The Software Engineering Process: Phase 1

Question 1

What is a “project”?

Answer 1

A mess of spoken and unspoken ideas and needs expressed in non-technical and imperfect ways by the client. The engineer must transform this collection of randomness into a specific scientific design.

Question 2

What is the “Requirements” phase?

Answer 2

A method by which an engineer discovers the needs of a client.

Question 3

What is the Goal of the Requirements phase?

Answer 3

To build artifacts that roughly describe the scope and needs of the project.

Question 4

Who is the Client?

Answer 4

The person paying you to build the application.

Question 5

Who is the Customer?

Answer 5

The person who buys stuff from the client.

Question 6

Who is the Engineer?

Answer 6

The person designing the app by communicating with the client.

Question 7

Why is a story important?

Answer 7

Clients and users are non-technical. They speak in stories.

Question 7

Who is the Developer?

Answer 7

The person programming the app.

Question 8

Who are Stakeholders?

Answer 8

Those people who will interact directly and indirectly with the project.

Question 9

What is Elicitation?

Answer 9

Converting random user thoughts into artifacts.

Question 10

What are Artifacts?

Answer 10

Things you build like storyboards, flowcharts, screenshots (rough drawings) of the GUI, and Database/File schemas. They can also be things that you collect like photocopies of existing forms, documents, printouts, copies of old databases or files or images, contact numbers/names of all stakeholders, list of constraints, requirements, and assumed technologies.

Question 11

What is the purpose of Artifacts?

Answer 11

Artifacts are rough pencil drawings that have not been formalized. They are needed to consolidate the conversation into tangibles that can be critiqued by you and the users/client.

Question 12

Describe the basic method used in the Requirements Phase

Answer 12

1.Meet person A.
2.Construct artifact(s).
3.Confirm artifact(s) with person A.
4.Repeat until all artifacts are completed with person A.
5.If there are more stakeholders, then let A = the next stakeholder, and go back to step 1.
6.When this is done, have a final meeting with everyone to see if everyone agrees with the artifacts or identifies missing elements. If not complete, repeat with the missing element(s). Add an extra engineer or senior developer in the mix as a second opinion about your artifacts.
7.When done, call for a sign-off and a freeze.

Question 13

What does it mean to Formalize Artifacts?

Answer 13

Use-case diagrams, sketches, schema-based documentation, and statements.

Question 14

What is a Use-case Diagram?

Answer 14

A formalization of work.

Question 15

List all the elements of a Use-case Diagram.

Answer 15

○ System: the complete workflow in question.
○ Neighboring System: a program using an API.
○ Actor: Human.
○ Use-case: a workflow description.
○ <<includes>>: something that must happen.
■Arrow points away from the parent.
○<<extends>>: something that optionally happens.
■Arrow points towards the parent.
○Inheritance: workflow contains parent workflow.
○Line: interacts with a use-case or system.

Question 16

What are Actor Hierarchies?

Answer 16

These represent the users of the app and are great for adding meaning and context. Actor Hierarchies allow for flexibility when describing which actors interact with a particular use case. For instance, you can say that all employees interact with a use-case, but you also have the flexibility to say only the manager interacts with this use-case if you want to exclude cashiers.

Question 17

What are the Extends and Includes in a Use-case Diagram?

Answer 17

The <<extends>> arrow points towards the parent use-case and means an optional activity. The <<includes>> arrow points away from the parent use-case and indicates that the workflow continues to this new use-case.

Question 18

How do you use comments in a Use-case Diagram?

Answer 18

You can use a paper marker to contain the comment. The dash circle points to the part of the diagram to which the comment applies. Type brackets specify a type or classification to anything. You can also add conditional statements.
○ A paper marker without a dash circle indicates that the comment is for the entire diagram.
○ <<type marker>> provides additional information about an element.

Question 19

What are Sketches?

Answer 19

An informal way to present screens and reports while meeting with a client. This is done on paper and not with a computer. Sketches turn client ideas into artifacts and provide great discussion points. It is a great method to use immediately in front of the client when they start talking about UI elements, like screens and reports/printouts.

Question 20

What are Sketches also known as?

Answer 20

Wireframes and Mockups.

Question 21

What are the steps to creating a Sketch?

