Software Engineering (BSc CSIT, CSC364): the questions likely to come
40 analyzed questions from 8 past papers (2074-2082), grouped by syllabus unit — each with its probability, how often it's been asked, and where to study the answer.
Explain configuration management. Discuss version management, system building and change management.
Configuration Management (CM)
Software Configuration Management is the set of activities concerned with managing change in a software product. It controls the evolution of all artifacts (code, documents, designs, test cases) so that the system can be reliably built, and changes are tracked, coordinated and reversible. It is essential when many developers work on a system over a long period, because uncontrolled change leads to confusion and defects.
The key items placed under control are called configuration items (CIs), and a consistent set of CIs forms a baseline.
1. Version Management
Version management keeps track of the different versions of software components and ensures changes made by different developers do not interfere with one another.
- A version control system (VCS) such as Git, SVN or Mercurial stores every revision in a repository.
- Developers check out a copy, modify it, and check in (commit) changes; the system records who changed what and when.
- Supports branching (parallel lines of development) and merging, and resolves conflicts when two people edit the same file.
- Enables roll-back to any previous version.
2. System Building
System building is the process of assembling program components, data and libraries, and compiling/linking them to create an executable system.
- A build tool (Make, Maven, Gradle, Ant) automates compilation, linking and packaging.
- It manages dependencies and ensures the build is reproducible from a given baseline.
- Continuous Integration (CI) servers (e.g., Jenkins) automatically rebuild and run tests whenever code is committed, detecting integration errors early.
3. Change Management
Change management is the procedure for proposing, evaluating, approving and tracking changes to a baselined system.
- A Change Request (CR) is submitted.
- The Change Control Board (CCB) assesses cost, impact and benefit.
- The change is approved or rejected; if approved, it is scheduled and implemented.
- The change is verified, tested and a new baseline is created; the CR is closed.
Together these three processes keep a large, evolving software product consistent, traceable and controllable.
Software Project Management and Quality Assurance
Explain configuration management. Discuss version management, system building and change management.
What is software project management? Explain project scheduling and the use of bar charts and activity networks.
What is project management? Explain different project management activities in detail. Discuss risk management process with suitable example showing how risks are identified, analyzed, and mitigated in a software project.
Explain the importance of software pricing. Discuss the COCOMO cost estimation model and list its disadvantages.
How is risk management carried out during software development?
Software maintenance is one of the most important activities. Justify the statement with an example.
What is software quality assurance? Mention its importance.
What is meant by software re-engineering?
A software project is estimated to be 320 KLOC. Using the COCOMO model, calculate the effort (person-months) and development time (months) for:
-
a) Organic mode
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b) Embedded mode
Use the following formulas:
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Organic: Effort = 2.4(KLOC)^1.05, Time = 2.5(Effort)^0.38
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Embedded: Effort = 3.6(KLOC)^1.20, Time = 2.5(Effort)^0.32
What is software quality management? Explain the relationship between quality management, quality assurance, and quality control with examples.
What do you understand by implementation issues in software development? Discuss reuse, configuration management, and host-target development as implementation issues.
Differentiate between corrective, adaptive, perfective, and preventive maintenance. Which type of maintenance consumes the most resources and why?
Sit a probable paper
A full mock exam built from the most likely questions, mirroring the real paper's structure. Every slot is a real past question.
Most Probable Paper
Mirrors the real structure · 60 marks · based on 8 past papers
- 1.[10 marks]
What do you understand by a software process model? Explain the different software process activities with suitable examples.
This question has recurred in 3 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Software Processes and Agile Development) appears in 100% of years.
- 2.[10 marks]
Explain configuration management. Discuss version management, system building and change management.
This question has recurred in 2 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Software Project Management and Quality Assurance) appears in 100% of years.
- 3.[10 marks]
What is software project management? Explain project scheduling and the use of bar charts and activity networks.
This question has recurred in 2 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Software Project Management and Quality Assurance) appears in 100% of years.
- 1.[5 marks]
How is risk management carried out during software development?
This question has recurred in 4 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Software Project Management and Quality Assurance) appears in 100% of years.
- 2.[5 marks]
Software maintenance is one of the most important activities. Justify the statement with an example.
This question has recurred in 4 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Software Project Management and Quality Assurance) appears in 100% of years.
- 3.[5 marks]
Explain how the prototyping model helps in software development.
This question has recurred in 4 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Software Processes and Agile Development) appears in 100% of years.
- 4.[5 marks]
Differentiate between evolutionary and throw-away prototyping models.
This question has recurred in 4 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Software Processes and Agile Development) appears in 100% of years.
- 5.[5 marks]
Explain the spiral model of software development.
This question has recurred in 4 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Software Processes and Agile Development) appears in 100% of years.
- 6.[5 marks]
What are the key principles of agile methods?
This question has recurred in 4 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Software Processes and Agile Development) appears in 100% of years.
- 7.[5 marks]
Differentiate between functional and non-functional requirements with examples.
This question has recurred in 4 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Requirements Engineering) appears in 100% of years.
- 8.[5 marks]
What is a behavioural model? Explain with an example.
This question has recurred in 4 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Requirements Engineering) appears in 100% of years.
- 9.[5 marks]
Differentiate between software engineering and system engineering.
This question has recurred in 4 of 8 years; so far only in internal assessments, not the board; and its topic (Introduction) appears in 88% of years.
Behind the numbers
The raw evidence the predictions are computed from: marks per unit per year, syllabus weights, trends, and coverage.
Show the heatmap, topic table and coverage analysis
The receipt: marks per unit, per year
Each row is a syllabus unit, each column an exam year, each cell the marks that unit earned that year. Click any cell to see the actual questions behind it.
| # | Syllabus unit | Probability | Appeared | Avg marks | Syllabus weight | Exam vs syllabus | Trend | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | U6Software Project Management and Quality Assurance | Very likely100% | 20 | 13%6 lecture hrs | Over-examinedexam 27% · syllabus 13% | Rising | 7 recurring12 total | |
| 2 | U2Software Processes and Agile Development | Very likely100% | 19.4 | 18%8 lecture hrs | Over-examinedexam 26% · syllabus 18% | Steady | 7 recurring9 total | |
| 3 | U3Requirements Engineering | Very likely100% | 15.6 | 18%8 lecture hrs | Balancedexam 21% · syllabus 18% | Fading | 6 recurring8 total | |
| 4 | U4Design Engineering | Likely62% | 13 | 22%10 lecture hrs | Under-examinedexam 11% · syllabus 22% | Steady | 3 recurring5 total | |
| 5 | U5Software Coding and Testing | Likely62% | 12 | 20%9 lecture hrs | Under-examinedexam 10% · syllabus 20% | Steady | 3 recurring4 total | |
| 6 | U1Introduction | Very likely88% | 5 | 9%4 lecture hrs | Balancedexam 6% · syllabus 9% | Fading | 2 recurring2 total |
Study smart, not hard
Drag the slider: studying the top 4 units in priority order covers ~84% of all observed marks.
- ~80% line
Lecture time vs exam marks
Where the exam pays more than the curriculum spends: ● lectures vs ● exam marks, as a share of the whole course. A long teal-leading bar = high-yield unit.