer 13

1. Choose the most important user.
2. Determine some typical tasks.
3. Make screenshots or sketches.
4. Perform a usability test

Question 14

List two benefits of paper prototyping.

Answer 14

• You can easily modify the prototype based on feedback.
• You can conduct several tests quickly.
• You can rapidly iterate the design based on real user input.
• You will find out which parts of the interface work well and which are trouble spots.`

Question 15

List one of the four values which are important to Agile development.

Answer 15

• Individuals and interactions over process and tools.
• Working software over comprehensive documentation.
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
• Responding to change over following a plan.

Question 16

Most agile methods have brief and daily, face to face team meetings. Why are these meetings useful??

Answer 16

These meetings expose and discuss problems when they arise.

Question 17

Give an example of a successful software discussed during lectures and list at least two reasons for its success.

Answer 17

• Unix
• C
• The spreadsheet
• The web browser

Question 18

Which of the following function converts a string to an integer in Python?

1. int()
2. str()
3. float()

Answer 18

int()

Question 19

In Python, what is the value of L[2] if L = [1,2,3]?

Answer 19

3

Question 20

What is the output of the following Python code?
x = ’abcd’
for i in range(x):
     print(i)
1. a b c d
2. 0 1 2 3
3. error
4. none of the above

Answer 20

3. error

Question 21

Explain affordance in design. Give an example

Answer 21

When the characteristics of an object influence how people will use it.
Objects are better suited to some functions than others (e.g.buttons afford pushing; stairs afford climbing)

When the affordance conflicts with the use of the item, it makes it more difficult to use.

Question 22

Why pay attention to the entry point to a design?

Answer 22

• First impressions are strong and people will judge a design by the first thing they see.
• Entries should not have barriers, should allow users to become oriented, and should have signals that draw people from the entry.
• All of this applies to graphical interfaces as much as it does physical spaces