UNIT 4 CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

Question

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Chloe is creating the software requirements specifications (SRS) for a project. The project is a web app that allows students to manage and track all of their college applications and scholarship applications in one place. The student, parent, and school counselor has access to all of the materials, and colleges have access to certain portions that the student has designated. Outline at least two of the requirements that would be in the specs document given to Chloe’s team.
2. Imagine that a co-worker said to you, “It’s such a hassle to keep specifications up to date! It takes time away from getting actual work done. Why should we even bother?”
3. In this unit, you learned about the software development life cycle. In what situations other than developing software might the process of analysis, design, development, test, deployment, and maintenance be a useful approach to problem solving?
4. How do existing libraries and packages facilitate programmer productivity? Provide at least one example of what a library might look like and how it would be useful.
5. What are some limitations when it comes to testing and ensuring program quality? List at least two limitations; you may refer to specific kinds of testing in your answer

Answer 1

I'm not sure what the question is here. A couple of general observations:

#2: This is a very common theme in software development. The reason to keep specs up to date is so you or somebody else can understand and modify/refactor code at a later date. It's easy to forget why you made design or programming decisions after some time has elapsed and/or you've moved on to greener pastures. Documentation & specs become especially important if you are working on interfaces with other teams and/or if the code (or domain) is complex. If you're working on a one-off, simple project that nobody other than you will look at, feel free to omit specs & documentation.

#5: No amount of testing will completely ensure program quality in any except the simplest programs. You will never have an infinite number of testers or an infinite amount of time to write tests, so you'll constantly be making tradeoffs to test as much as possible given time/personnel/budget limitations, especially in critical sections of code. Typical limitations on testing for quality are budget, time, and staffing (number of testers and their experience/background).