1) What Is SDLC?

SDLC is an abbreviation of Software Development Life Cycle. SDLC is series of steps that
offers a defined model for the development and lifecycle management of an application.

2) Name five Models used in SDLC

• Waterfall model
• Rapid Application Development(RAD) model
• Agile model
• Iterative model
• Spiral model
3) Explain Phases of the waterfall model

The five-main phase of waterfall model are:

• Requirements gathering
• Design
• Development
• Testing
• Implementation & Maintenance

4) States the importance of Design phase?

The requirements is specified in the form of a document. It is then converted into a logical
structure which needs to be implemented in a specific programming language. The design
phase is also helpful for specifying hardware & system requirements. It also allows defining
complete system architecture. The output is designed to document that acts as an input for
all the subsequent SDLC phases.

5) What are the tasks performed in Coding phase?

In the coding phase, the design document is converted into an executable programming
language. The output of the coding stage is the source code which can act as input for
testing and maintenance phase.
6) What is feasibility study?

Feasibility allows assessing how viable software project development will be for any
organization. The software analyst does the complete study to understand the operational,
economic, and technical feasibility of any project.

7) What are the Maturity levels in CMM?

Capability Maturity Model is a benchmark for analyzing the maturity of an organization’s

software development process. It is a technique which is used to refine a company’s
software development process. It is using to assess any company against a scale of five
different levels of levels based on their Key Process Areas. It tells about the maturity of the
company based on the project the company is dealing with and the clients.

Initial, Managed, Defined, Quantitatively Managed and Optimizing are five levels which
determine CMM levels of any company.

8) Give some benefits of using V model?

• Simple and easy to use.
• Each phase has specific
• V model is more successful because of the early development of test plans. This
reduces the cost of bug fixes
• Works most effective with small projects where requirements are small

9) What is the ‘scope’ of a project?

The scope of the project is nothing but, the goals, objectives, and expectations of the project.
Software scope is a well-defined boundary, which includes all the process which are
performed to develop and deliver the software product. The software scope consists of all
functionalities and artifacts to be delivered to the software system. The software scope also
helps to identifies what the system will do and what it will not do.

10) According to you, when should users be trained on a new system?

During the implementation phase

11) Name the phase where the performance of the new system monitored?

During the Evolution and Maintenance phase, the system is continuously monitored.

12) What is a computer-based information system?

It is a system in which computers perform some procedures.

13) Explain Low Level Or Detailed Design concerning SDLC

In Low-Level Design, High-Level Design is broken down into modules and programs. Logic
design is developed for every program, and it will be documented as program
specifications.

14) What is the use of JAD session?

JAD (Joint Application Design) session is used to gain data and information about the
system
15) State the Difference Between SDLC And Stlc

SDLC involves the complete Verification and Validation of a Project. SDLC stage requires
business requirement analysis, design, Development Process, Testing Process, and
Maintenance.

Whereas STLC involves only Validation.

16) Who are the people involved in the phases of Waterfall Model

The people involved in the waterfall model depend upon the structure of the organization.
Here, are professionals who are generally involved

• Business analyst
• Technical Manager or Senior Developers
• Technical Lead or System Architect in Design Phase
• Developers in Coding phase.
• Testers in Testing Phase.
• Project Manager, and Maintenance Team in the Maintenance phase

17) What is level-0 DFD?

Highest abstraction level is called Level 0 DFD (Data Flow Diagram). It is also is known as
context level DFD. It gives specifications about the entire information system as one
diagram which has all the details about the system.

18) Explain the team Requirement Gathering concerning SDLC

Requirement Gathering is an important SDLC phase. In this stage business requirements are
gathered. The schedule and cost of the project also analyse in this phase.

19) Briefly explain Testing Phase

Different testing methodologies are practiced detecting the software bugs, which happen to
take birth during the previous phases. Today, there are many types o testing tools, and
methodologies are available. Few firs are also building their testing tools, which are custom
made as per the need or their organizations.

20) What are problems faced in the waterfall model?

Some of the common problems face in waterfall model are

• Waterfall model is not ideal for complex projects where requirements are not clear
• It needs lots of time to complete every stage
• There are certain bugs which never rectified in this model
21) What is the details study of the existing system is called?

