Chapter 1 Review Questions

1. What is information technology, and why is it important to a business?

Information technology refers to the hardware, software, and telecommunication technologies that
are used to capture, transmit, store, retrieve, manipulate, or display information. IT is important to
a business because it supports business operations, improves productivity, and helps managers
make decisions.
2. Define business profiles, business models, and business processes.
A business profile defines a company's overall functions, processes, organization, products,
services, customers, suppliers, competitors, constraints, and future direction.
A business model graphically represents business functions that consist of business processes, such
as sales, accounting, and purchasing, which perform specific tasks.
A business process describes specific events, tasks, and desired results.
3. Identify the main components of an information system.
1 data
2 processes
3 people
4 hardware
5 software
4. Explain the difference between vertical and horizontal systems packages.
A horizontal system is a basic software package system that can be adapted to common business
processes like inventory and payroll.
A vertical system is customized to meet the unique needs of a particular business, industry, or
organization.
5. How do dot-com companies differ from brick-and-mortar companies?
Dot-com companies operate mainly from a commercial Web site while brick-and-mortar ones
operate primarily from a physical location.
6. Describe five types of information systems, and give an example of each.
6 Enterprise computing systems support company-wide data management. e.g. airline
reservations systems
7 Transaction processing systems process data generated by day-to-day business
operations. e.g. customer billing systems
8 Business support systems provide job-related information support to users at all levels of
a company. e.g. inventory reordering systems
9 Knowledge management systems simulate human reasoning by combining a knowledge
base and inference rules that determine how the knowledge is applied. e.g. technical
support knowledge base
10 User productivity systems provide employees at all organizational levels with a wide
array of tools that can improve quality and job performance. e.g. database management
systems
7. Describe four organizational levels of a typical business and their information requirements.
11 Top management - needs information for strategic planning, those that affect the
company's future survival and growth.
12 Middle management - needs information for tactical planning.
 13 Lower management - needs information for day-to-day operational plans.
14 Operational employees - need information to handle tasks and make decisions that were
assigned previously to supervisors.
8. Describe the phases of the systems development life cycle.
15 Systems planning - begins with a systems request describing problems or desired changes
in an information system or business process and ends with a report that describes
business considerations, reviews anticipated benefits and costs, and recommends a course
of action based on economic, technical, and operational costs.
16 Systems analysis - begins with requirements modeling where business processes are
described and defined, goes on to data modeling, process modeling, and object modeling
to develop a logical model of business processes the system must support, and ends with
a system requirements document that describes management and user requirements,
alternative plans and costs, and recommendations.
17 Systems design - involves identifying all necessary outputs, inputs, interfaces, and
processes; designing internal and external controls, including computer-based and manual
features to guarantee that the system will be reliable, accurate, maintanable, and secure.
Ends with a systems design specification that is presented to management and users for
their review and approval.
18 Systems implementation - programs are written, tested, and documented and the system is
installed and ready for use. This phase also involves a systems evaluation to determine
whether the system operates properly and if costs and benefits are within expectations.
19 Systems operation and support - involves maintenance to correct errors and adapt to
changes in the environment, such as new loan rates. Also involves enhancements to
provide new features and benefits.
9. Explain the use of models, prototypes, and CASE tools in the systems development process.
Models, prototypes, and CASE tools enable systems analysts to plan, design, and implement
information systems. These are tools that can help systems analysts synthesize input from several
sources into designs that will meet everyone's needs.
10. What is object-oriented analysis and how does it differ from structured analysis?
Object-oriented analysis models real-world data, processes, and operations to produce a set of
software objects that represent actual people, things, transactions, and events. It differs from
structured analysis in that it combines data and the processes that act on the data into objects while
the latter regards processes and data as separate components.

Toolkit Part 3 Review

11. What is project management and what are its main objectives?
Project management is the process of defining, planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the
development of an information system. Its main objective is to deliver an information system that
is acceptable to users and is developed on time and within budget.
12. What is the relationship among activities (or tasks) and events (or milestones)?
Activities or tasks are any work that has a beginning and an end, and requires the use of company
resources including people, time, and money. Events or milestones are reference points that mark a
major occurrence. Events mark the beginning and ending of activities or tasks.
13. If Project A has twice as many resources as Project B, will Project A be twice as complex as
Project B? Why or why not?
Most probably. The more resources (human, financial, technical, etc.) a project has, the more
 interfaces and interactions there are among and between the resource elements.
14. What is the difference between dependent (or serial) and concurrent (or parallel) activities?
Dependent (or serial) activities must be completed in sequence. Concurrent (or parallel)
activities, on the other hand, can be completed at the same time.
15. Compare the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of a Gantt chart to a
PERT/CPM chart.

