Software Engineering 2: Exam 2

Which phase involves allocating resources to the project?

A. Proposal stage

B. Project startup phase

C. Development phase

D. Monitoring phase

B. Project startup phase

Explanation: Allocating resources is a key activity during the project initiation phase, ensuring all necessary components are in place for execution.

1 multiple choice option

What is the main goal of contingency planning?

A. To minimize resource allocation

B. To address unexpected problems during the project

C. To reduce project milestones

D. To improve documentation

B. To address unexpected problems during the project

Explanation: Contingency planning anticipates potential risks and prepares strategies to minimize their impact on the project.

What is the primary focus of agile planning?

A. Fixed functionality

B. Flexible and adaptive plans

C. Long-term planning

D. Minimizing customer involvement

B. Flexible and adaptive plans

Explanation: Agile planning emphasizes adaptability to accommodate changing requirements and foster continuous improvement

What is an advantage of the plan-driven approach?

A. Early identification of dependencies

B. Reduced initial planning effort

C. Frequent updates to the plan

D. Minimizing resource allocation

A. Early identification of dependencies

Explanation: Plan-driven approaches allow thorough upfront planning, identifying project interdependencies early to reduce risks.

Which factor is NOT considered in software pricing?

A. Hardware costs

B. Profit margin

C. Customer's age

D. Training costs

C. Customer's age

Explanation: Software pricing considers tangible and quantifiable factors like costs and profit margins, not demographic details like the customer's age.

In project scheduling, what is a milestone?

A. A completed project document

B. A point to assess progress

C. A delay in the project

D. An unresolved risk

B. A point to assess progress

Explanation: Milestones are used to evaluate progress at specific points, helping ensure that the project stays on track.

What is the main feature of story-based planning?

A. Complex documentation

B. Effort points assigned to stories

C. Fixed timelines

D. Reduced customer involvement

B. Effort points assigned to stories

Explanation: Story-based planning in agile assigns effort points to user stories to estimate workload and prioritize tasks effectively.

What does the COCOMO cost model primarily estimate?

A. Software usability

B. Effort required for development

C. Market pricing

D. Software delivery time

B. Effort required for development

Explanation: The COCOMO model calculates the effort in terms of person-months based on the size and complexity of the software.

Which factor affects the accuracy of effort estimation?

A. Clear project milestones

B. Use of unfamiliar technologies

C. Fixed pricing strategies

D. Absence of contingency plans

B. Use of unfamiliar technologies

Explanation: The use of new or unfamiliar technologies increases uncertainty and makes effort estimation less accurate.

What is a major challenge in agile planning?

A. Over-documentation

B. Limited customer involvement

C. Balancing flexibility with customer availability

D. Fixed requirements

C. Balancing flexibility with customer availability

Explanation: Agile planning relies on continuous customer collaboration, making it challenging when customers are not consistently available.

In the planning game, effort points are used to measure:

A. Customer satisfaction

B. Velocity of the team

C. Software complexity

D. Release frequency

B. Velocity of the team

Explanation: Effort points indicate the team's capacity to complete tasks within a specific timeframe, measured as velocity

What is the output of the release planning stage in agile planning?

A. Final software product

B. Tasks to be completed in an iteration

C. Customer documentation

D. Features to be included in the release

D. Features to be included in the release

Explanation: Release planning defines the features to be delivered, ensuring alignment with customer priorities

Which pricing strategy involves charging less to enter a new market?

A. Increased pricing

B. Underpricing

C. Fixed pricing

D. Pricing to win

B. Underpricing

Explanation: Underpricing is used to attract customers in a new market by offering lower prices to gain competitive entry

What does a 'milestone' in a project represent?

A. A critical decision point

B. A risk mitigation technique

C. A deliverable product

D. A contingency plan

A. A critical decision point

Explanation: A milestone marks significant progress or decisions in the project lifecycle

What is the primary concern of quality management?

A. Maximizing profits

B. Ensuring software quality standards

C. Reducing team collaboration

D. Delivering projects quickly

B. Ensuring software quality standards

Explanation: Quality management ensures that software meets predefined quality standards and satisfies customer expectations

Which is NOT part of a quality plan?

A. Product introduction

B. Risk management

C. Staff salaries

D. Quality goals

C. Staff salaries

Explanation: Staff salaries are operational costs, not typically included in a quality management plan.

What is the main focus of product standards?

A. Staff productivity

B. Software product attributes

C. Development process

D. Project budgeting

B. Software product attributes

Explanation: Product standards define the attributes that a software product should exhibit, such as reliability and usability.

Which international framework is widely used for quality management?

A. ISO 9001

B. Agile Manifesto

C. SCRUM Guide

D. Six Sigma

A. ISO 9001

Explanation: ISO 9001 is a globally recognized standard for quality management systems, ensuring consistent product quality

What is a key activity in the software review process?

A. Independent testing

B. Conducting walkthroughs

C. Allocating resources

D. Project delivery

B. Conducting walkthroughs

Explanation: Walkthroughs are collaborative reviews where team members examine the software for errors and improvements.

Which is an advantage of distributed reviews?

A. Reduced documentation

B. Collaboration across locations

C. Limited feedback

D. Reduced software quality

B. Collaboration across locations

Explanation: Distributed reviews enable team members in different locations to participate, enhancing collaboration and input

What is the purpose of an inspection checklist?

