Practice Software Development Life Cycle in CS Thinking

Use these practice problems to test your method after reviewing the concept explanation and worked examples.

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Quick Recap

The structured process of planning, creating, testing, deploying, and maintaining software, typically following phases: requirements gathering, design, implementation (coding), testing, deployment, and maintenance. Different methodologies (waterfall, agile, spiral) organize these phases differently.

Building software is like building a house — you plan, design, build, inspect, and maintain. Skipping steps leads to problems.

Showing a random 20 of 50 problems.

Example 1

easy
Which methodology runs phases in a strict linear sequence with little backtracking?

Example 2

easy
Which methodology organizes work into iterative sprints with frequent feedback?

Example 3

medium
Which testing level verifies that two modules together behave correctly?

Example 4

medium
Which statement about agile is correct: (a) agile means no process, (b) agile has sprints, reviews, and retrospectives?

Example 5

challenge
A safety-critical avionics system has fixed, fully-known requirements and demands heavy up-front documentation. Which model fits best and why?

Example 6

easy
What does 'agile' emphasize that waterfall does not?

Example 7

medium
A bug is reported one year after release. Which SDLC phase is the team operating in?

Example 8

medium
A version-control branch is merged after passing review and CI. Which phase does this most belong to?

Example 9

challenge
A startup wants weekly releases AND ISO-27001 compliance. Sketch a process that satisfies both.

Example 10

easy
Name the SDLC phase responsible for moving the build into users' hands.

Example 11

easy
A two-week sprint produces working software at its end. Which methodology does this describe?

Example 12

challenge
A change request arrives during testing. Trace the minimal correct path back through the SDLC to ship it safely.

Example 13

medium
A team finishes coding, then users report the build solves the wrong problem. Which phase was likely skipped or rushed?

Example 14

easy
List the main stages of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) in order.

Example 15

easy
What is the name of the phase where the team writes the actual code?

Example 16

medium
Mid-project, a stakeholder changes a key requirement. In a healthy process, what should happen?

Example 17

medium
Order fully: design, maintenance, requirements, testing, implementation. Give the correct sequence.

Example 18

hard
A startup is building a new social media app with unclear requirements that will likely change. Which development methodology would you recommend and why? What risks does your choice introduce?

Example 19

hard
Compare the cost of fixing a bug found in requirements vs found in production. Which is cheaper and why?

Example 20

easy
True or false: skipping requirements and design to start coding immediately is a recommended practice.
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