The detailed study of the existing system is called System analysis

22) What is the main aim of prototyping aim?

Prototyping offers mini-model of the proposed system

23) In which step of SDLC project early termination could be done?

In the SDLC process, project termination can be performed in the feasibility study phase.
24) According to you which is most creative and challenging phase of system life
cycle?

The design is one of the most challenging phases of the SDLC lifecycle.

25) Name the type of feasibility where the cost saving and additional profits will
exceed the investment required.

It is known as Economic Feasibility

26) Can bug fixes also include software maintenance?

Yes, bug fixes stage also includes software maintenance

27) Cost of error correction is least in which stage of SDCL life cycle?

Cost of error correction is very less at the early stage of requirement analysis.
Basic BA Interview Questions

1) What is a flowchart and why it is important?

Flowchart shows complete flow of system through symbols and diagrams. It is important,
because it makes the system easy to understand for developers and all concerned
people.

2) Define Use Case Model?

Use case model shows sequence of events and stream of actions regarding any
process performed by an actor.

3) What does UML stand for?

It stands for Unified Modeling Language. There are different types of UML diagram
including Decision Tree, Communication Diagram and Class Diagram.

4) Do you think Activity Diagram is important and how?

As the name implies, activity diagram is all about system activities. Main purpose of
activity diagram is to show various activities taking place in an organization in different
departments. Find more details on Activity Diagram click here.

5) Can you name the two types of diagrams heavily used in your field?
The two diagrams are Use Case Diagram and Collaboration Diagram

6) Do you know what is meant by an alternate flow in a use case?

It is the alternative solution or activity in a use case that should be followed in case of
any failure in the system.

7) What are exceptions?

These are the unexpected situations or results in an application.

8) What are extends?

Extends are actions that must take place in a use case.

9) Name the two documents related to a use case?

The two documents are FRD (Functional Requirement Document) and SDD (System
Design Document).

10) What is the difference between Business Analyst and Business Analysis?
Business Analysis is the process performed by the Business Analyst.

11) As a business analyst, what tools, you think are more helpful?
There are many but I mostly use, Rational Tools, MS Visio, MS Word, MS Excel,
PowerPoint, and MS Project.

12) In your previous experience, what kind of documents you have created?
I have worked on, Functional Specification Documents, Technical Specification
Documents, Business Requirements Documents, Use Case Diagram etc.
13) What INVEST stands for?
INVEST means Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Sized Appropriately,
Testable. It can assist project managers and technical team to deliver quality
products/services.

14) Define SAAS?

SAAS means Software as a Service. It is related to cloud computing. It is different from
other software as you don’t need this type of software to be installed on your machine.
All you need is an Internet connection and a Web Browser to use it.

15) What do you think is better, the Waterfall Model or Spiral Model?
All depends on the type and scope of the project. Also a life cycle model is selected on
the basis of organizational culture and various other scenarios to develop the system.
For more information on Waterfall model click here.

16) How can you explain the user centered design methodology?
It all depends on the end users. In such scenario, we develop the system with a user’s
point of view. Who are the end users, what they require etc. Personas are basically
social roles, performed by any actor or character. It is derived from a Latin word
meaning character. In marketing terminology, it represents group of customers/end
users.

17) How do you define Personas?

Personas are used instead of real users that assist developers and technical team to
judge the user behavior in different scenarios, more clearly. Personas are basically
social roles, performed by any actor or character. It is derived from a Latin word
meaning character. In marketing terminology, it represents group of customers/end
users.

18) Define Application Usability?

Application usability is actually the quality of the system that makes the system useful for
its end users. System’s usability is good if it is capable of achieving users’ goals.
Personas are basically social roles, performed by any actor or character. It is derived
from a Latin word meaning character. In marketing terminology, it represents group of
customers/end users.

19) Explain in your words, what is database transaction?

When we perform any activity in a database, such as addition, deletion, modification,
searching etc. is said to be a database transaction.

20) Define OLTP Systems?

OLPT stands for On-Line Transaction Processing; such systems are capable to perform
database transactions and are meant to provide good speed for database transactions.
These systems are mainly used for data entry and retrieving data from the database.

21) Do you have any idea about Pugh Matrix?

