What is the term when we say professional standards can be formally agreed?

Professional standards can be formally agreed or “de facto” (“de” is pronounced “day”).

De facto standards are when lots of people start working in a certain way and more people think it looks like a good idea and start doing it that way as well. Over time, this way of working becomes a standard, just because that is how most people do it. It is not a formally agreed standard where acommittee of people sit down and agree how something should be done.

Draw or name the steps involved in the 'Waterfall Model', a process which a new computer system can be created.

What is an alternative model to the Waterfall Model for Computer Systems development, and what is the difference between the two?

Another model is “Rapid Application Development” (RAD),
where the client is much more involved in the process.
This method starts with a prototype that is developed
gradually into a full solution with customer feedback at
each stage.

What is the benefit to the computing professional of working to a professional standard?

They wouldn’t have to learn a new
methodology every time they move to another job.

De facto standards in programming include the use of what standards in the development of code?

• indents to clearly show where sections of code are inside a construct such as a loop,
• comments in code to outline the algorithm and define the purpose of each part of the program,
• meaningful identifiers so anyone can read the code and understand it, for example “Total” instead of “X”

• Work in teams to develop a system because they all have a common understanding of the design tools and diagrams.
• Move between companies because the standards apply across the whole industry.
• Pick up someone else’s design and code the program to achieve it.
• Maintain somebody else’s program when the customer’s requirements change.