HSC Software Engineering - Screening Test

Instructions

Answer all 20 questions to the best of your ability
The test is divided into two parts. Read the instructions for each part carefully
For open-ended questions, provide detailed explanations
For multiple choice questions, select the best answer

Part 1: Reviewing Your Current Knowledge (Medium to Difficult)

This section focuses on SDLC methodologies, project diagrams, ERDs, and SQL.

Question 1: Scenario-Based Methodology Choice

A government agency wants to build a new online portal for citizen services. The project requirements are defined in a 500-page legal document, are fixed, and are not expected to change. The project also has a strict, non-negotiable deadline and budget. Which development methodology, Waterfall or Agile, would you recommend for this project? Justify your answer with two distinct reasons related to the scenario.

Question 2: Gantt Chart Analysis

Below is a Gantt Chart for a software module development project:

gantt title Software Module Development Timeline dateFormat X axisFormat Day %d section Tasks Task A (5 days) :taskA, 0, 5d Task B (3 days) :taskB, after taskA, 3d Task C (4 days) :taskC, after taskA, 4d Task D (2 days) :taskD, after taskB taskC, 2d

Looking at this Gantt chart, what is the minimum total time required to complete all tasks (the critical path)? Explain your reasoning by identifying which sequence of tasks determines the project duration.

Question 3: Context Diagram Design

You are designing a simple Library Lending System. The system will be used by Librarians to add new books and by Members to borrow and return books. The system must also connect to an external Payment Gateway to process late fees.

Identify the three external entities and list one data flow (e.g., "Login Details") going from each entity to the system.

Question 4: Advanced SQL SELECT

Given the following Players table, write a single SQL query to select the Username and Region for all players who are Rank 1 OR have a Region of "AU".

Players Table:

PlayerID	Username	Rank	Region
1	ShadowRunner	1	NA
2	GhostWalker	5	EU
3	BloodHunter	1	EU
4	NightStalker	12	AU
5	VoidSeeker	8	NA
6	DarkEntity	15	AU

Question 5: ERD Relationship Identification

A university database needs to track Professors and the Courses they teach. A single professor can teach multiple courses, but each course is only taught by one professor.

Describe the relationship between the Professors and Courses entities (e.g., one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many). Which table should contain the foreign key?

Question 6: SQL JOIN Application (Difficult)

You have two tables: Killers and Killer_Perks.

Killers Table:

KillerID	Name
1	The Trapper
2	The Wraith

Killer_Perks Table:

PerkID	KillerID	PerkName
101	1	Unnerving Presence
102	2	Bloodhound
103	1	Brutal Strength

Write an SQL query using a JOIN to display a list of all PerkName values specifically for 'The Trapper'.

Question 7: Agile vs. Waterfall Weaknesses

For a project with very unclear and constantly changing user requirements, what is the single biggest disadvantage of using the Waterfall model?

Question 8: ERD to SQL CREATE TABLE

You have an entity Survivors with the following attributes: SurvivorID (Primary Key, Integer), Name (String), and PrestigeLevel (Integer). Write the SQL CREATE TABLE statement for this entity.

Question 9: Context Diagrams vs. Data Flow Diagrams

Both Context Diagrams and Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) are used in system analysis, but they serve different purposes. Explain the key difference between a Context Diagram and a detailed Data Flow Diagram in terms of what they show and their level of detail.

Question 10: Advanced SQL WHERE Clause

Using the same Players table from Question 4, write a SQL query to find all players who are not from the "NA" region and have a Rank greater than 10.

Players Table:

PlayerID	Username	Rank	Region
1	ShadowRunner	1	NA
2	GhostWalker	5	EU
3	BloodHunter	1	EU
4	NightStalker	12	AU
5	VoidSeeker	8	NA
6	DarkEntity	15	AU

Part 2: Exploring New Topics (Easy to Basic)

This section touches on security, web concepts, OOP, and data structures. Choose the best answer or provide a short response.

Question 11: Secure Passwords

A developer adds a random, unique value to each user's password before hashing it. This technique is designed to prevent attackers from using pre-computed tables of common password hashes. This technique is called:

a) Encryption

b) Obfuscation

c) Salting

d) Input validation

Question 12: Introducing Scrum

In the Agile (Scrum) methodology, a project is broken down into short, iterative cycles. What is the correct chronological order for these four key meetings in a single cycle?

a) Sprint Review, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Retrospective

b) Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective

c) Daily Scrum, Sprint Planning, Sprint Retrospective, Sprint Review

Question 13: Purpose of JSON

What is the primary purpose of JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) in web applications?

a) To style the visual appearance of a webpage.

b) To provide a lightweight format for data exchange between a server and client.

c) To define the structure and layout of a webpage.

d) To execute complex calculations on the server.

Question 14: What is an API?

A mobile weather app needs to get live weather data from an external service. The software component that allows the app to request this data is known as an:

a) End-User Licence Agreement (EULA)

b) Application Programming Interface (API)

c) Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

d) Software Development Kit (SDK)

Question 15: Understanding Inheritance

In the diagram from the sample paper, both the Book and DVD classes are specialized types of the LibraryItem class. This Object-Oriented Programming concept is known as:

a) Encapsulation

b) Polymorphism

c) Inheritance

d) Abstraction

Question 16: Identifying a Vulnerability

A developer builds a database query by directly joining strings together with user input, like this:
query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = '" + userInput + "'" This practice is a classic example of what security vulnerability?

a) Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

b) Buffer Overflow

c) SQL Injection

Question 17: Basic Data Structures

Which of the following are examples of linear data structures, where elements are arranged in a sequential manner? (Select all that apply)

Array

Tree

Stack

Queue

Question 18: Client-Side vs. Server-Side

Which of the following tasks is most likely to be handled by a client-side script (running in the user's browser)?

a) Processing a credit card transaction.

b) Checking a username and password against a database.

c) Making a button change colour when the user hovers their mouse over it.

d) Creating a new user account.

Question 19: Binary Representation

What is the 8-bit binary representation of the decimal number 5?

a) 00000101

b) 00000110

c) 00000100

d) 10100000

Question 20: What is Continuous Integration?

What is the main function of a Continuous Integration (CI) server in a modern development workflow?

a) To automatically build and run tests on the code every time a developer commits a change.

b) To host the project's final website for customers to use.

c) To design the user interface for the application.

Make sure you've answered all questions before submitting.