Answer 21

1. Draw a mockup.
2. Draw arrows from one sketch to the next based on button presses (or other kinds of flows).
3. Number the common order of operation.

Question 22

What is Schema-Based Documentation?

Answer 22

Schema-based documentation involves gathering hard copies of things clients already produce, such as:
○ A photocopy of a form.
○ A printout of a report.
○ Photo of a GUI from a competitor application.

Question 23

They are “schema-based” because you can use them to identify:

Answer 23

○ Database records & fields.
○ Data structure members.
○ Required input spaces in GUIs.

Question 24

What is an Impact Statement?

Answer 24

An impact statement provides a broader discussion about the product's effects on sustainability, human-machine interaction, climate change, etc. This includes identifying both positive and negative effects. ○ Impact on society: How will the app interact with the broader community? ○ Impact on the planet: Energy consumption, needed raw materials, climate change, warehousing needs, etc. ○ Impact on industry: Customer impact, stakeholder impact, impact on competitors, governmental considerations, raising standards, competition, etc. ○ Mitigation and Profitability decisions: If any, what steps will be used to mitigate negative impacts? If any, how will positive impacts be shared or profited?

Question 25

What is an Ethics Statement?

Answer 25

An ethics statement provides a broader discussion about the product's ethical impact on society and the planet. ○ Ethical implications: Dangers and benefits to humans, dangers and benefits to the planet, edge cases to keep in mind. ○ Mitigation and Profitability decisions: If any, what steps will be used to mitigate negative ethical implications? If any, how will positive implications be shared or profited?

Question 26

What is a Performance Statement?

Answer 26

A performance statement identifies the stakeholder's run-time performance expectations and what you promise to deliver. ○ Run-time: Expected Big Oh for the app. ○ Network load: How many packets per second, average & worst case, are expected? ○ Data warehousing needs: Discuss data needs in megabytes (or gigabytes). ○ Turn-around time: What should the user’s worst-case wait time be while using the app? ○ Restart time: If the app crashes, how long will it take for the app to restart?

Question 27

What is Sign-Off & Freeze?

Answer 27

The client in charge signs off that there is nothing further to add to the project and that the artifacts are good in their rough form, with the condition that you will produce a finalized document outlining the plan. This formal final document must be signed off by the client before programming can begin. The sign-off contract has a clause stating that the project is now frozen, meaning no further elements can be added to the project without restarting from the beginning.

Question 28

What is Feature-Creep or Scope-Creep?

Answer 28

Feature-creep or scope-creep is when, after the freeze, the client changes their mind, or more commonly, wants to add additional elements to the agreement/program.

Question 29

What are possible solutions for handling feature-creep?

Answer 29

○ Version 2 List: Ideally, record all new ideas but be clear they will not be added to this version of the project. ○ Stop the project and redesign/re-cost: If the client insists that their new ideas “must be added to the project!”, you may need to stop the project, redesign it, and re-cost it. Creep tends to disrupt many unexpected places, even the very little ones (because, on success, they are encouraged to request additional little changes. Eventually, these reach a tipping point).

Question 30

hat is the Importance of Sign-Off & Freeze?

Answer 30

○ Scope creep control. ○ "No, I did not tell you to build that!" control. ○ Coverage confirmation (nothing was forgotten).

Question 31

What is a Contract?

Answer 31

Contracts are the agreements between the engineer and the client. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) contains: ○ Sign-off: The sign-off for all the artifacts (didn't miss anything!). ○ Checkpoint: Promise to build a formal final document (Specification Document), with an opportunity to cancel, rework, or proceed to development. ○ Protection: Contains an agreement to freeze the artifacts with the understanding that a new MOU and artifact(s) would need to be constructed if anything changes.

Question 32

List the different types of Contracts.

Answer 32

○ Memorandum of understanding. ○ Specification document sign-off (the plan). ○ Project budget and timeline with penalties.

Question 33

What are the two main populations in Engineering?

Answer 33

○ Client: All the stakeholders who will use or interact in some way with the final application. ○ Engineers: Those people who will build the application.

Question 34

What are the types of Documents for each population in Engineering?

Answer 34

○ Contracts for clients: MOU, Specification Document, Budget & Timeline Statement, Legal work contract. ○ Reports for engineers: Design Document, Development Plan, Deployment Plan, Commenting-as-documentation, Technical Manual.