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PE Software: Software Engineering Management, Process, and Quality

PE Software · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Software Engineering Management, Process, and Quality

What this domain tests

Management questions test estimation, scheduling, risk, earned value interpretation, and the distinction between process quality assurance and product-level testing. You are expected to compute performance indices and read them correctly.

Core rules and concepts

  • Estimation methods: expert judgment, analogy, parametric models such as COCOMO II and function point analysis, and three-point PERT where expected effort = (O + 4M + P) / 6 using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic values.
  • Scheduling: the critical path is the longest path through the network and has zero float; delaying any activity on it delays the project end date.
  • Earned value: PV (planned value), EV (earned value), AC (actual cost). SPI = EV / PV and CPI = EV / AC. Both indices share EV in the numerator. Forecast estimate at completion is typically EAC = BAC / CPI.
  • Process models: waterfall suits stable requirements; incremental delivers in slices; spiral is risk-driven; Scrum is empirical with short fixed iterations and a cross-functional team; Kanban limits work in progress rather than timeboxing.
  • Quality assurance is process-oriented prevention; quality control and testing are product-oriented detection. They are not substitutes.
  • CMMI maturity levels: 1 initial, 2 managed, 3 defined, 4 quantitatively managed, 5 optimizing.

Worked example

At week 6, in thousands of dollars: PV = 100, EV = 80, AC = 90, BAC = 200. SPI = EV / PV = 80 / 100 = 0.80, so the project has earned only 80% of the planned value: it is 20% behind schedule. CPI = EV / AC = 80 / 90 = 0.89, so each unit of earned value has cost about 1.13: the project is over budget. EAC = BAC / CPI = 200 / 0.89 = 225, roughly 25 over the original budget. Reasoning: both indices start from EV, which is the value of work actually completed. Substituting AC in the SPI numerator gives 0.90 and hides the schedule slip, which is the most common error in this question type.

Traps that cost marks

  • Computing SPI with AC in the numerator.
  • Adding staff to a schedule-late project, which slows it further during ramp-up (Brooks).
  • Treating quality assurance as another name for testing.
  • Reading a critical path activity as optional because it looks small.