Plan-driven vs Agile Development: Understand the Difference

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Questions and Answers

What are products in a process description?

Statements true before and after a process activity

Measurements against a plan

Outcomes of a process activity (correct)

People involved in the process

What do roles represent in a process description?

Outcomes of a process activity

Statements true before and after a process activity

Measurements against a plan

Responsibilities of the people involved in the process (correct)

What do pre- and post-conditions signify in a process description?

Responsibilities of the people involved in the process

Outcomes of a process activity

Statements true before and after a process activity (correct)

Measurements against a plan

What is a characteristic of plan-driven processes?

All process activities are planned in advance Signup and view all the answers

In agile processes, what is the approach to planning?

Incremental planning Signup and view all the answers

Which software process model involves separate and distinct phases of specification and development?

Waterfall model Signup and view all the answers

What does system testing involve?

Executing the system with test cases derived from real data specifications Signup and view all the answers

In a plan-driven software process using the V-model, what is the purpose of customer testing?

Testing with customer data to verify system meets customer’s needs Signup and view all the answers

What is the most commonly used verification and validation activity?

System testing Signup and view all the answers

What does software evolution refer to?

Adapting software to changing business circumstances Signup and view all the answers

What is increasingly becoming irrelevant?

The demarcation between development and evolution Signup and view all the answers

What is particularly important during system testing?

Testing emergent properties of the system Signup and view all the answers

What is the main goal of process analysis in software development?

Identify process weaknesses and bottlenecks Signup and view all the answers

Which activity involves describing the software process through models or maps?

Process analysis Signup and view all the answers

Why is collecting quantitative process data preferred in software development?

To assess the effectiveness of process improvements Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of developing a baseline in software process improvement?

To decide if process improvements have been effective Signup and view all the answers

When are process changes proposed in the software development cycle?

After identifying process weaknesses Signup and view all the answers

In the context of software development, why might it be difficult to collect quantitative process data?

Lack of clearly defined process standards Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Process Descriptions

Process descriptions may include products, which are the outcomes of a process activity.
Roles, which reflect the responsibilities of the people involved in the process.
Pre- and post-conditions, which are statements that are true before and after a process activity has been enacted or a product produced.

Software Processes

Plan-driven processes: all process activities are planned in advance and progress is measured against this plan.
Agile processes: planning is incremental and it is easier to change the process to reflect changing customer requirements.
Most practical processes include elements of both plan-driven and agile approaches.

Software Process Models

Waterfall model: separate and distinct phases of specification and development.
Incremental model: specification, development, and validation are interleaved; may be plan-driven or agile.
Integration and configuration: the system is assembled from existing configurable components; may be plan-driven or agile.

Agile Methods

Primary characteristics: rapid delivery of functionality and responsiveness to changing customer requirements.

Process Improvement Cycle

Process measurement: measure one or more attributes of the software process or product.
Process analysis: assess the current process, identify weaknesses and bottlenecks, and develop process models.
Process change: propose and implement changes to address weaknesses, and collect data to assess effectiveness.

Process Measurement

Quantitative process data should be collected wherever possible.
Process measurements should be used to assess process improvements, but should not drive the improvements.

Testing

Involves checking and review processes, and system testing.
System testing: execute the system with test cases derived from the specification of the real data to be processed by the system.

Stages of Testing

Component testing: individual components are tested independently.
System testing: testing of the system as a whole, including testing of emergent properties.
Customer testing: testing with customer data to check that the system meets the customer’s needs.

Software Evolution

Software is inherently flexible and can change as requirements change through changing business circumstances.
Software evolution is increasingly important as fewer and fewer systems are completely new.

Coping with Change

Change is inevitable in all large software projects.
Software must evolve and change as requirements change.

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Description

Learn about different types of software processes including plan-driven and agile processes. Explore the concept of process descriptions including outcomes, roles, and pre- and post-conditions.