FC0-U71 Software Development Concepts — Timed 15 Questions

Question 1

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?

15 minute time limit — choose an answer to begin.

Accepted Answer

Step-through execution. Setting a breakpoint and examining variable values when execution pauses is the definition of step-through execution (also called breakpoint debugging), where the developer controls execution flow and inspects state at specific points. This interactive technique is distinct from passive methods like logging or static review.

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Logging

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Unit testing

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Code review

Question 2

A software team is adopting agile practices. They want to ensure they incorporate feedback early and often. Which TWO of the following are key events in the Scrum framework that provide opportunities for feedback and inspection?

Accepted Answer

Sprint retrospective. The Sprint retrospective (A) is a key Scrum event held at the end of each Sprint where the team inspects its own processes and practices and identifies improvements, providing direct feedback on how the team works. The Sprint review (B) is also a key Scrum event where the team demonstrates the Increment to stakeholders and collects feedback on the product, enabling inspection and adaptation of the Product Backlog. Both are formally defined Scrum events specifically designed for inspection and adaptation. The daily scrum (C) is a short daily synchronization event for the Developers, not primarily a stakeholder feedback opportunity. Product backlog grooming (D) is a refinement activity, not one of the official Scrum events. Sprint planning (E) is a Scrum event, but it focuses on defining the Sprint Goal and selecting work, not on gathering feedback from completed work.

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Daily scrum

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Product backlog grooming

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Sprint planning

Question 3

A development team is working on a critical update to an e-commerce website. After deploying the update, they must ensure that existing features (like login and search) still work correctly. Additionally, they want to test the new checkout flow end-to-end. Which TWO types of testing should the team perform?

Accepted Answer

Regression testing. Regression testing (C) is correct because it verifies that existing features like login and search still work after deploying the update, ensuring no new defects were introduced. System testing (D) is correct because it validates the entire integrated system, including the new checkout flow end-to-end, against the specified requirements.

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Unit testing

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Integration testing

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User acceptance testing

Question 4

A software testing team is planning to verify a new e-commerce application. Which THREE testing types should be performed to ensure comprehensive quality? (Select the three correct answers.)

Accepted Answer

Integration testing. Integration testing (B) is correct because it verifies that the individually developed modules and interfaces of the e-commerce application communicate and exchange data correctly (e.g., checkout service calling the payment gateway API), which is essential for a multi-component system. Unit testing (C) is correct because it validates the smallest testable pieces of code, such as individual functions or classes, in isolation, catching defects early before they propagate into higher-level testing. System testing (E) is correct because it evaluates the fully integrated application end-to-end against its specified requirements, covering complete business flows like browsing, cart, checkout, and order confirmation in a production-like environment. Smoke testing (A) is not among the marked answers because it is a shallow build-verification technique rather than one of the three comprehensive quality-assurance levels, and alpha testing (D) is not marked because it is a user-acceptance activity performed by internal users at the developer's site, not a core functional testing type for verifying the application's quality.

Answer

Smoke testing

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Alpha testing

Question 5

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?

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 6

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. The described practices — user stories, effort estimation, time-boxed two-week iterations (sprints), daily standups, and end-of-iteration demos — are the defining ceremonies of Scrum. Scrum is an Agile framework built around short, repeatable cycles that deliver working software incrementally. The explicit mention of a two-week iteration and daily standup maps directly to the Sprint and Daily Scrum events.

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Waterfall

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V-Model

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Kanban

Question 7

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 finite, ordered set of steps that solves a specific problem — here, sorting an array via repeated comparisons and swaps (a bubble sort). The description explicitly gives a step-by-step procedure with a termination condition ('repeat until no swaps are needed'), which is the definition of an algorithm. It is the conceptual procedure, independent of any specific programming language.

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Pseudocode

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Flowchart

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Data structure

Question 8

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. A flowchart uses standardized symbols—diamonds for decisions, rectangles for processes, parallelograms for input/output, and ovals for start/end—to visually represent program logic and control flow. It is the canonical tool for depicting conditional branching such as eligibility checks and resulting actions.

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Pseudocode

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Data flow diagram

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UML class diagram

Question 9

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.

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Array

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Queue

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Stack

Question 10

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 11

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.

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Integration testing

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Smoke testing

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Acceptance testing

Question 12

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.

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Implementation

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Analysis

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Design

Question 13

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 is the process of combining changes from one branch into another — here, taking the completed feature branch and integrating its commits into the main branch. Git performs this via git merge, which either fast-forwards or creates a merge commit.

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Committing

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Forking

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Branching

Question 14

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 15

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