Design, Development and Testing

What Design, Development and Testing covers

Design, Development and Testing is examined in Unit AS 1, Approaches to Systems Development. It covers the purpose of systems design, storyboarding the user interface, prototyping the interface and the data model, the development stage: turning a design into working code, why testing runs throughout development, levels of testing: unit and integration, system testing, acceptance testing, alpha and beta testing, the purpose and components of a test plan and types of test data.

The 11 subtopics

Each one has its own page. CCEA AS Digital Technology students sit this topic in the first year.

• The purpose of systems designPurpose of the design stage of systems development, four things a full system design specifies and modular design.Open →
• Storyboarding the user interfaceStoryboard in interface design, drawn in a single storyboard frame and low-fidelity storyboard.Open →
• Prototyping the interface and the data modelPrototype in systems development, throwaway prototyping and evolutionary prototyping.Open →
• The development stage: turning a design into working codeDone during the development stage of a project, purpose of commenting code during development and code walkthrough.Open →
• Why testing runs throughout developmentSystem quality, four qualities by which a finished system is judged and quality assurance.Open →
• Levels of testing: unit and integrationUnit testing, test harness and stub in testing.Open →
• System testingSystem testing, performance testing and volume testing.Open →
• Acceptance testingAcceptance testing and acceptance criteria.Open →
• Alpha and beta testingAlpha testing, beta testing and closed beta and an open beta.Open →
• The purpose and components of a test planTest plan, expected result of a test and test log.Open →
• Types of test dataThree main types of test data, normal test data and extreme test data.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Design, Development and Testing further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Storyboard vs Prototype

  Storyboard: a drawn sequence of screens showing layout and links. Prototype: a working model the user can actually operate.

• Normal data vs Extreme data

  Normal data: a typical value well inside the permitted range. Extreme data: it sits exactly at the limit of what is allowed.

• Regression testing vs Usability testing

  Regression testing: re-running earlier tests to prove a change has broken nothing. Usability testing: watching real people attempt real tasks to see where they struggle.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is the purpose of the design stage of systems development?

   Model answer

   Design turns the agreed requirements into a detailed plan of how the system will work, covering its inputs, processes, stored data, outputs and interface, so that programmers can build it without having to invent the structure themselves.

2. 2

   Name four things a full system design specifies.

   Model answer

   A full design specifies the layout of every input screen and printed output, the structure of the stored data, the processing each module performs, and the way the modules link together.

3. 3

   What is modular design?

   Model answer

   Modular design splits a system into separate self-contained units, each performing one defined job and communicating with the others through agreed inputs and outputs.

4. 4

   Give two advantages of designing a system in modules.

   Model answer

   Modules can be written and tested by different programmers at the same time, and a fault or a change is confined to one module instead of affecting the whole program.

5. 5

   What does a structure chart show?

   Model answer

   A structure chart shows the modules of a system arranged in levels, with each module drawn beneath the module that calls it, so the hierarchy of the program can be read at a glance.

6. 6

   What is pseudocode used for at the design stage?

   Model answer

   Pseudocode sets out the steps of a process in structured English, so the logic can be checked and agreed before anyone writes it in a programming language.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Design, Development and Testing revision questions

Is Design, Development and Testing examined at AS in CCEA Digital Technology?

Yes. It sits in AS Unit 1, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.

What does Design, Development and Testing cover in CCEA AS-Level Digital Technology?

11 subtopics: the purpose of systems design, storyboarding the user interface, prototyping the interface and the data model, the development stage: turning a design into working code, why testing runs throughout development, levels of testing: unit and integration, system testing, acceptance testing, alpha and beta testing, the purpose and components of a test plan and types of test data. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Design, Development and Testing organised?

By the CCEA 2650 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.