Fundamentals chapter 11

Question 1

Participants in Systems development

Answer 1

Systems are developed by a Development Team
Users: People who will interact with the system regularly
Systems analyst: Professional who specializes in analyzing and designing business systems
Programmers: Responsible for modifying or developing programs to satisfy user requirements
Managers:
Vendors and suppliers:
Technical Specialists:

Question 2

Role of the systems analysts

Answer 2

Plays an important role in the development team and is often the only person who sees the system in its totality
A person who is often called on to be a facilitator, moderator, negotiator and interpreter for development activities

Question 3

Information Systems Planning for Aligning Organisation and IS Goals

Answer 3

Information systems planning:
Involves translating strategic and organisational goals into systems development initiatives
Strategic goals are finite, measureable and tangible.

Aligning organisational goals and IS goals is critical for successful systems development effort

Question 4

Process

Answer 4

Strategic plan
IS planning
Systems development initiatives

Question 5

Steps in information systems planning

Answer 5

1. Consult the organizational strategic plan
2. Develop overall objectives
3. Identify IS projects(Includes previously unplanned systems projects)
4. Set priorities and select projects
5. Analyze resource requirements
6. Set schedules and deadlines
7. Develop IS planning document

Question 6

The overall objective of systems development

Answer 6

is to achieve business goals, NOT technical goals

Question 7

The success or failure of a systems development effort will be measured against:

Answer 7

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES – the extent to which a system performs as desired
COST OBJECTIVES – the extent to which the benefits of achieving performance goals balance or outweigh all the costs associated with the system

Question 8

Factors that determine system performance

Answer 8

1.The quality or usefulness of the output
a.Generates the right information for a business process; by the right person
2.The accuracy of the output
b.Information must be error-free; reflect the true situation
3.The quality or usefulness of the format of the output
c.Information must be readable (screen and/or paper) and simple
4.The speed at which output is generated
d.Information must be timely
5.The scalability of the resulting system
e.Must allow for future growth
6.The degree to which business risk is reduced

Question 9

Factors that determine system cost

Answer 9

1.Development costs
Costs to get the system up and running
2.Costs related to the uniqueness of the system application
An expensive but reusable system might be better than a less costly system with limited use
3.Fixed investments in hardware and related equipment
Developers should consider costs of such items as computers, network-related equipment and environmentally controlled data centres in which to operate the equipment
4.Ongoing operating costs
Operating costs include costs for personnel, software, supplies and resources such as the electricity required to run the system.

Question 10

A new project will be initiated and the cycle will start over if:

Answer 10

1. the system needs significant improvement beyond the scope of maintenance, or
   2.it needs to be replaced because of a new generation of technology, or
   3.the IS needs of the organization change significantly

Question 11

SDLC types or approaches

Answer 11

1.Traditional Systems Development Lifecycle
2.Prototyping
3.Rapid Application Development
Agile Development
Joint Application Development (JAD)
4.End-User Systems Development Lifecycle

Question 12

Traditional SDLC steps

Answer 12

Systems investigation
Systems analysis
Systems design
Systems implementation
Systems maintenance and review

Question 13

Systems investigation

Answer 13

1.Identifies problems and opportunities and considers them in light of business goals
2.Studies existing systems and work processes to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement

Question 14

Systems design

Answer 14

Defines how the information system will do what it must do to obtain the problem’s solution

Question 15

Systems implementation

Answer 15

Creates or acquires various system components detailed in systems design, assembles them, and places new or modified system into operation

Question 16

Systems maintenance and review

Answer 16

Ensures the system operates as intended
Modifies the system so that it continues to meet changing business needs

Question 17

Prototyping

Answer 17

Also know as the evolutionary lifecycle
It begins with creating a preliminary model of a major sub-system
Through an iterative analysis and design process the preliminary model is refined and incrementally better versions are created

Question 18

Operational prototype

Answer 18

1. Has functionality(does something towards solving the problem)
2. May accept input, process it, and generate output
3. In second iteration, processing may be refined and expanded

Question 19

Non-operational prototype

Answer 19

1. Has very limited, if any functionality (mock-up or model)
2. Includes input and output specifications, but output is stimulated
3. Developed easily
4. Can be discarded

Question 20

Rapid application development

Answer 20

Employs tools, techniques, and methodologies designed to speed application development
Tools used in RAD:
Rational Rapid Developer by Rational Software
OptimalJ by Locus Systems
Advantage Gen by Computer Associates International

