Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Marketing Simulation Essays

Marketing Simulation Essays Marketing Simulation Essay Marketing Simulation Essay Orange experienced a very successful campaign and grew more profitable over the six quarters throughtout the Market Simulation. In terms of market share in comparison to the competition, we placed fourth holding 12 percent market share. We initially targeted the Mercedes market, and later developed products aimed at the Traveler and Workhorse clientele. In terms of profitability, we suffered a loss moving from Quarter 1 to Quarter 2, which is typical of most early-stage companies. However, each quarter thereafter we were able to maintain a profit, ending with $18,270,122 gross profit and $15,232,910 operating profit. Our six computer models are the driving factor behind such success. These models include The Motherboard, Babyboard 2. 0, Horseboard, Superboard, Toddlerboard, and The Ponyboard. The Superboard, out of all the models, was our most profitable device with $6,303,840 in profit. We also embarked on a major expansion endeavor, spreading our brand originally from Chicago to Paris, Shanghai, and Sao Paulo. Our knowledgeable sales force comprised of 60 individuals, coupled with our extensive advertising and competitive pricing allowed Orange to rise to the top. By the end of the Marketplace Simulation, Orange was in first place for cumulative total performance, accounting for a variety of business disciplines that contributed to our success. While we placed third in the simulation in terms of overall financial performance, we placed first overall for market performance and marketing effectiveness. Brand Design: Over the course of the six quarters, we made varying adjustments to our brands in order to keep up with the ever-changing competitive markets. In Quarter 2, we decided to enter the Mercedes market with The Motherboard computer. Specifically, this brand was designed to be the top of the line product that suited all the most important needs of Mercedes. Some of these needs included a fast and powerful processor, the ability to link with other computers, and a machine that is capable of multitasking (Fig 1. 1). We figured that starting out in the highest-end market would be beneficial to creating a good name for our company, and then we would be able to trickle down throughout the other brandstarget market segments. Our results from Quarter 2 showed that we were successful with The Motherboard, as we possessed 46 percent of the market share for Mercedes. In Quarter 3, we introduced The Babyboard to the Traveler market segment. We designed our product to match the best-suited brand for Traveler, which was SwifTech’s Quickfly. We were slow to expand from our original two brands, and lost some of our momentum with our Quarter 4 decisions. When we got our results, we realized that we needed to introduce more brands in order to keep up with the highly competitive markets. Quarter 5 marked our first Quarter quarter of rapid expansion. We introduced an additional product lines to Mercedes and Traveler, and created our first unit product for Workhorse. The new product lines for Mercedes and Traveler, The Superboard and The Toddlerboard respectively, were the higher quality versions of the The Motherboard and the The Babyboard. They , which were enhanced with all of the necessities and priced slightly higher than the original lines. Our initial brand for Workhorse was the The Horseboard, and it possessed the most basic features at the lowest price, to appeal to a consumer who was looking for something simple to use. We continued the trend of making two slightly varied products for each market segment in Quarter 6 when we introduced the The Ponyboard to supplement a slightly lower-end product than the The Horseboard. Sales Design Strategy: The sales design strategy of Orange was based primarily on the customer’s (Workhorse, Mercedes and Traveler) needs and wants. This consisted of the top eight preferences in either a laptop or a desktop, and the top six segments of applications. Additionally, each of the target market’s priceprices willing to pay is are shown in (Fig 1. 2). Initially, Orange felt it was most appropriate to choose to target the Mercedes market in Chicago. This allowed for The Motherboard to be produced, which led to 46 percent% domination in only the Mercedes market. Unfortunately overall Orange only had a 12 percent% overall market share, and felt it was necessary to expand into the portable laptop industry of Traveler with The Babyboard 2. 0, and opened a plant in Paris. By Quarter 3, the market size had reached 10,000 customers, which allowed for expansion in the cities of Shanghai and Sao Paulo, and the last target market of Workhorse. The generous rebates were attractive to the target audience, and allowed for the introduction of The Horseboard, The Superboard, and The Toddlerboard. By Quarter 6, a total of 60 sales people had been employed, and due to the overall low prices of the products, as well as the rebates, Orange gained a 2 percent% market share. Financial Performance: Throughout these first phases of our company, Orange has created a positive financial pattern. While we implemented an aggressive growth strategy and expanded our empire internationally, we kept our costs to a minimum. Naturally, we started Quarter 2 with a deficit due to startup costs. Unlike most companies, our costs were controlled however, and we were only behind by just over $12,000. As advertising has always been a core competency of our company, we spent a total of $109,471 developing and promoting our first batch of advertising. The leasing costs and office spaces were kept to a minimum in the first two quarters as well, since we were only operating out of one location. As we moved into the Quarter 3, we expanded internationally and our rental costs increased. However, our sales skyrocketed as well. We had begun to turn a profit, and were in the black by $1,155,328. In Quarter 4, we continued the pattern of financial growth, and maintained an increase in sales. Again, we were fiscally conservative and attempted to keep costs to a minimum (Fig. 1. 3). An important component of Orange’s financial history is the profitability of each brand we sell (Fig 1. 4). Our first line, The Motherboard, dedicated to the top-tier consumer, introduced us to the marketplace. We turned a profit of $922,344 throughout all six quarters. This is a modest percentage of our empire, yet it accounts for the beginnings of our financial gain. Our most profitable brand, The Superboard, generated $6,303,840. We invested a lot of time and capital in the creation of this line, and it paid off. The ToddlerbBoard, HorsebBoard, and PonybBoard were all profitable as well, with over one million made from each. Financially, only one of our lines performed less well than we had hoped. Our second line, The Babyboard 2. 0 only generated $452,198. Unfortunately, we were unable to sell a high number of these units, and the cost of goods sold was very high in comparison. In the end, each of our brands was able to generate profits. Our conservative fiscal policy allowed enough room for growth without spending more than we could handle. Finally, our revenues continued in a positive direction throughout every quarter, and we are confident the future will play out in the same way (Fig 1. 5). Competition: In the computer market, competition is very fierce. Thus, our company had to constantly position itself to be able to compete with the other companies in the market. To this end, we opened our first sales office in Chicago, hoping that our knowledge of the American marketplace would aid us in capturing a large initial market share. This plan was successful and put us near the top in overall performance in the computer market. From this point, our company decided that in order to continue our success, we needed to examine the competition to find out what we were doing right, what we were doing wrong, and how we could improve. This plan enabled us to better understand what customers wanted without having to invest heavily into producing prototypes, because we were able to utilize other companys products and sales numbers as though they were test products. Our first major interaction with our competition came in Quarter 4our fourth Quarter of operation. We introduced our The Babyboard product for the Traveler segment in our third QuarterQuarter 3 of operation. We made the mistake however, of not considering the Traveler segments desire for the computer to be fun to use. We discovered this issue by examining our competitors products and finding that all competitors that were more successful than us had included games with their product. Despite the increased costs of production and the cost of redesigning our brand, profits for the The Babyboard nearly doubled the next qQuarter (Fig. 1. 6). We also looked to our competition to determine our expansion plans. We realized immediately that with such fierce competition, the first mover advantage would be crucial. Thus, we expanded as quickly as possible by opening sales offices in every possible location. We also handled competition by expanding into every market segment, eventually offering a product for all segments of the market. Our company felt that this strategy would ensure that even if the competition would overtake us in one area, we would be able to survive on the strength of our other products while we figured out how to react. This strategy ultimately served our company well, as we were the top overall performer in the computer market. Conclusion The results of the past six quarters have clearly shown that Orange has met its primary goals and exceeded expectations, becoming one of the most consistent and profitable companies in the industry. By using a conservative fiscal policy as well as an aggressive and competitive expansionary policy, we have seen Orange grow and become a stable company that is definitely worthy of further investment. To put it into a more detailed perspective, the way we dealt with competition, brand management, sales strategy, and our financials, was what brought us to the top and remains the reason we plan on becoming even more profitable in the near future. By starting in the Mercedes market, we were able to establish ourselves early as a company that promotes high-end, top quality products. This made it extremely easy in the future to expand to the other brands such as Traveler and Workhorse, since we were already best known for our superior products, that we have constantly updated to satisfy the ever changing consumer demands. By using this strategy, we were eventually able to generate enough revenue to expand to four different areas of the world, making our brands even better known and reaping most of the first mover advantages. However, this idea alone was not sufficient to achieve the revenues that we experienced over the past few quarters. Additionally, we knew that for our company to be profitable, we needed to get our name out there. This is why our strategy was to hire a large amount of sales people in each country, and invest a large sum of our operating capital in advertisements that would appeal to the wants and needs of specific target markets. Though we have experienced relative success the past six quarters that have propelled us to the top of the industry in overall performance, we are owhere near complacent. With the competition so fierce and the landscape of the technological environment constantly changing, we feel that we are prepared to respond to any competitive and technological pressures that we might have to face in the future. Our company has been the model company in terms of consistency and financial growth and we feel as though our results so far have proven that Orange is a safe in vestment that will provide lucrative returns in the future. Figure 1. 1 Figure 1. 2 Figure 1. 3 Figure 1. 4 Fig 1. 5 Fig 1. 6

