CSE 110 ALL UPDATED EXAMS SCRIPT TIPS
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Design Engineering - ✔✔The process of exploring what should be built and
identifying major design concerns before fully coding.
✔✔Process Engineering - ✔✔The process of supporting iteration, experimentation, and
development once building begins.
✔✔Hidden Requirements - ✔✔Requirements that exist in a stakeholder's head but are
not clearly written down.
✔✔Risk of Skipping Requirements - ✔✔If requirements are not captured, the team may
build based on assumptions and only discover the real expectations after failure.
✔✔5W + 1H - ✔✔Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How; a questioning method
used to understand requirements.
✔✔Who in Requirements - ✔✔The user, stakeholder, or actor who needs the software.
✔✔What in Requirements - ✔✔The actual need, behavior, task, or function the software
should support.
,✔✔When in Requirements - ✔✔The timing or situation in which the user needs the
software.
✔✔Where in Requirements - ✔✔The environment or context where the software will be
used.
✔✔Why in Requirements - ✔✔The user value or purpose behind the software
requirement.
✔✔How in Requirements - ✔✔The possible method or approach, but it should not be
the only focus.
✔✔Problem with Only Asking "How" - ✔✔It makes the team too solution-focused and
not user-focused.
✔✔Requirements From People Are Hard - ✔✔Users and stakeholders often speak
vaguely, so engineers must translate human language into precise software
expectations.
✔✔Vague Requirement - ✔✔A requirement that is subjective or unclear, such as 'the
app should be fast.'
✔✔Concrete Requirement - ✔✔A requirement that is specific and testable, such as 'the
homepage should load in under 1 second on campus Wi-Fi.'
✔✔Quantitative Requirement - ✔✔A measurable requirement with a number or clear
pass/fail target.
✔✔Qualitative Requirement - ✔✔A subjective requirement based on judgment, such as
'clean design' or 'modern look.'
✔✔Applying -ilities - ✔✔Turning broad quality goals into concrete design choices, code
practices, tests, or measurements.
✔✔Subjective -ility Problem - ✔✔Qualities like 'secure' or 'usable' are often vague
unless tied to measurable verification.
✔✔Verifying an -ility - ✔✔Using tests, metrics, reviews, scans, analytics, or user
feedback to check a quality attribute.
✔✔Remote Stylesheet -ility Concern - ✔✔A remote CSS file may create reliability,
performance, robustness, and security concerns.
, ✔✔Security vs Usability Trade-Off - ✔✔More security may create friction for users,
while easier usability may weaken protection.
✔✔Performance vs Maintainability Trade-Off - ✔✔Code optimized for speed may
become harder to read or maintain.
✔✔Flexibility vs Complexity Trade-Off - ✔✔More flexible systems often require more
abstraction and complexity.
✔✔Accessibility as Requirement - ✔✔Accessibility should be treated as a real software
requirement, not an optional afterthought.
✔✔UI Evaluation - ✔✔Evaluating whether an interface supports users effectively.
✔✔Recognition Over Recall - ✔✔Users should be able to recognize visible options
instead of remembering hidden commands.
✔✔Less Work, More Gain - ✔✔A good interface minimizes user effort while maximizing
value.
✔✔Respect Conventions - ✔✔Follow familiar interface patterns when they reduce
cognitive load.
✔✔Rejecting Conventions - ✔✔Breaking conventions can be valid if the project context
strongly justifies it.
✔✔Death by Sameness - ✔✔When an interface is too uniform and users cannot tell
what matters or what is clickable.
✔✔Clickable Affordance - ✔✔A visual cue that something can be clicked or interacted
with.
✔✔Brand the Buttons - ✔✔Make buttons visually recognizable and consistent so users
know what actions are possible.
✔✔L-Shaped Screen Real Estate - ✔✔The common attention area of screens where
users often scan across the top and down the left.
✔✔Context of Use - ✔✔The user's device, situation, environment, and goal while using
the software.
