Software Construction

and Development

Instructor:Mr Nadir Hussain

 My grading policy
10% Quizzes – 1 / 2
10% Assignments – 1 / 2
30% Mid-term exam
50% Final-term exam

Presentation can be conducted from each student

75% Theory / Lecture

25% Lab / Practical

75% Attendance is mandatory

What is Software Construction and
Development?
Software Construction and Development is the phase of
SDLC i.e. Implementation (coding).

Google: Software Construction is the detailed creation of

working software through a combination of coding,
verification, unit testing, integration testing and debugging.
Software Development
Life Cycle (SDLC)
“You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t
know where you’re going, because you might
not get there.”
~Yogi Berra
 SDLC Model
A framework that
describes the
activities performed
at each stage of a
software
development
project.
Waterfall Model
• Requirements – defines
needed information, function,
behavior, performance and
interfaces.
• Design – data structures,
software architecture, interface
representations, algorithmic
details.
• Implementation – source
code, database, user
documentation, testing.
 Waterfall Strengths
• Easy to understand, easy to use
• Provides structure to inexperienced staff
• Milestones are well understood
• Sets requirements stability
• Good for management control (plan, staff, track)
• Works well when quality is more important than
cost or schedule
 Waterfall Deficiencies
• All requirements must be known upfront
• Deliverables created for each phase are
considered frozen – inhibits flexibility
• Can give a false impression of progress
• Does not reflect problem-solving nature of
software development – iterations of phases
• Integration is one big bang at the end
• Little opportunity for customer to preview the
system (until it may be too late)
 When to use the Waterfall Model
• Requirements are very well known
• Product definition is stable
• Technology is understood
• New version of an existing product
• Porting an existing product to a new platform.
V-Shaped SDLC Model
• A variant of the Waterfall
that emphasizes the
verification and validation
of the product.
• Testing of the product is
planned in parallel with a
corresponding phase of
development
 V-Shaped Steps
• Project and Requirements • Production, operation and
Planning – allocate resources maintenance – provide for
enhancement and corrections
• Product Requirements and • System and acceptance testing –
Specification Analysis – complete check the entire software system
specification of the software in its environment
system

• Architecture or High-Level Design • Integration and Testing – check

– defines how software functions that modules interconnect
fulfill the design correctly

• Detailed Design – develop • Unit testing – check that each

algorithms for each architectural module acts as expected
component
• Coding – transform algorithms
into software
 V-Shaped Strengths
• Emphasize planning for verification and
validation of the product in early stages of
product development
• Each deliverable must be testable
• Project management can track progress
by milestones
• Easy to use
 V-Shaped Weaknesses
• Does not easily handle concurrent events
• Does not handle iterations or phases
• Does not easily handle dynamic changes
in requirements
• Does not contain risk analysis activities
 When to use the V-Shaped Model
• Excellent choice for systems requiring high
reliability – hospital patient control
applications
• All requirements are known up-front
• When it can be modified to handle
changing requirements beyond analysis
phase
• Solution and technology are known
Rapid Application Model (RAD)
• Requirements planning phase (a workshop
utilizing structured discussion of business
problems)
• User description phase – automated tools
capture information from users
• Construction phase – productivity tools, such as
code generators, screen generators, etc. inside
a time-box. (“Do until done”)
• Cutover phase -- installation of the system, user
acceptance testing and user training
 RAD Strengths
• Reduced cycle time and improved productivity
with fewer people means lower costs
• Time-box approach mitigates cost and schedule
risk
• Customer involved throughout the complete
cycle minimizes risk of not achieving customer
satisfaction and business needs
• Focus moves from documentation to code.
• Uses modeling concepts to capture information
about business, data, and processes.
 RAD Weaknesses
• Accelerated development process must give
quick responses to the user
• Risk of never achieving closure
• Hard to use with legacy systems
• Requires a system that can be modularized
• Developers and customers must be committed
to rapid-fire activities in an abbreviated time
frame.
 When to use RAD
• Reasonably well-known requirements
• User involved throughout the life cycle
• Project can be time-boxed
• Functionality delivered in increments
• High performance not required
• Low technical risks
• System can be modularized
Incremental SDLC Model
• Construct a partial
implementation of a total
system
• Then slowly add increased
functionality
• The incremental model
prioritizes requirements of the
system and then implements
them in groups.
• Each subsequent release of
the system adds function to
the previous release, until all
designed functionality has
been implemented.
 Incremental Model Strengths
• Develop high-risk or major functions first
• Each release delivers an operational product
• Customer can respond to each build
• Uses “divide and conquer” breakdown of tasks
• Lowers initial delivery cost
• Initial product delivery is faster
• Customers get important functionality early
• Risk of changing requirements is reduced
Incremental Model Weaknesses
• Requires good planning and design
• Requires early definition of a complete and
fully functional system to allow for the
definition of increments
• Well-defined module interfaces are
required (some will be developed long
before others)
• Total cost of the complete system is not
lower
When to use the Incremental Model
• Risk, funding, schedule, program complexity, or
need for early realization of benefits.
• Most of the requirements are known up-front but
are expected to evolve over time
• A need to get basic functionality to the market
early
• On projects which have lengthy development
schedules
• On a project with new technology
Spiral SDLC Model
• Adds risk analysis,
and 4gl RAD
prototyping to the
waterfall model
• Each cycle involves
the same sequence of
steps as the waterfall
process model
 Spiral Quadrant
Determine objectives, alternatives and constraints

