Lesson 4.13.1.5

4.13.1.5 Evaluation Quiz: AQA Computer Science, Unit 13

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 4.13.1.5, Evaluation: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Computer Science (7517), Unit 13: Systematic approach to problem solving, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. What is one criterion for evaluating a computer system?

    • How many programmers worked on the system in total over its whole development.
    • Whether it meets the requirements it was designed to satisfy.
    • The number of days it took to write the first draft of the user manual for the system.
    • The brand of the computer on which the system was first developed by the team.

  2. What does robustness mean when evaluating a system?

    • The physical strength of the case of the computer hardware on which it runs.
    • The ability of the system to handle erroneous input or unexpected conditions without failing.
    • The speed at which the system can be copied onto another computer by a user.
    • The number of different languages in which the user interface has been written.

  3. What does efficiency mean when evaluating a system?

    • How many people the system employs in its support team each year in the company.
    • How cheap the system is to buy in the shop on the day it is first released.
    • How well the system uses resources such as processor time and memory to complete its tasks.
    • How many colours the system is able to display on the user's screen at one time.

  4. What does usability mean when evaluating a system?

    • How easy the system is for its intended users to learn and use effectively.
    • How many lines of code the system contains across all of its source files in total.
    • How quickly the system can be installed on a new machine by an experienced expert.
    • How many features the system offers in total, however complicated they may be to use.

  5. What does maintainability refer to when evaluating a system?

    • How easily the system can be understood, changed and corrected over time.
    • How often users are allowed to log in to the system during each working day.
    • How many backups are kept of the system's source files each week by the team.
    • How long the hardware will last before it needs to be replaced by a newer model.

  6. Why is user feedback part of evaluation?

    • It shows whether the solution meets the needs of the people who use it in practice.
    • It is needed only to choose the colour scheme of the interface on the screen.
    • It replaces the need for any testing of the system at all before it is released.
    • It proves that the system is free of all errors once it has been released to users.

  7. Which criterion concerns protecting data from unauthorised access?

    • Usability
    • Maintainability
    • Security
    • Efficiency

  8. A system takes 20 seconds to load a page that should take 2 seconds. Which criterion is most affected?

    • Robustness, because the page handles erroneous input poorly when it is loaded.
    • Efficiency
    • Usability, because the page layout is unclear to the people who view it.
    • Security, because the page can be read by unauthorised users on the network.

  9. A system crashes when a user types letters into a number field. Which criterion is affected?

    • Robustness
    • Cost, because the system needs extra hardware to run on the user's computer.
    • Efficiency, because the system uses too much processor time when it is typed into.
    • Portability, because the system cannot be moved to another type of computer easily.

  10. A new staff member takes three days to learn how to use a system. Which criterion does this relate to?

    • Usability
    • Efficiency, because the staff member uses too much time when learning the system.
    • Security, because the staff member needs time to learn the password rules for the system.
    • Maintainability, because the staff member must be taught how to change the source code.

  11. Developers must change a program, but the code is badly documented. Which criterion is poor?

    • Usability, because the code is hard for the end users of the system to understand.
    • Robustness, because the code does not handle erroneous data without failing in use.
    • Efficiency, because the code uses too many processor cycles when it is changed.
    • Maintainability

  12. A system does exactly what its specification asks. Which criterion is met?

    • Efficiency of the memory use when the system is running many tasks.
    • Maintainability of the source code over the long term of its use.
    • Usability by non-expert users who have never seen the system before.
    • Meeting the requirements.

  13. A school compares two systems. One costs less but is slower. What should the evaluation consider?

    • Both the cost and the performance, judged against the school's requirements.
    • Only the number of screens each system has, since that alone decides the outcome.
    • Only the speed, because the cost of a system is always irrelevant to the evaluation.
    • Only the cost, since performance is never a criterion used in the evaluation of systems.

  14. Which evidence best supports an evaluation of usability?

    • The number of lines of code in the program's source files as stored on the server.
    • The price the developers paid for the computers that were used to build the system.
    • Observations and feedback from users completing typical tasks with the system.
    • The number of times the programmer ran the compiler during the coding of the program.

  15. Which measurement best supports an efficiency evaluation?

    • The processor time and memory used when the system performs a typical task.
    • The number of meetings held during the analysis of the system at the start of the project.
    • The number of users who gave the system a five-star rating in an online review.
    • The colour of the case of the computer on which the system is running at the time.

  16. Which statement about evaluation criteria is correct?

    • Criteria are set by the hardware manufacturer and cannot be changed by the project team.
    • Criteria should be decided from the requirements, so that the system can be judged against them.
    • Criteria are unnecessary, because every system is equally good in practice for its users.
    • Criteria should be chosen after the system has been evaluated, so that they match its results.

  17. Evaluate: a system is very efficient but hard to use. Which judgement is most sound?

    • It meets some criteria well, but its poor usability may reduce its value to the intended users, so improvements are needed.
    • It is acceptable, because usability is never a valid criterion for evaluating software at all.
    • It is excellent overall, because efficiency is the only criterion that matters for any system.
    • It must be discarded at once, because one weak criterion makes a system worthless to everyone.

  18. Why should evaluation be linked to the original requirements?

    • Requirements are only needed for hardware and are not relevant to the evaluation of software.
    • Requirements can be ignored once the system has been released to the general public.
    • Otherwise the system might be judged against standards that the users never asked for.
    • Requirements should be rewritten after evaluation so that the system always passes the review.

  19. Evaluate the trade-off between security and usability.

    • Security is only a concern for hardware, so usability decisions do not affect it at all.
    • Security and usability never conflict, because strong security always makes systems easier to use.
    • Stronger security often adds steps for users, so the design must balance protection against ease of use.
    • Usability is always more important than security, so security can be ignored in the design.

  20. What is the best overall method of evaluating a finished computer system?

    • Measure it against the criteria and requirements, using test results and feedback from its users.
    • Judge the system only by the price of the hardware on which it happens to run.
    • Ask only the developers whether they are happy with the code they have written for the project.
    • Count the number of features and assume that more features mean a better system overall.

All AQA Computer Science quizzes