✔✔Play UI Golf - ✔✔Reduce the number of steps needed to complete a user task.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Design Engineering - ✔✔The process of exploring what should be built and
identifying major design concerns before fully coding.
✔✔Process Engineering - ✔✔The process of supporting iteration, experimentation, and
development once building begins.
✔✔Hidden Requirements - ✔✔Requirements that exist in a stakeholder's head but are
not clearly written down.
✔✔Risk of Skipping Requirements - ✔✔If requirements are not captured, the team may
build based on assumptions and only discover the real expectations after failure.
✔✔5W + 1H - ✔✔Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How; a questioning method
used to understand requirements.
✔✔Who in Requirements - ✔✔The user, stakeholder, or actor who needs the software.
✔✔What in Requirements - ✔✔The actual need, behavior, task, or function the software
should support.
,✔✔When in Requirements - ✔✔The timing or situation in which the user needs the
software.
✔✔Where in Requirements - ✔✔The environment or context where the software will be
used.
✔✔Why in Requirements - ✔✔The user value or purpose behind the software
requirement.
✔✔How in Requirements - ✔✔The possible method or approach, but it should not be
the only focus.
✔✔Problem with Only Asking "How" - ✔✔It makes the team too solution-focused and
not user-focused.
✔✔Requirements From People Are Hard - ✔✔Users and stakeholders often speak
vaguely, so engineers must translate human language into precise software
expectations.
✔✔Vague Requirement - ✔✔A requirement that is subjective or unclear, such as 'the
app should be fast.'
✔✔Concrete Requirement - ✔✔A requirement that is specific and testable, such as 'the
homepage should load in under 1 second on campus Wi-Fi.'
✔✔Quantitative Requirement - ✔✔A measurable requirement with a number or clear
pass/fail target.
✔✔Qualitative Requirement - ✔✔A subjective requirement based on judgment, such as
'clean design' or 'modern look.'
✔✔Applying -ilities - ✔✔Turning broad quality goals into concrete design choices, code
practices, tests, or measurements.
✔✔Subjective -ility Problem - ✔✔Qualities like 'secure' or 'usable' are often vague
unless tied to measurable verification.
✔✔Verifying an -ility - ✔✔Using tests, metrics, reviews, scans, analytics, or user
feedback to check a quality attribute.
✔✔Remote Stylesheet -ility Concern - ✔✔A remote CSS file may create reliability,
performance, robustness, and security concerns.
, ✔✔Security vs Usability Trade-Off - ✔✔More security may create friction for users,
while easier usability may weaken protection.
✔✔Performance vs Maintainability Trade-Off - ✔✔Code optimized for speed may
become harder to read or maintain.
✔✔Flexibility vs Complexity Trade-Off - ✔✔More flexible systems often require more
abstraction and complexity.
✔✔Accessibility as Requirement - ✔✔Accessibility should be treated as a real software
requirement, not an optional afterthought.
✔✔UI Evaluation - ✔✔Evaluating whether an interface supports users effectively.
✔✔Recognition Over Recall - ✔✔Users should be able to recognize visible options
instead of remembering hidden commands.
✔✔Less Work, More Gain - ✔✔A good interface minimizes user effort while maximizing
value.
✔✔Respect Conventions - ✔✔Follow familiar interface patterns when they reduce
cognitive load.
✔✔Rejecting Conventions - ✔✔Breaking conventions can be valid if the project context
strongly justifies it.
✔✔Death by Sameness - ✔✔When an interface is too uniform and users cannot tell
what matters or what is clickable.
✔✔Clickable Affordance - ✔✔A visual cue that something can be clicked or interacted
with.
✔✔Brand the Buttons - ✔✔Make buttons visually recognizable and consistent so users
know what actions are possible.
✔✔L-Shaped Screen Real Estate - ✔✔The common attention area of screens where
users often scan across the top and down the left.
✔✔Context of Use - ✔✔The user's device, situation, environment, and goal while using
the software.
✔✔Play UI Golf - ✔✔Reduce the number of steps needed to complete a user task.