Pugh Matrix is used to decide about the most optimal and alternate solutions. This
technique is now a standard part of Six Sigma technique. It is also known as problem or
design matrix.
22) What FMEA stands for?
It means Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. It is a failure analysis, that is used mainly in
product development, system engineering and operations management. This analysis is
performed to figure out various failure modes and their severity in any system.

23) What is a 100-point method?

This method is used to assign priority to different steps in a process. Each group
member is supposed to assign points to different steps. In the end all the points for each
step are calculated. The step having the highest points has the highest priority.

24) Do you know what 8-omega is?

It is a business framework that is mainly being adopted by firms and organizations for
the betterment of their business. Its key factors are Strategy, People, Process,
Technology.

25) Can you define mis-use case?

It is a term derived from use-case. Unlike use case, a mis-use case is something that
shows -what kind of malicious activities can be performed by an actor that may result in
system failure.

26) What is SQUARE stands for?

SQUARE stands for Security Quality Requirements Engineering. It is one of the software
engineering steps that mainly focus on documenting the security requirements of the
system.

27) What is Pareto Analysis?

It is a decision making technique, also known as 80/20 rule. It is used for quality control
and defect resolution. It explains few factors that can be responsible for big problems. It
is named as 80/20 rule, because as per this rule, 80 % effects in the system, arises from
20 % causes.

28) Do you have any idea about Agile Manifesto?

Agile Manifesto is a guide for software developers about the development principles to
ensure iterative solutions.

29) What BPMN stands for?

It is Business Process Model and Notation. It is a graphical representation of business
processes.

30) Define BPMN Gateway?

BPMN Gateway is a processing modeling component that is used to control flow of
interaction, sequence of processes.

31) Name the five basic elements’ categories in BPMN?

They are Flow Objects, Data, Connecting Objects, Swimlanes and Artifacts.

32) Have you ever used Kano Analysis in your previous jobs and how do you
define it?
Yes, I have used Kano Analysis in one of my previous jobs. Kano Analysis is used to
analyze a system in terms of its requirements to identify its impact on customers’
satisfaction.
33) How many key areas are there in a Kano Analysis?
They are three in number, namely as Unexpected Delighters, Performance Attributes
and Must Have Attributes.

34) Define Pair-Choice Technique?

The pair-Choice Technique is used to give priority to various items in a process. It is
mainly used when distinctive stakeholders are involved in the project. This technique
asks from the group to compare each item with the other and select the one having
highest priority.

35) Do you have suggestions to make an effective use-case model?

Yes, I would suggest making two separate diagrams. One serves as a use-case and the
other serves as an actor diagram. So that we can highlight all the possible activities in a
use case & in actor diagram and then we can merge both the diagrams to get an
effective use-case diagram.

36) How many types of actor can be there in a Use-Case?

There are primary and secondary actors. Primary actors start the process and
secondary actors assist them. Moreover, actors can be of four types such as Human,
System, Hardware and Timer.

37) Define BCG Matrix?

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix is developed to analyze several of business
processes and new product offerings from companies. It is a useful tool that can be used
in portfolio analysis, strategic management, product management, and brand marketing.

38) How can you differentiate between pool and swimlane?

A swimlane is related to group activities on an activity diagram while a pool is dedicated
activity to a single person.

39) Differentiate between Fish Model and V Model?

Fish model is comparatively very costly and time consuming, while, V model requires
less time and cost. Moreover, Fish model is used when there were no ambiguities in the
customers’ requirements. Otherwise, other model is preferred.

40) How do you manage frequently changing customers’ requirements while

developing any system?
As a business analyst, I would develop a document stating clearly that no change will be
accepted after a certain period of time and get it signed by the user.

41) Define Use Case points?

Use Case points are used to evaluate the cost of work done to develop the system.

42) What does PEST stand for?

It means Political, Economic, Social, and Technological. It is used to analyze business
environment, in which it has to be operated.

43) Name the four key phases of business development?

They are Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing.
44) Define Benchmarking?
Benchmarking is about measuring performance of an organization to compete in the
industry. In this process a company may measure its policies, performance, rules and
other measures.

45) What do we mean by SWEBOK?

It means Software Engineering Body of Knowledge.

46) What do you know about GAP Analysis?

It is a process of comparing and determining the difference between two things or
processes.