Gantt Chart PERT/CPM Chart

Char Uses a horizontal bar chart where the horizontal Uses a network diagram where activities are shown as
acteri position of the bar shows the start and end of an vectors and the events are displayed as nodes. The
stics activity and the length of the bar indicates its duration. activity vectors or lines connect one node to another.

Adva
ntage Presents a clear picture of project status. Shows all individual activities and dependencies.
s

Disad Does not show activity dependencies such as number

Not as clear as a Gantt chart. Diagramming all
vanta of hours or days required to complete an activity. Not
dependencies gets very complicated for large projects.
ges enough detail for effective project management.

16. Define the following terms: best case, probable case, and worst case, and describe how a
project manager could use these concepts to estimate activity duration?
Best or optimistic case (B), probable case (P), and worst or pessimistic case (W) are time
estimates used to calculate the duration of each activity. The manager assigns a weight, or
importance value, to each estimate. The weight can vary but a common approach is to use a ratio
of B=1, P=4, and W=1. The expected activity duration is then calculated as follows: (B + 4P +
W) / 6
17. How does a project manager calculate earliest completion time (ECT) and latest completion
time (LCT) for the tasks in a project?
ECT is calculated working from left to right across a PERT/CPM chart. The ECT for the first
event always is given an ECT of zero days because no preceding events exist before it. The ECT
for a subsequent event is calculated by taking the ECT for the event immediately preceding it and
then adding the duration noted on the vector (activity) connecting the two events. The ECT for an
event that has more than one preceding event is the larger of the earliest completion times for each
path into the event.

LCT is calculated working backward through a PERT/CPM chart, from right to left. To determine
the LCT of an event, you subtract the last activity from the LCT of the following event, starting
with the rightmost, or final, event.The first rule is that the LCT of the final event always is the
same as its ECT. That is because the last event is the overall project completion date, which is like
a target date with no room for slippage.
18. What is critical path and why is it important to project managers?
A critical path is a series of events and activities with no slack time. It is important to project
managers because it includes all activities that are vital to the project schedule.
19. What is software change control and what are the four steps typically involved?
Software control change is the process of managing and controlling changes requested after the
system requirements document has been submitted and accepted. The four steps typically involved
are the ff:
20 Complete a change request form.
21 Take initial action on the request.
 22 Analyze the impact of the requested change.
23 Determine the disposition of the requested change.
Home

Cheapter 4

Systems analysis consists of obtaining answers to what five questions? What

additional question is asked in the process of answering each of those five questions?
Who, What, When, Where, and How. In addition, the question of Why should also be
asked.

What is a system requirement? Into what categories can system requirements be

classified?
A system requirement is a characteristic or feature that must be included in an information
system to satisfy business requirements and be acceptable to users. The following are
categories into which system requirements can be classified:
24 Outputs
25 Inputs
26 Processes
27 Performance
28 Controls

What is JAD, how does it differ from traditional methods of fact-finding, and what
are some advantages and potential disadvantages of using JAD?
Joint application development or (JAD) is a popular systems development technique that
uses a task force of users, managers, and IT professionals to gather information, discuss
business needs, and define the new system requirements. This technique is in contrast to
the traditional method of fact-finding in which the IT staff collects information from
users and managers and then develops the requirements for a new system. However,
compared with traditional methods, JAD is more expensive and time-consuming due to
the size of the task force which can become bigger relative to the size of the project. Still,
JAD can be advantageous over traditional methods because it allows for a broader and
more diverse participation from the company in the requirements modeling process. This
can result in a more accurate statement of system requirements, a better understanding of
common goals, and a stronger commitment to the success of the new system.

What is total cost of ownership (TCO), and why is it important?

Total cost of ownership (or TCO) is the total cost estimated from all areas contributing to
the cost of the proposed system, including ongoing support and maintenance costs,
acquisition costs, as well as indirect or hidden costs. The TCO is important in decision-
making in cases where alternative systems have to be compared on their economic
feasibility.
What are the three different types of questions? How do those different questions
affect the answers given?
29 Open-ended questions encourage spontaneous and unstructured responses.
30 Closed-ended questions limit or restrict the response.
31 Range-of-response questions are close-ended questions that ask the person to
evaluate something by providing limited answers to specific responses or on a
numeric scale.

What are the three different types of sampling, and why would you use them?
32 For general sampling, a systematic sample can be used to select every tenth
customer for review.
33 To create a more geographically balanced sample, a stratified sample can be used
to select five customers from each of four ZIP codes or to select a certain
percentage of transactions from each work shift, rather than a fixed number.
34 In the absence of any specific sampling criteria, a random sample is used to select
any 20 customers.

What is the Hawthorne Effect? Why is it significant?

