Midterm Exam Posted: Oct 03
Note: I removed Chapter 6.5, cmake, and make from the Midterm. It will be on the Final Exam instead.
The Midterm Exam is Thursday, October 17, during our regular class time and classroom. It covers Chapters 1 - 6 6.5 of the Head First Software Development book, plus notes and in-class examples.
- Big Bang approach to development - description, the path it takes, and disadvantages
- Iterative approach to development - description, the path it takes, and advantages
- Role of the customer/client
- User Stories - all parts, description, creation, valid user story titles
- Use Case - Diagram and text, differences with User Stories
- Estimates and the Estimation Process, including all details of planning poker
- Iteration and deadline planning
- Utopian vs. Real-World days
- Velocity - description, standard rate, what does it mean if velocity is higher or lower
- Big Board - basics of what it shows and how developers use it
- Good-enough design, SRP, DRY
- Version control - jobs that it does, commit messages, branches (specific git information not on this midterm)
Role and importance of build artifacts (code, configuration, tools), the general purpose of make and cmake; Given a Makefile, what would happen with specific targets.
The exam has various problem types, including short answers, definitions, comparisons, creation of user stories, and planning. The question may require you to:
- Explain a process or terminology of a process
- Answer specific questions about parts of the process. E.g., "Explain why the recommendation is to come up with user stories whose estimates are 15 or less."
- Explain what process and activities you would follow for a particular scenario
It is a good idea to review the "Dumb Questions" and the answers.
The questions are based on what we covered in the book, the exercises, and the projects. If I did not cover it in class, it is not on the exam.
A calculator is not needed for any required math and, therefore, not permitted.