INFO-I 494 Midterm

What team size is optimal for teams working on a project requiring simple communication? Why?

- Different groups have different opinions, but the common consensus is no less than 3 and no more than 10. - Jeff Bezos has a two-pizza rule: how many people you can feed with two pizzas - Communication overhead get unwieldy ( # of communication links = n(n-1)/2 - Navy seals use 4 - Many teamwork experts say it is around 5

What tools can you use to elicit requirements?

- Interviews - Observation - Study the "As is" situation - Surveys - Research - Prototype - Brainstorming

In Scrum, what does velocity measure? How is it used?

- Velocity is a measure of the amount of work a Team can tackle during a single Sprint and is the key metric in Scrum. - Velocity is calculated at the end of the Sprint by totaling the Points for all fully completed User Stories.

What is the critical path?

The critical path is the longest path of planned activities. This path can be used to tell what activities are critical to finish on time and what activities have a little extra time if needed.

You are managing a website development project. In the middle of the development phase the client decides to make dramatic changes in the requirements for the site but still want to keep the same delivery date. What is your response?

We will need more resources. The triangle of resources, time, and features always needs to be balanced. If you want to add features and keep the same time. We will need to balance the triangle with more resources. (resources = employees, money) As we stated in class it is inefficient to add team members in the middle of a project.

When is it preferable to use COTS solutions? What are the risks?

When time is an important factor. expensive (implementing and customizing the application may add additional costs to the overall cost of the project).security risks ex bugs

Name 5 qualities that make a good task.

Descriptive Atomic- (deals with only one goal) Unambiguous Tells assignee what to do upon completion Identification of pre, co and post constraints.

What team size is optimal for teams working on a project requiring simple communication? Why?

Different groups have different opinions, but the common consensus is no less than 3 and no more than 10. Jeff Bezos has a two-pizza rule: how many people you can feed with two pizzas Communication overhead get unwieldy ( # of communication links = n(n-1)/2 Navy seals use 4 Many teamwork experts say it is around 5

What qualities should requirements have? Explain each quality.

A specification of what should be implemented. They are descriptions of how the system should behave, or of a system property or attribute. They may be a constraint on the development process of the system.

Explain the reasons why the ideal team size for most large-scale IT projects is 3-5 members.

Because organizing a team with fewer people is better. Relational loss You can fit tasks to capabilities and motivation of team available Simplify/enable communication amongst the team, Help people maximize their potential while minimizing risk, Minimize chances of scheduling issues Client and can remove people that don't fit.

What components are typically present in each SDLC?

Concept, requirements, design, construct, test, and deploy

Why do we generally want quantitative requirements instead of qualitative?

Deals with numbers. Data which can be measured. Length, height, area, volume, weight, speed, time, temperature, humidity, sound levels, cost, members, ages, etc. Quantitative → Quantity

What are the potential consequences of developing a poor set of requirements?

Generating a solution that will have to be thrown out because it does not satisfy the requirement------ NOT SURE You also run the risk of ambiguity and misinterpretation in certain features within the project. You don't know when you've satisfied a results and completed the requirement.

What are the characteristics of a good task? How does task management positively impact group work?

Good Task: Description of what is to be done An estimate of how long it will take to complete An identified responsible party to complete Pre-constraints Co-constraints Post-constraints TASK INTERDEPENDENCIES Earliest Start: ES Latest Start: LS Earliest Finish: EF Latest Finish: LF Effort: E Working forward creates the earliest schedule Uses ES and EF Working backward creates the latest schedule Uses LS, LF

What is the best way to motivate a team member who seeks approval from others and fears penalties?

High Relation Directedness, low Task Directedness Acknowledge and reward behaviors instantly, be fair and address performance through the social view.

What SDLC would you choose for a typical Capstone project that is creating a web site for a new, unreleased product? Why would you choose this SDLC?

I would chose "new waterfall" because the stages overlap one another allowing for you to revisit/ backstep to previous stage without setting the project back substantially------ NOT SURE The new, or modified, waterfall model breaks the discrete steps of the classic waterfall model, and allows the steps to overlap. By doing so, projects can start development of some portions of the required functionality before the entire project is designed. While this is certainly a benefit, the model does introduce risk that milestone deadlines become ambiguous. Also, there is a large risk of rework if the tasks are not ordered properly.