• Objectives: functionality, performance,

hardware/software interface, critical success factors, etc.
• Alternatives: build, reuse, buy, sub-contract, etc.
• Constraints: cost, schedule, interface, etc.
 Spiral Quadrant
Evaluate alternatives, identify and resolve risks

• Study alternatives relative to objectives and constraints

• Identify risks (lack of experience, new technology, tight
schedules, poor process, etc.
• Resolve risks (evaluate if money could be lost by
continuing system development
 Spiral Quadrant
Develop next-level product
• Typical activites:
– Create a design
– Review design
– Develop code
– Inspect code
– Test product
 Spiral Quadrant
Plan next phase
• Typical activities
– Develop project plan
– Develop configuration management plan
– Develop a test plan
– Develop an installation plan
 Spiral Model Strengths
• Provides early indication of insurmountable
risks, without much cost
• Users see the system early because of rapid
prototyping tools
• Critical high-risk functions are developed first
• The design does not have to be perfect
• Users can be closely tied to all lifecycle steps
• Early and frequent feedback from users
• Cumulative costs assessed frequently
 Spiral Model Weaknesses
• Time spent for evaluating risks too large for small or low-
risk projects
• Time spent planning, resetting objectives, doing risk
analysis and prototyping may be excessive
• The model is complex
• Risk assessment expertise is required
• Spiral may continue indefinitely
• Developers must be reassigned during non-development
phase activities
• May be hard to define objective, verifiable milestones
that indicate readiness to proceed through the next
iteration
 When to use Spiral Model
• When creation of a prototype is appropriate
• When costs and risk evaluation is important
• For medium to high-risk projects
• Long-term project commitment unwise because
of potential changes to economic priorities
• Users are unsure of their needs
• Requirements are complex
• New product line
• Significant changes are expected (research and
exploration)
 Agile SDLC’s
• Speed up or bypass one or more life cycle
phases
• Usually less formal and reduced scope
• Used for time-critical applications
• Used in organizations that employ
disciplined methods
 Some Agile Methods
• Adaptive Software Development (ASD)
• Feature Driven Development (FDD)
• Crystal Clear
• Dynamic Software Development Method
(DSDM)
• Rapid Application Development (RAD)
• Scrum
• Extreme Programming (XP)
• Rational Unify Process (RUP)
 Extreme Programming - XP
For small-to-medium-sized teams
developing software with vague or rapidly
changing requirements
Coding is the key activity throughout a
software project
• Communication among teammates is
done with code
• Life cycle and behavior of complex objects
defined in test cases – again in code
 XP Practices (1-6)
1. Planning game – determine scope of the next release
by combining business priorities and technical
estimates
2. Small releases – put a simple system into production,
then release new versions in very short cycle
3. Metaphor – all development is guided by a simple
shared story of how the whole system works
4. Simple design – system is designed as simply as
possible (extra complexity removed as soon as found)
5. Testing – programmers continuously write unit tests;
customers write tests for features
6. Refactoring – programmers continuously restructure
the system without changing its behavior to remove
duplication and simplify
 XP Practices (7 – 12)
7. Pair-programming -- all production code is written with
two programmers at one machine
8. Collective ownership – anyone can change any code
anywhere in the system at any time.
9. Continuous integration – integrate and build the
system many times a day – every time a task is
completed.
10. 40-hour week – work no more than 40 hours a week
as a rule
11. On-site customer – a user is on the team and available
full-time to answer questions
12. Coding standards – programmers write all code in
accordance with rules emphasizing communication
through the code
 XP is “extreme” because
Commonsense practices taken to extreme levels

• If code reviews are good, review code all the time (pair
programming)
• If testing is good, everybody will test all the time
• If simplicity is good, keep the system in the simplest design that
supports its current functionality. (simplest thing that works)
• If design is good, everybody will design daily (refactoring)
• If architecture is important, everybody will work at defining and
refining the architecture (metaphor)
• If integration testing is important, build and integrate test several
times a day (continuous integration)
• If short iterations are good, make iterations really, really short (hours
rather than weeks)
 XP References
Online references to XP at

• http://www.extremeprogramming.org/
• http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ExtremeProgrammingRoadmap
• http://www.xprogramming.com/