FC0-U71 Software Development Concepts Practice Test 1 — 15 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.

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Spiral

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Scrum

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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.

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Waterfall

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V-Model

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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

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Flowchart

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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

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Data flow diagram

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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

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Queue

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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.

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Integration testing

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User acceptance testing

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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

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Smoke testing

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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.

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Committing

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Forking

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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.

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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

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Unit testing

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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.

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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)

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Fixed scope defined at the start

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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.

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Maintenance

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Code review

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Deployment