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The Development Project: Build, Testing and Evaluation

Choosing software to develop the solution

  • 3 things to know
  • A2 Unit 2

Overview

Rapid application development tool, throwaway prototyping and evolutionary prototyping.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What is a prototype, and why is one built?

Key term

Why does the maintainability of the chosen software matter as much as its capability?

Key term

How is the choice of software justified in the documentation?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    On what grounds is development software chosen for a solution?

    Model answer

    Software is chosen on whether it can deliver the designed functionality, whether it runs on the hardware available, whether it is affordable or already licensed, whether the developer and the future maintainer can use it, and whether it produces data in the formats other systems need.

  2. 2

    Why is the choice of software made after the design rather than before it?

    Model answer

    Choosing first makes the design fit the tool, so features are included because the package offers them and requirements are dropped because it does not. Designing first states what is needed, and the package is then judged against it.

  3. 3

    When is a database package the right choice for a solution?

    Model answer

    A database package suits a solution whose core is storing related records and producing queries and reports from them, because the tables, forms, queries and reports are built in and the developer writes far less code.

  4. 4

    When is a general-purpose programming language a better choice?

    Model answer

    A language is better where the solution needs complex processing, an unusual interface, or integration with other systems, because a database package constrains what can be built to what its own tools support.

  5. 5

    When might a spreadsheet be an appropriate development tool?

    Model answer

    A spreadsheet suits a solution that is essentially calculation and modelling over a modest amount of data with a single user, and is a poor choice for anything with related records, several users, or a need for referential integrity.

  6. 6

    What is a rapid application development tool?

    Model answer

    A rapid application development tool builds much of the interface and data handling automatically from the data structure, so a working version appears quickly and can be shown to the user, at the cost of less control over the detail.

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