Ruankao System Analyst (Senior) study plan

Draw from memory the layered structure of a computer (CPU, cache hierarchy, main memory, bus, I/O) and label the data path for a single load instruction

Compute effective access time and CPI for three given cache configurations, including hit ratio and miss penalty trade-offs

Compare pipeline, superscalar, and multithreading execution models and state one bottleneck each removes

Classify five software process models (waterfall, incremental, spiral, RUP, agile) by risk profile, deliverable cadence, and change tolerance

Map each phase of a full lifecycle to its entry/exit criteria and the artifacts it must produce

Derive use cases from a written stakeholder narrative, distinguishing actors, preconditions, main flow, and exception flow

Convert a set of raw user wishes into functional and non-functional requirements with testable acceptance criteria

Select an appropriate development method for two contrasting project scenarios and justify the choice against schedule, uncertainty, and team size

Construct a context diagram and a level-1 data flow diagram for the same system and verify balancing between levels

Build an entity-relationship model and normalize it to third normal form, documenting each decomposition decision

Write a structured analysis model (data dictionary entries plus process specifications) that is internally consistent with the DFD

Review a peer-style requirements document and log defects by type: ambiguity, omission, inconsistency, untestability

Compare layered, client-server, microservice, event-driven, and pipe-and-filter architectures on coupling, deployability, and failure modes

Apply separation-of-concerns and information-hiding principles to partition a system into modules with explicit interfaces

Produce UML class, sequence, and component diagrams for one scenario and check that they agree with each other

Identify three architectural risks in a design and propose a concrete mitigation for each

Design a relational schema with primary, foreign, and candidate keys, then write five queries exercising joins, grouping, and subqueries

Explain transaction ACID properties and demonstrate with a worked interleaving how each isolation level permits or prevents dirty read, non-repeatable read, and phantom read

Compare B-tree and hash indexing on range queries, equality lookups, and write cost, and choose an index for three given query patterns

Describe concurrency control via two-phase locking and via timestamp ordering, and state one failure scenario for each

Trace a request across the OSI and TCP/IP layers, naming the protocol and addressing used at each hop

Distinguish symmetric, asymmetric, and hash-based cryptography by use case, and place them correctly in a TLS handshake walkthrough

Map three threat scenarios to controls across prevention, detection, and recovery, referencing confidentiality, integrity, and availability

Explain backup, recovery, and replication strategies for a database and state the recovery point and recovery time implications of each

Build a work breakdown structure, estimate effort with three-point estimation, and derive a critical path from a small activity network

Define quality metrics and design a test plan covering unit, integration, system, and acceptance levels with entry/exit criteria

Compute earned value figures (PV, EV, AC, SV, CV, SPI, CPI) from a scenario and interpret schedule and cost status

Classify five project risks by probability and impact and assign a response strategy to each

Summarize the architecture and typical enterprise use of at least four emerging technology families (cloud-native, big data, AI/ML services, IoT/edge) with one limitation each

Explain how enterprise integration patterns (messaging, service bus, API gateway, data synchronization) solve coupling between applications

Write a 250-word English executive summary of a technical design that states problem, approach, trade-offs, and recommendation

Complete two timed mixed-domain practice sets and convert every error into a one-line rule for a personal error log