CORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
INSTITIÚID TEICNEOLAÍOCHTA CHORCAÍ
Summer Examinations 2014/2015
Module Title:
IT Systems Engineering
Module Code:
COMP9037
School:
Science
Programme Title:
Master of Science in Computational Biology - Award
Programme Code:
SCMPB_9_Y5
External Examiner(s):
Internal Examiner(s):
Mr. Desmond Greer
Mr. John O’Brien
Instructions:
Answer question ONE, and three other questions.
Duration:
2 Hours
Sitting:
Summer 2015
Requirements for this examination:
Note to Candidates: Please check the Programme Title and the Module Title to ensure that you have received the
correct examination paper.
If in doubt please contact an Invigilator.
Page 1 of 7
Q1.
(a) Which of these are the 5 generic IT systems engineering framework activities?
a.
b.
c.
d.
communication, planning, modelling, construction, deployment
communication, risk management, measurement, production, reviewing
analysis, designing, programming, debugging, maintenance
analysis, planning, designing, programming, testing
(b) In general, an IT system only succeeds if its behaviour is consistent with the objectives of
its designers.
a. True
b. False
(c) Which of the following are recognized process flow types?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Concurrent process flow
Iterative process flow
Linear process flow
Spiral process flow
(d) Evolutionary software process models
a.
b.
c.
d.
Are iterative in nature
Can easily accommodate product requirements changes
Do not generally produce throwaway systems
All of the above
(e) How do you create agile processes to manage unpredictability?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Requirements gathering must be conducted very carefully
Risk analysis must be conducted before planning takes place
Software increments must be delivered in short time periods
Software processes must adapt to changes incrementally
(f) Which is not one of the key questions that is answered by each team member at each daily
Scrum meeting?
a.
b.
c.
d.
What did you do since the last meeting?
What obstacles are you encountering?
What is the cause of the problems you are encountering?
What do you plan to accomplish be the next team meeting?
Page 2 of 7
(g) During project inception the intent of the of the tasks is to determine
a.
b.
c.
d.
basic problem understanding
nature of the solution needed
people who want a solution
none of the above
(h) Three things that make requirements elicitation difficult are problems of
a.
b.
c.
d.
budgeting
scope
understanding
volatility
(i) Which of the following is not an objective for building a requirements model?
a.
b.
c.
d.
define set of software requirements that can be validated
describe customer requirements
develop an abbreviated solution for the problem
establish basis for software design
(j) UML activity diagrams are useful in representing which analysis model elements?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Behavioral elements
Class-based elements
Flow-based elements
Scenario-based elements
(k) The purpose of software reviews is to uncover errors and defects in work products so they
can be removed before moving on to the next phase of development.
a. True
b. False
(l) The level of review formality is determined by which of the following?
a.
b.
c.
d.
amount of preparation
reviewer follow-up
size of project budget
structure of review
Page 3 of 7
(m) Acceptance tests are normally conducted by the
a.
b.
c.
d.
developer
end users
test team
systems engineers
(n) Stress testing examines the pressures placed on the user during system use in extreme
environments.
a. True
b. False
(o) Debugging is not testing, but always occurs as a consequence of testing.
a. True
b. False
[30 Marks]
Q2.
(a)
Genomic sequences contain rich evolutionary information about functional constraints
on macromolecules such as proteins.
Suppose that you are a member of a research team that has been assigned the
challenge of computing protein three-dimensional structures from amino acid
sequences.
The decision on the approach to system development has not yet been made.
However, the following approached as offered as candidates for consideration:
(i) Linear sequential,
(ii) Iterative,
(iii) Evolutionary prototyping.
1. Identify, and list in a tabular format, the advantages and/or disadvantages of each
of the above-listed three candidate approaches.
[12 Marks]
2. Rank the candidate approaches in terms of overall suitability to the project at hand.
Justify your ranking selection.
[4 Marks]
Page 4 of 7
Q3.
(b)
Scrum is a process framework that has been used to manage complex product
development since the early 1990s.
Describe, briefly, how scrum is used in practice. Support your answer with suitable
illustrations.
[4 Marks]
(a)
In the context of specifying the requirements for an IT system, what
does each of the following terms refer to?
(i)
Business case;
(ii)
Feasibility study;
(iii)
Stakeholder;
(iv)
Scenario;
(v)
Use case specification.
[10 Marks]
(b)
Using your knowledge of how a bank ATM machine is used, develop a use
case textual description, for the withdraw cash feature.
Your textual description should address the basic flow, any alternative flow(s),
as well as any exception flow(s).
[7 Marks]
(c)
Scenario-based models comprise one type of representation that might be used
during the requirements-modelling activity. Such models are employed,
typically, to illustrate a system from a user’s point of view.
List three other types of models that might be used during requirements
modelling.
Explain, briefly, (single sentence), the role played by each of your identified
models.
[3 Marks]
Page 5 of 7
Q4. (a)
(b)
Cost and effort estimation, for IT projects, will never be an exact science. Too many
variables, including human, technical, environmental, and political, can affect the
ultimate cost and effort required to develop the IT solution. However, estimationoptions do exist that are likely to result in reasonably accurate estimates.
Elaborate on the effort estimation approache known as PERT that may be used on an
IT project:
[5 Marks]
Consider the following project specification with estimated activity-durations and
precedence requirements:
Activity
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
Duration(days)
2
3
7
4
6
2
9
5
2
Precedents
None
None
A
B,C
A, D
D
F, B
F, E
H
1. Develop a network representation, using activity-on-a-node notation, to reflect the abovelisted project details.
[3 Marks]
2. Analyse your network by carrying out a forward pass, to calculate the earliest dates at which
activities may commence and the project may be completed; record these on your network
diagram.
[3 Marks]
3. Analyse your network by carrying out a backward pass, to calculate the latest start and finish
dates for your project’s activities; record these on your network diagram.
4. List your project’s critical path tasks.
[5 marks]
5. What is the impact on your project’s overall completion time if:
(i) Activity E” is delayed by 3 day?
(ii) Activity “G” is completed 2 days ahead of schedule?
[4 Marks]
Page 6 of 7
Q5.
(a)
(i)
(ii)
(b)
Differentiate between informal and formal reviews.
[4 Marks]
Guidelines for conducting a formal technical review, FTR, must be established
in advance of the meeting, distributed to all reviewers, agreed upon, and then
followed.
A review that is uncontrolled can be worse than no review at all.
A minimum set of guidelines for conducting an FTR includes:
 Review the product, not the producer.
 Set an agenda, and maintain it.
List four other such guidelines.
[4 Marks]
In the context of IT systems testing, what do the following terms refer to?
(i)
Verification;
(ii)
Validation.
[4 Marks]
(c)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
In the context of testing computer-based systems, what does the term
regression testing refer to?
Why, if at all, is regression testing important?
What approach to regression testing would you recommend? Justify your
answer.
[8 Marks]
End of Exam
Page 7 of 7