IS 470 - Systems Analysis and DesignFall Semester, 1999

MID-TERM EXAM - ANSWER KEY

Score Sheet Question(s) Maximum Average Score

I 80 68II.1 10 8II.2 10 9

SUB-TOTAL 100 85II (Extra Credit) 5 3.5

TOTAL 105 88.5

Section I: Multiple Choice Questions (80 Points)

Instructions: Answer ALL 40 questions. For each question, identify the "best" answer and then record your answer on the Scantron form. Each question is worth 2 points.

1. The complex organizational process through which computer-based information systems are developed and maintained best definesA. Joint application design.B. Prototyping.C. Systems analysis and design. D. None of the above.

2. An information system is best defined asA. Computer software designed to support organizational function or processes.B. Software which automates the handling of data about business activities or transactions.C. A combination of application software, hardware, systems software, documentation, training,

people and revised organizational processes designed to add value for businesses.D. Software designed to help organizational decision-makers make decisions.

3. Comprehensive, multiple-step approaches to systems development that will guide your work and influence the quality of your final product definesA. Methodologies. B. Techniques.C. Tools.D. Data flows.

4. The traditional methodology used to develop, maintain, and replace information systems best definesA. Rapid Application Development (RAD).B. Prototyping.C. Object-Oriented Analysis and Design (OOAD).D. Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

5. Identification and assessment of all possible systems development projects that an organization unit can undertake is conducted duringA. Physical design.B. Project identification and selection. C. Project initiation and planning.D. Analysis.

6. The particular processes that an analyst will follow to help ensure that his work is complete, well-done, and understood by project team members best defines

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A. Data flows.B. Techniques. C. Tools.D. Methodologies.

7. Which of the following is NOT a true statement concerning the differences between the process-oriented and data-oriented approaches to systems development?A. The process-oriented approach designs data files for each individual application.B. Much uncontrolled data duplication exists with the data-oriented approach. C. The data-oriented approach designs data files for the enterprise.D. The process-oriented approach has limited design stability.

8. An iterative process of systems development by which requirements are converted to a working system that is continually revised through close work between an analyst and users best definesA. Prototyping. B. Joint application design.C. Systems development life cycle.D. Participatory design.

9. An interrelated set of components, with an identifiable boundary, working together for some purpose, best definesA. System component.B. Environment.C. Constraint.D. System.

10. The line that marks the inside and outside of a system, and which sets off the system from its environment, best definesA. Delineation mark.B. Scope.C. Boundary. D. Interface.

11. Everything external to a system that interacts with the system best definesA. External interface.B. Environment. C. Process.D. Constraint.

12. Which of the following is a true statement?A. Information systems can be seen as subsystems in larger organizational systems, taking input from,

and returning output to, their organizational environments.B. A business system is a subsystem of an information system.C. Information systems can be seen as super-systems in an organizational environment.D. Generally, information systems are closed systems.

13. Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding technical skills?A. As an analyst, you must understand alternative technologies.B. The level of technical skill required will vary by job assignment and point in your career.C. A systems analyst should develop a single set of technical skills to use throughout his career. D. Information technology, techniques, and methodologies change quickly.

14. A planned undertaking of related activities to reach an objective that has a beginning and an end best definesA. Activity plan.B. Task development.C. Task schedule.

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D. Project.

15. Which of the following is NOT a true statement regarding project planning?A. Project planning focuses on defining clear, discrete activities and the work needed to complete each

activity within a single project.B. Project planning is the second phase of the project management process.C. Project planning often requires that you make numerous assumptions about resource availability and

potential problems.D. Project planning is synonymous with information systems planning.

16. A controlled process of initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project best definesA. Project development.B. Project management. C. Systems development.D. Systems management.

17. A critical path refers toA. A sequence of activities whose order and durations directly affect the completion date of a project. B. A sequence of activities whose order must be performed in parallel.C. A sequence of activities whose order and durations indirectly affect the completion date of a project.D. A sequence of activities whose duration cannot last more than 40% of the time allotted to the project.

18. CASE tools designed to support the information planning and the project identification and selection, project initiation and planning, analysis, and design phases of the systems development life cycle are calledA. Lower CASE.B. Cross life-cycle CASE.C. Upper CASE. D. Integrated CASE

19. Which of the following is a resisting organizational force for the adoption of CASE?A. A lack of confidence in CASE products. B. Low cost of training personnel.C. Improving the portability of new systems.D. Low cost of purchasing CASE.