47) Define Agile?

Agile is basically a technique that uses several light-weight methodologies such as
Rapid Application Development (RAD), Extreme Programming (XP) and SCRUM. All
these methodologies focus on the development of iterative solutions. Find how Agile is
different from Waterfall model here.

48) Define Scrum Method?

It is one of the agile methods, used to develop iterative information systems. In this
method a small team works on the assigned tasks for a time period of 30 days usually.

49) What does JAD stand for?

It means Joint Application Development.

SDLC Interview Questions

50) What is SDLC?
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a framework, which defines tasks that need
to be performed at each and every step of software development lifecycle. SDLC
consists of a detailed strategy about how to develop, and maintain specific software. The
lifecycle defines a procedure for improving software quality and the overall software
development process.

51) Why is software development life cycle (SDLC) important?

SDLC acts as a guide for the project and offers a flexible way to manage changes in the
project. SDLC stages describe key schedule and delivery points, which ensure well-
timed and precise delivery of the product to the client.

52) What are the different phases in SDLC?

SDLC has 5 phases:

• Requirement & analysis

• Design
• Coding
• Testing
• Maintenance
53) What is SDLC model?
SDLC model explains implementation of a strategy within a project. It explains the
different processes and phases that would be done throughout the project to deliver the
desired output. There are different types of SDLC model that help to manage projects
according to requirement.

54) What are the most well-known SDLC models?

Some of the well-known SDLC models are:

• Waterfall Model
• Iterative Model
• Spiral Model
• RAD Model
• V-Model
• Agile Model

54) Describe waterfall software development life cycle model?

Waterfall model is a non-iterative and sequential SDLC model which details flowing of
phases downwards one by one. In waterfall model new phase is not started until and
unless the previous phase is completely done. Waterfall model consists of 5 phases:

• Requirements gathering
• Design
• Implementation
• Testing
• Maintenance

55) Briefly detail the phases of the waterfall model.

• Requirements Gathering: Each and every requirement is gathered and analysis is
done for the complete system. To know about Business Requirement Document,
click here.
• Design: After completion of the requirements gathering phase, different design
models are made for the system.
• Implementation: Implementation of the project is initiated after designing of the
model is completed.
• Testing: Once project is implemented, testing of the entire system is done.
• Maintenance: After running a successful test phase, support/maintenance of the
product is done.

56) Explain the advantages of the waterfall model.

Advantages of the waterfall model are:

• Planning is not required

• Works perfectly for small projects
• Requires less budget as planning is less
• It is the quickest way to deliver product

57) Explain disadvantages of waterfall model are:

• It is Inflexible
• Making new changes is very hard
• In waterfall model client gets the whole product when it’s completely ready.
• It is not suitable for large projects and where goals are not crystal clear.
58) Explain when to use the waterfall model.

Waterfall model can be used when:

• Requirements of the client is clear and fixed.

• There are no confusion about the requirements from any party.
• Client has confidence in the organization.
• The organization has working experience of similar projects.
• The project is small.

59) Describe V-Shaped software development life cycle model.

V-shaped model is an extension of waterfall model. In waterfall model phases move
downwards, whereas, in V-shaped model phases are upwards after completion of
coding phase to create the V shape. It details relationship between each phase of
software development life cycle and its testing phase.

60) Briefly describe the phases in the V-Shaped model.

Phases of V-Shaped model are as follows:

In the V-shape model, verification phases are on the left side. V-shape model consists
of:

Requirements Analysis: All the requirement is collected and analyzed to understand

the problem and propose a solution.
System Design: Analysis of the gathered requirements is done by the engineers and
they propose different ways the system can be developed.
Architecture design: Systems architecture consists of different modules, showcasing
relationship and communication b/w them.
Module design: Module design details about each of the individual modules in a very
detailed manner.
Coding: Coding is at the very bottom of the V-shaped model. In coding phase each of
the designed modules are implemented using codes by the developers.
In V-shape SDLC model validation phase is at the right side. It consists of:

Unit testing: Independent modules are tested in the unit testing phase.
Integration testing: All the independent modules are tested to validate interface and
find errors in them.
System testing: Entire system is tested by keeping in mind the requirement of the
client.
User Acceptance testing: This is the final phase, where client/user himself checks the
performance of the system.

