JNTU
JNTU MCA 2020 SOFTWARE PROCESS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT Previous Question Paper (October/ November - 2020 - R17)
Answer any five questions. All questions carry equal marks.
Main
What are the characteristics of repeatable process? Discuss the key actions required to advance from repeatable process to defined process.
Answer
In the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), the Repeatable Process (Level 2) represents a stage where basic project management processes are established to track cost, schedule, and functionality. Its primary characteristics include:
- Disciplined Management: Projects are planned and managed according to documented procedures, ensuring that successes can be repeated on similar projects.
- Commitment and Accountability: Realistic project commitments are based on the results observed on previous projects, and management actively tracks progress against these plans.
- Requirement Management: Software requirements are established and maintained, and changes to requirements are controlled to prevent scope creep.
- Subcontractor Management: There is a formal process for selecting and managing third-party software subcontractors.
- Quality Assurance: Software quality assurance activities are performed to ensure that the process is followed and that the resulting products meet standards.
To advance from the Repeatable Process (Level 2) to the Defined Process (Level 3), an organization must transition from project-specific management to an organization-wide standard process. The key actions required are:
- Establishment of a Standard Process: The organization must define, document, and integrate a standard software process that covers all software engineering and management activities. This serves as the baseline for all projects.
- Tailoring Guidelines: Develop formal procedures that allow individual projects to tailor the organizational standard process to meet their specific needs while maintaining compliance with the core framework.
- Organizational Training: Implement a comprehensive training program to ensure that all staff members possess the skills and knowledge required to execute the defined standard process effectively.
- Process Focus: Create a dedicated group, such as a Software Engineering Process Group (SEPG), responsible for the organization's software process activities, including process definition and improvement.
- Integrated Engineering: Integrate software engineering activities (such as design, coding, and testing) with project management activities, ensuring that technical and management processes work in harmony across the entire organization.
Discuss the critical problems in software cost estimation.
Answer
Software cost estimation is inherently difficult due to the intangible nature of software and the high degree of uncertainty in project requirements. The critical problems include:
- Requirement Volatility: Software requirements often change during development, making it difficult to establish a stable baseline for estimation.
- Lack of Historical Data: Many organizations fail to maintain accurate records of past projects, leading to estimations based on guesswork rather than empirical evidence.
- Human Factors: Productivity varies significantly among developers based on skill, experience, and motivation, which is difficult to quantify.
- Technological Complexity: The rapid evolution of tools, frameworks, and programming languages introduces unpredictable learning curves and integration challenges.
- Optimism Bias: Project managers often underestimate the time required for testing, debugging, and documentation, leading to overly optimistic schedules.
- Communication Overhead: As team size increases, the complexity of communication grows exponentially, which is frequently overlooked in initial estimates.
List the attributes of a good estimate of software cost.
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What is the need of checkpoints of the process? Illustrate a typical sequence of project checkpoints of a relatively large project.
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Show the focus of software assessment team activities over the project life cycle.
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Debate between source lines of code and function points.
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Describe the role of inspections and walkthroughs in software management.
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List the basic principles of software process assessment.
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Discuss the common misconception about software process.
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Explain artifact evolution over the software development life cycle.
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Give the information structure provided by work break down structure. Discuss the fundamental flaws in conventional work break down structures.
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