20. Organizations PRIMARILY adopt CASE toA. Reduce program testing time.B. Decrease program maintenance.C. Increase documentation level.D. Improve the quality and speed of the systems development process.

21. The types of CASE tools that enable system process, data, and control structures to be represented graphically are calledA. Diagramming tools. B. Analysis tools.C. Repository tools.D. Report generator tools.

22. CASE tools that enable automatic checking for incomplete or incorrect specifications in diagrams, forms, and reports are calledA. Diagramming toolsB. Form and report generatorsC. Analysis tools D. Documentation generators

23. An orderly means of assessing the information needs of an organization and defining the systems, databases,

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and technologies that will best satisfy those needs best definesA. Mission statement.B. Information systems planning. C. Competitive strategy.D. Objective statement.

24. Research has found that projects identified by individual departments or business units most often:A. Will integrate easily with existing hardware and systemsB. Have a strategic, organizational focusC. Have a narrow, tactical focus D. Reflect diversity and have a cross-functional focus

25. Which of the following possible project sources most often reflects the broader needs of the organization?A. Development group.B. IS manager.C. User department.D. Top management.

26. Analyzing an organization's activities to determine where value is added to products and/or services and the costs incurred best describesA. Value chain analysis. B. Business process reengineering.C. Affinity clustering.D. None of the above.

27. "We are in the business of designing, fabricating, and selling to retail stores high-quality wood furniture" is what kind of statement?A. Business statement.B. Goal statement.C. Mission statement. D. Corporate policy.

28. How is project planning distinct from general information systems planning?A. Project planning focuses on defining discrete activities needed to complete all projects.B. General information systems planning focuses on assessing the information systems needs of the

entire organization.C. Project planning focuses on assessing the information systems needs of the entire organization.D. General information systems planning focuses on defining clear, discrete activities and the work needed

to complete each activity within a single project.

29. The analysis technique that finds the amount of time required for the cumulative cash flow from a project to equal its initial and ongoing investment is referred to asA. Net present value (NPV).B. Future value (FV).C. Break-even analysis (BEA). D. Return on investment (ROI).

30. When conducting a technical risk assessment, which of the following is true?A. Large projects are riskier than small projects.B. A project has a greater likelihood of experiencing unforeseen technical problems when the development

group lacks knowledge related to some aspect of the technology environment.C. Successful IS projects require active involvement and cooperation between the user and development

groups.D. All of the above.

31. A determination of scope will depend on

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A. What organizational units might be affected by or use the proposed system or system change.B. Who inside and outside the requesting organization might care about the proposed system.C. What range of potential system capabilities are to be considered.D. All of the above.

32. Assesses the degree to which a proposed system solves business problems or takes advantage of business opportunities.A. Economic Feasibility.B. Business Feasibility.C. Operational Feasibility. D. Political Feasibility.E. Technical Feasibility.

33. Gains an understanding of the organization's ability to construct the proposed system.A. Economic Feasibility.B. Business Feasibility.C. Operational Feasibility.D. Political Feasibility.E. Technical Feasibility.

34. Evaluates how key stakeholders within the organization view the proposed system.A. Economic Feasibility.B. Business Feasibility.C. Operational Feasibility.D. Political Feasibility. E. Technical Feasibility.

35. Identifies the financial benefits and costs associated with the development project.A. Economic Feasibility. B. Business Feasibility.C. Operational Feasibility.D. Political Feasibility.E. Technical Feasibility.

36. The first sub-phase of analysis isA. Alternative generation and choice.B. Project identification and selection.C. Requirements structuring.D. Requirements determination.

37. The term used to refer to systems development projects bogged down in an abundance of analysis work isA. Information abundance.B. Analysis paralysis. C. Information overload.D. Analysis overload.

38. One advantage of open-ended questions in an interview isA. The interviewee is restricted to providing just a few answers.B. They work well when the answers to the questions are well known.C. Previously unknown information can result. D. A significant amount of time can be devoted to each interviewee.

39. If you know little about the system or the organization, a good strategy would be toA. Identify key users and stakeholders and interview them, then use this information to create a

questionnaire that can be distributed to a large number of users.B. Administer a questionnaire to all end users, and then select the best responses to interview.

