QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
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Learning Unit 1: Chapter 2 & 3
Objectives:
1. Explain the fundamental concepts of software processes
Software is a product designed and built by software engineers.
A set of related activities that leads to production of a software product
Multiple processes, but four activities that’re fundamental to Software engineering:
i. Specification: Defining what the system should do
ii. Design and implementation: Defining the organisation of the system and implementing the
system.
iii. Validation: Checking the system performs in accordance with customer needs
iv. Evolution: Changing the system in response to changing customer needs
Process model: Abstract representations of a process, essentially the activities that are part of these
processes.
Example:
i. Products: Outcomes of a process activity
ii. Roles: Responsibilities of people involved in the process
iii. Pre- and post-conditions: Statements that are true before and after a process activity has
been enacted.
2. Describe the three generic software processes
Not definitive descriptions of software processes, they are abstractions of the process used to explain
different approaches to software development.
The waterfall model:
i. Plan-driven model: Separate and distinct phases of specification and development
Incremental development:
i. Specification, development, and validation are interleaved – may be plan-driven or agile.
Reuse-oriented software engineering:
i. System assembled from existing components, may be plan-driven or agile.
Most large systems use elements from all these models when in development.
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3. Outline the process activities of software requirement engineering, software development, testing and
evolution
Software specification: Process of establishing what services are required and constraints on the
system’s operation and development.
i. Feasibility Study: Is it technically and financially feasible to build the system?
ii. Requirements elicitation and analysis: What do the system stakeholders require or expect of
the system?
iii. Requirements specification: Defining detailed requirements
iv. Requirements validation: Checking validity of requirements
Software design and implementation: Process of converting the system specification into an executable
system
i. Software design: Design software structure realising the specification
ii. Implementation: Translate structures into an executable program.
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Software validation: Verification and validation is intended to show a system confirms to its specification
and meets the customer requirements.
i. Involves checking and reviewing processes and system testing
ii. System testing involves executing the system with test cases that are derived from the
specification of real data to be processed.
iii. Stages:
Component testing: the components making up the system are tested by the people
developing the system.
System testing: System components are integrated to create a complete system.
Customer testing: This is the final stage in the testing process before the system is
accepted for operational use. The system is tested by the system customer (or potential
customer) rather than with simulated test data.
Software Evolution: Inherently flexible and can change. As requirements change through changing
business circumstances, the business support software must also evolve and change. Fewer and fewer
systems are completely new.
4. Why should processes be organised to cope with changes in the software requirements and design?
Change is inevitable in all large software projects
i. Business changes lead to new and changed system requirements
ii. New technologies open up new possibilities for improving implementations
iii. Changing platforms require application changes
Reducing costs of rework:
i. Change anticipation: Where the software process includes activities that can anticipate
possible changes before significant work is required.
ii. Change Tolerance: Where the process is designed so changes can be accommodated at
relatively low costs – Normally involves some form of incremental development.
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