Midterm 1

This midterm is optional. If you choose to take it, you must email your answer by 10am, Tuesday 12 May. Address your midterm to michal+422exam@cs.uoregon.edu, with subject "422exam."

There is only one question on the midterm. It is an essay question. Your answer must be under 1000 words (about two pages). Your answer should be clearly written and cogently argued. It should make use of what you have learned in class, but it need not be limited to that. State any assumptions you make. If you use outside sources, they should be properly cited.

The question is:

We have discussed and read about the spiral model of software development, and we have talked about software architectural design. Consider their interaction: If an organization adopts a process model based on spiral development, are there corresponding changes it should make in software architectural design?

Here are some hints for writing a high quality essay answer:

• You may need to make some reasonable assumptions about the process and design practices the organization used before adopting a spiral development model. If you do, state them clearly.
• You should refer to Boehm's paper on spiral development, and show that you understand it, but you should not attempt a "brain-dump" with a mention of each and every point in the paper.
• A good essay has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
• If I don't know what point you are arguing after reading the first five or ten lines, it is unlikely I will have discovered it by the end of your essay.
• Never say in ten words what can be said in five.
• Never use a ten-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do, but if you really need aquamarine, don't substitute blue.
• Read your essay aloud. If it doesn't sound good, it probably isn't.
• Good writing can't save a sloppy argument, but sloppy writing can ruin a good one.

Good luck. I hope some of you choose to try your hand at this.