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C. Administer a questionnaire to key stakeholders, and then interview all end users.D. Interview only one or two key users or stakeholders.

40. Which of the following is a true statement regarding JAD?A. A JAD session is inexpensive to conduct.B. JAD sessions are usually conducted in the organization's conference room.C. The primary purpose of using JAD in the analysis phase is to collect systems requirements

simultaneously from the key people involved with the system.D. JAD follows a particular structure of roles and agenda that are similar to the group interview.

Section II: Discussion Questions

Instructions: Answer BOTH of the questions in this section using the space provided. Read the questions very carefully, and make sure that you provide all the information requested. Each question is worth 10 points and is followed by an OPTIONAL bonus question which you may answer for additional points. You will not lose any points if you do not answer the bonus questions.

1. Requirements Determination Methods (10 points). Chapter 7 identifies five traditional requirements determination methods. Name, briefly describe, and identify one advantage (pro) and one disadvantage (con) for TWO of the traditional methods. Then compare and contrast these two methods to show how each method's disadvantages can be counteracted by the other's advantages.

Answer: The five traditional requirements determination methods are: Interview, Questionnaires, Group Interview, Observation, and Documents. See text and class lecture notes for 10/4 for description/pros/cons. We essentially answered this question during the 10/4 class.

Scoring: 1 point each for (1) name of a traditional method, (2) brief description of method, (3) advantage, (4) disadvantage = 4 points x 2 methods = 8 points + 2 points for compare/contrast methods = 10 points total. Lost 1 point for each missing piece of information and/or if your comparison was only 1-way vs. 2-way.

OPTIONAL Bonus Question (2 points). Briefly explain what the term "Triangulate" means in relation to the previous question.

Answer: Triangulate means using multiple methods and/or sources to focus in on or find the "truth." In this case, it means using more than one requirements determination method with multiple stakeholders to try to find the "true" requirements.

Scoring: One point for identifying what triangulate means (e.g., multiple methods/sources), plus one point for explaining why you do that; for a total of two points. Only received 1 bonus point if you did not address both these issues or if your answer was totally unrelated to the previous question.

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2. Gantt Chart (10 points). A systems analysis and design project has been defined to contain the following seven activities. Construct a Gantt chart for this project, making sure that you correctly label the horizontal and vertical axes and show percent complete for each task. You may use the activity number or name to identify each task on the Gantt chart. Note: You should start each task as soon as possible (i.e., as soon as it's predecessor(s) is/are complete).

# Activity Name Time (weeks) Immediate Predecessors

Percent Complete

1 Collect requirements 2 100%2 Analyze processes 3 1 100%3 Analyze data 3 2 100%4 Design processes 7 2 50%5 Design data 6 2 75%6 Design screens 1 3, 4 0%7 Design reports 5 4, 5 0%

Answer:# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

1 ///// /////

2 ///// ///// /////

3 ///// ///// /////

4 ///// ///// ///// //

5 ///// ///// ///// ///// //

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7///// - Represents shading to show how much of each task is complete.

Scoring: Points were deducted for incorrect portions of Gantt chart. Up to 3 points for Task Length. (-1 point if wrong for 1 task; -2 points if wrong for 2-3 tasks; -3 points if

wrong for more than 3 tasks). Up to 3 points for Task Dependencies/Start Week. (-1 point if wrong for 1 task; -2 points if wrong for 2-3

tasks; -3 points if wrong for more than 3 tasks). -1 point each for incorrect/missing Horizontal axis label and Vertical axis label. -1 point for not showing or incorrectly showing percent complete for each task. -1 point for incorrectly showing tasks (e.g., not using bars) or other miscellaneous error.

OPTIONAL Bonus Question (3 points). Briefly compare Gantt and PERT charts by describing at two advantages of Gantt charts and one advantage of PERT charts. Use examples when appropriate.

Answer: Directly from the midterm review notes. The advantages of Gantt charts include: Shows overlapping tasks & task duration; Provides simple, graphical tracking of progress, plus a couple of other advantages identified by students. The advantages of PERT charts include: Useful for large projects w/high task dependencies; Shows task sequence & dependencies (not task duration); Emphasizes critical path identification.

Scoring: 1 point each for any two of the above Gantt chart advantages for a total of 2 possible points; plus 1 point for any one of the above PERT chart advantages. Only distinctly different advantages were counted.

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