MSS Module 1 Important Topics
Table of contents
*Software process models*
1. Waterfall Model
Stages of Waterfall Model
Requirements analysis and definition
System and software design
Implementation and unit testing
Integration and system testing
Operation and maintenance
Trick to remember waterfall model
Advantages of Waterfall Model
Disadvantages of Waterfall Model
2. Incremental Development Model
Advantages
Disadvantages
*Software specification*
Requirements elicitation and analysis
Requirements specification
Requirements validation
Trick to Remember
*Software validation*
Stages in testing process
*Alpha testing and beta testing
*Software evolution*
*Coping with change*
*Boehm's Spiral Model*
*Agile software development*
Principles of Agile Software development
Extreme Programming
Software process models
1. Waterfall Model
This takes the fundamental process activities of
specification
development
validation
evolution
and represents them as separate process phases such as
requirements specification
software design,
implementation
testing
Stages of Waterfall Model
Requirements analysis and definition
We figure out what the system should do, what limits it has, and what it aims to achieve by
talking to the people who will use it.
After that, we describe these things in a lot of detail, and that becomes the official plan for
how the system should work.
System and software design
When we design a system, we decide which parts should be done by the physical
equipment (hardware) and which parts should be handled by the computer programs
(software).
We create a basic plan for how the entire system should be organized, called the system
architecture.
For the software part, we figure out the main elements of the computer programs and how
they relate to each other.
Implementation and unit testing
During this stage, the software design is realized as a set of programs or program units.
Unit testing involves verifying that each unit meets its specification
Integration and system testing
The individual program units or programs are integrated and tested as a complete system
to ensure that the software requirements have been met.
After testing, the software system is delivered to the customer
Operation and maintenance
Normally, this is the longest life-cycle phase.
The system is installed and put into practical use. Maintenance involves correcting errors
that were not discovered in earlier stages of the life cycle, improving the implementation of
system units, and enhancing the system’s services as new requirements are discovered.
Trick to remember waterfall model
RSSIO
"Remember, Start Implementing In Order."
Each word in this phrase corresponds to one stage of the waterfall model:
1. "Remember" for Requirements analysis and definition
2. "Start" for System and software design
3. "Implementing" for Implementation and unit testing
4. "In" for Integration and system testing
5. "Order" for Operation and maintenance
Advantages of Waterfall Model
Used in Large software systems
Used in Critical systems where there is a need for extensive safety and security analysis
of the software specification and design.
Embedded systems where the software has to interface with hardware systems.
Disadvantages of Waterfall Model
The waterfall model is not the right process model in situations where informal team
communication is possible and software requirements change quickly.
terative development and agile methods are better for these systems.
2. Incremental Development Model
Incremental development is based on the idea of developing an initial implementation,
getting feedback from users and others, and evolving the software through several
versions until the required system has been developed.
Most common approach for the development of application systems and software products
Each increment or version of the system incorporates some of the functionality that is
needed by the customer
- Generally, the early increments of the system include the most important or most urgently
required functionality
Advantages
The cost of implementing requirements changes is reduced
It is easier to get customer feedback on the development work that has been done.
Early delivery and deployment of useful software to the customer is possible, even if all of
the functionality has not been included.
Disadvantages
If systems are developed quickly, it is not cost effective to produce documents that reflect
every version of the system
System structure tends to degrade as new increments are added.
Regular change leads to messy code as new functionality is added in whatever way
is possible
Software specification
Software specification or requirements engineering is the process of understanding and
defining what services are required from the system.
There are 3 main activities
Requirements elicitation and analysis
This is the process of deriving the system requirements through observation of existing
systems, discussions with potential users and procurers, task analysis, and so on.
Requirements specification
Requirements specification is the activity of translating the information gathered during
requirements analysis into a document that defines a set of requirement
There are 2 types of requirements under this
User requirements
abstract statements of the system requirements for the customer and end-user
of the system
System requirements
more detailed description of the functionality to be provided
Requirements validation
This activity checks the requirements for realism, consistency, and completeness
During this process, errors in the requirements document are inevitably discovered. It must
then be modified to correct these problems
Trick to Remember
E -> Elicitation
S -> Specification
V -> Validation
ESV
"Evaluating Software Visions."