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Ashley Flores Missing Person Hoax - Urban Legends

Ashley Flores Missing Person Hoax - Urban Legends Chain emails and online postings seek help locating Ashley Flores, a 13-year-old girl allegedly missing in Philadelphia. Description: HoaxCirculating since: May 2006Status: False (details below) 2012 example:As shared on Facebook, April 2, 2012: I am asking you all, begging you to please forward this msg on to anyone and everyone you know, PLEASE. My 13 year old girl, Ashley Flores, is missing. She has been missing for two weeks It only takes 2 seconds to forward this. If it was your child, you would want all the help you could get. Louise Louw Tel: 27 31 303 1001 Cell: 27 82 509 6676 SFTBC 2006 example:Email contributed by M.M., May 11, 2006: Subject: Missing Girl from PhillyPlease pass this to everyone in your address book.We have a Deli manager (Acme Markets) from Philadelphia, Pa who has a 13 year old daughter who has been missing for 2 weeks.Keep the picture moving on. With luck on her side she will be found.I am asking you all, begging you to please forward this email on to anyone and everyone you know, PLEASE. My 13 year old girl, Ashley Flores, is missing. She has been missing for now two weeks. It is still not too late. Please help us. If anyone any where knows anything, please contact me at:HelpfindAshleyFloresyahoo.comI am including a picture of her. All prayers are appreciated!! Ashley Flores missingIt only takes 2 seconds to forward this.If it was your child, you would want all the help you could get. Analysis: This is a hoax, circulating since May 2006. Neither the Philadelphia Police Department nor the National Center for Missing Exploited Children lists (or has ever listed) a missing child by the name of Ashley Flores. No Amber Alert has ever been issued in her name. Moreover, the viral message contains none of the critical details one would expect to find in a real alert for example, a physical description of the missing person, the time and place of disappearance and contact information. Another giveaway is the presence in the body of the message of several sentences copied word-for-word from previous missing child hoaxes (see Penny Brown and C.J. Mineo). The Ashley Flores / MySpace Connection Though she never really went missing, it appears that Ashley Flores does exist and lived in Philadelphia when these alerts first started going around. By following hyperlinks embedded in a version posted on MySpace.com, I found an exact match (long since deleted) for the image above in a photo gallery on Photobucket.com, along with several others (long since deleted) that were uploaded by the same user and featured a young woman named Ashley who bore more than a passing resemblance to the girl pictured above. The images were posted by someone using the screen name Vixter609, whom I found blogging under the same alias on MySpace.com with her given name listed as Vicki, her age as 17 and her city of residence as Philadelphia. When I contacted Vicki to ask what, if anything, she knew about Ashley Flores and her status as a missing person, I received the following reply (reproduced verbatim): ashley flores is not missing it was a merly a joke that got completely out of hand please imform everyone that e-mail that she is NOT missing it was a joke im sorry about any confusion Subsequent inquiries went unanswered. That this little joke caused confusion is putting it mildly. 2009 Update After a version of the Ashley Flores email containing the contact info of the Rolla, Missouri police department circulated in 2009, said police department was forced to change its telephone number because it was receiving up to 75 calls per day on the matter. The citys online FAQ page still contains a reference to the hoax. The Flores alert is listed on the U.S. Department of Justice Amber Alert website as a known hoax. Further reading: Weekly Press Gets PunkdPhiladelphia Will Do (blog), 1 June 2006 Missing Girl Hoax SpreadsSydney Morning Herald, 28 June 2006 Fake Amber Alert Spreading Throughout UtahDeseret News, 10 February 2009