The Hawthorne Effect is an observed and studied phenomenon wherein productivity
seemed to improve whenever the workers knew they were being observed. It is
significant to take this effect into account when observing users because normal
operations might not always run as smoothly as your observations might indicate.

What is RAD, what are the four RAD phases, and what takes place during each
phase?
Like JAD, rapid application development (or RAD) is also an approach to system
development that uses teams composed of users, managers, and IT staff to speed up
information systems development and to produce a functioning information system. RAD
has the following four phases and the activities that take place in each:
35 Requirements planning phase - users, managers, and IT staff agree upon business
needs, project scope, and systems requirements. They also obtain approval to
continue.
36 User design phase - the team interacts with users, build models and prototypes,
and conduct intensive JAD-type sessions.
37 Construction phase - the team is engaged in program and application
development, coding, unit, integration, and system testing.
38 Cutover phase - the team is involved in data conversion, full-scale testing, system
changeover, and user training.

To what three different audiences might you have to give a presentation? How
would the presentation differ for each? If only one presentation is given with all
interested parties in attendance, to whom should the presentation primarily be
addressed?
I might give a presentation to top, middle, and lower management. Presentation to top
management should focus on strategic and overall goals. Middle management people
would need a presentation on tactical goals and lower management would need one
focusing on operational goals. If all three audiences are present, the presentation should
be primarily addressed to middle management in a way that both conceptual and
operational aspects of the systems analysis can be covered. In this way, the concerns of
both top and lower management can also be addressed. How should you react if your
hands shake while you are giving a presentation, or if you are nervous when people
are looking at you?
Think of it as a normal part of making presentations and just stay focused on the material
and the audience

Cheapter 5

Describe structured analysis and name the three main data and process modeling
techniques.

Structured Analysis uses a series of guidelines and graphical communication tools to

describe systems in terms of inputs, outputs, data, and processes. It uses data and process
modeling techniques to produce a logical model or a business model which shows what a
system must do regardless of how it will be accomplished physically. Later, the logical
model becomes the basis for building physical models that describe how the system will
operate. The following are the three main data and process modeling techniques:
20. DFDs or Data Flow Diagrams
21. Data Dictionary
22. Process Description tools

Define and draw Gane and Sarson symbols used for processes, data flows, data
stores, and entities.
Give four examples of typical names for processes, data flows, data stores, and
entities.

23. Processes - APPLY PAYMENT, CALCULATE INTEREST RATES,VERIFY

ORDER, FILL ORDER
24. Data flows - DEPOSIT, STUDENT GRADE, ORDER, COMMISSION
25. Data stores - ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, PRODUCTS, INSURANCE
POLICIES, DAILY PAYMENTS
26. Entities - BANK, CUSTOMER, INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE,
WAREHOUSE

What is the relationship between a context diagram and diagram 0, and which
symbol is not used in a context diagram?

A context diagram provides the most general view of an information system and
contains a single process symbol, which is like a black box. A diagram 0 shows the
details inside the black box. A diagram 0 zooms in on the context diagram and shows the
major processes, data flows, and data stores. It also repeats the external entities and data
flows that appear in the context diagram. Data store symbols are not used in context
diagrams because data stores are internal to the system.

What is meant by an exploded DFD?

An exploded DFD has a higher-level diagram called the parent diagram, and a lower-
level diagram that is referred to as the child diagram. In this sense, a diagram 0 is a child
diagram of a context diagram because diagram 0 is a more detailed or exploded view of
process 0 on the context diagram.

Describe a data dictionary, and give examples of how and when it is used.
A data dictionary is the central data repository of the system. It contains data elements,
or data items, or fields that are combined into records or data structures, which in turn
become the bases for diagramming data stores and data flows.

A data dictionary is used all along the stages of structured analysis since it serves as the
central storehouse of documentation for an information system. The data dictionary not
only describes each data element, data flow, data store, record, external entity, and
process, but also the relationships among these components.

Explain the DFD leveling technique.

Leveling is a technique used to show more detail in lower-level or child diagrams.

Leveling is done by drawing a series of increasingly detailed diagrams until the desired
degree of detail is reached.

What is a balanced DFD?

A balanced DFD preserves the input and output data flows of the parent on the child
DFD.

Describe the steps in creating a decision table.

27. Place a heading at the top left that names the table.
28. Enter the conditions under the heading, with one condition per line, to represent
the outcomes.
29. Enter all potential combinations of Y/N (for yes and no) for the conditions. Each
column represents a numbered possibility called a rule.
30. Place an X in the action entries area for each rule to indicate a decision on an
action.

What is structured English?

Structured English is a subset of standard English that describes logical processes

clearly and accurately.