Chapter 14

Question 1

compliance

Answer 1

Ensuring that an organization’s systems operate within required legal constraints, and industry and organizational obligations.

Question 2

Java

Answer 2

A programming language, initially developed by Sun Microsystems, designed to provide true platform independence (“write once, run anywhere”) for application developers. In most cases, Java apps are developed to be executed by a Java Virtual Machine—an interpreting layer that translates code as it executes, into the format required by the operating system and microprocessor. Without Java, application developers have to write and compile software to execute natively by a specific operating system/microprocessor combination (e.g., Windows/Intel, Linux PowerPC, Mac/Intel, Linux/Intel).

Question 3

agile development

Answer 3

Developing work continually and iteratively, with a goal of more frequent product rollouts and constant improvement across smaller components of the larger project.

Question 4

capability maturity model integration (CMMI)

Answer 4

A process-improvement approach (useful for but not limited to software engineering projects) that can assist in assessing the maturity, quality, and development of certain organizational business processes, and suggest steps for their improvement.

Question 5

database management system (DBMS)

Answer 5

Sometimes referred to as database software; software for creating, maintaining, and manipulating data.

Question 6

business intelligence (BI) systems

Answer 6

Systems that use data created by other systems to provide reporting and analysis for organizational decision-making.

Question 7

interpreted

Answer 7

Languages where each line of written code is converted (by a software program, called an “interpreter”) for execution at run-time. Most scripting languages are interpreted languages. Many programmers also write Java applications to be interpreted by the Java Virtual Machine.

Question 8

platforms

Answer 8

Products and services that allow for the development and integration of software products and other complementary goods. Windows, the iPhone, the Wii, and the standards that allow users to create Facebook apps are all platforms.

Question 9

enterprise software

Answer 9

Applications that address the needs of multiple users throughout an organization or work group.

Question 10

Web services

Answer 10

Small pieces of code that are accessed via the application server, and permit interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network.

Question 11

total cost of ownership

Answer 11

An economic measure of the full cost of owning a product (typically computing hardware and/or software). TCO includes direct costs such as purchase price, plus indirect costs such as training, support, and maintenance.

Question 12

customer relationship management (CRM)

Answer 12

Systems used to support customer-related sales and marketing activities.

Question 13

application server

Answer 13

Software that houses and serves business logic for use (and reuse) by multiple applications.

Question 14

supply chain management (SCM)

Answer 14

Systems that can help a firm manage aspects of its value chain, from the flow of raw materials into the firm, through delivery of finished products and services at the point-of-consumption.

Question 15

feature creep

Answer 15

An expansion of the scope of a project.

Question 16

APIs

Answer 16

Programming hooks, or guidelines, published by firms that tell other programs how to get a service to perform a task such as send or receive data. For example, Amazon.com provides APIs to let developers write their own applications and websites that can send the firm orders.

Question 17

enterprise resource planning (ERP)

Answer 17

A software package that integrates the many functions (accounting, finance, inventory management, human resources, etc.) of a business.

Question 18

firmware

Answer 18

Software stored on nonvolatile memory chips (as opposed to being stored on devices such as hard drives or removable discs). Despite the seemingly permanent nature of firmware, many products allow for firmware to be upgraded online or by connecting to another device.

Question 19

user interface (UI)

Answer 19

The mechanism through which users interact with a computing device. The UI includes elements of the graphical user interface (or GUI, pronounced “
gooey”), such as windows, scroll bars, buttons, menus, and dialogue boxes; and can also include other forms of interaction, such as touch screens, motion sensing controllers, or tactile devices used by the visually impaired.

Question 20

JSON

Answer 20

JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)—a popular data interchange format, JSON is a technology standard often used to format data when being sent or received via APIs.

Question 21

integrated development environment (IDE)

Answer 21

An application that includes an editor (a sort of programmer’s word processor), debugger, and compiler, among other tools.

Question 22

computer hardware

Answer 22

The physical components of information technology, which can include the computer itself plus peripherals such as storage devices, input devices like the mouse and keyboard, output devices like monitors and printers, networking equipment, and so on.

Question 23

waterfall method

Answer 23

A relatively linear sequential approach to software development (and other projects). Benefits include surfacing requirements up front and creating a blueprint to follow throughout a project. Often criticized for being too rigid, slow, and demanding project forethought that’s tough to completely identify early on.

Question 24

programming language

Answer 24

Provides the standards, syntax, statements, and instructions for writing computer software.

Question 25

distributed computing

Answer 25

A form of computing where systems in different locations communicate and collaborate to complete a task.

Question 26

extensible markup language (XML)

Answer 26

A tagging language that can be used to identify data fields made available for use by other applications. Most APIs and Web services send messages where the data exchanged is wrapped in identifying XML tags.

Question 27

scrum

Answer 27

An approach to organizing and managing agile projects that breaks deliverables into “sprints” delivered in one- to six-week increments by teams of fewer than ten. Scrum defines functions (roles) for management and development, meetings (ceremonies), and how the process is documented and tracked (artifacts).

Question 28

desktop software

Answer 28

Applications installed on a personal computer, typically supporting tasks performed by a single user.

Question 29

applications

Answer 29

Includes desktop applications, enterprise software, utilities, and other programs that perform specific tasks for users and organizations.

Question 30

operating system

Answer 30

The software that controls the computer hardware and establishes standards for developing and executing applications.

Question 31

scripting languages

Answer 31

Programming tool that executes within an application. Scripting languages are interpreted within their applications, rather than compiled to run directly by a microprocessor.

Question 32

software package

Answer 32

A software product offered commercially by a third party.

Question 33

server

Answer 33

A program that fulfills the requests of a client.

Question 34

compile

Answer 34

Step in which program code written in a language that humans can more easily understand, is then converted into a form (expressed in patterns of ones and zeros) that can be understood and executed by a microprocessor. Programmers using conventional programming languages must compile their software before making it available for execution.

Question 35

EDI (electronic data interchange)

Answer 35

A set of standards for exchanging messages containing formatted data between computer applications.

Question 36

client

Answer 36

A software program that makes requests of a server program.

Question 37

service-oriented architecture (SOA)

Answer 37

A robust set of Web services built around an organization’s processes and procedures.

Question 38

software development methodologies

Answer 38

Sometimes also referred to as the SDLC or software development life cycle—methods to divide tasks related to software creation and deployment up into tasks targeted at building better products with stronger product management guidelines and techniques.

Question 39

embedded systems

Answer 39

Special-purpose software designed and included inside physical products (often on firmware). Embedded systems help make devices “smarter,” sharing usage information, helping diagnose problems, indicating maintenance schedules, providing alerts, or enabling devices to take orders from other systems.

Question 40

software

Answer 40

A computer program or a collection of programs. It is a precise set of instructions that tells hardware what to do.