As was foretold the exam contained all the topics that Chris had suggested it would. The questions are outlined below:

Question 1

• A – Redundancy, hot and cold standbys [3]
• B – Risk assessment, describing and writing [7]
• C – Situation awareness [10]

Question 2

• A – White box testing [5]
• B – Contrast in software checking [7]
• C – Software checking [8]

Question 3

• A – Electromagnetic interference [3]
• B – Demonstration of EM safeness [7]
• C – Use of redundancy to combat EM protection [10]

Question 4

• A – ALARP [20]

From an initial look at the paper it became apparent that I was going to be doing questions 1, 2 and 3, because I knew nothing about ALARP at all (I couldn’t find anything about it in the course). Question 1 stared off reasonably well with a redundancy question, then got slightly harder with the inclusion of risk assessment and situation awareness. This wasn’t helped by my inability to recall half the things I knew about either subject. A quick semi-FMECA and some utter dribble about situation awareness (where I repeated the same paragraph thrice), it was off onto question 2.

The initial white box testing part of this question was reasonably straight forward. The second and third parts were rooted in the realm of checking the software used in Formula One cars. ‘Nuff said really. Didn’t know what to write for all the marks, waffled a lot and hopefully picked up a few stray marks.

Question 3 was one which I thought I would have got on well with, all about EM interference (a topic I had read just 2 hours before coming to the exam). When I started to answer the question I was totally stumped for anything meaningful to say. Again, more waffle and then some padding with even more waffle. Chris is going to have fun marking this!

Quite a disappointment, I was feeling Ok about this exam until looking past the first question – probably due to the intoxicating tiredness. I’ve been up for 29 and a half hours, so I’m off to bed!
- Chris

Chris Johnson, as many of you will know, has the (self proclaimed) reputation for giving out the content of questions in his exams before the exam date. He did it last year for IS3, kinna.

Anyway, here is the low-down on what will apparently be in the SCS4 exam tomorrow, broken down into four main topics covered:

• Redundancy
  • Issues to do with hot and cold standbys
• Risk assessment
  • Application of risk assessment
  • FMECA, fault trees (key elements)
  • High-level system description, describe a risk assessment
• Situation awareness
  • White box testing
• Electromagnetic interference
  • ALARP

This is the list which I made in the revision lecture, although some of it makes no sense to me (probably copied it down wrong!). We’ll just have to wait and see, not for too long, if the stuff he has listed will actually come up in the exam.
- Chris

Not only that, but I didn’t even start until 11.00 AM. I’m now free to do whatever pleases me in the afternoon. This was an unexpected delight due to the courses I have chosen, I started the day with a SEP4 lecture which was then followed by an HCI4 lecture and I’m done. If I decide to take SCS4 this term then I will have a lecture straight after lunch and will be finished for 3.00 PM.

Good God I rule!
- Chris