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The context of Magna Carta and the Robin Hood films Essay

The context of Magna Carta and the Robin Hood films - Essay Example His story has won the hearts of many young and adventurous readers who view him as a type of deliverer, and it’s interesting to discover that he had a bigger impact in history than we know. The first time for the story to be put into film was in 1938. It was filmed in Technicolor and starred Errol Flynn as the main character. It was released in the United States on a whopping two-million dollar budget. It was highly acclaimed by critics and won three Academy awards. The plot is focused on the political affairs of medieval England. It shows how Robin Hood plays a big part in preventing the royal throne from being usurped while King Richard is away. His younger brother, Prince John has been scheming the whole time, hoping his brother would encounter some trouble so that he would take the throne. When it does happen, he takes power and immediately exercises his authority, raising taxes all over the kingdom. Meanwhile, King Richard is smuggled into England, disguised as a monk. He joins Robin Hood, and together, they outwit his treacherous brother and manage to win the throne back to its rightful king (Dirks, 2002). In the film, the Magna Carta is not mentioned, although it was a main event during those days. The Magna Carta was drafted by the barons and noblemen in the year 1215 and presented to the king as a strategy to limit his powers and lighten the loads he had placed on their backs. But the signing of this document did not fully give the people the freedom they wanted. King John still caused problems. Moreover, the pope denounced the charter, calling it treason against the king’s God-given authority. This gave the king courage to stand up to the barons, who reacted violently, plunging the country into civil war, and threatening its collapse (Danziger & Gilligam, 2003). All the while, Robin Hood had been banished to Sherwood Forest as an outlaw, and he was daily evading capture from the king’s soldiers. Since then, Hollywood has produced many other films about Robin Hood and his exploits, the newest one starring Russell Crowe as the main character. This is one of the few films that includes the Magna Carta within its plot. Set on the backdrop of the early 1200s, this film also dwells largely on the political conflicts in the royal courts. In the film, King John promises to sign a charter promising to establish fair and just laws that will limit the monarch’s power and protect their privileges. This was to be done after a French invasion led by King Philip was overthrown. Believing in his promise, the barons unite with the King’s army in fighting off the French in the coastal beaches of England. They attain success and are able to push back the French armies. Once this is accomplished, the final scene depicts the barons in London eagerly awaiting the King to keep his promise to sign the document. The king stares at the document loathsomely, then after a short moment of silence, sets it on fire and casts it to the ground. Seeing this, the barons break into anger and hurl their curses at the treacherous King John. Unperturbed, he summons his soldiers to contain the crowd, then as a final act of betrayal, he banishes Robin Hood from England, declaring him an outlaw. Robin Hood is then forced to hide in Sherwood Forest together with his band of merry men. Various

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

An international expansion plan for Ferrero Rocher Essay

An international expansion plan for Ferrero Rocher - Essay Example International business expansion strategy has become one of the profitable and important business growth strategies of several leading multinational business organizations. There are several advantages of international business expansion. Organizations can increase its market share through the help of global expansion strategy. In addition to this, multinational organizations can develop potential client base around the globe through this strategy. Major objective behind this internal expansion is to maximize business profit (Blenkhorn and Fleisher, 2005, p.76). The market demand and test or preference of the customers for global products is increasing significantly due to the significant effect of globalization and technological advancement. However, the organizations’ business expansion strategy can get affected due to several risks that are associated with the business operations in international market place. Ferrero Rocher, an Italy based spherical chocolate sweet has bee n chosen as a product for the assignment. The organization is planning to introduce this product in the potential South Korean market. This assignment will determine the business environment of the host country and preferred market entry mode for Ferrero Rocher. A description of the product Ferrero Rocher is one of the popular spherical chocolate sweets. This particular product has gained huge popularity among several regional and international customers. This product is made by a popular Italian chocolate producing organization named Ferrero SpA. Ferrero Rocher was introduced in the Italian market in the year 1982. The chocolate consist of roasted hazelnut. It is encased in a unique thin wafer shell that is filled with vegetable oil and hazelnut cream. This specific chocolate sweet is covered in chopped hazelnut and milk chocolate. Each and every sweet item contains 73 calories. In addition to this, each and every sweet item is packaged individually insider an attractive gold-colou red rapper. The product already has presence in several emerging international market. This specific product achieved huge popularity among millions of people around the globe due to its quality and taste. The product is considered as the leader within the industry and in its category. Effective quality control, innovative shape, original recipe, unique advertising campaigns and refined packaging attract the global customers toward this product (Ferrero, 2013, p.1). It can be stated that the creamy filling, delicious hazelnut centre and crunchy wafer increased the demand of this product. In addition to this, the organization implemented economic pricing strategy for the products. These products are often identified in the retail chains, stationary shops and confectionary stores. A description of the organisational context Ferrero Rocher is the product as well as the brand extension of parenting company Ferrero SpA. Ferrero SpA is known as one of the leading and popular Italy based m anufacturers and distributors of the chocolate and other confectionary products. The organization was established in the year 1946 by famous confectioner Pierto Ferrero. The organization is headquartered in Alba, Italy. The founder of the

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Alcoholic Anonymous Essay Example for Free

