iSQI ISAQB Certified Professional for Software Architecture -Foundation Level CPSA-FL Exam Dumps: Updated Questions & Answers (October 2025)

The term 'coupling' in software architecture refers to the degree of direct knowledge that one component has about another. This can be reflected in:A. A building block uses an interface of another building block. - This represents a form of coupling where components interact through well-defined interfaces, influencing the level of dependency between them.D. A building block uses internal data structures of another building block. - This indicates a higher degree of coupling, as it involves direct knowledge of another component’s internal workings, which is generally discouraged to maintain modularity and ease of maintenance.

These answers are based on fundamental software architecture and design principles widely recognized in the field.

Appropriate statements about crosscutting concepts in software architecture include:A. The definition of appropriate concepts ensures the conceptual integrity of the architecture. - Consistent use of concepts across an architecture ensures that the system is cohesive and maintains integrity.B. Concepts are a means to increase consistency. - By defining and following common patterns and strategies, consistency is achieved throughout the system.D. Uniform exception handling is most easily achieved when architects agree with developers upon a suitable concept prior to implementation. - Establishing a common approach to exception handling before development starts can ensure uniformity and reduce errors.G. A concept can define constraints for the implementation of many building blocks. - Concepts often set rules or guidelines that impact how multiple components or building blocks should be implemented, helping to maintain a unified approach to solving architectural problems.

These answers are derived from established principles and patterns in the field of software architecture, focusing on best practices and common methodologies.

A) FalseB) FalseC) FalseD) TrueE) TrueF) False

Postel’s law, also known as the robustness principle, is a guideline in software engineering that advises to "be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others"1. This principle has implications for system design and interaction with external interfaces:

A) Response time of the system is reduced: This is false. Postel’s law does not directly relate to the response time of a system1.

B) Implementation effort increases: This is false. Being liberal in what is accepted can actually simplify implementation because the system is designed to handle a wider range of inputs without failure1.

C) Usability of the system is reduced: This is false. Postel’s law aims to increase robustness and interoperability, which can enhance usability by making the system more resilient and accommodating1.

D) Robustness of the system is increased: This is true. By being conservative in outputs and liberal in inputs, the system becomes more robust, handling a variety of inputs without error1.

E) The integrity of the data transferred via interfaces is increased: This is true. Accepting a wide range of inputs and adhering strictly to output specifications helps maintain data integrity across different systems1.

F) Availability of the system is reduced due to potentially bad quality of input data: This is false. Postel’s law suggests that the system should be designed to handle poor quality input data gracefully, thus maintaining availability1.

Applying Postel’s law helps create systems that are more tolerant of input variations and strict in their outputs, contributing to overall system robustness and reliability1.

The Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM) helps evaluate architecture decisions with respect to quality attributes by producing several key artifacts:

B: The concrete quality tree illustrates and organizes the quality attributes specific to the architecture being evaluated, showing how generic quality attributes are refined into measurable scenarios.

C: Description of quality scenarios specifies and documents the scenarios under which the architecture's responses are tested against the desired quality attributes.

G: List of the architectural risks identifies potential risks in the architecture that may threaten the system’s ability to meet its quality goals, aiding in proactive risk management.

A) TrueB) TrueC) TrueD) TrueE) TrueF) TrueG) True

When choosing a software-architecture modeling tool, several factors can play a role:

A) Multi-user capability is important for collaborative environments where multiple architects work on the same model simultaneously1.

B) Support of UML 2.x and SysML ensures that the tool can handle widely-used modeling languages for software and systems engineering1.

C) Document generation is a key feature that allows for the automatic creation of documentation from the model1.

D) Support of model transformations in preparation of the code generation indicates the tool’s ability to convert models into other forms or even into executable code1.

E) Support of code generation can significantly speed up the development process by generating code from the models1.

F) Compliance with standards ensures that the tool adheres to industry standards, which can be crucial for interoperability and future-proofing1.

G) Purchase and licensing costs are practical considerations that affect the total cost of ownership of the tool1.

These criteria are aligned with the iSAQB® SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE – FOUNDATION LEVEL documents, which emphasize the importance of these factors in the selection of a software-architecture modeling tool1.

