Key term
CCEA A-Level Software Systems Development CL4
Software and the Development Environment
Topic overviewSystems software and application softwareThe operating system and file managementSource code filesBinary, object and executable filesCompilers, interpreters and the build processXML files and structured dataUtility software and managing files on diskThe integrated development environmentObject oriented development platformsOpen source software and licensing
Defining Data: Types, Variables and Classes
Topic overviewPrimitive types and their storageReference types, objects and nullDeclaring variables, scope and lifetimeType casting and conversionArithmetic operators and expressionsRelational and logical operatorsOperator precedence and evaluation orderObjects as occurrences of a classAbstract, base and inherited classesAttributes and the properties of a classStatic variables in a classInterfaces and class reusability
Program Control Structures
Topic overviewSequence and the order of executionMethods and passing control between themSelection with IF and IF ELSENested IF and multi-way selectionThe switch statementCount-controlled repetition with FORConditional repetition with WHILE and DO WHILENested loops and tracing iterationsBreaking out of loops and avoiding infinite loopsChoosing and evaluating control structures
Objects, Classes and Data Structures
Topic overviewConstructors and creating objectsMethods, parameters and return valuesEncapsulation and access modifiersGetters, setters and validating an object's stateInheritance and the base classOverriding methods and run-time polymorphismOverloading methodsChoosing and organising data structuresStrings and string handlingStatic arrays of simple typesArrays of objects
Exception Handling and Managing Input and Output
Topic overviewWhy errors have to be trappedTypes of error and how an exception is raisedThe try and catch blockCatching more than one kind of exceptionThe finally block and releasing resourcesThrowing exceptions and writing an exception classChecked and unchecked exceptionsReading and validating input from the command lineControlling screen outputText filesBinary filesObject files and serialisation
Testing an Object Oriented Application
Topic overviewWhy an object oriented application must be testedChoosing test data: normal, boundary and erroneousWriting a test plan for a classTesting a class method by methodTesting constructors and object stateTesting inheritance and overridden methodsTesting error handling pathsDry runs and trace tablesTest harnesses, drivers and stubsRecording and interpreting test resultsEvaluating a test plan and re-testing
Graphical User Interface Objects and Events
Topic overviewGraphical user interfaces and console programsForms and their common propertiesLabels, text boxes and text areasButtons, check boxes and radio buttonsLists, combo boxes and other selection controlsProperties, methods and events of a GUI objectContainers, panels and laying out a formThe event loop and the event queueEvent handlers and registering a listenerThe event object and reading it inside a handlerButton, mouse and keyboard triggers
Multiple Forms and Linking to Files
Topic overviewWhy an application needs more than one formCreating, showing, hiding and closing a formModal and modeless formsPassing data between formsMenus, menu items and shortcutsToolbars and navigation buttonsDesigning navigation for a multi form applicationReading and writing text filesBinary files and streamsObject serialisation and object filesChoosing between text, binary and object files
Designing, Testing and Evaluating an Event Driven Application
Topic overviewStoryboards and what they showBuilding a storyboard from user requirementsPrototyping and refining a designError trapping in an event driven applicationUsing try and catch inside an event handlerValidating what a user types into a controlDesigning a test strategy for an event driven applicationTest plans and choosing test dataTesting the paths a user takes through an interfaceDocumenting and interpreting test resultsEvaluating an application against its requirementsEvaluating features, functionality and usability
Reasons for Systems Development and Systems Methodologies
Topic overviewWhy organisations initiate systems developmentAnalysis and design principles for business solutionsRoles in development and the place of the userThe purpose of a methodology and how methodologies evolvedThe waterfall modelIterative, incremental and spiral developmentRapid application developmentThe dynamic systems development methodScrumExtreme programmingPrototyping in the development processUML modelling and simple diagrams
Managing Projects
Topic overviewThe purpose of project managementProject management concepts and the project life cycleRoles and responsibilities in project managementResources needed to develop a projectEstimating effort, duration and costGantt charts and the scheduleMilestones and checkpointsNetwork diagrams and PERTFinding the critical pathFloat and how it is usedMonitoring and controlling progressManaging risk and change
Testing Strategies
Topic overviewWhy testing matters throughout the development cycleTesting at the design stageProgram and unit testingIntegration testingSystem testingWhite box testingBlack box testingNormal, boundary and erroneous test dataUser acceptance, alpha and beta testingThe personnel involved in testingWhat a test plan containsBuilding a test plan for a scenario
Database Concepts and Entity Relationship Modelling