Alcoholic Anonymous Essay What I learned from Alcoholic Anonymous is that AA is meant for people who promise that they will never drink again and they drink again anyways. Its singleness purpose identifies that alcoholics work best with other alcoholics and the only difference from the twelve step fellowships out there is the first part of the first step and the middle part of the twelfth step. What I am powerless over and who we carry the message too? Many alcoholics in AA raise their hands introducing themselves as alcoholics, but never knew what it meant. In the Speakers meeting the groups felt really connected with the speaker, and gave him their full-undivided attention. The groups focused solely on the speaker and no one else, it was mainly white, black, and Hispanic men and women of all different ages starting from their early twenties up to their mid fifties. Around thirty people attended on October 21st at eight o’clock. The meeting was very humorous the speaker knew how to relate to the AA members by bringing his personal life experiences with alcohol to distribute his indication on the importance of sobriety. The speaker knew how to make the environment funny, happy, and outgoing. The speaker often referred to the Big Book specifying the hopeless condition and mind of the body. The first step is understanding the problem, the solution, and the program of action to bring back the solution. The main reason the speaker joined AA was because he could not imagine not drinking at all. The Big Book states that unless identification takes place then little or nothing can be accomplished. For the speaker the first step is the key in following through all the other steps. The question the speaker raised was what does it mean to be an alcoholic? He mentioned that one happens when he drinks it and the other happens when he does not drink it. Other than that he had a pretty good way of handling alcohol. The speaker always knew when to state his jokes. He described alcoholism as a physical allergy coupled with a mental obsession. The phenomenon the he craves when he wants a drink never occurs in the average drinker. This triggered a phenomenon craving to desire alcohol. An allergy meant that it was an abnormal physical reaction and the manifestation always showed up. The body of an alcoholic is quite abnormal as its mind. He got to AA not knowing how to explain his behaviors, and why he kept promising that he was not going to drink anymore and does it again repeatedly. The speaker always stated that he never knew the reason why he did it, his only reason was that he just did. Alcohol triggered a craving bigger than him that he couldn’t overcome. Men and women drink because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation was so illusive for him that the quantities and qualities started to move around. The sensation he received from alcohol was so strong that he could not differentiate the truth from the false. Today looked a whole lot like yesterday and yesterday looked a whole lot like last week and it seemed that he was doing just enough to get by. The speaker viewed his alcoholic life as the only normal one. His observations to the way he reacts to alcohol wouldn’t mean him anything if he didn’t take the first drink. The alcohol craving is in his mind rather than in his body. His physical allergy to alcohol is not his biggest problem his biggest problem is that he gets restless, irritable, and discontented. All his problem happen to him when he is sober, and his main problem was that he could not stop starting because his problems will not go away when he stops drinking. He couldn’t choose whether he was going to drink or not. He related to the audience that he loved pawned shops because it was a pure equation to him. He could walk in with a deer rifle and walk out with the money. He never had a pawnbroker ask him what is he going to do with the money. His only problem was that he did not own a lot of stuff so he had to pawn things that did not belong to him. This created hard feelings around his family. He was poorly treated as a child that he finally ran away at the age of 47, and never went back. I learned that alcoholics make awesome plans but their plans work right up to where they don’t work anymore. The speaker tried to pull some kind of scam that would get everything out of the pawnshop. He pulled an insurance scam and had enough money to get everything out but had to stop for one drink and he was blackout for five days and only remembers 30 seconds of it. He lost the power of choice and control. His life was becoming unmanageable and his first step was to admit he could not manage drinking.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

The Lost Eden Essay -- Literary Analysis

The Lost Eden The story of Martin Eden is a dark but interesting one, written by Jack London, an author from early 20th Century California. Martin’s life is difficult, as he decides to defy society and join the upper class, ultimately alienating his own class while realizing the superficiality of the upper class. Through this journey, Martin embodies and evolves through three main personas, mind sets, or personalities. In the beginning, â€Å"Martin’s feeling of social inadequacy developed†(Sinclair 145), as he is a man seeking approval of society, trying to become a successful writer and win the love of an upper class woman, Ruth Morse. Then he turns into a man bent against society, or perhaps merely in great disproval, for his futile efforts to become a writer are thwarted and laughed at by everyone, from the editors of the magazines to his beloved Ruth and her family. Once Martin does become famous and rich, â€Å"his success snowballs, he is lionized by society† (La bor 118), but Martin â€Å"wishes he had never opened the books† (Lundquist 149). Through all of these struggles, Martin truly embodies none other than the author, Jack London, as the entire novel is something of an autobiography. London is â€Å"confronting himself in Martin† (Bader 150), although it is very true that Martin Eden is â€Å"a novel rather than straight autobiography†, â€Å"deliberately introspective† (Lundquist 150). Martin Eden is first a man who wishes to assimilate with high society, the upper class, as he believes that the upper class possesses an infinite amount of beauty and knowledge. Martin’s first true glimpses of the upper class come when he is invited to the Morse home, after saving Arthur Morse from a â€Å"gang of waterfront thugs† (Labor 117). This is ironic because M... ...n. 1909. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1984. Print. Lundquist, James. Jack London: Adventures, Ideas, and Fiction. New York, New York: The Ungar Publishing Company, 1987. Print. Magill, Frank N. â€Å"Jack London.† Critical Survey of Long Fiction. Vol. 4. Englewood Cliffs: Salem Press, Inc., 1983. 1691-1699. Print. - - -. â€Å"Jack London.† Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Vol. 5. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1981. 1809-1813. Print. New American Bible. New York: Catholic Book Publishing, Co., 1991. Print. O’Conner, Richard. Jack London: A Biography. N.p.: Little, Brown, and Company, 1964. Print. Sinclair, Andrew. Jack: A Biography of Jack London. New York, NY: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1977. Print. Verde, Tom. â€Å"London, Jack.† Twentieth-Century Writers 1900–1950, American Profiles. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1993. American History Online. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. The Lost Eden Essay -- Literary Analysis The Lost Eden The story of Martin Eden is a dark but interesting one, written by Jack London, an author from early 20th Century California. Martin’s life is difficult, as he decides to defy society and join the upper class, ultimately alienating his own class while realizing the superficiality of the upper class. Through this journey, Martin embodies and evolves through three main personas, mind sets, or personalities. In the beginning, â€Å"Martin’s feeling of social inadequacy developed†(Sinclair 145), as he is a man seeking approval of society, trying to become a successful writer and win the love of an upper class woman, Ruth Morse. Then he turns into a man bent against society, or perhaps merely in great disproval, for his futile efforts to become a writer are thwarted and laughed at by everyone, from the editors of the magazines to his beloved Ruth and her family. Once Martin does become famous and rich, â€Å"his success snowballs, he is lionized by society† (La bor 118), but Martin â€Å"wishes he had never opened the books† (Lundquist 149). Through all of these struggles, Martin truly embodies none other than the author, Jack London, as the entire novel is something of an autobiography. London is â€Å"confronting himself in Martin† (Bader 150), although it is very true that Martin Eden is â€Å"a novel rather than straight autobiography†, â€Å"deliberately introspective† (Lundquist 150). Martin Eden is first a man who wishes to assimilate with high society, the upper class, as he believes that the upper class possesses an infinite amount of beauty and knowledge. Martin’s first true glimpses of the upper class come when he is invited to the Morse home, after saving Arthur Morse from a â€Å"gang of waterfront thugs† (Labor 117). This is ironic because M... ...n. 1909. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1984. Print. Lundquist, James. Jack London: Adventures, Ideas, and Fiction. New York, New York: The Ungar Publishing Company, 1987. Print. Magill, Frank N. â€Å"Jack London.† Critical Survey of Long Fiction. Vol. 4. Englewood Cliffs: Salem Press, Inc., 1983. 1691-1699. Print. - - -. â€Å"Jack London.† Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Vol. 5. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1981. 1809-1813. Print. New American Bible. New York: Catholic Book Publishing, Co., 1991. Print. O’Conner, Richard. Jack London: A Biography. N.p.: Little, Brown, and Company, 1964. Print. Sinclair, Andrew. Jack: A Biography of Jack London. New York, NY: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1977. Print. Verde, Tom. â€Å"London, Jack.† Twentieth-Century Writers 1900–1950, American Profiles. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1993. American History Online. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Sad Exam Paper

