FC0-U71 Software Development Concepts — 30 Questions

Question 1

A software development team follows a methodology where work is divided into fixed sequential phases: requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Changes to requirements are difficult once a phase is completed. Which development methodology is being used?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Waterfall. The Waterfall model is a linear sequential software development methodology where each phase (requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment, maintenance) must be completed before the next begins. This rigidity makes it difficult to accommodate changes to requirements once a phase is finished, exactly as described in the question.

Answer

Spiral

Answer

Scrum

Answer

Agile

Question 2

A product manager creates a list of user stories for a new feature. The development team estimates effort for each story and selects a set to complete in a two-week iteration. Daily standup meetings are held to discuss progress. At the end of the iteration, the team demonstrates working software to stakeholders. Which development framework is being used?

Accepted Answer

Scrum. Scrum is an agile framework that uses fixed-length sprints (iterations), user stories, daily standups, and sprint reviews.

Answer

Waterfall

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V-Model

Answer

Kanban

Question 3

A developer writes a set of instructions to sort an array of numbers in ascending order. The instructions include steps like 'compare first two numbers, swap if out of order, move to next pair, repeat until no swaps are needed.' This step-by-step procedure is known as a(n):

Accepted Answer

Algorithm. An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure to solve a problem. The description matches the bubble sort algorithm.

Answer

Pseudocode

Answer

Flowchart

Answer

Data structure

Question 4

A developer needs to represent the logic of a program that decides whether a user is eligible for a discount. The process includes conditions (e.g., 'is member?') and actions (e.g., 'apply 10% discount'). Which tool would best visually represent this logic using standardized symbols like diamonds for decisions and rectangles for processes?

Accepted Answer

Flowchart. Flowcharts use decision diamonds and process rectangles to visually represent logic.

Answer

Pseudocode

Answer

Data flow diagram

Answer

UML class diagram

Question 5

A developer needs to store a collection of student names and their corresponding grades. The data should be accessed quickly by student name. Which data structure is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Dictionary. A dictionary (also known as a hash map or associative array) stores key-value pairs, allowing O(1) average-time lookups by key. Since the developer needs to access grades quickly by student name, the dictionary's hashing mechanism directly maps each name to its corresponding grade, making it the most appropriate choice.

Answer

Array

Answer

Queue

Answer

Stack

Question 6

A software tester writes tests to verify that individual functions in a module return correct results when given specific inputs. These tests are isolated from other parts of the system. Which type of testing is being performed?

Accepted Answer

Unit testing. Unit testing is the correct answer because it involves testing individual functions or methods in isolation to verify they return correct outputs for specific inputs. This aligns directly with the scenario where the tester is focusing on single modules without dependencies on other system parts, which is the core definition of unit testing in software development.

Answer

Integration testing

Answer

User acceptance testing

Answer

System testing

Question 7

After deploying a new version of a web application, the QA team runs a set of test cases that were previously executed on the old version to ensure that existing functionality still works correctly. This testing is performed to detect any unintended side effects of the changes. What type of testing is this?

Accepted Answer

Regression testing. Regression testing verifies that new code changes do not break existing functionality.

Answer

Integration testing

Answer

Smoke testing

Answer

Acceptance testing

Question 8

A project team is in the phase where they gather business requirements, define project scope, and create a project plan. This phase occurs before any design or coding begins. Which SDLC phase is being described?

Accepted Answer

Planning. (Planning) is correct because the SDLC Planning phase is specifically where business requirements are gathered, project scope is defined, and a project plan is created before any design or coding begins. This phase establishes the high-level goals, feasibility, and resource allocation that drive all subsequent phases.

Answer

Implementation

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Analysis

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Design

Question 9

A developer creates a new branch in a version control system to work on a new feature. After completing the feature, the developer wants to combine the changes from the feature branch back into the main branch. What is this process called?

Accepted Answer

Merging. Merging combines changes from one branch into another.

Answer

Committing

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Forking

Answer

Branching

Question 10

A mobile app developer wants to integrate weather data into an app. The developer uses an HTTP request to a web service that returns JSON data. The web service requires an API key in the request header for authentication. What is this web service an example of?

Accepted Answer

REST API. This web service is a REST API because it uses HTTP requests to access and manipulate resources, returns data in JSON format, and requires an API key in the request header for authentication. REST APIs are stateless and rely on standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, etc.), making them ideal for integrating external data like weather information into mobile apps.

