ITPEC IP April 2023 Question 98

Topic: System PlanningAlso asked in Spring 2020

In the development of a consolidated accounting system, functional requirements and non-functional requirements were classified as shown in the table below. Which of the following is the appropriate requirement to be inserted into blank A?

Functional requirementsNon-functional requirements
•Accounting can be performed in accordance with international accounting standards.•Confirmation of account closing results is performed by the accounting department manager.•Records are obtained for all account closing processes.•All batch processes are completed within 8 hours.•A.•All data to be kept is encrypted.

Explanation

Annual downtime as a result of failure totals 10 hours or less — an availability target, so it belongs among the non-functional requirements.

Functional requirements state what the system must do: its business functions, data and processing, like the three in the left column. Non-functional requirements state how well it must do it: performance, availability, reliability, security, operability and so on. The right column already holds a performance requirement (all batch processes within 8 hours) and a security requirement (encrypting stored data). A limit on the yearly downtime caused by failures is an availability requirement, so it fills blank A.

Answer (a)

Why not others:

  • •(b) — correcting slips with entry mistakes by a correction slip is an accounting function the system must provide, so it is functional
  • •(c) — automatically extracting data for executives' meetings is an output function of the system
  • •(d) — being able to change the companies subject to consolidation each year is a function of consolidated accounting

Key rule: A requirement that names something the system does is functional; one that sets a level of performance, availability, security or another quality is non-functional.

System Planning · AI-written, may contain errors

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