Differentiate between the waterfall and agile models of software development.

Waterfall Model: A linear, sequential approach to software development. Each phase (requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment) must be completed before the next begins. It is rigid and not suitable for projects with changing requirements.

Agile Model: An iterative and incremental approach. The project is broken down into small iterations, and at the end of each iteration, a potentially shippable product increment is delivered. It is flexible and well-suited for projects with evolving requirements.

How do you conduct requirements engineering?

Requirements engineering is the process of defining, documenting, and maintaining requirements. It includes the following activities:

  • Elicitation: Gathering requirements from stakeholders.
  • Analysis: Analyzing and negotiating requirements to resolve conflicts.
  • Specification: Documenting the requirements in a clear and unambiguous way.
  • Validation: Ensuring that the specified requirements are correct and meet the stakeholders' needs.
  • Management: Managing changes to the requirements throughout the software lifecycle.

What is software design pattern? Provide an example.

A software design pattern is a general, reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem within a given context in software design. It is a description or template for how to solve a problem that can be used in many different situations.

Example: Singleton Pattern

The Singleton pattern ensures that a class has only one instance and provides a global point of access to it. This is useful when exactly one object is needed to coordinate actions across the system.

How would you ensure software quality and reliability?

Ensuring software quality and reliability involves a combination of practices:

  • Thorough Testing: Including unit, integration, system, and user acceptance testing.
  • Code Reviews: Having other developers review code to catch defects early.
  • Static Analysis: Using tools to analyze code for potential problems without executing it.
  • Coding Standards: Following consistent coding standards to improve readability and maintainability.

Explain continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD).

Continuous Integration (CI): The practice of merging all developers' working copies to a shared mainline several times a day. Each integration is verified by an automated build (including test) to detect integration errors as quickly as possible.

Continuous Deployment (CD): A software release process that uses automated testing to validate if changes to a codebase are correct and stable for immediate autonomous deployment to a production environment.

What is technical debt in software projects?

Technical debt is a concept in software development that reflects the implied cost of rework caused by choosing an easy (limited) solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer. Technical debt can be thought of as taking out a loan. It can give you short-term benefits, but you'll have to pay it back later with interest.

How do you manage risk in large-scale software development?

Risk management in large-scale software development involves the following steps:

  • Risk Identification: Identifying potential risks that could affect the project.
  • Risk Analysis: Analyzing the likelihood and impact of each identified risk.
  • Risk Prioritization: Prioritizing risks based on their potential impact on the project.
  • Risk Mitigation: Developing and implementing strategies to reduce the likelihood or impact of high-priority risks.