MIS 3360 Exam#2

The analysis of documents can help you identify:

-special information processing circumstances that occur irregularly and may not be identified by any other requirements -the reason why current systems are designed the way they are -problems with existing systems

The Baseline Project Plan:

-specifies detailed project activities for the next life cycle phase, analysis, and less detail for subsequent project phases -contains all information collected and analyzed during project initiation and planning -is used by the project selection committee to help decide if the project should be accepted, redirected, or canceled

The Project Scope Statement:

1) is useful for ensuring that both you and your customer gain a common understanding of the project 2)is a short document prepared for the customer that describes what the project will deliver and outlines all work required to complete the project 3)is a very easy document to create because it typically consists of a high-level summary of the BPP information

When conducting a technical risk assessment, which of the following is true?

1)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. 2)Successful IS projects require active involvement and cooperation between the user and development groups. 3)Large projects are riskier than small projects

A major outcome and deliverable from the project initiation and planning phase that contains the best estimate of a project's scope, benefits, costs, risks, and resource requirements defines the:

Baseline Project Plan

The justification for an information system, presented in terms of the tangible and intangible economic benefits and costs and the technical and organizational feasibility of the proposed system best defines:

Business Case

The objective of the project planning process is the development of a Baseline Project Plan and a Statement of Work.

FALSE

Variable costs are costs resulting from the ongoing evolution and use of a system.

FALSE

Disruption to the rest of the organization is an example of a procurement cost.

False

Referencing the Management Issues section of the Baseline Project Plan, the communication plan provides a description of the team member roles and reporting relationships.

False

The Systems Service Request reflects the best estimate of the project's scope, benefits, costs, risks, and resource requirements, given the current understanding of the project

False

The goal with using prototyping to support requirements determination is to build the ultimate system from prototyping.

False

How is project planning distinct from general information systems planning?

General information systems planning focuses on assessing the information systems needs of the entire organization.

Which of the following is a traditional method of collecting systems requirements?

Group interviews

In BPR, which of the following questions are used to identify activities for radical change?

How important is the activity to delivering the outcome? How dysfunctional is the activity? How feasible is changing the activity?

Which of the following is an advantage of closed-ended questions?

Interviews based on closed-ended questions do not necessarily require a large time commitment, so more topics can be covered.

Techniques developed to keep the analysis effort minimal, yet still effective include:

JAD

Which of the following is not an Agile Methodologies requirements determination technique?

JAD

Which of the following is a reason for directly observing end users?

People often do not have a completely accurate appreciation of what they do or how they do it.

At walkthrough meetings, there is a need to have individuals play specific roles such as:

Presenter

A document prepared for the customer during project initiation and planning that describes what the project will deliver and outlines generally at a high level all work required to complete the project is the:

Project Scope Statement

Which of the following is a disadvantage to group interviewing?

Scheduling group interviews can be a problem.

During project initiation and planning, potential tangible benefits may have to be considered intangible

TRUE

Improvement of management planning and control is a tangible benefit

TRUE

Opening new markets and increasing sales opportunities is a tangible benefit.

TRUE

Which of the following is a true statement regarding JAD?

The primary purpose of using JAD in the analysis phase is to collect systems requirements simultaneously from the key people involved with the system.

A first step in any BPR effort is to understand what processes need to change

True

A walkthrough is a peer group review of any product created during the systems development process

True

During JAD, the group interaction process is typically not well supported by computing.

True

During requirements determination, information can be gathered from users of the current system, forms, reports, and procedures.

True

In documents you can find information about the values of the organization or individuals who can help determine priorities for different capabilities desired by different users.

True

Key business processes are the structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market.

True

Open-ended questions are usually used to probe for information when you cannot anticipate all possible responses or when you do not know the precise question to ask.

True

Project planning focuses on defining clear, discrete activities and the work needed to complete each task.

True

The impertinence characteristic of a good systems analyst is represented by which of the following statements?

You should question everything

The impartiality characteristic of a good systems analyst is represented by which of the following statements?

Your role is to find the best solution to a business problem or opportunity.

The term used to refer to systems development projects bogged down in an abundance of analysis work is:

analysis paralysis``

As a rule of thumb estimate, what percentage of the entire development effort should be devoted to the project initiation and planning process?

between 10 and 20 percent

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 as:

break-even analysis (BEA)

The search for, and implementation of, radical change in business processes to achieve breakthrough improvements in products and services best defines:

business process reengineering

Rating a response or idea on some scale, say from strongly agree to strongly disagree, would be classified as a(n):

closed-ended question

Questions in interviews asking those responding to choose from among a set of specified responses are:

closed-ended questions

Prototyping is most useful for requirements determination when:

communication problems have existed in the past between users and analysts

At a walkthrough meeting, the person who plans the meetings and facilitates a smooth meeting process is referred to as the:

coordinator

Which of the following would be classified as a tangible cost?

cost of hardware

A written work procedure:

describes how a particular job or task is performed, including data and information that are used and created in the process of performing the job

The following are elements of project planning:

describing the project scope, alternatives, and feasibility

Which of the following is NOT a major section of the Baseline Project Plan?

