Agile Software Development and Foleeo: Study Guide and Volere Template

Question 1 (20 marks)  a.In Activity 5.1 you listened to the interview with Suzanne and James Robertson where they try to communicate a balanced perspective on requirements within agile software development. For this question you will want to refer to the above recording, provided in Study guide 5 from the start through to 12 min 19 secs (if reading the transcript it is up to the point where James Robertson says ‘…and I think that’s extremely healthy’). (The recording is also available at http://www.se -radio.net/ 2012/ 09/ episode -188 - requirements -in-agile -projects/ . Note that the timings are different in this version and you should listen through to 12 min 53 secs.) Based on that section of the interview explain what, in the Robertsons’ view, is the mindset – or way of thinking – of the little ‘a’ agile practitioner .  (You should aim to make four distinct points, based on what the Robertsons say).  (4 marks)  b.The Manifesto for Agile Software Development sets out four values: o Individuals and interactions over processes and t ools o Working software over comprehensive documentation o Customer collaboration over contract negotiation o Responding to change over following a plan. Choose an agile development method for discussion. Your chosen method can come from your work or your study, from your reading, or from an internet search. Identify the source giving a reference where possible. Give the name of your chosen method. Taking each of the Manifesto values listed above as a heading, explain how your chosen method demonstrates each one of these values. Your answer must be mainly in your own words, with any quotations from third -party sources (including the one given above) clearly indicated by quotation marks and an appropriate reference. Up to 2 marks may be lost for not following this guideline. Your answer should not exceed 500 words in total, excluding headings and references but including quotations and citations. If you exceed this limit, 1 mark will be deducted. For citations and references follow the Cite Them Right guide. You will need to login with your OU computer username (OUCU) and password to access the Cite Them Right site. Once you have accessed the site you can find out how to give a reference for a given type of source using ‘Show me how to reference’. Simply enter the type of source that you want to cite, for example ‘blog’. Filter the results by checking the boxes labelled ‘Harvard’ and ‘Include referencing basics’. (12 marks)  c.Think about the method that you chose in Part b. in relation to the Robertsons’ discussion of big ‘A’ and little ‘a’ agile in the section of the interview discussed in Part a. Discuss – using no more than 200 words – the extent to which your chos en method allows for the kind of little ‘a’ approach that the Robertsons favour. For this question you may want to listen to a little more of the recording, from the start through to 25 min 4 secs (if reading the transcript it is up to the point where Jame s Robertson says ‘How little can they actually get away with here?’). (4 marks) Questions 2, 3, 4 and 5 make use of an imaginary software system, Foleeo, which is introduced below. This example will also be used in TMA 02 and TMA 03 and runs as a unifying thread throughout the assignments. Foleeo A group of enthusiasts plan to launch a new online book club, to be called Foleeo. Anyone will be able to browse a large list of books, get information about a particular book, and read its reviews and average st ar rating, but they will not be able to contribute to the site’s content unless they are signed up. Signed -up members of Foleeo will be able to log in to review and rate books, keep track of what books they are currently reading and have read in the past, and make posts to discussions about particular books. Signing up and setting a profile Someone wanting to sign up must visit the registration page and supply a name, email address and password. They will then be sent a link via email and must click the link to complete registration. Once they are registered they will be able to log in and fi ll in a profile, choosing a display name, uploading a profile picture if desired, giving their city of residence if they choose to, and optionally supplying their birth year. They will also be able to indicate what types of book they are interested in from a list of genres. Before these changes can take effect the member will then need to click the ‘Save’ button. The date a member joined will be recorded automatically by the system and displayed with their profile. Managing booklists Signed -up members will have two booklists, current books and past books. They will be able to add new books to the current booklist and remove books from that list if they decide to. When they have finished reading a book they will be able to click a ‘Comp lete’ button and that book will be transferred to the past booklist. Reviews and ratings Signed -up members will be able to submit reviews of books in either of their booklists. To review a book they will need to select it, choose a review option, write the review and select submit. They will be able to edit previous reviews, by selecting a review and choosing an edit option, making the changes and resubmitting. They will also be able to give a book a star rating, in a similar way to submitting a review, exc ept that instead of writing text they will select from a scale 0−5 before making their submission. Information about books The system will display information about a book a user selects on screen, giving the title, author, edition, place and year of publi cation, international standard book number (ISBN), and average star rating. The system will also provide a link to a list of reviews for that book. Discussions Signed -up members will also be able to start a discussion about a particular book, or contribute posts to an existing discussion. Question 2 (20 marks) In this question you are asked to complete selected sections of the Volere template for Foleeo. The full template is very long and it would not be practical to complete it all, which is why we only want you to fill in the parts we have indicated in the simplified version below.  