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
Testing Strategies
- 12 subtopics
- 36 things to know
- A2 Unit 1
What Testing Strategies covers
Testing Strategies is examined in Unit A2 1, Systems Approaches and Database Concepts — a written examination on a pre-release case study. It covers why testing matters throughout the development cycle, testing at the design stage, program and unit testing, integration testing, system testing, white box testing, black box testing, normal, boundary and erroneous test data, user acceptance, alpha and beta testing, the personnel involved in testing, what a test plan contains and building a test plan for a scenario.
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.
- Why testing matters throughout the development cyclePurpose of testing, defect being injected at one stage and detected at another and difference between testing and debugging.Open →
- Testing at the design stageStatic testing, structured walkthrough and formal inspection.Open →
- Program and unit testingProgram testing, one weakness of the developer testing their own module and driver in unit testing.Open →
- Integration testingIntegration testing, one advantage and one disadvantage of the top-down approach and one advantage and one disadvantage of the bottom-up approach.Open →
- System testingSystem testing, performance testing and usability testing.Open →
- White box testingWhite box testing, statement coverage and branch coverage.Open →
- Black box testingBlack box testing, equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis.Open →
- Normal, boundary and erroneous test dataThree categories of test data, normal test data and boundary test data.Open →
- User acceptance, alpha and beta testingUser acceptance testing, acceptance criteria and contractual significance of acceptance.Open →
- The personnel involved in testingValue of independent testers, role of quality assurance in testing procedures and role of the system operator or support staff in testing.Open →
- What a test plan containsPurpose of a test plan on a development project, six things a test plan records and entry criteria for a stage of testing.Open →
- Building a test plan for a scenarioWorking from the requirements to a numbered list of tests, choosing normal, boundary and erroneous data for each, stating the expected result in advance, and leaving room for the actual result.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
How does the V-model relate testing activities to development activities?
Process
What is meant by a defect being injected at one stage and detected at another?
Key term
What is desk checking?
Key term
What is requirements traceability, and what does it protect against?
Key term
What is a unit test suite, and what is the benefit of automating it?
Key term
Name three kinds of fault that only integration testing can find.
Key term
Why is system testing carried out in an environment that copies the live one?
Key term
What is usability testing, and how is it measured?
Process
Why is the installation procedure itself tested?
Key term
What is black box testing?
Key term
What is a decision table used for in test design?
Key term
Why should acceptance testing not be the first time users see the system?
Key term
State two risks of running a beta programme.
Key term
What should happen to faults found during acceptance that the customer agrees not to fix before go-live?
Process
Which personnel are typically involved in testing procedures on a large project?
Key term
What does a test manager do?
Key term
Why is a user a poor choice for white box testing?
Key term
Name six things a test plan records.
Key term
What are exit criteria, and give an example?
Key term
Why does a test plan schedule time for retesting?
Key term
A login screen locks an account after three failed attempts. Give three tests, with the expected result of each.
Key term
A booking system must refuse a date in the past. State the three date tests to plan and why the middle one matters.
Key term
A system must not allow a member to borrow more than five items. Describe the tests for that rule.
Key term
Why is white box testing also called structural testing?
Key term
Name the three categories of test data.
Key term
What is program testing?
Key term
Why do modules that each pass their own tests still fail when combined?
Key term
What is statement coverage?
Key term
What is erroneous test data, and what is being tested by it?
Key term
What does it mean to test a design?
Key term
Who normally carries out unit testing, and when?
Evaluation
State one advantage and one disadvantage of the top-down approach to integration testing
Key term
What is branch coverage, and why is it a stronger measure than statement coverage?
Key term
A field accepts whole numbers from 1 to 100. Name the equivalence partitions and give one value from each.
Key term
A membership age field accepts 18 to 65 inclusive. Give suitable normal, boundary and erroneous values.
Take Testing Strategies further
The same content, four other ways.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is the purpose of testing?
Model answer
The purpose of testing is to find faults before the users do, by running the software against known inputs and comparing the actual behaviour with the behaviour that was specified.
- 2
Why can testing never prove that software is free of faults?
Model answer
Testing can only show that faults exist, never that none remain, because a test that passes says nothing about the inputs that were not tried.
- 3
Why is exhaustive testing impossible for even a simple program?
Model answer
Exhaustive testing is impossible because the number of possible input combinations and paths grows far faster than the time available; a single field accepting six characters already has millions of possible values.
- 4
If exhaustive testing is impossible, how are test cases chosen?
Model answer
Test cases are chosen by dividing the input into groups that the program should treat alike and testing one value from each group, together with the values on the edges of those groups, so a small number of tests represents a huge number of inputs.
- 5
Distinguish an error, a fault and a failure.
Model answer
An error is the mistake a person makes, the fault is the resulting defect sitting in the code or the document, and the failure is the visible wrong behaviour when that fault is executed.
- 6
Distinguish verification from validation.
Model answer
Verification asks whether the product has been built correctly against its agreed specification, while validation asks whether the product built is the one the user actually needed.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Testing Strategies revision questions
- What does Testing Strategies cover in CCEA A-Level Software Systems Development?
- 12 subtopics: why testing matters throughout the development cycle, testing at the design stage, program and unit testing, integration testing, system testing, white box testing, black box testing, normal, boundary and erroneous test data, user acceptance, alpha and beta testing, the personnel involved in testing, what a test plan contains and building a test plan for a scenario. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Testing Strategies organised?
- By the CCEA CL4 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Testing Strategies, 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.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.