The correct statements about data structures, specifically stacks, are:A. The push operation usually places a new element onto a stack. - This is the basic operation of a stack data structure, where elements are added to the top of the stack.D. A stack usually only provides access to one element at a time. - In stack terminology, this is known as LIFO (Last In, First Out) behavior, where only the top element is accessible at any time for operations like pop or peek.

Quality requirements specify the conditions under which a system must operate to meet the needs of its users and stakeholders, focusing on performance, usability, reliability, etc.

C: Automatic spelling correction is a feature related to the system's usability and accuracy, improving the overall quality of user interaction.

D: Stating a failure rate of less than 0.1% specifies a reliability target that the system must achieve, making it a quantifiable and critical quality requirement.

The statements regarding the design principle ‘information hiding’ that are true and false are as follows:

True:

Adhering to the ‘information hiding’ principle increases flexibility for modifications (A).

Information hiding involves deliberately hiding information from callers or consumers of the building block (B).

In object-oriented development, information hiding is primarily relevant at class level (E).

False:

Information hiding makes it harder to distinguish between interface and implementation C.

Information hiding is a derivative of the approach of incremental refinement along the control flow (D).

The principle of ‘information hiding’ is a fundamental concept in software engineering that promotes encapsulation and abstraction. Here’s an explanation of each statement:

True Statements:

(A): Information hiding allows for changes in the implementation without affecting other parts of the system, thus increasing flexibility1.

(B): The core idea of information hiding is to keep the implementation details away from the users of the component, revealing only what is necessary2.

(E): In object-oriented programming, information hiding is typically applied at the class level, where internal data and methods are hidden from other classes3.

False Statements:

C: Information hiding does not make it harder to distinguish between interface and implementation; rather, it helps to clearly define the interface by hiding the implementation details1.

(D): Information hiding is not a derivative of incremental refinement along the control flow; it is a separate principle that focuses on hiding the internal complexities of a component4.

Information hiding is crucial for maintaining a clean and modular architecture, where components can be developed, maintained, and replaced independently.

References:

Stack Overflow discussion on Abstraction vs Information Hiding vs Encapsulation1.

Wikipedia article on Information Hiding2.

Kansas State University textbook excerpt on Information Hiding3.

Techopedia definition of Information Hiding4.

A) FalseB) TrueC) TrueD) False

A) Architectural objectives and project objectives need to be identical.

This is false. Architectural objectives are concerned with the technical goals and quality attributes of the system, while project objectives are broader and include timelines, budgets, and overall project deliverables12.

B) Most of the time, architectural objectives are of a more long-term nature than project objectives.

This is true. Architectural objectives often focus on the sustainability and maintainability of the system, which are long-term considerations, whereas project objectives may be more immediate and focused on the project’s completion12.

C) Architectural objectives and project objectives need to be negotiated between the concerned parties.

True. Both sets of objectives should align with the stakeholders’ needs and the project’s overall goals, and thus require negotiation to ensure that all parties’ interests are addressed3.

D) Architectural objectives are a subset of project objectives.

This is false. Architectural objectives are not necessarily a subset but are related and should support the project objectives. They deal specifically with the architecture of the system, which is one aspect of the project

A) IncorrectB) CorrectC) IncorrectD) IncorrectE) Incorrect

In the context of building a tool chain for continuous architecture evaluation and analysis, the following statements can be assessed:

A) Tools for static code analysis do not find all dependencies in the source code. They can find many, but not necessarily all, especially if dynamic programming techniques are used1.

B) Several tools for static code analysis can be used to verify compliance with architectural rules. This is one of the primary uses of static code analysis tools1.

C) Tools for static code analysis cannot reliably measure cohesion because cohesion is a qualitative aspect of modules that depends on the context and design intent, which static analysis alone cannot fully capture1.

D) Tools for static code analysis are not typically used to optimize runtime efficiency. They are more focused on code quality, security, and compliance with coding standards1.

E) Tools for dynamic analysis, such as profilers, can be used to optimize static structures. They provide runtime information that can inform decisions about the static structure of the code1.

These assessments are based on the iSAQB® SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE – FOUNDATION LEVEL documents, which provide guidelines on the selection and use of tools for software architecture evaluation and analysis1.