Topic overviewWhat a database is and why one is usedDatabase terminology: fields, records and keysThe relational modelThe hierarchical modelThe network modelEntities and attributes in an ER modelRelationships and their degreeBuilding an ER model for a problemFrom ER model to a working designComparing the three database models
Normalisation and Structured Query Language
Topic overviewWhy data is normalisedUn-normalised data and repeating groupsFirst normal formSecond normal formThird normal formWorking a full normalisation throughThe advantages and limits of normalisationThe principles of SQLSQL commands for defining and changing dataSQL statements for retrieving dataJoining tables and grouping results
Project Management and the Systems Approach in Practice
Topic overviewBreaking a development into tasks and deliverablesEstimating durations, effort and dependenciesDocumenting the plan as a Gantt chartWorking out the critical path and floatMilestones, reviews and user sign-off pointsPlanning people, resources and skillsBuilding a plan capable of reflecting changeRecording progress against the planUpdating the plan to reflect slippageRecording change requests and versions of the planEvaluating different approaches to a business problemSelecting and justifying a specific approach
Defining Requirements and Documenting the Design
Topic overviewEliciting requirements from the userWriting functional requirementsWriting non-functional requirementsSpecifying the software and hardware the solution needsProducing and agreeing the user requirements specificationDesigning the data model and the tablesDesigning the inputs, the screens and the navigationDesigning the outputs and the reportsDocumenting the processes and the logic of the solutionTesting the design against the desired user outcomesPresenting the design and the solution using appropriate media
Building a Desktop Solution with a Database
Topic overviewApplying relational techniques to a real solutionChoosing the database and the development toolConnecting the application to the databaseData adaptorsData setsData commands and parameterised queriesBinding the database to the interfaceMultiple forms and navigationSaving changes and protecting the dataTesting and documenting the built solution
Testing and Evaluating the Solution
Topic overviewPlanning the testing of the finished solutionChoosing test data: normal, boundary and erroneousTesting validation and error handlingTesting the database and its queriesTesting the user interface and the navigationTesting the whole solution and testing with the userDocumenting test outcomes as evidenceDiagnosing failures and retestingEvaluating the test proceduresEvaluating the solution against the user requirementsEvaluating delivery against the project planEvaluating your own performance on the development
Managing Projects
- 12 subtopics
- 36 things to know
- A2 Unit 1
What Managing Projects covers
Managing Projects is examined in Unit A2 1, Systems Approaches and Database Concepts — a written examination on a pre-release case study. It covers the purpose of project management, project management concepts and the project life cycle, roles and responsibilities in project management, resources needed to develop a project, estimating effort, duration and cost, Gantt charts and the schedule, milestones and checkpoints, network diagrams and PERT, finding the critical path, float and how it is used, monitoring and controlling progress and Managing risk and change.
Where it is assessed
A2 Unit 1
Systems Approaches and Database Concepts, examined on a pre-release case study.
Check the CCEA specification ↗The 12 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- The purpose of project managementPurpose of project management in one sentence, three competing constraints that a project manager balances and four common causes of overrun on software projects.Open →
- Project management concepts and the project life cycleScope of a project, work breakdown structure and work package.Open →
- Roles and responsibilities in project managementFour responsibilities of a project manager, role of a business analyst on a project team and two responsibilities of a quality assurance function.Open →
- Resources needed to develop a projectFive categories of resource that a development project consumes, skills matrix and four software resources a project must license or obtain.Open →
- Estimating effort, duration and costEstimating by analogy, bottom-up estimating and three-point estimating formula that weights the most likely value.Open →
- Gantt charts and the scheduleTracking Gantt chart and weakness of a Gantt chart as a planning tool.Open →
- Milestones and checkpointsMilestone in a project plan, four milestones you would expect in a development plan and how milestones let slippage be detected early.Open →
- Network diagrams and PERTDrawing tasks and their dependencies as a network, the forward and backward pass, earliest and latest start and finish, and the three-point estimate that averages optimistic, likely and pessimistic times.Open →
- Finding the critical pathCritical path and crashing an activity.Open →
- Float and how it is usedTwo equivalent ways of calculating total float, free float and float on an activity that lies on the critical path.Open →
- Monitoring and controlling progressDifference between monitoring a project and controlling it, exception report and issue log.Open →
- Managing risk and changeProject risk, recorded in a risk register and four standard responses to an identified risk.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
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A customer demands the same scope four weeks earlier. Explain what must give.