COLLEGE of SCIENCE and ENGINEERING Department of Computer Science and Information Systems End-of-Semester Assessment Paper Academic Year: Module Title: Duration of Exam: Lecturer(s): 2008/2009 Systems Analysis 2. 5 Hours J. J. Collins Semester: Module Code: Percent of Total Marks: Paper marked out of : Spring CS4125 60 100 Instructions to Candidates: †¢ Answer Q1, and any TWO other questions. Q1 Answer ALL parts. Total marks awarded for this question: 40. a) b) Distinguish analysis from design. 4 marks. What are the benefits and liabilities derived by subscribing to a development philosophy based on up-front design? marks. c) d) List the activities that take place in system design. 4 marks. What are the characteristics of the Extreme Programming (XP) approach to software development? 4 marks. What are the benefits of an open and closed architecture? 4 marks. f) What problem is addressed by Gamma et al. ’s Behavioural state pattern? Illustrate this pattern through the use of a class diagram. 4 marks. g) h) Illustrate initialisation in the MVC architecture using a sequence diagram. 4 marks. List the support features typically offered by a DBMS? 4 marks. e) Page 1 of 5 i)Draw a class diagram that illustrates that a copy can be a copy of a book or DVD, but not both. 4 marks. Briefly critique The UML. 4 marks. j) Q2 Answer ALL parts. Total marks awarded for this question: 30. a) b) What are the characteristics of good software? 5 marks. Describe the unique features of the Object-Oriented paradigm, and illustrate polymorphism with pseudocode or coding fragments. 5 marks. Distinguish multiple classification from generalisation, and illustrate with a diagram. 5 marks. How are contracts supported in software engineering, and illustrate with a diagram.You should briefly discuss support for enforcement of contracts. 5 marks. Draw a diagram to illustrate the principle of â€Å"programming to interfaces, not implementation†. What benefits are derived by a dhering to this principle? 5 marks. f) What is meant by behavioural subtyping? Illustrate the answer with a class diagram. 5 marks. c) d) e) Q3 Answer ALL parts. Total marks awarded for this question: 30. a) What are non-functional requirements, and provide a categorisation for these requirements. 5 marks. Critique use cases as the means of capturing requirements. 5 marks. ) What technique is used by Data Driven Design (DDD) to identify key domain abstractions? Name an alternative approach to DDD. 5 marks. d) The following is a restatement of requirements that must be supported in the first iteration. Books and Journals: The library contains books and journals. It may have several copies of a given book. Some of the books are for short term loans only. All other books may be borrowed by any library member for three weeks. Members of the library can normally borrow up to six items at a time, but members of staff may borrow up to 12 items at one time.Only members of staff may borrow j ournals. b) Page 2 of 5 Borrowing: the system must keep track of when books and journals are borrowed and returned, enforcing the rules described above. Identify the candidate classes in the following informal use case description, and give the reasons for the elimination of poor candidates using a clearly specified set of heuristics. Then briefly sketch a class diagram. 5 marks. e) Draw a UML diagram that reflects the following code fragment. Class Order †¦ Public OrderLine getLineItem(Product aProduct); Public void addLineItem(Number amount, Product forProduct); †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 marks. ) What is the purpose of adding a control class to the communication fragment used to support a collaboration which realises a use case? 5 marks. Figure 1. State chart for a Campaign object (adapted from Agate case study in Bennett, McRobb, and Farmer. Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design, Third Edition. McGraw-Hill. 2006). Page 3 of 5 Q4 Answer ALL parts. Tot al marks awarded for this question: 30. a) Describe the algorithmic and non-algorithmic techniques used to document a specification for an operation. 6 marks. Modify the state chart in figure 1 when instructed that: 1.A campaign object can be both Monitoring and Running when in the state active. 2. When Monitoring, it can be in substates survey or evaluation, with survey being the default. 3. When the event surveyComplete() fires, a transition from survey to evaluation takes place. 4. When the event runSurvey() fires, a transition from evaluation to survey takes place. 5. When running, it can be in substates advert preparation, scheduling or running adverts, with advert preparation being the default. 6. A transition from advert preparation to scheduling occurs with invocation of he reflexive operation authorise() when the event advertApproved() fires. 7. A transition from scheduling to running adverts occurs when the event confirmSchedule() fires. 8. A transition from running advert s to advert preparation occurs with invocation of the reflexive operation modifyBudget() when the event extendCampaign() fires. 9. A transition from Active to Suspended occurs with invocation of the reflexive operation stopAdverts() when the event suspendCampaign() fires. 10. A transition from Suspended to Active occurs when the event resumeCampaign() fires. 1. Must support shallow histories for the concurrent submachines Running and Monitoring. 6 marks. Draw an activity diagram that captures the following workflow for a conference organiser: †¢ The conference organiser receives an itinerary. †¢ He/She then sends this to an invited speaker. †¢ The invited speaker either confirms the itinerary or fails to respond within 48 hours. †¢ If no response has been received, the conference organiser cancels the itinerary. †¢ Otherwise, the conference organiser books the itinerary. 6 marks.Describe two types of coupling and three types of cohesion as described by Coad and Yourdon (1991), that apply at the class level. 6 marks. e) What problem is addressed by Gamma et al. ’s Composite structural pattern? Illustrate this pattern through the use of a class diagram. 6 marks. b) c) d) Page 4 of 5 Q5 Answer ALL parts. Total marks awarded for this question: 30. a) Draw a sequence diagram to illustrate the workflows and phases in the Rational Unified Process (RUP). 3 marks. List three principles that underpin the RUP. 3 marks. ) Briefly discuss transparency versus safety with respect to the Composite design pattern. 6 marks. d) Describe Smalltalk’s Model View Control (MVC) architecture, and illustrate your answer through the use of a class diagram. 4 marks. e) Draw a sequence diagram to illustrate initialisation of the MVC architectural pattern. 4 marks. f) Describe the Broker architecture with proxies, and illustrate your answer through the use of a sequence diagram. 4 marks. g) Why should software engineers strive to specify pre and post conditions with Object Constraint Language (OCL). 6 marks. b) Page 5 of 5

