Comp Sci Test 1
The examination office needs to upgrade the computing resources for their operations, and this will require data migration. Discuss two possible problems that may occur during data migration. [4]
Data loss, When moving data, from one storage device to another data could be lost and not useful anymore. Incompatibility of data formats, necessary to translate from one format to another, to be able to use the data in the new system which causes delays issues in business operation;
A large company has taken over another business. This takeover has required various changes to be made. One of the changes requires data migration. Describe two problems, concerning data migration, which the company may have to overcome. [4]
Data loss, due to transmission faults. And incompatible file formats, which could lead to incomplete or incorrect data transfer.
A large company has taken over another business. This takeover has required various changes to be made. One of the changes requires data migration. Define the term data migration. [1]
Data migration is the transfer of data from one system to another.
The office manager decides to buy and install new software and hardware. Outline one problem that may arise from the installation of new hardware and software in the office. [2]
Data migration problems, for example, different file formats so conversion must be performed.
Identify two features that need to be considered when planning a new computing system for an organization. [2]
Delivery time, and budget limits;
The management considered phased conversion and direct changeover as methods of implementation. Evaluate these two methods of implementation.
Direct Changeover: The cheapest and quickest but the old system is completely switched off for the new one. This is straight forward but very risky because there is nothing to fall back on. Phased Conversion: Method where the old system is still in use but parts of the new system or modules are introduced, involves bringing in the new system one step at a time, it is less risky than direct changeover. But it takes a lot of time.
A small hotel buys a software package to manage their bookings. State two methods of delivering user training. [2]
Formal classes and online training.
State one method of providing user documentation.
Help files
Discuss the social and ethical issues associated with the introduction of a new computer system.
Human dignity of all users, the new system might be designed to replace some staff, physical safety , and code of ethics
The text file is automatically saved at regular periods while being edited. State one advantage of this feature. [1]
If power goes off, only the text typed after the last save is lost.
A hardware shop supplies a wide variety of bathroom equipment. There are 15 shop assistants who serve customers, 3 office staff who handle the administration, and a manager. A specialized company is asked to design and implement a new computer system for the shop. Describe why it is useful to produce more than one prototype of the new system. [2]
More than one prototype allows the manager to choose the one that is the most suitable, which gives more flexibility and improves final system.
Identify one cause of data loss.
Natural Disasters
2. Identify two causes of data loss. [2]
Natural disaster and human error
All programs and data should be protected from theft, destruction, manipulation and alteration in this process. Identify three causes of data loss. [3]
Natural disasters, viruses, and hackers.
All files created in this office contain information important to the business. Outline the security measures that should be taken to prevent data loss. [2]
Off site data storage and make backups regularly.
Outline one method of collecting information from stakeholders concerning the requirements for a new system.
Surveys, General questions distributed to many stakeholders as a written or online document.
A small hotel buys a software package to manage their bookings. Describe two types of documentation that should be provided with the software package. [4]
Technical documentation, describes how to install software. User documentation, describes various functions of the software.
Identify one method of inputting data that can improve the accessibility of a computer system for some users.
Text-to-speech
Outline the use of a failover system. [2]
A failover system is a redundant system, which is used to eliminate the impact on users.
Describe one-way offsite storage can be used to prevent data loss.
A remote file server could be set up; for uploading all important data files.
Explain what is meant by user acceptance testing. [2]
A system or a partially functional prototype given to users to test for functionality or to gain feedback on functions or the user interface.
Identify two ways that user documentation may be provided.
A website and printed media
A new computerized system is being planned for a school library. Outline one reason for providing a prototype for this new system.
Allows stakeholders to gain an idea of how the system would be, so they can provide feedback.
Discuss one advantage and one disadvantage of printed material, when compared to online support, as a method to provide user documentation. [4]
An advantage: Portability, printed material is more easily transportable and can be moved around (eg for a scanner/printer);. A disadvantage: • Readability, font size online can be magnified.
All programs and data should be protected from theft, destruction, manipulation and alteration in this process. Identify two methods of preventing data loss. [2]
Antivirus programs, and passwords.
A medical centre uses a computer system to manage both patients' data and appointments. This system, which is used by the doctors, nurses and secretaries, has two unordered files: a patients' file and an appointments' file, both of which can only be accessed sequentially. Every evening the following processing takes place: • a list of appointments for the next day is printed out • reminders are sent by SMS text messages to the patients' mobile devices. Describe two different methods that the medical centre could use that would allow data to be restored should it be lost for any reason.
Backup data files on a regular basis. Printed copies; Printouts can be kept of transactions;
Outline one advantage of using beta testing prior to the release of a new product.
Beta testing is done from the user perspective, so requirement mismatches can be easily identified.
