Mixed Deck — All CPA Topics Flashcards

What is a milestone in CPA project management?

Answer: A significant event marking progress at a key point in the timeline

Milestones are significant checkpoints marking completion of major deliverables or phase transitions.

Which Agile role is responsible for maximizing the value of the product and managing the product backlog?

Answer: Product Owner

The Product Owner owns the product backlog, prioritizes items, and ensures the team is always working on the highest-value features.

What is the purpose of data analysis in CPA practice?

Answer: Transforming raw data into insights for informed decision-making

Data analysis examines, cleans, and models data to discover useful information and support decision-making.

What is the primary difference between cookies and server-side sessions?

Answer: Cookies are stored on the client side; sessions are stored on the server side

Cookies are stored in the user's browser (client side), while sessions store data on the server and use a session ID (often stored in a cookie) to identify the user.

What does HTTP stand for?

Answer: HyperText Transfer Protocol

HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol, the foundational protocol used for transmitting web pages over the internet.

Which HTTP status code indicates a successful request?

Answer: 200

HTTP status code 200 (OK) indicates that the request was successful and the server returned the requested resource.

Which CIA Triad component is directly threatened when a database is altered without authorization?

Answer: Integrity

Integrity ensures data accuracy and trustworthiness; unauthorized modifications directly violate this principle.

Which of the following operations on a balanced BST (e.g., AVL or Red-Black tree) runs in O(log n) time?

Answer: Search, insert, and delete

Balanced BSTs maintain height O(log n), guaranteeing search, insert, and delete operations in O(log n) time.

In a DevOps pipeline, what is the purpose of 'continuous delivery' (CD)?

Answer: To ensure software can be released to production at any time through automated pipelines

Continuous Delivery automates the build, test, and staging process so that every code change is always in a deployable state, reducing release risk.

What is an SLA in CPA technology?

Answer: A formal agreement defining expected service performance standards

An SLA defines measurable performance standards between provider and client, with consequences for failure.

Which technique involves fast-tracking a project schedule by overlapping phases that were originally planned to be sequential?

Answer: Fast tracking

Fast tracking runs activities in parallel that were originally planned sequentially, reducing duration but increasing risk.

In a for-loop defined as 'for i = 1 to 5', how many times does the loop body execute?

Answer: 5

The loop iterates for i = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, so the body executes exactly 5 times.

What does the Interface Segregation Principle (ISP) recommend?

Answer: Clients should not be forced to depend on interfaces they do not use

ISP states that clients should not be forced to depend on methods they do not use, advocating for smaller, role-specific interfaces over large general-purpose ones.

Which Python code correctly calculates the mean of a list [10, 20, 30, 40]?

Answer: sum([10,20,30,40]) / len([10,20,30,40])

The mean is calculated by dividing the sum of all values by the count of values; sum()/len() implements this directly.

Which data structure uses LIFO (Last In, First Out) ordering?

Answer: Stack

A stack follows LIFO ordering where the last element pushed is the first one popped.

In a publish/subscribe messaging pattern, what role does the 'broker' play?

Answer: It receives messages from publishers and routes them to interested subscribers

The message broker (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ) decouples publishers from subscribers by receiving messages and delivering them to all registered subscribers.

What does a `.gitignore` file do?

Answer: Specifies intentionally untracked files that Git should not track or stage

A .gitignore file contains patterns for files and directories that Git should exclude from tracking, such as build artifacts, logs, and secrets.

Topological sorting applies to which type of graph?

Answer: Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs)

Topological sorting produces a linear ordering of vertices in a DAG such that every directed edge goes from earlier to later in the ordering.

Which risk treatment strategy involves purchasing insurance to offset potential financial losses from a security incident?

Answer: Risk Transfer

Risk Transfer shifts the financial burden of a risk to a third party — such as an insurer — without eliminating the underlying risk.

Why is documentation important in CPA technology?

Answer: It ensures knowledge transfer, troubleshooting, and operational continuity

Documentation captures configurations and procedures, enabling knowledge transfer and continuity regardless of staff changes.