Software validation
Software Validation intended to show that a system both conforms to its specification and
meets the expectations of the system customer.
Program testing, where the system is executed using simulated test data, is the principal
validation technique
Validation may also involve checking processes, such as inspections and reviews, at each
stage of the software process from user requirements definition to program development
Stages in testing process
Component testing
The components making up the system are tested by the people developing the
system.
Each component is tested independently, without other system components.
Components may be simple entities such as functions or object classes
System testing
System components are integrated to create a complete system.
This process is concerned with finding errors that result from unanticipated
interactions between components
Customer testing
This is the final stage in the testing process before the system is accepted for
operational use. The system is tested by the system customer (or potential customer)
rather than with simulated test data
*Alpha testing and beta testing
Software evolution
The flexibility of software is one of the main reasons why more and more software is being
incorporated into large, complex systems.
Once a decision has been made to manufacture hardware, it is very expensive to make
changes to the hardware design.
Changes can be made to software at any time during or after the system development.
Even extensive changes are still much cheaper than corresponding changes to system
hardware
Coping with change
Change is inevitable in all large software projects.
The system requirements change as businesses respond to external pressures,
competition, and changed management priorities. As new technologies become available,
new approaches to design and implementation become possible.
Change adds to the costs of software development because it usually means that work
that has been completed has to be redone, This is called rework
2 ways to reduce costs of rework
Change anticipation
Where the software process includes activities that can anticipate or predict possible
changes before significant rework is required.
Change tolerance
Where the process and software are designed so that changes can be easily made to
the system. This normally involves some form of incremental development
Two ways of coping with change
System prototyping,
- Version of the system or part of the system is developed quickly to check the customer’s
requirements and the feasibility of design decisions.
- allows users to experiment with the system before delivery and so refine their
requirements.
Incremental delivery
system increments are delivered to the customer for comment and experimentation.
This supports both change avoidance and change tolerance
Boehm's Spiral Model
The spiral model is an evolutionary software process model that couples the iterative
nature of prototyping with the controlled and systematic aspects of the waterfall model
Each cycle in spiral is divided into 4 parts
Objective setting
Each cycle in the spiral starts with the identification of purpose for that cycle, the
various alternatives that are possible for achieving the targets, and the
constraints that exists
Risk Assessment and reduction
The next phase in the cycle is to calculate these various alternatives based on
the goals and constraints
Development and validation:
The next phase is to develop strategies that resolve uncertainties and risks.
This process may include activities such as benchmarking, simulation, and
prototyping.
Planning
Finally, the next step is planned
The project is reviewed, and a choice made whether to continue with a further
period of the spiral.
Agile software development
Agile methods are incremental development methods in which the increments are small,
and, typically, new releases of the system are created and made available to customers
every two or three weeks.
They involve customers in the development process to get rapid feedback on changing
requirements.
They minimize documentation by using informal communications rather than formal
meetings with written documents.
Principles of Agile Software development
Customer involvement
Customers should be closely involved throughout the development process. Their
role is provide and prioritize new system requirements and to evaluate the iterations
of the system
Incremental delivery
The software is developed in increments with the customer specifying the
requirements to be included in each increment
People not process
The skills of the development team should be recognized and exploited.
Team members should be left to develop their own ways of working without
prescriptive processes
Embrace change
Expect the system requirements to change and so design the system to
accommodate these changes.
Maintain simplicity
Focus on simplicity in both the software being developed and in the development
process.
Wherever possible, actively work to eliminate complexity from the system
Extreme Programming
A very influential agile method, developed in the late 1990s, that introduced a range of
agile development techniques
Extreme Programming (XP) takes an ‘extreme’ approach to iterative development.
New versions may be built several times per day
Increments are delivered to customers every 2 weeks;
All tests must be run for every build and the build is only accepted if tests run
successfully