What are the 5 phases of the software development cycle? - Answers Defining and understanding the
problem, planning and designing, implementing, testing and evaluating and maintaining
Why is it important to define and understand the problem? - Answers - gain understanding of problem's
nature and requirements
- inputs and outputs can be properly considered
- necessary processing to convert inputs into outputs
What are the main features required to understand the software problem - Answers - time and research
are required
- examine similar software solutions and non-computer based alternatives
- Engage with users and systems
- maintain formal and informal communication networks with users
What are the benefits of a list of requirements? - Answers - serves as a benchmark to see if your
understanding meets the needs of potential users
- can be used as evaluation criteria
- allows the developer to properly understand the scale of the task and how much is required of them
What is the benefit of understanding the inputs and outputs of a program? - Answers - helps accurately
define the problem
- helps lay a strong foundation for developing the solution
What is the process of planning a software solution? - Answers 1. analyse problem comprehensively
2. break down into small components with increasing details
3. determine necessary data and design structures
4. algorithms devised to solve these components
What is a CASE tool? - Answers Computer aided software engineering tools are software applications
that developers use to streamline multiple development tasks.
What are the six main data types? - Answers Integer, floating point, string, boolean, data, currency
In binary, what does a 1 represent - Answers Current flowing or present
What does a 0 represent in binary? - Answers no current flow or not present
, What is the purpose of a data dictionary? - Answers A data dictionary should provide a detailed
description for each variable of a program, as well as for each field in databases and files accessed by the
program.
What are the 5 columns in a data dictionary? - Answers Identifier name, data type, length of variable,
scope of variable, purpose/description
What is extent? - Answers The extent to which a variable is available for use in terms of global or local.
What are the three steps of the planning and designing phase of software development? - Answers 1.
break down a problem into manageable units
2. decide on data types and design data structures
3. design a method of solving each component piece
Define abstraction - Answers Taking away or separating part of the solution so it may be considered in
isolation
What are the benefits of the abstraction process? - Answers - encourages the creation of reusable code
modules
- Testing becomes easier
Define top-down design? - Answers Progressively breaking a larger problem into a series of smaller
easier to solve problems
What is involved in the method of top-down design? - Answers This method involves progressively
refining the problem until each unit can be effectively implemented as a programming code subroutine.
Often, the design follows a strict hierarchy, with higher-level subroutines accessing or calling one or
more lower-level subroutines.w
What is a hierarchy chart? - Answers A chart that depicts each logical step of the program in a
hierarchical fashion.
What is a system flowchart? - Answers System flowcharts are employed to depict the logic and data
movement between the system's components, including hardware, software, and manual components.
What is a dataflow diagram? - Answers Dataflow diagrams describe the flow of data to and from
processes and storage elements.
What is a structure diagram? - Answers Structure diagrams outline the top-down design and processing
sequence.
What is an IPO chart? - Answers IPO diagrams elucidate how inputs are transformed into outputs
through processing.