SOFTWARE ENGINEERING QUESTIONS

[Link] is computer software?

A. Computer software is a complete package, which includes software program, its documentation and user guide
on how to use the software.

[Link] you differentiate computer software and computer program?

A. A computer program is piece of programming code which performs a well defined task where as software
includes programming code, its documentation and user guide.

[Link] is software engineering?

A. Software engineering is an engineering branch associated with software system development.

[Link] you know programming, what is the need to learn software engineering concepts?

A. A person who knows how to build a wall may not be good at building an entire house. Likewise, a person
who can write programs may not have knowledge of other concepts of Software Engineering. The software
engineering concepts guide programmers on how to assess requirements of end user, design the algorithms
before actual coding starts, create programs by coding, testing the code and its documentation.

[Link] is software process or Software Development Life Cycle SDLC?

[Link] Development Life Cycle, or software process is the systematic development of software by
following every stage in the development process namely, Requirement Gathering, System Analysis, Design,
Coding, Testing, Maintenance and Documentation in that order.

[Link] are SDLC models available?

A. There are several SDLC models available such as Waterfall Model, Iterative Model, Spiral model, V-
model and Big-bang Model etc.

[Link] are various phases of SDLC?

A. The generic phases of SDLC are: Requirement Gathering, System Analysis and Design, Coding, Testing
and implementation. The phases depend upon the model we choose to develop software.

[Link] SDLC model is the best?

A. SDLC Models are adopted as per requirements of development process. It may very software- to-software
to ensuring which model is suitable.

We can select the best SDLC model if following answers are satisfied -

Is SDLC suitable for selected technology to implement the software ? Is SDLC

appropriate for client’s requirements and priorities ?
Is SDLC model suitable for size and complexity of the software ?
Is the SDLC model suitable for type of projects and engineering we do ?
Is the SDLC appropriate for the geographically co-located or dispersed developers ?
[Link] is software project management?

A. Software project management is process of managing all activities like time, cost and quality management
involved in software development.

[Link] is software project manager?

A. A software project manager is a person who undertakes the responsibility of carrying out the software project.

[Link] does software project manager do?

A. Software project manager is engaged with software management activities. He is responsible for project
planning, monitoring the progress, communication among stakeholders, managing risks and resources,
smooth execution of development and delivering the project within time, cost and quality contraints.

[Link] is software scope?

A. Software scope is a well-defined boundary, which encompasses all the activities that are done to develop
and deliver the software product.

The software scope clearly defines all functionalities and artifacts to be delivered as a part of the software. The
scope identifies what the product will do and what it will not do, what the end product will contain and what it will
not contain.

[Link] is project estimation?

A. It is a process to estimate various aspects of software product in order to calculate the cost of development in
terms of efforts, time and resources. This estimation can be derived from past experience, by consulting experts or
by using pre-defined formulas.

[Link] can we derive the size of software product?

A. Size of software product can be calculated using either of two methods - Counting

the lines of delivered code

Counting delivered function points

[Link] are function points?

A. Function points are the various features provided by the software product. It is considered as a unit of
measurement for software size.

[Link] are software project estimation techniques available?

A. There are many estimation techniques [Link] most widely used are - Decomposition technique

CountingLinesofCodeandFunctionPoints
Empirical technique PutnamandCOCOMO.

[Link] is baseline?

A. Baseline is a measurement that defines completeness of a phase. After all activities associated with a
particular phase are accomplished, the phase is complete and acts as a baseline for next phase.

[Link] is Software configuration management?

A. Software Configuration management is a process of tracking and controlling the changes in software in
terms of the requirements, design, functions and development of the product.

[Link] is change control?

A. Change control is function of configuration management, which ensures that all changes made to software
system are consistent and made as per organizational rules and regulations.
[Link] can you measure project execution?

A. We can measure project execution by means of Activity Monitoring, Status Reports and Milestone
Checklists.

[Link] some project management tools.

A. There are various project management tools used as per the requirements of software project and
organization policies. They include Gantt Chart, PERT Chart, Resource Histogram, Critical Path Analysis,
Status Reports, Milestone Checklists etc.

[Link] are software requirements?

A. Software requirements are functional description of proposed software system. Requirements are assumed
to be the description of target system, its functionalities and features. Requirements convey the expectations of
users from the system.

[Link] is feasibility study?

A. It is a measure to assess how practical and beneficial the software project development will be for an
organization. The software analyzer conducts a thorough study to understand economic, technical and
operational feasibility of the project.

Economic - Resource transportation, cost for training, cost of additional utilities and tools and overall
estimation of costs and benefits of the project.

Technical - Is it possible to develop this system ? Assessing suitability of machines and operating
systems on which software will execute, existing developers’ knowledge and skills, training, utilities or
tools for project.

Operational - Can the organization adjust smoothly to the changes done as per the demandof project ? Is
the problem worth solving ?

[Link] can you gather requirements?

A. Requirements can be gathered from users via interviews, surveys, task analysis, brainstorming, domain analysis,
prototyping, studying existing usable version of software, and by observation.

[Link] is SRS?

A. SRS or Software Requirement Specification is a document produced at the time of requirement gathering
process. It can be also seen as a process of refining requirements and documenting them.

[Link] are functional requirements?

A. Functional requirements are functional features and specifications expected by users from the proposed
software product.

