WJEC GCSE Computer Science Software development and impacts: a complete overview of the life cycle, legislation, ethics and the practical units

What the Software development and impacts content demands

This area is where WJEC checks that you understand how software is built and tested, the laws and ethics around computing, and the wider effects of digital technology on the environment and society. The life cycle stages, the test-data types, the three laws and the impacts come up regularly, often in describe and discuss questions, so clear, distinct points earn marks reliably. This content also frames the practical Units 2 and 3, where the development ideas are actually applied.

This guide walks through the Software development and impacts content and ties together the matching dot-point pages, each of which has its own worked examples and practice questions.

The software development life cycle

Software is produced through a life cycle: analysis (identify requirements), design (plan algorithms, data, interface and test plan), development (write the program), testing (run with test data to find and fix errors), evaluation (judge against the requirements) and maintenance (fix and improve after release). A test plan lists tests with expected results, and test data should include normal (typical valid), boundary (edge-of-range) and erroneous (invalid, rejected) data to check the program behaves correctly for any input.

Legislation and ethics

Three laws matter most. Data protection controls how personal data is collected, stored and used, requiring it to be accurate, secure and used only for its purpose. The Computer Misuse Act makes unauthorised access (hacking) and unauthorised changes (malware) criminal offences. Copyright protects creators' work from being copied or used without permission. Beyond the law, computing raises ethical and cultural issues such as privacy, fairness and the digital divide; something can be legal but unethical.

Environmental and social impacts

Digital technology has environmental impacts: high energy use (especially data centres), e-waste from frequently replaced devices, and raw-material use, all reducible through efficiency, renewable energy and repair, reuse and recycling. It has social impacts on work, communication and access to services, and e-commerce gives convenience and global reach but has harmed high-street shops and can exclude people without internet access. Good answers give both benefits and drawbacks.

The practical units

WJEC GCSE Computer Science has three units. Unit 1 is the written theory exam covered by these pages. Unit 2 (Computational Thinking and Programming) is an on-screen examination where you write, test and refine programs. Unit 3 is the non-exam assessment, a software development project completed over set hours, applying the full life cycle. The constructs, algorithms and development ideas from Unit 1 are applied directly in the practical units.

Check your knowledge

A mix of life cycle, testing, legislation and impacts questions covering the Software development and impacts content. Attempt them under timed conditions, then check against the solutions.

1. Name four stages of the software development life cycle. (2 marks)
2. State what boundary test data is, with an example for a 0 to 100 range. (2 marks)
3. State what data protection legislation controls. (1 mark)
4. Name the law that makes hacking a criminal offence. (1 mark)
5. State what copyright legislation protects. (1 mark)
6. Give one environmental impact of digital technology and one way to reduce it. (2 marks)
7. Give one benefit and one drawback of e-commerce. (2 marks)
8. State how Unit 2 is assessed. (1 mark)