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Facebook’s Stock? Essay

Social networking has played a prominent role in allowing users to connect with each other around the world over the past decades. Social network sites are used in order to improve intimate communication and build better relationships with family, old and new friends. Facebook in particular is one of the most popular social networking sites. It provides a wide range of connection methods for users to interact with those people that they care about and to update status or photos on the website. The website was established by Mark Zuckerberg and his college friends in February 2004. It is owned and operated by Facebook Inc. The company has continued to develop and increase potentiality over the last eight years (PrivCo, 2011). As of March, 2012, there were more than 900 million Facebook users, more than 125 billion friend connections and there were an average of 300 million photos uploaded each day on the website (Facebook’s S-1 Filing, 2012). In this sense, Facebook has become the largest social networking sites in the world. Additionally, when the company started trading stock to public on 18 May, 2012, it was also recorded as the third largest IPO in the history of the United States (Hammond, 2012). However, the stock price has been significantly falling since selling the stock to public. Although social networking is a growing market and the company plans to continue developing its productions and services, investors remain worried about the ability of the company and they have doubted that the stock will not be able to turn profit margins in both short-term and long-term period. Therefore, the stock of Facebook should not be invested in because it is overvalued and overpriced and the company might struggle with commercial revenue and be restricted in many areas. This paper will describe the stock market and Facebook’s situation before and after trading to the public and will also discuss the question of investment in the stock of the company. It will then anticipate the future of Facebook.

Friday, November 8, 2019

buy custom Ways in Which Information Technology Has Changed Working Practices in the Past 10 Years essay

buy custom Ways in Which Information Technology Has Changed Working Practices in the Past 10 Years essay Over the last decade, information technology has been part and parcel of most working practices throughout the world. Quick speed and sufficient work quality are the major key issues at work places and the introduction of information technology has enabled their achievement. This paper focuses on the positive ways in which IT has changed work and working practices in the last decade; The introduction of information technology has led to drastic improvement in the communication industry. The use of mobile telephones as well as other electronic gadgets has enabled people to communicate with one another at any time from any part of the world. Through modern telephones, executives, staff and customers are now able to communicate with one another more easily. In addition, IT has made it possible to store information in electronic format rather than the numerous files that were used during the last decade. For instance, doctors can now store information on health history and medication on comprehensive databases that allow easier and faster access to such information. The use of files as was done previously, have been associated with loss of vital information in cases where files cannot be found, so IT has really helped to safely store and access information in a faster way. The coming of the internet that is also associated with IT has enabled people to link and share information throughout the world, via social networks (twitter, facebook, MySpace etc.). The internet has enabled people to shop online and even do business online. In addition, computers and the internet has made it possible for people to work at the comfort of their homes, without the stress of time wastage associated with traffic jams, thus helping them to save money and time. In a work place, having some of the employees work from home means less space required for working, hence helping to cut down on operating costs of a company or business. To summarize, the rapid development and improvement of information technology over the last decade has impacted positively in our work and work practices by providing quality work and speed. Buy custom Ways in Which Information Technology Has Changed Working Practices in the Past 10 Years essay

