Software reengineering in Software Engineering - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is software reengineering?

Software reengineering is the process of examining and altering an existing software system to improve it, fix problems, or adapt it to new requirements without completely rewriting it from scratch.

beginner

Name one main goal of software reengineering.

One main goal is to improve software maintainability, making it easier to update, fix, or extend the software in the future.

intermediate

What is reverse engineering in the context of software reengineering?

Reverse engineering means analyzing the existing software to understand its components and design, often by extracting information from the code or documentation.

intermediate

List one common activity involved in software reengineering.

One common activity is code restructuring, which means reorganizing the code to improve clarity and reduce complexity without changing its behavior.

beginner

Why is software reengineering important for legacy systems?

Legacy systems may be outdated or hard to maintain. Reengineering helps update them to work better with new technologies and meet current needs without starting over.

What does software reengineering primarily aim to do?

A Only fix hardware issues

B Create new software from scratch

C Improve existing software without complete rewrite

D Delete old software permanently

Software reengineering focuses on improving or adapting existing software rather than building new software from zero.

Which process involves understanding software by analyzing its code or design?

A Forward engineering

B Reverse engineering

C Code deployment

D Software testing

Reverse engineering is the process of analyzing existing software to understand its structure and design.

Which of the following is NOT a typical activity in software reengineering?

A Hardware installation

B Code restructuring

C Documentation updating

D Data migration

Hardware installation is unrelated to software reengineering, which focuses on software improvements.

Why might a company choose software reengineering over building new software?

A To save time and cost by improving existing software

B Because new software is always worse

C To avoid any changes to software

D To delete all old data

Reengineering can be more efficient and cost-effective than creating new software from scratch.

What is a legacy system?

A A hardware device

B A brand new software

C A software that never worked

D An outdated or old software system still in use

Legacy systems are older software systems that may be outdated but are still used by organizations.

Explain what software reengineering is and why it is useful.

Think about how old software can be improved without starting over.

Describe the role of reverse engineering in software reengineering.

Consider how you learn about a system before changing it.