BIA 459 test 1

Question 1

Define a system and 9 characteristics

Answer 1

A system is an interrelated set of business procedure used within one business unit working together for a purpose. It exists within an environment, and a boundary separates a system from its environment. Characteristics: 1. components; 2. interrelated components; 3. boundary; 4. purpose; 5. environment; 6. interfaces; 7. Constraints; 8. Input; 9. Output

Question 2

What is a composite system?

Answer 2

Any system that depends on other systems to do a business function. So you use one system for banking, one for buying, etc. The customer cannot tell that these are different systems as they are all integrated into one.

Question 3

Modularity, coupling, cohesion, systems integration

Answer 3

Modularity is dividing a system into chunks or modules of a relatively uniform size. They can represent a system simply, making it easier to understand and easier to redesign and build. Coupling means that subsystems are dependent on each other, and the extent of that. Cohesion is the extent to which a subsystem performs a single function. Systems integration allows hardware and software from different vendors to work together. It enables procedural language systems to work with visual programming systems.

Question 4

List what happens in SDLC stages: planning, analysis and design, logical design, physical design, implementation, maintenance

Answer 4

Planning is an organization’s total info system needs are identified, analyzed, prioritized, and arranged. Analysis is the system requirements are studied and structured. Design is a description of the recommended solution is converted into logical and then physical system specifications. Logical design is all functional features of the system chosen for development in analysis are described independently of any comp. platform. Physical design is when the logical specifications from logical design are transformed into technology-specific details from which all programming and system construction can be accomplished. Implementation is the system is coded, tested, installed, and supported in the org. Maintenance is when the info system is systematically repaired and improved.

Question 5

Packaged software vs. custom design software

Answer 5

Packaged software is beneficial because there is a signle repository for all aspects of business process. They are more consistent, have better support, a flexibility of modules, and it is more concrete overall. Sometimes a company has a unique need that can only be met by custom software.

Question 6

ERP and the value of using it

Answer 6

ERP is enterprise resource planning systems, which integrates individual traditional business functions into a series of modules that is seamlessly connected. Instead of having different systems for accounting, sales, inventory, etc.; ERP is all connected in a unified information system.

Question 7

Traditional vs. cloud computing

Answer 7

Acquisition model- traditional (buy assets and build technical architecture), cloud (you buy service). Business model- traditional (pay for fixed assets and administrative overhead), cloud (pay based on use). Access model- traditional (internal network or intranet, corporate client), cloud (accessed on the internet on any device). Technical model- traditional (single tenant, nonshared, static), cloud (computing is scalable, elastic, dynamic, and multi-tenant.

Question 8

What is a project and 3 classic constraints?

Answer 8

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Contraints are: scope or functionality (boundaries of project based on quality, functionality, and what is necessary to achieve the objectives). Time (boundaries of project based on time needed to complete objectives). Cost (boundaries of project based on money available to complete objectives).

Question 9

what happens in originating, initiating, planning, executing and controlling, and closing.

Answer 9

Originating is a work request, then requirements overview, then project proposal. Initiating is detailed requirements, CBA, updated project proposal, project charter. Planning is an updated project charter, project scope, communications plan, change management plan, project schedule, risk mitigation plan, and project plan. Executing/controlling is project status reports, project control reports, project change requests. Closing is where all processes are moved into production and ongoing support for systems are put in place

Question 10

Elements of project charter

Answer 10

lays out the business case for the project, CBA, high level time line

Question 11

Agile principles via manifesto

Answer 11

Early and continuous delivery, welcoming changing requirements, working software is the primary measure of progress, business people/developers must work together daily, build projects around motivated individuals, best way to communicate is face-to-face, promote sustainable development, continuous attention to technical excellence, simplicity is maximizing the amount of work done, best architects/requirements/designs are from self-organizing teams, team reflection.

Question 12

Basics of SCRUM

Answer 12

Team is scrum master, team members from IT, product owner. Develop a working system to solve a business need in a short period of time and incrementally adding functionality. Features: living backlog, complete backlog items in short iterations/sprints, brief daily meeting, sprint planning, heartbeat retrospective where team reflects on last sprint

Question 13

Elements of lean transformation methodology

Answer 13

Look at value chain, break it down into various tasks associated with business to see where waste is and where improvements can be made

Question 14

8 forms of waste

Answer 14

1. Overproduction (produce sooner, faster than customer demand) 2. inventory (raw materials, work in progress, or finished goods). 3. Waiting (people or parts that wait for work cycle to be completed) 4. Motion (unnecessary movement of people, parts, or machine within process) 6. Rework (not done right the first time) 7. Over-processing (processing beyond the standard required by the customer.) 8. Intellect (failure to fully utilize the time and talent of people)

Question 15

3 rules of kanban

Answer 15

1. strict queue limits 2. pull value through 3. make it visible

Question 16

Role/expectations of product owner

Answer 16

He accepts or rejects the work and is responsible for the team success of the project and the business benefits of the project. Works with the team to decide what stories should be done next in a project and when enough stories have been completed so that the system or product can be released into production state

Question 17

Role/expectations of scrum master

Answer 17

Facilitates the group. Role is to teach the principles of scrum, remove obstacles and shield the team from outside influences which may inhibit progress. Enforces scrum rules

Question 18

What is done in iteration 0?