design issues

The rate of return used to compute the present value of future cash flows refers to

discount rate

Technologies that enable the breaking of long-held business rules that inhibit organizations from making radical business changes best defines:

disruptive technologies

Which of the following technologies disrupted the business rule that information can appear only in one place at a time?

distributed databases

Which of the following is not an element of project initiation?

dividing the project into manageable tasks

Which of the following was developed by Kent Beck, and is distinguished by its short cycles, its incremental planning approach, its focus on automated tests written by programmers and customers to monitor the process of development, and its reliance on an evolutionary approach to development that lasts throughout the lifetime of the system?

eXtreme programming

To identify the financial benefits and costs associated with the development project is the purpose of:

economic feasibility

Which of the following would be classified as an intangible cost?

employee morale

Which of the following is an element of project planning?

establishing a relationship with the customer

The official way a system works as described in organizational documentation is referred to as a(n):

formal system

Interviewing several key people at once refers to:

group interviewing

Forms are important for understanding a business because they:

indicate what data flow in or out of a system and which are necessary for the system to function

The way a system actually works is referred to as a(n):

informal systems

The reduction of waste creation is an example of a(n):

intangible benefit

A cost associated with an information system that cannot be easily measured in terms of dollars or with certainty refers to:

intangible cost

Which of the following is not a contemporary method for determining system requirements?

interviewing

The structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market best defines:

key business processes

The process of assessing potential legal and contractual ramifications due to the construction of a system refers to:

legal and contractual feasibility

Tangible benefits would include:

lower transaction costs

At a walkthrough meeting, the person who reviews the work product in terms of future maintenance activities is referred to as the:

maintenance oracle

The analysis technique that uses a discount rate determined from the company's cost of capital to establish the present value of a project is commonly called:

net present value (NPV)

A facilitated process that supports idea generation by groups where at the beginning of the process, group members work alone to generate ideas, which are then pooled under the guidance of a trained facilitator best describes:

nominal group technique

A cost associated with project start-up and development or system start-up refers to a(n)

one-time cost

Questions in interviews that have no pre-specified answers are:

open-ended questions

Infrastructure replacement/improvements, system maintenance costs, and user training and support are examples of:

operating costs

The process of assessing the degree to which a proposed system solves business problems or takes advantage of business opportunities refers to:

operational feasibility

To gain an understanding of how key stakeholders within the organization view the proposed system is the purpose of:

political feasibility

The current value of a future cash flow is referred to as its:

present value

Capital costs, management and staff time, and consulting costs are examples of:

procurement costs

Activities designed to assist in organizing a team to conduct project planning is the focus of:

project initiation

The number of members on the project team, project duration, and the number of organizational departments involved in the project are examples of which of the following risk factors?

project size

A new system or the renovation of existing systems, user perceptions, and management commitment to the system are examples of which of the following risk factors?

project structure

A cost resulting from the ongoing evolution and use of a system refers to a(n)

recurring cost

Application software maintenance, new software and hardware leases, and incremental communications are examples of:

recurring costs

The ratio of the net cash receipts of the project divided by the cash outlays of the project, enabling tradeoff analysis to be made between competing projects is often referred to as:

return on investment (ROI)

To gain an understanding of the likelihood that all potential time frame and completion date schedules can be met and that meeting these dates will be sufficient for dealing with the needs of the organization is the purpose of

schedule feasibility

The person who makes detailed notes of the happenings at a Joint Application Design session is referred to as the:

scribe

At a walkthrough meeting, the person who ensures that the work product adheres to organizational technical standards is referred to as the:

standards bearer

Referencing eXtreme programming, which of the following is the final phase of the Planning Game?

steering

Which of the following is the eXtreme Programming Planning Game phase where Business has a chance to see how the development process is progressing and to work with Development to adjust the plan accordingly?

steering

Which of the following is NOT a role at a walkthrough meeting?

support staff

A benefit derived from the creation of an information system that can be measured in dollars and with certainty is a(n):

tangible benefit

A savings of $3,000 resulting from a data entry error correction would most likely be classified as a(n):

tangible benefit

Cost reduction and avoidance, error reduction, and increased flexibility are examples of

tangible benefits

A cost associated with an information system that can be measured in dollars and with certainty is referred to as a(n):

tangible cost

An assessment of the development group's understanding of the possible target hardware, software, and operating environments, system size, complexity, and the group's experience with similar systems should be included as part of:

technical feasibility

To gain an understanding of the organization's ability to construct the proposed system is the purpose of:

technical feasibility

The objective of the project planning process is:

the development of a Baseline Project Plan and Project Scope Statement

When comparing observations and document analysis:

the potential audience of the observation method is limited the observee is not known to the interviewer

The concept of comparing present cash outlays to future expected returns best defines

time value of money

At a walkthrough meeting, the person (or group) who ensures that the work product meets the needs of the project's customers is referred to as the:

user

A peer group review of any product created during the system development process refers to:

walkthrough

The typical participants in a JAD include:

-a sponsor -a session leader -a scribe