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

ACT Complete Guide

International Students and the SAT/ACT Complete Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you an international student aiming to attend college in the United States? Colleges are looking for students with language skills and global competencies more than ever, so you already have several strong assets to draw on in your college applications. One requirement for your applications to most universities is the SAT or ACT. Let's go over the information you need to know about deciding between the SAT and ACT, registering for the tests, and preparing to achieve a high score. First, why are the SAT and ACT important to go to college in the U.S.? Why Are the SAT and ACT Important for College Applications? Almost all four-year colleges and universities require you to take the SAT or ACT, with just a few exceptions. These exams are meant to test all students' knowledge and reasoning skills on an equal playing field, as everyone'scurriculum and learning experiences might differ from school to school. These tests have been used to ensure that you have the critical thinking and reasoning skills you need to do well in college. Putting in the effort to prep and achieve strong scorescan also demonstrate your commitment to studying at university. If your native language is not English, you probably also have to take the TOEFL or IELTS to demonstrate language proficiency. Like the SAT and ACT, these are two equal options as mostcolleges will accept either. While bothoptions are equal, you want to choose the one on which you can perform better. So far, the SAT and TOEFL have been the most popular choices for international students, so you may have heard more about them. In past years, some collegeswaived the TOEFL/IELTS requirement if you got a certain score on the Evidence Based Reading and Writingsection of the SAT or English and Reading section of the ACT. These schools, for example, usedthe following cutoff scores: College VerbalMinimum Score Columbia 700+ on SAT Evidence Based Reading and Writing or 29+ on ACT English or Reading Johns Hopkins 690+ on SAT Evidence Based Reading and Writing or 30+ on both ACT English and Reading University of Michigan 650+ on SAT Evidence Based Reading and Writingor 27+ on both ACT English and Reading Cornell University 35+ on SAT Reading scaled score You can learn more about each college's policy on its website or by calling its admissions office directly. Since most colleges accept either the SAT or ACT, which option is better for international students? How Are the SAT and ACT Different? Just like with students who are U.S. citizens, the "better" test all depends on your educational background, academic strengths, and personal interests.The SAT and the ACT are viewed equally by colleges, so you should choose based on where you can get the higher score. Typically, international students are able to score higher on math sections of standardized exams than on verbal sections, both because of the quality of math education in various countries and the extra language challenges many international students must overcome in reading and writing sections.While the SAT has generally been more popular than the ACT for international students, it might not be the better option for you if you're strong inmath and science. The ACT, unlike the SAT, has a science section, plus it tests more advanced math concepts. Let's break down some of the important information you should know about each test. Ultimately, the best way to choose is to try some sample questions and practice tests and see which one works better for you. What to Know About theSAT The SAT is much more popular internationally, so you might already have more knowledge about the test or resources to study for it. The SAT hasfour sections: one Reading, one Writing, one Math (no calculator), and one Math (with calculator). It also features an optional fifth section, a 50-minute essay. Some colleges will want you to take the SAT with essay; others will leave the choice up to you. Let's consider some features about the SAT that would appeal to international students, followed by some cons of this college admissions test. Pros of the SAT for International Students The SAT might be more appealing to international students than the ACT for a couple of reasons. One is that the verbal sections now count for half the exam score, rather than 2/3 of the total score. For students whose first language is not English, this decrease in emphasis on the Reading and Writing could be a welcome feature. Second, the SAT no longer features obscure vocabulary words. These tough words were challenging for native and non-native English speakers alike, so the elimination of "sentence completion" questions may make the SAT easier for international students. Now, one challenge of the SAT is to glean the meaning of more common words that are being used in unusual ways. Along similar lines, SAT questions now feature straightforward wording, making them easier to understand. All three sections, Reading, Writing, and Math, also feature graphs, charts, and tables. If you're strong at interpreting data, then this feature may appeal to you. Cons of the SATfor International Students There may be a few cons to the SAT for international students. One con is that some selective schools require that you take both the SAT and one or twoSAT Subject Tests. Most of these same schools waive the Subject Test requirement if you take the ACT. So if you chose the ACT, you'd only have to take that one test, whereas if you chose the SAT, you might have to take three separate tests to apply. Another con is the SAT's emphasis onreading comprehension in all its sections. The Reading passages feature evidence-based questions, meaning you'll have to back up your answers with evidence from the text. All of the questions in the Writing and Language section feature longer passages, so you'll need a strong grasp on structure and syntax.Even the math questions feature word problems with what College Board refers to as "real world scenarios." These scenarios may not be a part of everyone's real world experience, and they might pose a challenge for students more accustomed to figures and equations, rather than wordiness, in their math problems. The best way to get a sense of how SAT questions work is to take sample practice tests, as I'll discuss below. First though, let's consider the structure of the ACT, along with its pros and cons for international students applying to college in the U.S. There's no bad or good test for your college applications. Rather, you should choose the one that helps youget the higher score! What to Know About theACT While the ACT was more of a domestic U.S.-based test for a long time, it isactually becoming more popular with international students. As mentioned above, it's not all that different from the SAT, except for the fact thatit features a Science section along with its English, Reading, Math, and optional essay sections. So what are some of the pros and cons of the ACT for international students? Pros of the ACT for International Students While the SAT is only featuring more accessiblequestion types this year, the ACT has always been known for its straightforward wording. Its questions don't seem set out to trick you; instead, they're relatively clear. This characteristic is useful for international students, who won'thave to do double the work to figure out what a question is even asking for in the first place. Another potentially attractive feature of the ACT is its Science section. ACT Science doesn't require you to have a ton of specific scientific knowledge; instead, it's more concerned with testing your scientific skills, like analyzing data and evaluating a hypothesis. Some international studentsfind they do better on this section than Reading and English, so its inclusion makes it a compelling reason to choose the ACT over the SAT. Another feature of the ACT, which may be a pro or a con depending on your math level, is its incorporation of higher level math concepts. Its math questions feature more geometry and trigonometry than the SAT, and you can use a calculator on all of them.If you're strong in math and science and/or considering going into a STEM field, you might demonstrate your skills and interests best by taking the ACT. Finally, some students have said that the ACT is more in line with IB curriculum. So if you're in an IB school, you might look over the test to see if it aligns well with what you've learned in school. Cons of the ACTfor International Students As mentioned above, the ACT features more advanced math, as well as a science section. If you're less strong in these areas, then they may be a reason not to take the ACT. Depending on your academic preparation and skills, these sections may be a major determining factor in whether you can do better on the SAT or the ACT. Another potential con is simply its lack of popularity internationally. You may have grown up learning a lot more about the SAT, and you might be able to form study groups with friends who are taking the SAT. If few people around you are taking the ACT, then you might not have the same study and support network that you would for the SAT. Like the SAT, the ACT has a large emphasis on reading comprehension and evaluating structure and syntax of passages. The verbal section is worth half your score, so you'll want to try both SAT and ACT verbal sections (Reading and Writing for the SAT, Reading and English for the ACT)to see which one is more appealing to you. Trying out practice questions will be very useful in helping you decide between the SAT and ACT. Read on to learn where you can find these practice questions andhow to register for an examonce you make your choice. How Can You Decide Between the SAT and ACT? As I mentioned above, the best way to decide whether you should take the SAT or the ACT (or the TOEFL or IELTS, for that matter) is to learn all about the content and format of the tests and then take a practice test to see which one you can do better on. You want your test score to strengthen your overall application, so get familiar with the content, format, and question types of the tests and then make your best choice. Once you've decided, commit yourself to prepping for that test, and don't worry about the other one! To fully commit, you need to register for the test. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! How Do You Register for the SAT or ACT? Both tests have an online registration process and charge a fee. You'll have to find your testing center, choose your test date, and then enter your personal and payment information. You can check out the exam websites to find testing dates and more information. Register for the SAT You'll register to take the SAT at the College Board website. You want to start early, like in sophomore or junior year, to give yourself time to take it again if you want to improve your score.Youalso should register at least a month before your desired exam date so you don't have to pay any additional late registration fees. There might be some additional requirements if you're from Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Macau, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. For more information, check out our complete step-by-step guide to SAT registration. Register for the ACT If you choose to take the ACT, then you'll register through ACT, Inc.You can register and learn about your country's ACT test dates on the ACT website. Test dates are generally in September, October, December, April, and June. If there's no testing center nearby, you might be able to arrange special testing for yourself. Finally, make sure you're familiar what to bring and what to leave home on test day and have a sense of how many times you plan to take the ACT. For more information, check out our step-by-step guide to ACT registration. As you can imagine, all of this prepping and planning requires a significant amount of time. Since the college process starts at least a year before you actually send your applications, what should your timeline for test prep be? When Should You Begin Preparing for the SAT or ACT? When do you need to register for the SAT/ACT, and when should you start studying for the exam? In this section, we go over all the important steps to take when you prepare for the SAT or ACT, as well as when you need to take them. Many studentsstart preppinga year or more in advance, and some take the SAT or ACT early in high school to get testing experience. You want to give yourselfat least six months to prep intensively, but more is ideal, especially if you're a non-native English speaker and have to put in extra study time to improve your language skills. You need to sign up for the SAT or ACT at least a month before your actual testing date. You also need about three to four weeks for your test to be scored and the score reports sent to colleges, so you want to take it ahead of your deadlines.That means you should know exactly what colleges you're applying to by that time, so you can list them as score recipients when you register for the tests. This means that the colleges you indicate will receive your SAT or ACT score reports. Your entire high school experience is part of your college application - the classes you take, the clubs and sports you join, and the work and volunteer experience you have. You also will likely include teacher recommendations. So apart from the SAT and ACT, your college preparation is something that you can work on throughout all four years of high school. How Can You Study for the SAT or ACT? Test prep is very important to do well on these tests, as they probably don't resemble tests you normally take in school. Prep will both reinforce the material and get you familiar with how the questions are worded and how to manage your time. Strategy plays a big role in how well you do, so learning strategies and applying them as your practice is also key for the SAT and ACT. You can prep online with practice questions at College Board, the ACT, Khan Academy, or other sites, or through PrepScholar's customizable online prep programs. You can also purchase SAT and ACT prepbooks and get full-length practice tests, along with detailed explanations, content review, and key strategies. Coming up with a study schedule and setting target scores is the best way to stay on track, overcome your weaknesses, and get ready for the SAT/ACT. How Can Online Prep Help International Students? PrepScholar's online prep is a great tool for international students who want to succeed on the SAT/ACT and get into their top choice universities. Because it's online and can be accessed anywhere with internet, it's extremely convenient for students all over the world. PrepScholar has high-quality practice questions and tracks your progress, letting you know what content you've mastered and what concepts you still need to work on. You can also choose to get tutoring as part of your online program. While some prep books might cater to American students and assume you're more familiar with the tests than you are, yourtutor will answer any questions you have, as well as motivate you and help keep you accountable to your goals. There are lots of resources to help you master the SAT/ACT and achieve your post-high school goals. As long as you do your research, set aside time to prepare, andask for help when you can, you'll get into a school that's the best fit for you. What's Next? Taking the TOEFL?Get all the info you need to succeed on the test, including sample questions and strategy guides, at our TOEFL blog. Besides the SAT/ACT, what other key components are part of your college application? Read all about how to build a versatile college application. Are you worriedabout the Reading section? This article tells you exactly how to read the passages to maximize your understanding and not waste time. How is the SAT scored? What about the ACT? Understanding the scoring process will help you determine exactly how well you need to do in each section to achieve your target scores. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Sunday, November 3, 2019

