Past questions › sdd2022-q25
2022 11 marks Extended response The Software Engineering Project (Year 12) Development approach, implementation, testing, quality of experience
NESA 2022 HSC Software Design and Development (OLD syllabus) - Section II Question 25, with NESA Marking Guidelines
A developer has been employed by a local high school to design and develop a study app to track students’ HSC revision routines. The app must be ready as soon as possible. The app will: • provide links to resources for all subjects that the school offers • track the number of hours students are logged in to the site • track the number of past examination papers accessed • allow students to input questions for teachers • send reminders to students who have not used the app. (a) | Recommend and justify a suitable development approach for this HSC revision | 3 app. (b) | Describe ONE benefit of the use of a pilot installation for this HSC revision app. | 2 (c) | Outline TWO reasons why system testing is necessary in the development of | 3 this HSC revision app. (d) | Explain TWO factors outside the developer’s control which can affect the | 3 quality of a user’s experience with this HSC revision app.
Marking criteria
[Question 25 (a)] Criteria | Marks • Recommends a suitable development approach for this study app with appropriate justification • Outlines a development approach for the study app with some justification | 2 • Outlines a development approach | 1 Criteria | Marks • Describes ONE benefit of the pilot method of installation for this app | 2 • Shows some understanding of the pilot method of installation | 1 Criteria | Marks • Outlines TWO reasons for system testing of this app | 3 • Identifies TWO reasons for system testing OR | 2 • Outlines ONE reason • Shows some understanding of system testing | 1 Criteria | Marks • Provides an explanation of two factors outside the developers’ control which can affect a user’s experience with this app • Explains ONE factor that can affect a user’s experience OR identifies TWO factors • Demonstrates some understanding of a user’s experience | 1
Sample answer
Sample answer: An agile approach will allow improved versions of the app to be available to students in a short time frame. Agile allows for quick delivery of updates of the app, based on feedback from students.
[Question 25 (b)] Sample answer: The software developer could select a small group of students to use the study app and test its functionality and identify any problems, minimising the chance of the released product having errors.
[Question 25 (c)] Sample answer: System testing will enable the study app to be tested in a range of operating systems and user hardware likely to be used by students. It can also be tested more fully by using load testing, with a high transaction rate.
[Question 25 (d)] Sample answer: The quality of a user’s experience could be affected by potential problems with the display on different devices, such as screen size, which could lead to poor legibility or excessive scrolling on small screens. Incompatibility with other software installed on the user’s device could affect the quality of a user’s experience, eg the HSC app may crash.