In what situation(s) is adding a team member to a project that is running late a good idea?

If it is an easy task not much explaining to do (data entry)

What tools can you use to elicit requirements?

Interviews Observation Study the "As is" situation Surveys Research Prototype Brainstorming

Explain why choosing a linear SDLC can sometimes be detrimental.

It is a given that it will not be perfect at every stage. Projects require backtracking to previous stages and in a linear model, this is not an option. The project would be released with problems. Also, by the time you release the project it could be using outdated technologies, due to the fact that the planning phases were completed so long ago.

A project's deadline is rapidly approaching. There is limited time to meet and discuss alternate plans. What management style should you use to ensure you meet that deadline?

Low relation directedness, high task directedness

How would you as a project manager deal with an underperforming team member?

Motivation should come from two factors, a) the project timeline and b) how that particular team member is motivated.

You are halfway through the development phase of a waterfall SDLC and you are behind schedule and falling more behind each week. Should you ask your manager for more personnel?

No. Adding more resources to an already late project has proven to make the project fall even more behind rather than help. There's a specific rule about this - will look for it since it's mentioned in a much later lecture - Brook's Law Brook's law is a claim about software project management according to which "adding manpower to a late software project makes it later"

Non Functional Requirements

Non Functional Requirements: Availability: Are their constraints on the system's availability or uptime? Efficiency: Are there resources the system needs to be careful about monopolizing? Flexibility: Will the system need to be altered after deployment? Portability: How easy it is to move to another platform? Integrity: How sensitive is the project to data security, access, and privacy? Robustness: Do error conditions need to be handled gracefully? Scalability: Will the system need to handle a wide range of configuration sizes? Usability: Are there specific constraints on how the users will understand, learn and use the software?

What is the most important phase of any SDLC?

Planning Requirements

What are the roles on a Scrum team? What does each of the roles contribute to the project?

Product Owner: - Define the features of the product - Decide on release date and content - Be responsible for the profitability of the product (ROI) - Prioritize features according to market value - Adjust features and priority every iteration, as needed - Accept or reject work results The Scrummaster: - Represents management to the project - Responsible for enacting Scrum values and practices - Removes impediments - Ensure that the team is fully functional and productive - Enable close cooperation across all roles and functions - Shield the team from external interferences

What is the most important phase of any SDLC? Why?

Requirement gathering is the most important stage. If the requirements are not clearly identified then the effect of it cascades to all the later stages. This can cost a lot in terms of money as well as resource since most of the work will be redone.

Functional Requirements

Specifies the software functionality that must be built •"The system must..." Often grouped around features

What's the difference between a task and a requirement?

Task Description of what is to be done An estimate of how long it will take to complete An identified responsible party to complete Pre-constraints Co-constraints Post-constraints Requirements are non-atomic collections of tasks. What we need to do to solve the problem

What SDLC would you implement when working on a project where the technology used is new and subject to frequent changes? Why?

The spiral SDLC. This one includes the classic waterfall, but starts the flow before the waterfall with objectives, risk mgmt, and evaluation of alternatives. After the basic waterfall, there's a step for planning the next iteration and then committing it. If need be, the process can jump from commit backup to risk mgmt. This is a step that would be crucial for adding any new features after the first version.

In what situations are each of the 4 management styles effective?

a Hierarchical team is best for a large project that has a high degree of certainty, stability, and repetition. Chief programmer team is good for when one person is an expert analyst and architect as well as a strong leader who makes the important decisions. Other members have their own specialized roles (Asst Chief programmer, librarian(administration/documentation) Matrix organization is good for when you have people from different departments working on software development (possibly part-time). The people can be organized by their specialty. Democratic or open structured teams are good for an egoless group who wants the group as a whole to own the project and everyone is

What qualities should requirements have? Explain each quality.

a specification of what should be implemented. They are descriptions of how the system should behave, or of a system property or attribute. They may be a constraint on the development process of the system