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Who are the stakeholders in a development project? Give three examples.
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Distinguish a logical dependency from a resource dependency.
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Why are assumptions recorded in a project plan?
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State the responsibilities of a team leader as distinct from the project manager.
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Explain why adding developers to a project that is already late can make it later.
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Distinguish a one-off capital cost from a continuing revenue cost, with an example of each.
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What is a resource histogram, and what does a peak above the available line mean?
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Distinguish the effort an activity requires from its duration.
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On a Gantt chart, what does the vertical line marking today's date tell a manager when compared with the shading?
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Why are payments to an external supplier often tied to milestones?
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What does PERT add to a network analysis?
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What does negative float mean?
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Why is percentage complete an unreliable measure of progress?
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How does a manager tell the difference between an activity that is late and a plan that was wrong?
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What is recorded in a risk register?
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How are risks prioritised?
Process
Describe the steps of a formal change control procedure.
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Why does the project manager watch critical activities more closely than the others?
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State four responsibilities of a project manager.
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An activity needs 24 person-days of effort and three developers work on it full time. State its duration and show the working.
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How are dependencies represented on a Gantt chart?
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Why does a milestone occupy no time on the schedule?
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What does a network diagram show that a bar chart does not?
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What is meant by crashing an activity?
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An activity can start no earlier than day 5 and no later than day 7. State its total float.
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What does the scope of a project mean?
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What is the project sponsor responsible for?
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Why does dividing effort by the number of people often understate the duration?
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How is a summary bar used on a Gantt chart?
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How should a milestone be worded, and why?
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Describe the activity-on-node form of a network diagram.
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What is fast-tracking, and what does it cost?
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Define free float.
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What is the difference between monitoring a project and controlling it?
Take Managing Projects further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Risk vs Issue
Risk: something that might happen and is handled by planning ahead. Issue: something that has already happened and has to be dealt with now.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is a project?
Model answer
A project is a piece of work with a defined objective, a start and an agreed end, producing something that has not been produced in that form before, and staffed by a team brought together for the purpose.
- 2
How does a project differ from the routine operations of a business?
Model answer
Routine operations repeat the same work indefinitely with a standing team, while a project is temporary and produces a unique result, so it needs its own plan, budget and closure rather than a permanent procedure.
- 3
State the purpose of project management in one sentence.
Model answer
The purpose of project management is to deliver the agreed result to the agreed quality within the agreed time and cost, by planning the work, organising the resources and controlling progress against the plan.
- 4
Name the three competing constraints that a project manager balances.
Model answer
A project manager balances time, cost and scope, with the quality of the result depending on all three.
- 5
A customer demands the same scope four weeks earlier. Explain what must give.
Model answer
Pulling the date in by four weeks without reducing scope means either paying for more staff or overtime, which raises the cost, or cutting corners on testing and review, which lowers quality; the scope, the cost and the quality cannot all be held.
- 6
Give three criteria by which the success of a completed project is judged.
Model answer
A completed project is judged on whether it delivered what was agreed, whether it finished within its time and budget, and whether the result is actually used and produces the benefits claimed in the business case.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Managing Projects revision questions
- What does Managing Projects cover in CCEA A-Level Software Systems Development?
- 12 subtopics: the purpose of project management, project management concepts and the project life cycle, roles and responsibilities in project management, resources needed to develop a project, estimating effort, duration and cost, gantt charts and the schedule, milestones and checkpoints, network diagrams and pert, finding the critical path, float and how it is used, monitoring and controlling progress and managing risk and change. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Managing Projects organised?
- By the CCEA CL4 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Managing Projects, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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