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Pick the right cycle.

Six original Cambridge-style questions on program development life cycles, with mark-scheme style solutions.

Original questions All questions on this page are original work, written in the Cambridge AS & A Level style. They are not from past papers. They test the same concepts and skills the syllabus rewards.
Keep these straight

Match the project.

01
Explain
[2 marks]

Explain the purpose of a program development life cycle.

  • It splits development into defined stages, each with clear outputs and deadlines, so the project can be planned, managed and monitored. ✓
  • So that the final program meets the user's requirements, on time and within budget. ✓
02
Recall
[3 marks]

Describe what happens in the analysis, design and testing stages.

  • Analysis: investigate the problem and current system, agree the requirements (requirements specification). ✓
  • Design: plan the solution, e.g. modules, algorithms, data structures, interface, test plan. ✓
  • Testing: run the program against the test plan to find errors and show it meets the requirements. ✓
03
Explain
[4 marks]

Describe the principles of the waterfall model and give one benefit and one drawback.

  • Stages are followed in sequence, each completed (and signed off) before the next begins. ✓
  • The output of each stage is the input to the next; there is little or no going back. ✓
  • Benefit: easy to manage, with clear milestones and full documentation (or suits fixed requirements). ✓
  • Drawback: no working program until late / hard to change requirements / client sees the product only at the end. ✓
04
Explain
[3 marks]

Describe the principles of the iterative model of development.

  • A simple version meeting part of the requirements is built first. ✓
  • Each iteration repeats design, coding and testing to add or improve features. ✓
  • This continues, with feedback after each iteration, until the full system is complete. ✓
05
Apply
[4 marks]

A games company wants a new mobile game. The designers expect to change the gameplay many times after watching players try it, and a demo is needed in two months. Recommend a life cycle and justify your choice.

  • RAD (accept iterative with a matching justification). ✓
  • Requirements are expected to change, which RAD handles well. ✓
  • Prototypes can be shown to players for feedback and refined. ✓
  • Development time is short; modules can be built in parallel and existing components reused. ✓
06
Analysis
[2 marks]

Give two drawbacks of using RAD for a very large banking system.

  • Hard to manage with many teams; needs highly skilled developers and users committed throughout. ✓
  • Less documentation and less attention to non-functional requirements such as security and performance, which a bank needs. ✓

Mark this once you have attempted all six and checked your working. It records a Practiced badge on the topic and adds a one-time bonus. Revealing the solutions alone does not count.