A. To identify common errors

B. To track team productivity

C. To create new standards

D. To measure customer satisfaction

A. To identify common errors

Explanation: An inspection checklist helps reviewers systematically identify and address common errors in the software.

Dynamic metrics are most useful for evaluating?

A. Complexity and maintainability

B. Efficiency and reliability

C. User experience

D. Compliance with ISO standards

B. Efficiency and reliability

Explanation: Dynamic metrics measure runtime attributes like efficiency and reliability by evaluating the software in action.

In agile methods, quality management focuses on?

A. Establishing a quality culture

B. Extensive documentation

C. Standardized review processes

D. Reducing team responsibility

A. Establishing a quality culture

Explanation: Agile promotes a culture where quality is a shared responsibility across the team, fostering continuous improvement

What is the limitation of the ISO 9001 certification?

A. Lack of flexibility for agile projects

B. Low compliance requirements

C. Focus on external quality attributes

D. Complex integration with analytics

A. Lack of flexibility for agile projects

Explanation: ISO 9001 emphasizes standardized processes, which may not align with the iterative and adaptive nature of agile projects

What is the role of software analytics?

A. Automating development processes

B. Analyzing software metrics for insights

C. Replacing peer reviews

D. Simplifying development tasks

B. Analyzing software metrics for insights

Explanation: Software analytics uses data-driven metrics to derive insights about software performance and quality.

Which activity is NOT part of empirical software engineering?

A. Conducting experiments

B. Collecting project data

C. Validating hypotheses

D. Developing user manuals

D. Developing user manuals

Explanation: Empirical software engineering focuses on research methods like experiments and data analysis, not documentation like user manuals.

Which quality attribute ensures software can handle high usage without failure?

A. Usability

B. Reliability

C. Maintainability

D. Portability

B. Reliability

Explanation: Reliability ensures that the software performs consistently under high usage or stress

Static metrics are primarily used to measure?

A. Usability

B. Complexity

C. Reliability

D. Efficiency

B. Complexity

Explanation: Static metrics analyze code properties such as complexity without executing the program

What is configuration management primarily concerned with?

A. Coding standards

B. Managing software changes

C. Staff training

D. Bug fixing

B. Managing software changes

Explanation: Configuration management tracks and controls changes to maintain system integrity throughout development.

Which is NOT an activity in configuration management?

A. System building

B. Version management

C. Change management

D. Pricing analysis

D. Pricing analysis

Explanation: Configuration management involves technical activities like version control, not financial activities like pricing

What is a key feature of version control systems?

A. Test case generation

B. Release identification

C. User feedback integration

D. Reduced development cycles

B. Release identification

Explanation: Version control systems tag and identify different software releases to track changes efficiently.

In a distributed version control system, developers:

A. Share a central repository only

B. Work with local and shared repositories

C. Skip version baselines

D. Require no internet connection

B. Work with local and shared repositories

Explanation: Distributed systems allow developers to work locally and sync with a shared repository when needed

What is the purpose of a baseline in version management?

A. To ensure real-time updates

B. To recreate a specific system version

C. To simplify system testing

D. To reduce system complexity

B. To recreate a specific system version

Explanation: Baselines capture a specific version of the system to serve as a reference for future development or rollback.

What is the main goal of change management?

A. To minimize testing

B. To assess and track changes

C. To improve user documentation

D. To fix bugs automatically

B. To assess and track changes

Explanation: Change management ensures that all changes are reviewed, tracked, and implemented systematically to avoid disruptions.

What is a common advantage of continuous integration?

A. Delayed error detection

B. Immediate identification of integration issues

C. Limited system testing

D. Reduced repository size

B. Immediate identification of integration issues

Explanation: Continuous integration helps detect and resolve integration issues early by frequently merging and testing code changes

What does release tracking ensure?

A. Continuous delivery of features

B. Accurate reproduction of system releases

C. Immediate bug fixes

D. Simplified user training

B. Accurate reproduction of system releases

Explanation: Release tracking documents and maintains details of each release to enable accurate reproduction when necessary.

What is the role of system building in configuration management?

A. Creating executable versions of the system

B. Managing user requirements

C. Testing user interfaces

D. Writing change requests

A. Creating executable versions of the system

Explanation: System building compiles and assembles code to produce executable versions of the software for deployment.

Which file identification method uses timestamps?

A. Checksums

B. Signatures

C. Modification dates

D. Encryption

C. Modification dates

Explanation: Timestamps based on modification dates track the last update to a file, helping manage changes efficiently

In change management, a change request form includes:

A. Cost estimates

B. Project milestones

C. Team schedules

D. Quality goals

A. Cost estimates

Explanation: Change request forms include cost estimates to evaluate the feasibility and impact of proposed changes

What is the primary benefit of daily builds?

A. Minimizing documentation

B. Rapid fault detection

C. Enhanced code complexity

D. Reduced testing efforts

B. Rapid fault detection

Explanation: Daily builds allow for frequent testing and quick identification of defects in the codebase.

What is a key benefit of branching in version control?

A. Reducing change requests

B. Parallel development without interference

C. Automatic baseline creation

D. Simplified repository management

B. Parallel development without interference

Explanation: Branching enables multiple developers to work on different features or fixes simultaneously without conflicts

Which component is essential for release reproduction?

A. User documentation

B. Configuration descriptions

C. Installation scripts

D. Change request forms

B. Configuration descriptions

Explanation: Configuration descriptions specify the exact versions and dependencies required for reproducing a release