My Personality Traits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Personality Traits - Essay Example According to Roberts and Mroczek (2008), â€Å"personality traits are defined as the relatively enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish individuals from one another† (p. 31). One strongly believes that it is crucial to spend some time reflecting and assessing one’s personality traits for purposes of noting one’s strengths, and determining one’s weaknesses. However, an assessment should not end only in the aspect of determination. One affirms that after accurate identification of the traits that are considered weak some positive action must be taken to address the noted weaknesses and to eventually transform them into core competencies and advantages. In this regard, after a personal reflection of one’s personality, I deduced that there were evident strengths in exemplifying virtues of honesty, integrity and conformity to rules, policies, as well as adherence to ethical, moral and legal standards. In whatever setting o r situation, I always observe regulations and am very assertive in complying with the explicitly defined rules. This is most applicable in the school setting, in communities, work settings, and in other public or private organizations that one gets the opportunity to be involved with or interact with. For me, giving my word is tantamount to a firm acknowledgement of a promise. I would never make a promise I know I would not be able to keep. I also believe in the ethics of reciprocity or the Golden Rule, as it is more commonly known. This is the reason why I would not like to do injustice to others, as I expect to be respected and be accorded with equality, justice, as well as conformity to good moral conduct and behavior. This, I believe, is crucial to avoid injuries, hurt, pain, and discrimination of any kind. I am very conscientious and I believe that by doing good I would have rendered appropriate service to others, and more importantly, to my creator. Likewise, I have determined that I exhibited above average people skills, meaning, I am compassionate, easy to get along with, gregarious and socially responsible. These traits would be most useful in teambuilding and in working with groups. Although I believe that as an individual, I could excel using the knowledge, skills and abilities gained through education and experience, I still acknowledge that working cohesively with others is beneficial in different scenarios and settings. On the other hand, despite the acknowledgement of these strengths in my personality, I still admit that there are weaknesses which need to be addressed. As emphasized by Roberts & Mroczek (2008), â€Å"personality traits continue to change, even in old age† (p. 32). Thus, one could still work on changing those traits that need to be tranformed for the better. For one, I believe that there is still room for improving ability to discern priorities in life. Since I am a people’s person, there are some instances when I a m in the company of colleagues and friends and I just could not say no to them when they invite me to social events or gatherings. In the process of accommodating them, there were times that I failed to attend to more urgent matters – such as academic projects or the need to spend quality time with one’s family. In addition, another weakness noted was one’

Friday, November 1, 2019

Agile software development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Agile software development - Essay Example Agile software has a lot of flexibility as opposed to the rigid waterfall. The main hallmark of the agile system is its adaptability and agility. The iterative nature of agile makes it to be able to work without following a given pattern. A lot of iterations are involved including testing, coding and designing. Agile is different from waterfall in the sense that unlike the waterfall system which cannot allow for any changes to be made once the design is already completed, agile has no rigidity and allows for changes to be made and improvements to be done even at the last stages of software development. Teams developing software through the use of the Agile process are usually cross functional in their nature. There have been always an expertise sharing and close cooperation unlike the case with waterfall. (Highsmith, 2002) The waterfall model happens in a manner that is sequential, moving from one stage to the other. This software development undergoes various stages including identifying the specification before conception, then analyzing, working on the designs, coding and testing, debugging then installing and finally, maintaining in the end. The developing team moves to the next stage only after the previous stage is completed. The engineers working on the software do spend much time at every stage and there is no chance of debugging once the software is made ready for the testing process. The Waterfall methodology considers documentation as an integral part of the software development. The Agile methodology has a team that is adaptive and that can easily respond and adjust to the changes in the requirements. Effort and time must not be invested on by the team thus reducing the chances of being irrelevant in terms of customers’ needs and wants. The team has a face to face communication with the customers hence having quality products at the required time. It is not always difficult to assess and establish the required