[Link] are non-functional requirements?

A. Non-functional requirements are implicit and are related to security, performance, look and feel of user
interface, interoperability, cost etc.

[Link] is software measure?

A. Software Measures can be understood as a process of quantifying and symbolizing various attributes and
aspects of software.

[Link] is software metric?

A. Software Metrics provide measures for various aspects of software process and software product. They are
divided into –

Requirement metrics : Length requirements, completeness

Product metrics :Lines of Code, Object oriented metrics, design and test metrics Process metrics:
Evaluate and track budget, schedule, human resource.
[Link] is modularization?

A. Modularization is a technique to divide a software system into multiple discreet modules, which are expected to
carry out tasks independently.

[Link] is concurrency and how it is achieved in software?

A. Concurrency is the tendency of events or actions to happen simultaneously. In software, when two or more
processes execute simultaneously, they are called concurrent processes.

Example
While you initiate print command and printing starts, you can open a new application.

Concurrency, is implemented by splitting the software into multiple independent units of execution namely
processes and threads, and executing them in parallel.

[Link] is cohesion?

A. Cohesion is a measure that defines the degree of intra-dependability among the elements of the module.

[Link] is coupling?

A. Coupling is a measure that defines the level of inter-dependability among modules of aprogram.

[Link] some software analysis & design tools?

A. These can be: DFDs DataFlowDiagrams, Structured Charts, Structured English, Data Dictionary, HIPO
HierarchicalInputProcessOutput diagrams, ER EntityRelationship Diagrams and Decision tables.

[Link] is level-0 DFD?

A. Highest abstraction level DFD is known as Level 0 DFD also called a context level DFD, which depicts the
entire information system as one diagram concealing all the underlying details.

[Link] is the difference between structured English and Pseudo Code?

A. Structured English is native English language used to write the structure of a program module by using
programming language keywords, whereas, Pseudo Code is more close to programming language and uses
native English language words or sentences to write parts of code.

[Link] is data dictionary?

A. Data dictionary is referred to as meta-data. Meaning, it is a repository of data about data. Data dictionary is
used to organize the names and their references used in system such as objects and files along with their naming
conventions.

[Link] is structured design?

A. Structured design is a conceptualization of problem into several well-organized elements of solution. It is

concern with the solution design and based on ‘divide and conquer’ strategy.

[Link] is the difference between function oriented and object oriented design?

A. Function-oriented design is comprised of many smaller sub-systems known as functions. Each function is
capable of performing significant task in the system. Object oriented design works around the real world
objects entities, their classes categories and methods operating on objects functions.

[Link] define top-down and bottom-up design model.

A. Top-down model starts with generalized view of system and decomposes it to more specific ones, whereas
bottom-up model starts with most specific and basic components first and keepscomposing the components to
get higher level of abstraction.
[Link] is the basis of Halstead’s complexity measure?

A. Halstead’s complexity measure depends up on the actual implementation of the program and it considers
tokens used in the program as basis of measure.

[Link] the formula to calculate Cyclomatic complexity of a program?

A. Cyclomatic complexity uses graph theory’s formula: VG = e – n + 2

[Link] is functional programming?

A. Functional programming is style of programming language, which uses the concepts of mathematical
function. It provides means of computation as mathematical functions, which produces results irrespective of
program state.

[Link] validation and verification?

A. Validation checks if the product is made as per user requirements whereas verification checks if proper steps
are followed to develop the product.

Validation confirms the right product and verification confirms if the product is built in a right way.

[Link] is black-box and white-box testing?

A. Black-box testing checks if the desired outputs are produced when valid input values are given. It does not
verify the actual implementation of the program.

White-box testing not only checks for desired and valid output when valid input is provided but also it checks if
the code is implemented correctly.

Criteria Black Box Testing White Box Testing

Knowledge of software program, design and structure No Yes

essential

Knowledge of Software Implementation essential No Yes

Who conducts this test on software Software Testing Software Developer

Employee

baseline reference for tester Requirements Design and structure

specifications details

[Link] assurance vs. Quality Control?

A. Quality Assurance monitors to check if proper process is followed while software developing thesoftware.

Quality Control deals with maintaining the quality of software product.

[Link] are various types of software maintenance?

A. Maintenance types are: corrective, adaptive, perfective and preventive.

Corrective

Removing errors spotted by users

Adaptive

tackling the changes in the hardware and software environment where the software works

Perfective maintenance
 implementing changes in existing or new requirements of user

Preventive maintenance

taking appropriate measures to avoid future problems

[Link] is software re-engineering?

A. Software re-engineering is process to upgrade the technology on which the software is built without changing
the functionality of the software. This is done in order to keep the software tuned with the latest technology.

[Link] are CASE tools?

A. CASE stands for Computer Aided Software Engineering. CASE tools are set of automated software
application programs, which are used to support, accelerate and smoothen the SDLCactivities.

[Link] is Next?
Further, you can go through your past assignments you have done with the subject and make sure you are able to
speak confidently on them. If you are fresher then interviewer does not expect you will answer very complex
questions, rather you have to make your basics concepts very strong.

Second it really doesn't matter much if you could not answer few questions but it matters that whatever you
answered, you must have answered with confidence. So just feel confident during your interview. We at
tutorialspoint wish you best luck to have a good interviewer and all the very best for your future endeavor.
Cheers :-)