Answer 18

Stories are gathered and prioritized based on business value. Team estimates the complexity of the story. Estimates what stories can be completed for iteration 1. Team builds a release plan of all remaining stories.

Question 19

What is a user story? What problem do they address?

Answer 19

It captures a business need and is meaningful in business terms and develops a feature needed by the business for a business process. Used to plan iterations and are written by customer and team jointly.

Question 20

Characteristics of good user stories

Answer 20

balance is critical, sized appropriately

Question 21

Process of story pointing

Answer 21

Each story is rated by the relative measure of feature difficulty/complexity. Influenced by how hard it is and how much there is, as well as the relative values of the importance of a story. They are a more accurate measure of project velocity and release schedule than hours/days

Question 22

Estimating by analogy or triangulation

Answer 22

Analogy is comparing a user story to one other story (“This story is like that story, so its estimate is what that story’s estimate was.”) Triangulation is comparing the story with multiple other stories to determine point worth

Question 23

Fibonacci sequence

Answer 23

It escalates up quickly. Look for small, medium, large, XL. The numbers are generated by taking the sum of last 2 numbers (0,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55)

Question 24

How can you determine the initial velocity of a team?

Answer 24

Velocity is a measure of how many story points a team can complete and get accepted as done after an iteration. Do this by: 1. Using historical averages; 2. Wait until you run at least one iteration; 3. Forecast (ask “Which stories on the list do you think you can get done in the first iteration?”)

Question 25

What does done mean?

Answer 25

It is usually determined by the product owner. Done means it meets all of the specifications that the product owner wants from that particular story

Question 26

Development iteration

Answer 26

Timeboxed 2-4 weeks. Each iteration is a mini software project that delivers a potentially shippable set of features. Team works to complete the stories they have developed. The review backlog and plan work, then do work.

Question 27

Iteration planning and outcome

Answer 27

Use cases, discussions/interviews, prototyping/experimenting with a new process. Most details come out during a conversation/model storming session regarding that story. They plan what is going to happen in the iteration, how long it will take, and what is needed in those iterations.

Question 28

Release planning meeting and outcome

Answer 28

Production vision explained by product owner. Create backlog, determine iteration length, determine project level definition of done, give points to stories, discuss/document what needs to be done in iteration 0, determine story priorities, determine dependencies, create release plan

Question 29

Daily standup meeting, pigs and chickens

Answer 29

This is to find out what people did, what they are planning to do today, and if anything is holding them up. Pigs are team working on it, only ones who talk. Chickens are involved but only observe.

Question 30

Value chain

Answer 30

Value chain describes a major line of business. It describes the process that the business takes to present value. Decomposed into 3-7 processes.

Question 31

Kaizen, kaizen event

Answer 31

Kaizen is an approach to continuous process improvement. An event is when you break down the business processes and see where waste can be eliminated. This is important so that the process is as lean as possible before it is automated

Question 32

Principles of kaizen

Answer 32

1. Say no to status quo, implement new methods and assume they will work. 2. If something is wrong, correct it. 3. Accept no excuses and make things happen. 4. Improve everything continuously 5. Abolish old, traditional concepts. 6. Be economical, save money through small improvements and spend the saved money on further improvements. 7. Empower everyone to take part in problem solving. 8. Before making decisions, ask “why” five times to get to the root cause. 9. Get information and opinions from multiple people. 10. Remember that improvement has no limits. Never stop trying to improve.

Question 33

9 steps of kaizen event

Answer 33

1. define process problem. 2. Measure current performance. 3. Identify waste in current process. 4. Conduct gap and root cause analysis. 5. Define should-be process. 6. Develop measures for success. 7. improve current process. 8. standardize operating procedures. 9. Develop 60 day action plan.

Question 34

SIPOC

Answer 34

Used to describe the business process by different categories. S = suppliers (suppliers of work, can be internal/external). I = inputs (products, info, or other material needed for process) P = process (steps used to go to from inputs to outputs, includes value add work and non-value add work). O = outputs (the outcome such as the service or product provided, make sure to meet critical to quality measures). C = customers (customers of process)

Question 35

Swimlane value stream map

Answer 35

Helps everyone understand the current process. Used in preparing for kaizen event, as it shows what additional metrics are needed to determine the value/cost of each step in a process. Creates vision for process improvement. Metrics on bottom are added value and lead time.

Question 36

CBA

Answer 36

Is a process by which you weigh expected costs against expected benefits to determine the best (or most profitable) course of action. Made up of total costs (projected 5 years) and benefits company acquires

Question 37

Total cost of ownership (TCO) and why 5 years

Answer 37

TCO is a financial estimate whose purpose is to help consumers and enterprise managers determine direct and indirect costs of a product or system. Feeds cost portion of CBA. Cost of owning/operating new systems, the capital investment, administrative costs, support costs, and end user costs. 5 years because you have to include the ongoing costs of supporting and upgrading the system