CPSA Quality Attributes and Scenarios Questions and Answers

Question 1

An architect is defining a quality scenario for system availability.
The scenario reads: 'Under normal operation, an unexpected database connection failure occurs.' Which essential component of a quality scenario is missing from this statement?

Accepted Answer

Response and Response Measure

Answer

Stimulus and Environment

Answer

Source and Artifact

Answer

Artifact and Stimulus

Question 2

A stakeholder states that a new online retail system must be 'user-friendly'. To transform this statement into a testable quality requirement, the architect decides to create a quality scenario. Which of the following is the BEST example of a 'Response Measure' for a usability scenario?

Accepted Answer

A new user can complete a purchase in under 90 seconds.

Answer

The system should provide clear feedback to the user.

Answer

A user performs a search for a product.

Answer

The system is operating under peak load.

Question 3

Which of the following describes the primary purpose of using a 'general scenario' when defining quality attributes?

Accepted Answer

To provide a system-independent template or checklist to help elicit and specify concrete quality requirements.

Answer

To document the final, detailed, and system-specific quality requirements for implementation.

Answer

To replace the need for functional requirements by focusing only on quality attributes.

Answer

To measure the performance of the architecture after the system has been fully deployed.

Question 4

A software architect is using a utility tree to prioritize quality requirements. A specific scenario is evaluated as having (High Business Value, Low Architectural Impact). How should the architect typically interpret this scenario?

Accepted Answer

This is a 'quick win' that delivers significant value to stakeholders and should be prioritized, as it is relatively easy to achieve.

Answer

This is a critical requirement that will be very difficult to implement and requires immediate, complex design work.

Answer

This requirement should be deprioritized or discarded as it offers little value.

Answer

This requirement has major technical risks and might jeopardize the project, despite its business value.

Question 5

A team is developing a system for processing financial transactions. A key quality attribute is security. Which scenario best represents a concrete, testable security requirement?

Accepted Answer

An external actor with no credentials attempts to access a customer's transaction history via a public API endpoint; the system rejects the request and logs the attempt within 100ms.

Answer

The system must prevent unauthorized access to customer data.

Answer

The system should be designed with security best practices in mind.

Answer

All data transmission must be encrypted to ensure confidentiality.

Question 6

According to the ISO 25010 standard, the quality attribute 'Maintainability' is composed of several sub-characteristics. Which of the following is a sub-characteristic of Maintainability?

Accepted Answer

Modifiability

Answer

Fault tolerance

Answer

Capacity

Answer

Accessibility