Answer

GraphQL API

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WebSocket

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SOAP API

Question 11

A developer is debugging a program that produces incorrect output. The developer sets a breakpoint on a specific line of code and runs the program in a debugger. When execution stops at the breakpoint, the developer examines the values of variables at that point. What debugging technique is being used?

Accepted Answer

Step-through execution. Using breakpoints and inspecting variables is a common debugging technique to identify issues.

Answer

Logging

Answer

Unit testing

Answer

Code review

Question 12

In a Scrum team, who is responsible for prioritizing the product backlog and ensuring that the team works on the most valuable features first?

Accepted Answer

Product Owner. The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team. This includes owning the Product Backlog, ordering its items to best achieve goals and missions, and ensuring that the Development Team works on the most valuable features first. The Product Owner is the single point of contact for prioritization decisions, balancing stakeholder needs with business value.

Answer

Scrum Master

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Development Team

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Stakeholder

Question 13

A software development team is adopting agile practices. Which TWO of the following are common characteristics of agile methodologies? (Select TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Iterative development with short cycles. Agile methodologies are iterative and adaptive, welcoming changing requirements. Sequential phases and fixed scope are characteristics of waterfall.

Answer

Sequential phases (requirements→design→implementation)

Answer

Fixed scope defined at the start

Answer

Comprehensive documentation at each phase

Question 14

A developer is writing pseudocode for a program that calculates the average of a list of numbers. Which THREE of the following are valid components that would likely appear in the pseudocode? (Select THREE.)

Accepted Answer

Initialize sum to 0. Initializing a variable (like sum) to a starting value (0) is a fundamental step in accumulation algorithms. Without this initialization, the sum would contain an undefined or garbage value, leading to incorrect results. This is a standard practice in pseudocode and real programming languages alike.

Answer

Define a class named Calculator

Answer

Execute SQL query to retrieve numbers from database

Question 15

During the SDLC, testing is performed at different levels. Which TWO of the following are recognized levels of testing? (Select TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Integration testing. Unit and integration testing are standard testing levels. Code review is a quality activity, not a testing level. Deployment and maintenance are phases, not testing levels.

Answer

Maintenance

Answer

Code review

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Deployment

Question 16

A development team is building a new mobile app. The project has a fixed budget and scope, and the requirements are well-understood from the start. Which software development methodology would be most appropriate for this project?

Accepted Answer

Waterfall. The waterfall methodology is best for projects with fixed scope and well-understood requirements because it follows sequential phases and is not designed to handle changes easily.

Answer

Spiral

Answer

Scrum

Answer

Agile

Question 17

A developer writes the following pseudocode for a process that finds the largest number in a list:

SET max = first element
FOR each number in list
   IF number > max THEN
      SET max = number
   END IF
ENDFOR
OUTPUT max

What programming concept does this pseudocode represent?

Accepted Answer

Algorithm. An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure to solve a problem. This pseudocode describes a specific algorithm (finding the maximum).

Answer

API

Answer

Data structure

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Flowchart

Question 18

A software company uses a development model where work is divided into 2-week sprints. Each sprint begins with a planning meeting, includes daily standups, and ends with a review and retrospective. A product owner prioritizes features, and a scrum master facilitates the process. Which methodology is being used?

Accepted Answer

Scrum. Scrum is an agile framework that uses sprints, daily standups, sprint reviews, and specific roles (product owner, scrum master, development team).

Answer

Kanban

Answer

Waterfall

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Extreme Programming (XP)

Question 19

During a sprint retrospective, the team identifies that too many bugs are being discovered late in the development cycle. They decide to introduce a practice where developers write tests for individual functions before coding the functions themselves. This approach is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Unit testing. Unit testing involves testing individual components in isolation. Writing tests before code is a common practice in test-driven development, which relies on unit tests.

Answer

User acceptance testing

Answer

Integration testing

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System testing

Question 20

A developer writes code to store a collection of employee names in a structure that allows adding names at the end and removing names from the front, following a first-in-first-out (FIFO) order. Which data structure is the developer implementing?

Accepted Answer

Queue. A queue follows FIFO order: elements are added at the rear and removed from the front.

Answer

Tree

Answer

Array

Answer

Stack