61) What are the advantageous of V-Shaped model?

• It is very simple and easy to use.
• All phase has clear and fixed requirement and goal.
• It has higher chances of success validation processing starts in the beginning itself.
62) What are the disadvantages of the V-Shaped model?

Disadvantages of V-Shaped model:

• V-shaped model is inflexible.

• It is very hard to make changes in requirements
• Prototype is not available for V-shaped model
• Its implementation requires skilled resources

63) When the V-Shaped model should be used?

V-shaped model should be used under below mentioned circumstances:

• It should be used on projects that are small or medium.

• It should be used for projects that have clear requirements
• It should be used when you have technical resources

64) Describe prototype software development life cycle model.

In prototype model refinement and reviewing of the product is done on the continuous
basis until acceptable product is created and is ready for delivery.

65) Briefly describe the phases in the Prototype model.

Phases in prototype model:

• Identification of requirements to begin with: Collect some of the crucial requirement

that define need of the system including main input and output information.
• Develop initial prototype: Create a basic output which consist of UI screens.
• Review the prototype: Client or end users examine the prototype and give feedback
for improvements or enhancements in the product.
• Revise and enhance the prototype: Changes in the product is based on the feedback
that is received from end user.

66) What are advantages of the prototype model?

Advantages of prototype model are:

• This model helps to increase customer’s confidence as programmers and customers

are continuously in contact with each other.
• It is very flexible, as changes in requirements can be incorporated easily with all the
new review received from clients.
• In porotype model users and developers are able to understand the system in better
way.
• In this model, user is not required to receive training, since he has been using the
product from the very beginning.

67) What are the disadvantages of the prototype model?

Disadvantages of the prototype model are as follows:
• Giving more attention to the prototype can mislead programmers from understanding
the original desired system.
• Client or end user may get confused
• Programmers may misunderstand objective of the end users.
• It is very expensive as prototypes requires a lot of effort and time.
68) Explain when to use the Prototype model.
Under following cases Prototype model should be used:

• When the system needs a lot of interaction with the end users.
• During development process itself, end user come to know about most of the
functionalities of the product.
• Prototype modeling is very useful for creation of highly interface systems.

69) What is rapid application development (RAD) software development life cycle
model?
Rapid application development or commonly known as (RAD) is a software development
methodology that utilizes minimal planning in favor of rapid prototyping.

70) Briefly describe the phases in the rapid application development (RAD) model.
Phases of Rapid Application Development (RAD):

Business modeling: Information flow is found between different business functions.

Data modeling: All the information collected from business modeling is utilized to define
data objects that are required for the business.
Process modeling: Data objects defined in data modeling are converted to achieve the
business information flow to achieve some specific business objective. Description are
identified and created for CRUD of data objects.
Application generation: In this phase various automated tools are used to create code
from the designed models.
Testing and turnover: In the final phase all the components and its interfaces are
tested.

71) What are the advantages of rapid application development (RAD) model?
Advantages of RAD:

• It reduces time required for development of software.

• RAD helps in increasing reusability of components
• Quick reviews are delivered.
• RAD encourages end user feedback
• Owners of business actively participate

72) What are the disadvantages of rapid application development (RAD) model?
Disadvantages of RAD:

• It is highly dependent on team and individual performances.

• System which can be modularized can only be developed using RAD
• RAD model requires highly skilled programmers/designers.
• RAD model is highly dependent on how skillfully model is created
• Implementation cost is high, so should be only used on large projects.

73) Explain when to use the rapid application development (RAD) model.
• RAD SDLC model should be implemented when there is a requirement to design a
system that can be modularized in 2 to 3 months of time.
• It should be used only if there is availability of designers for creating models and
budget is high.
• RAD should be used only if resources have high business knowledge and there is a
requirement to develop a system in a very short span of time.
74) What is incremental software development life cycle model?

Incremental SDLC approach suggests construction of a partial system rather than the
complete system and then builds more functionality into it. Requirements and features
are prioritized and categorized and then implemented in phases, each phase based on
the waterfall model. The process continues till the complete system is achieved.
What is Waterfall methodology?
Waterfall Model methodology which is also known as Liner Sequential Life Cycle
Model. Waterfall Model followed in the sequential order, and so project
development team only moves to next phase of development or testing if the
previous step completed successfully.

