Software Engineering Exam: Questions and Answers

Fundamental Phases of Software Engineering Projects

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Question 1: Using 4 bullet points, name and describe the four fundamental phases common to all Software Engineering projects.

Question 2: Traceability is a core concept in Software Engineering.

(a) Using a total of 4 bullet points, explain how traceability applies to requirements, specifications, release testing, and acceptance testing.

(b) Using a total of two bullet points, describe two implications for a project when you cannot trace something back to a requirement.

Question 3: Using Agile methodologies does not prevent a project team from also using more rigid traditional methods within the same project.

(a) Read the following scenario, then using bullet points, identify and explain three aspects of the project in which you would use more rigid traditional methods. You work in a software development company that builds communication apps, reusing the same framework each time. You must plan a project for a new app for a charity for the blind (people who have lost their eyesight). The app is designed for two types of users, blind users and medical practitioners, to communicate. Since users may be partially or totally blind, your existing framework (in particular the user interface) will need to be adapted to accommodate a range of accessibility issues. The charity, and both types of users, will work closely with you. They have a plan for what they want the full software to do, but due to budget constraints, they want you to release the most important functions first. Next year, and each year after that, they hope to work with you again to release a new version of the app with more features.

(b) One thing you know for sure about the project, is that you want to work with the blind users. Using four bullet points, describe the different ways that you could involve them in the process, making reference to specific Agile methodologies, if relevant.

This section is focused on the Spiral Model of Software Engineering.

Question 4: Using a total of four bullet points, explain how the Spiral Model relates to Prototyping, and when the primary development stage occurs in the process.

Question 5: Using 3 bullet points, explain how the Spiral Model could be integrated with the Scrum Methodology.

Question 6: It is considered risky to only do acceptance testing at the end of the project. Using 4 bullet points, explain how client Acceptance can be better managed according to the Spiral Methodology.

Question 7: Using 4 bullet points, explain how the Spiral Model relates to Software Maintenance.

You are a project manager in a medium-sized software company. Your team has recently been assigned a project, and the company’s senior management have asked you to coordinate it. After examining the details carefully, you have identified thirteen (13) major tasks that will need to be completed. You have determined the relationship among these tasks, in terms of which ones need to be completed before other tasks can begin. You have also estimated the amount of time (in days for a single engineer) that each task should require to complete. Your estimates are as

Question 8: Using pen/pencil/paper or features within Microsoft Word (but not external software): Draw a PERT chart for these tasks, showing the task dependencies and durations, from the start to the end of the project. Make sure this PERT chart is clearly included in your submission.

Question 9: Identifying a Critical Path for a project is important for a Project Manager.

(i) Using a total of two bullet points, identify the two Critical Paths in this project and calculate their length in days.

(ii) You discover that tasks E and H are each going to take an extra 3 days. Using a total of 2 bullet points (one for each task), explain the implications of each of these for the Critical Path.

Question 10: The husband of your most experienced senior developer has been diagnosed with a long-term illness, and they may need to take leave several times during the project. Everyone else on the team are relatively junior developers. This is a Project Risk.

(i) Using two bullet points in total, describe two ways that Paired Programming can help the team mitigate this Project Risk.

(ii) This most-experienced developer has suggested you should consider whether they should be assigned to the critical path tasks, or on non-critical path tasks. Using a total of 5 bullet points, consider two reasons in favour and two against, and make a recommendation based upon them.