Question 21

Other approaches to RAD

Answer 21

Agile Development
Allow the systems to change as they are being developed
Requires frequent face-to-face meetings with systems developers and users as they
Modify
Refine and
Test how the system meets the users’ requirements
Leads to robust systems with fewer errors when using Extreme Programming (XP) – a rapid iterative process involving pairs of programmers who design, test and code parts of the system

Question 22

Joint application development

Answer 22

RAD makes use of JAD
Process for data collection and requirements analysis Involves:
Group meetings in which users, stakeholders and IS professionals work together to
Analyse existing systems,
Propose possible solutions, and
Define the requirements for a new or a modified system
Needs a representative from management to be effective
Goes a long way to improving systems requirements

Question 23

Factors affecting systems development success

Answer 23

Getting users and stakeholders involved
Degree of change
Managing change
Quality and standards

Question 24

Getting users and stakeholders involved

Answer 24

1.Top management support is needed
2.Establish clear communication between
a. Domain side (users, managers, other stakeholders), and
b. Systems side (systems analysts, programmers, and other technical people)
3.Helps avoid user resistance to changed (new) systems

Question 25

Degree of change

Answer 25

1. Continuous improvement vs reengineering projects
   a. Continuous improvement projects have a high degree of success
   b. Reengineering projects tend to have a high degree of risk but also a high potential for benefits

Question 26

Managing change

Answer 26

Users concerns include:
1.Fear of loss of job, power, or influence at work
2.Belief that new system will create more work
3.Don’t want to work with ‘computer people’
4.Fear that the new system will change the organizational structure
5.Not willing to learn new procedures or approaches

Question 27

Quality and standards

Answer 27

1. Quality of project planning
   a. Bigger the projects, more likely poor planning will lead to failure
   b. Often fall behind schedule ,go over budget, and do not meet the users expectations
2. Constant trade-off schedule +cost vs quality
   a. Often more concern on schedule +cost, than quality
   3.International Standards Organization(ISO) provides standards to assist in improving the quality of IS

Question 28

Critical for most systems development projects cont.

Answer 28

Use of Project Management Tools
a. Project management involves:
1.Planning
2.Scheduling
3.Directing and controlling human
4.Financial and
5.Technological resources for a defined task whose result is achievement of specific goals and objectives
b. Applies to large and small projects

Question 29

Typical reasons to initiate a systems development project

Answer 29

1.Problem with existing system
2.Desire to exploit new opportunities
3. Increasing competition
4.Desire to make more effective use of information
5.Organizational growth
6.Merger or acquisition
7.Change in the environment

Question 30

Advantages of the traditional SDLC

Answer 30

1.Formal review at the end of each phase allows maximum management control
2.This approach creates considerable system documentation
3.Formal documentation ensures that system requirements can be traced back to stated business needs
4.It produces many intermediate(partial) products that can be reviewed to see whether they meet the users’ needs and conform to standards

Question 31

Disadvantages of the traditional SDLC

Answer 31

1.Users get a system that meets the needs as understood by developers; this might not be what they really needed
2.Documentation is expensive and time consuming to create. It is also difficult to keep current
3.Often, user needs go unstated or are misunderstood
4.Users cannot easily review intermediate (partial) products and evaluate whether a particular product meets their business requirements

Question 32

Advantages of prototyping

Answer 32

1.Users can try the system and provide constructive feedback during development
2.An operational prototype can be produced in weeks
3.As solutions emerge, users become more positive about the process and the results
4.Prototyping enables early detection of errors and omissions

Question 33

Disadvantages of prototyping

Answer 33

1. Each iteration builds on the previous one. The final solution might be only incrementally better than the initial solution.
2. Formal end-of-phase reviews might not occur. Thus, it is very difficult to contain the scope of the prototype, and the project never seems to end.
   3.Systems documentation is often absent or incomplete because the primary focus is on the development of the prototype
   4.System backup and recovery, performance ,and security issues can be overlooked in the haste to develop a prototype

Question 34

Advantages of rad

Answer 34

1.Puts an application into production sooner than any other approach
2.Documentation is produced as a by-product of completing project tasks
3.RAD forces teamwork and lots of interaction between users and stakeholders

Question 35

Disadvantages of rad

Answer 35

1.This intense SDLC can burn out systems developers and other project participants
2.This approach requires analysts and users to be skilled in RAD system development tools and RAD techniques
3.RAD requires a larger percentage of stakeholders’ and users’ time than other approaches

Question 36

Planning issues that frequently contribute to project failure

Answer 36

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