What is the Agile methodology?

Agile methodology is a practice that helps continuous iteration of development
and testing in the software development process. In this model, development
and testing activities are concurrent, unlike the Waterfall model. This process
allows more communication between customers, developers, managers, and
testers.

Advantages of Waterfall Model:

• It is one the easiest model to manage. Because of its nature, each phase
has specific deliverables and a review process.
• It works well for smaller size projects where requirements are easily
understandable.
• Faster delivery of the project
• Process and results are well documented.
• Easily adaptable method for shifting teams
• This project management methodology is beneficial to manage
dependencies.

Advantages of the Agile Model:

• It is focused client process. So, it makes sure that the client is
continuously involved during every stage.
• Agile teams are extremely motivated and self-organized so it likely to
provide a better result from the development projects.
 • Agile software development method assures that quality of the
development is maintained
• The process is completely based on the incremental progress. Therefore,
the client and team know exactly what is complete and what is not. This
reduces risk in the development process.

Limitations of Waterfall Model:

• It is not an ideal model for a large size project
• If the requirement is not clear at the beginning, it is a less effective
method.
• Very difficult to move back to makes changes in the previous phases.
• The testing process starts once development is over. Hence, it has high
chances of bugs to be found later in development where they are
expensive to fix.

Limitations of Agile Model

• It is not useful method for small development projects.
• It requires an expert to take important decisions in the meeting.
• Cost of implementing an agile method is little more compared to other
development methodologies.
• The project can easily go off track if the project manager is not clear what
outcome he/she wants.
Difference between Agile and Waterfall Model:
Agile Waterfall

It separates the project development lifecycle into Software development process is divided into
sprints. distinct phases.

It follows an incremental approach Waterfall methodology is a sequential design

process.

Agile methodology is known for its flexibility. Waterfall is a structured software development
methodology so most times it can be quite
rigid.

Agile can be considered as a collection of many Software development will be completed as

different projects. one single project.

Agile is quite a flexible method which allows There is no scope of changing the requirements
changes to be made in the project development once the project development starts.
requirements even if the initial planning has been
completed.

Agile methodology, follow an iterative development All the project development phases like
approach because of this planning, development, designing, development, testing, etc. are
prototyping and other software development completed once in the Waterfall model.
phases may appear more than once.

Test plan is reviewed after each sprint The test plan is rarely discussed during the test
phase.

Agile development is a process in which the The method is ideal for projects which have
requirements are expected to change and evolve. definite requirements and changes not at all
expected.

In Agile methodology, testing is performed In this methodology, the "Testing" phase

concurrently with software development. comes after the "Build" phase
Agile introduces a product mindset where the This model shows a project mindset and places
software product satisfies needs of its end its focus completely on accomplishing the
customers and changes itself as per the customer's project.
demands.

Agile methdology works exceptionally well with Reduces risk in the firm fixed price contracts by
Time & Materials or non-fixed funding. It may getting risk agreement at the beginning of the
increase stress in fixed-price scenarios. process.

Prefers small but dedicated teams with a high Team coordination/synchronization is very
degree of coordination and synchronization. limited.

Products owner with team prepares requirements Business analysis prepares requirements
just about every day during a project. before the beginning of the project.

Test team can take part in the requirements change It is difficult for the test to initiate any change in
without problems. requirements.

Description of project details can be altered Detail description needs to implement waterfall
anytime during the SDLC process. software development approach.

The Agile Team members are interchangeable, as a In the waterfall method, the process is always
result, they work faster. There is also no need for straightforward so, project manager plays an
project managers because the projects are essential role during every stage of SDLC.
managed by the entire team
KEY DIFFERENCE
• Waterfall is a Liner Sequential Life Cycle Model whereas Agile is a
continuous iteration of development and testing in the software
development process.
• Agile methodology is known for its flexibility whereas Waterfall is a
structured software development methodology.
• Agile follows an incremental approach whereas the Waterfall
methodology is a sequential design process.
• Agile performs testing concurrently with software development whereas
in Waterfall methodology testing comes after the “Build” phase.
• Agile allows changes in project development requirement whereas
Waterfall has no scope of changing the requirements once the project
development starts.