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BCS Practitioner Certificate in Systems Development Essentials — Information & Free Practice

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About BCS Practitioner Certificate in Systems Development Essentials

BCS Practitioner Certificate in Systems Development Essentials · US

Key exam facts

Provider
BCS-accredited Examination Provider
Format
Supervised/invigilated, paper-based, open-book written examination based on a business scenario; provider-selected method; model construction is excluded.
Time limit
1 hour plus 15 minutes reading time; 25% additional time when the examination language is not the candidate's native/official language, subject to the syllabus provisions.
Passing score
50%

Topics covered

  • System Development roles and responsibilities (10%)

    • Actors, roles and responsibilities in system development and implementation
    • Characteristics of these roles
    • Team structure

  • Architecture (5%)

    • Different levels of architecture
    • Inputs at Enterprise level
    • Inputs at Solution and Infrastructure level
    • Impacts of design decisions

  • Systems Development Lifecycles (15%)

    • Waterfall
    • V Model
    • Incremental or phased delivery
    • Spiral or iterative
    • Advantages and disadvantages of each approach
    • Selection of an appropriate approach on defined characteristics

  • Development Practices (10%)

    • Bespoke development
    • Evolutionary / Agile
    • Prototyping
    • Component based development
    • Software Package solutions (COTS Commercial off-the-shelf)

  • Methods (20%)

    • Structure and content of a chosen representative method
    • Describe and interpret three representation models from the method
    • Logical and physical aspects depicted by these models
    • Roles and team structures within the chosen method
    • Products within a chosen method

  • Systems Investigation (10%)

    • Fact finding approaches
    • Functional requirements definition
    • Non-functional requirements definition
    • Documenting system requirements
    • Human aspects of systems investigation and introducing change

  • System Design, Deployment and Maintenance (10%)

    • Controls and security
    • Verification and validation
    • Interface design
    • Design principles and constraints (legal, ethical, financial)
    • Different types of implementation
    • Sign off and deployment
    • Post implementation reviews
    • Different types of maintenance and support

  • Quality Assurance (15%)

    • Definitions of quality
    • Requirements driven testing
    • Types of walkthrough and inspection
    • Post Project Reviews
    • Service Level Agreements

  • CASE, CAST, Application Lifecycle Management tools (5%)

    • Software support for systems development
    • Features of CASE and CAST tools
    • Features of Application Lifecycle Management
    • Lifecycle coverage
    • Configuration and version control

How to prepare

Work through the topics, read the explanation after each answer, and revisit the areas where you miss questions. Use the official outline and reference materials below to guide your study.

These independent practice questions are not actual exam items and do not guarantee a passing result.

Frequently asked questions

What is the exam format?

Supervised/invigilated, paper-based, open-book written examination based on a business scenario; provider-selected method; model construction is excluded.

How long is the exam?

1 hour plus 15 minutes reading time; 25% additional time when the examination language is not the candidate's native/official language, subject to the syllabus provisions.

What is the passing score?

50%

Official sources and references

Confirm current exam arrangements with the exam provider.