Software Evolution - Exercises

Self-contained scenario questions on technology obsolescence, impact analysis, sociotechnical risk, reengineering strategy, support software risk, metrics programs, and professional responsibility

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QUESTION OF

Views #: 6

Questions #: 9

Time: 10 minutes

Pass Score: 80.0%

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Technology Advances Forcing Subsystem Change

1 pts

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A company relies on a payment processing subsystem that uses an encryption protocol that has since been deprecated industry-wide due to discovered vulnerabilities. Why does this kind of technology advance force the subsystem to change or risk becoming useless?

If the subsystem keeps using the deprecated protocol, it may become insecure, unsupported by partner systems, or unable to pass compliance checks, eventually making it unusable

Deprecated protocols always continue to work exactly as well as new ones indefinitely

The subsystem will automatically and silently update itself to the new protocol with no developer effort

Technology advances never actually affect software subsystems once they are deployed

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Activities Involved in Change Impact Analysis

1 pts

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A change request arrives proposing that a system add support for a new payment method. Which of the following activities would typically be part of the change impact analysis subprocess before this change is approved? Select all that apply.

Identifying which existing components and interfaces would need to be modified

Assessing whether the change affects other systems that interact with this one

Determining whether the change conflicts with existing requirements or constraints

Permanently deleting the original change request once read

Estimating the cost and effort required to implement the change

Immediately deploying the change to production without further review

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Legacy Systems as Sociotechnical Systems

1 pts

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An organization wants to replace an old inventory system, believing it only needs to replicate the existing source code's logic in a modern language. Why might this narrow view cause the replacement project to fail?

Because modern programming languages cannot process inventory data of any kind

Because the legacy system is a sociotechnical system that also includes business processes, policies, embedded business rules, and organizational practices, not just code

Because sociotechnical systems are not affected by organizational policy at all

Because source code is always impossible to read in any legacy system

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Reengineering a Low-Quality High-Value Subsystem with Minimal Disruption

1 pts

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A subsystem has been classified as 'low quality, high business value' - it is critical to daily operations but is expensive and risky to change. Which of the following approaches would help reengineer such a subsystem while minimizing impact on ongoing operations? Select all that apply.

Shut down the subsystem entirely for several months with no replacement while reengineering is completed

Reengineer incrementally, validating each change against the running system before proceeding to the next

Maintain parallel operation of the old and new components during a transition period to catch discrepancies

Delete all historical data immediately to simplify the reengineering effort

Wrap the subsystem with adaptor services that expose better-structured interfaces without changing its internals immediately

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Strategic Options and Replacement Triggers

1 pts

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True or False: One of the recognized strategic options for legacy system management is to replace all or part of a system, and this option is typically appropriate when off-the-shelf software would let the new system be developed at reasonable cost, or when factors like new hardware mean the old system can no longer continue operating.

True

False

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Support Software Problems Forcing System Replacement

1 pts

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A company's legacy system depends on a database engine whose vendor has gone out of business, leaving no security patches or technical support available. How might this support software problem force the organization to replace its legacy system?

Vendor closures have no effect on systems that are already deployed and running

The database engine will continue to receive updates automatically regardless of vendor status

Without a supported database engine, the organization faces growing security risk and an inability to fix critical defects, eventually making continued operation untenable

Support software problems can always be solved instantly with no cost or risk

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Setting Up a Maintainability Metrics Program

1 pts

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A project manager at a software company wants to set up a program to analyze the maintenance process and determine appropriate maintainability metrics. Which of the following would be reasonable first steps? Select all that apply.

Collect data on the number of change requests, time for impact analysis, and time to implement changes across existing systems

Survey developers about which parts of the system they find hardest to understand or change

Establish a baseline of current maintenance costs before introducing any new metrics

Identify which system components are most frequently the target of change requests

Immediately discard all historical maintenance records without analysis

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Distinguishing the Three Types of Maintenance

1 pts

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A development team fixes a bug that was only discovered because a user used the system in an unanticipated way, and the fix also involves accommodating that new way of working. Which two types of maintenance does this scenario illustrate are difficult to fully separate?

There is no overlap; this is purely fault repair with no other maintenance type involved

Environmental adaptation and fault repair

Fault repair and functionality addition

Functionality addition and environmental adaptation

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Professional Responsibility for Maintainable Code

1 pts

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A software engineer is under deadline pressure and considers taking shortcuts that would make the code harder to maintain in the future, even though the employer has not explicitly requested high maintainability. Which of the following are reasonable professional considerations in this situation? Select all that apply.

Since maintainability was not explicitly requested, there is no professional reason to ever consider it

Balancing deadline pressure with long-term code quality is a legitimate professional engineering concern

Professional engineering judgment generally favors writing code that can be reasonably maintained, even without an explicit request

Maintainability only matters if the original developer will personally do all future maintenance

Poorly maintainable code can impose significant future costs on the business and on the engineers who inherit it

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Undergraduate Professional

Technology Advances Forcing Subsystem Change

Correct Answer

Explanation

Activities Involved in Change Impact Analysis

Correct Answer

Explanation

Legacy Systems as Sociotechnical Systems

Correct Answer

Explanation

Reengineering a Low-Quality High-Value Subsystem with Minimal Disruption

Correct Answer

Explanation

Strategic Options and Replacement Triggers

Correct Answer

Explanation

Support Software Problems Forcing System Replacement

Correct Answer

Explanation

Setting Up a Maintainability Metrics Program

Correct Answer

Explanation

Distinguishing the Three Types of Maintenance

Correct Answer

Explanation

Professional Responsibility for Maintainable Code

Correct Answer

Explanation

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