a.Purpose of the product: how will the new system help Foleeo? (2 marks)  b.Stakeholders: who are the stakeholders? (2 marks)  c.Users of the product: who are the users? (2 marks)  d.Naming conventions and definitions: discuss whether any terms from the description above need to be added to the project glossary. (2 marks)  e.Scope of the product: what are the boundaries of the system? (You only need to say what the product will deal with and who will interact with its interfaces. You are not expected to produce a use case diagram.) (3 marks)  f.Functional requirements: identify three functional requirements for Foleeo. (3 marks)  g.Non -functional requirements: invent an example of a non -functional requirement that might be associated with one of the functional requirements you identified in (f) above. For this example: o state the requirement o say what category of non -functional requirement it belongs to o provide a suitable fit criteri on for the requirement. (3 marks)  h.Project issues: choose any one of the project issues 18 –26 listed on page 118 (Section 6.1) of Unit 2 and invent an example that could apply to Foleeo. Only a short answer is expected. (3 marks) Question 3 (20 marks) In this question you will be interacting online with other members of your tutor group, using the ShareSpace environment. You will need to make an early start on this question – at least two weeks before the cut -off date of the TMA – in order to allow time fo r the online interactions with your fellow students.  a.Draw an activity diagram for Foleeo to model the process by which a registered member logs in and then creates and saves a profile (including their selection of genres of interest). This is an initial draft, and while you should obviously try hard to get it right, what you produce at first does not necessarily have to be perfect. You will have an opportunity to improve it later if necessary, following feedback from fellow students. Once you have complet ed your diagram, make it available to other students in your tutor group via ShareSpace . You should do this at least 2 weeks before the TMA cut -off date (29 November 2022) to allow your fellow students time to comment. Copy this diagram into your TMA docum ent, labelling it ‘My initial model’. Please note that you will be unable to view anyone else’s diagram until you have uploaded your own. (8 marks)  b.In ShareSpace, look at the activity diagrams from other students, and find two that differ from yours. Try to choose diagrams which have not yet received many comments from other students. In ShareSpace write some comments on each of these diagrams, suggesting any improvements which could be made to the model. Focus your attention on the model which the diagra m represents, rather than details of how the diagram is presented. You should do this at least a week before the TMA cut -off date to allow your fellow students time to make use of your comments. Aim to write about 150 words of comment per diagram. Copy bot h sets of comments into your TMA document, labelling each of them clearly ‘My comments to [your fellow student’s name]’. (6 marks)  c.Read the comments made by fellow students on your own initial model. Then create a new model introducing any changes you wi sh to make to your model and post this new version to ShareSpace; do not replace the initial diagram. Copy your updated diagram into your TMA document, labelling it ‘My updated model’. In ShareSpace, add a comment to your new diagram explaining how and why you have improved your original model. If you did not make any changes, please explain why. Aim to write about 150 words. Copy your comments into your TMA document, labelling them ‘My comments on improving my model’. (6 marks) Question 4 (25 marks) In this question you will develop a use case model for Foleeo.  a.List the different actors, choosing appropriate role names for them. (2 marks)  b.List the use cases, again choosing suitable names. (6 marks)  c.Draw your corresponding use case model. Use a g raphics package of your choice, the drawing tools provided in a word -processor, or hand draw your diagram and scan or photograph it. Your diagram should include all the actors and use cases you identified in a. and b. above. It should also show their assoc iations. You may need to identify relationships between use cases and/or between actors. (8 marks)  d.Suppose Foleeo is to be developed incrementally, starting with a functioning core and adding a further two reasonably independent ‘chunks’. Suggest what, i n your opinion, should form the core, what other increments should follow, and in what order. Give brief reasons for your answers. (4 marks)  e.Consider the development of Foleeo by an agile approach team. Suggest two user stories likely to be of high prior ity for the team and briefly explain why they would be high priority. (5 marks) Question 5 (15 marks)  a.Imagine a team of developers is going to develop Foleeo. It is a small team of enthusiasts who have had experience with agile development and are willing to develop Foleeo in an agile way. They need to convince the Foleeo directors that this would be a good way forward; in particular, they are nervous about havi ng a system delivered on time and that can be maintained in the future when the team of developers moves away. You need to produce a short, balanced summary of the advantages/disadvantages of developing Foleeo in an agile way, focusing on timely delivery o f the functionality and maintainability of the system once delivered. Re -read Unit 1 Section 3, starting from the heading ‘Agile development’ in Section 3.2 through to the end of Section 3.5 (pages 34 –46 of the Block 1 printed material), and Unit 4 Section 2.3 ‘An agile UP’ (page 202 of the Block 1 printed material), and write a report of not more than 200 words following the guidelines below. You can assume your readers are already aware of the agile practices and techniques. Guidelines Your report should start by explaining briefly why this project can be developed by an agile team. You should then go on to discuss how an agile approach can help with timely delivery and what artefacts an agile approach produces that will help with maintainability. Finally, you should explain the approach the directors need to take towards the development team if the project is to succeed. Notes If you exceed the word limit, 1 mark will be deducted. You should provide a full reference for at least one external source you hav e used; follow the Cite them right guide . References are not included in the word count but citations are. (9 marks)  b.Find two sources on the use of agile and off -shore development . Remember to include these in your references. Imagine that Foleeo have decided that the most cost -effective way to get their system developed is to employ the services of an off -shore software development company. In 200 words, explain how and why your a dvice to the Foleeo directors might change. Notes: If you exceed the word limit, 1 mark will be deducted. Provide full references for any external sources used; following the Cite T hem Right guide . References are not included in the word count but citations are. (6 marks)