Question One 20 Marks

Historically, the introduction of technology has caused profound changes in the labour market and, temporarily at least, displaced people from jobs. Discuss whether the introduction of extensive process automation is likely to have the same consequences for software engineers. If you don’t think it will, explain why not. If you think that it will reduce job opportunities, is it ethical for the engineers affected to passively or actively resist the introduction of this technology?

Question Two 20 Marks Imagine that a government wants a software program that helps to keep track of the utilisation of the country’s vast mineral resources. Although the requirements put forward by the government were not very clear, a software company was tasked with the development of a prototype. The government found the prototype impressive, and asked it be extended to be the actual system that would be used. Discuss the pros and cons of taking this approach.

Question Three 20 Marks Should software testing be an incremental, staged activity? Also people argue that developers should not be involved in testing their own code but that all testing should be the responsibility of a separate team. Provide justification for your opinion.

Question Four 25 Marks

By providing detailed justification, suggest the most appropriate generic software process model that might be used as a basis for managing the development of the following systems. Explain your answer according to the type of system being developed:
• A system to control antilock braking in a car

• A virtual reality system to support software maintenance

• A university accounting system that replaces an existing system

• An interactive travel planning system that helps users plan journeys with the lowest environmental impact
• A banking application that will be used by customers for performing different operations

Answers to Above Questions on Information Technology

Answer 1: Technology has proved to be effective in enhancing the productivity level but at the same time it also received significant concerns among employees because of the fear of job loss from introducing new technology. The field of software engineering is also under major debate because significant development in technology is witnessed all across the globe, especially in terms of higher use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and other automation technologies. However  the nature of a software engineering job makes it less susceptible to complete automation, as software engineers need to be creative, problem solving and critical thinking, and their job does not require repetitive manual tasks which can be automated, rather than need to be innovative, creative and adapt problem solving approach.