A book shop has a computer at each point of sale, and also a central computer. When a customer buys a book in the book shop, the salesperson at the point of sale uses a scanning device to input a barcode from the book. The barcode is sent to the central computer where the barcode of each book and the corresponding price are held in a database on a disk. When the price is found, it is sent to the point of sale computer where all necessary calculations are performed, details of the transaction are stored on a local disk and a receipt is printed out. Construct a system flow chart for the system described above. [5]
CHECK DESKTOP
A customer buys an item in a small local shop and pays with a credit card. The sales transaction data is input to a computer at the point of sale. Prices are downloaded every morning from a central computer at the company headquarters. The credit card is verified with the card authorization centre and then the receipt is printed. Draw and label a system flow chart to represent this process in the shop. [5]
CHECK DESKTOP
A medical centre uses a computer system to manage both patients' data and appointments. This system, which is used by the doctors, nurses and secretaries, has two unordered files: a patients' file and an appointments' file, both of which can only be accessed sequentially. Every evening the following processing takes place: • a list of appointments for the next day is printed out • reminders are sent by SMS text messages to the patients' mobile devices. Outline the pseudocode that the processing must follow when the system sends out the text reminders.
CHECK DESKTOP
Many different people and organizations upload scientific materials to the internet. A student uses data from the internet in a science project. Outline two ethical issues concerning this use of the internet.
The data is deliberately incorrect, the data has not been validated, intellectual property issues, and plagarism.
A hardware shop supplies a wide variety of bathroom equipment. There are 15 shop assistants who serve customers, 3 office staff who handle the administration, and a manager. A specialized company is asked to design and implement a new computer system for the shop. Outline two problems that may occur when transferring data from the old system to the new system. [4]
The data records in databases could have different structures, the data files could be incompatible, from different hardware systems. The key fields of different data types can exist, the customer records could have same keys so they cannot be uniquely identified;
Human interaction with the computer system includes a range of usability problems. Define the term usability. [1]
Usability means making the computer systems easy to use, matching them more closely to user needs and requirements.
Identify two organizational issues related to the implementation of the new system.
User roles; technology issues
State three potential usability issues with cell phones. [3]
Uses batteries for power, Over in warm weather, No hard disk drive.
Outline one problem of maintaining legacy systems.
Usually pre-internet, needs interfaces. Compatibility issues they typically refer to old database technology.
Human interaction with the computer system includes a range of usability problems. Identify two methods that could be used to improve the accessibility of a computer system. [2]
Voice recognition, text too speech.
A large company has taken over another business. This takeover has required various changes to be made. One of the changes requires data migration. Other than data migration, describe two aspects of change management that may arise from this takeover. [4]
Workforce issues, such as redundancy. Data entry, if migration isn't possible.
The management considered phased conversion and direct changeover as methods of implementation. a) State one type of testing that involves users. b) Identify three consequences of inadequate testing.
a) Beta testing b) Can lead to end user dissatisfaction, can lead to reduced employee productivity, and can lead to decreased reliability of the organization.
A hardware shop supplies a wide variety of bathroom equipment. There are 15 shop assistants who serve customers, 3 office staff who handle the administration, and a manager. A specialized company is asked to design and implement a new computer system for the shop. a) Identify two different types of users of the system. [2] b) Explain the role of users in the process of developing the new computer system. [3]
a) Customers and Manager. b) Role of users is important because inadequate user involvement leads to project failure. All users must participate and explain how they use the system and what they think is wrong with the system.
The customers can also buy books online. A customer can select a book, and then enter their name, address and credit card number. This data is stored on the book shop's central computer in a database of customer orders. a) Identify two sources of risk to personal data in this online system. b) State two measures that the book shop can take to address the risks identified c) Outline the consequences to the customer if their data is not adequately protected.
a) Data can be at risk whilst stored on the shop's disk, data can be at risk during transmission. b) All private information must be encrypted, transmission channel must be protected by encryption. c) Details stolen, used for fraudulent purposes;
The new system is implemented using parallel running. a) Outline what is meant by parallel running. [2] b) Outline one reason for choosing parallel running as opposed to a direct changeover. [2]
a) Simultaneous operation and of the new and old system. b) As the old system is still running, and the new system could be evaluated.
Describe the use of beta testing. [2]
it is when an application is tested to get feedback for errors and improvements. They do this by releasing it to the public before general release.
At the end of the day the sales transaction data is sent to the central computer at the company headquarters. Describe the processing that should be carried out at the company headquarters. [2]
updating inventory databases and repricing.
The changeover to the new system can be achieved by either direct changeover or phased conversion. (g) Compare direct changeover and phased conversion. [4]
Direct changeover, the old software and hardware is completely replaced, in one move, by the new software and hardware. Phased conversion involves selecting one section in the office for the direct changeover and other sections will be switched when the first section selected is running satisfactorily. Eventually the whole office has been changed. A phased conversion is less risky than a direct changeover as any problems that might arise will be isolated in only one section in the office;Direct changeover means everyone in the organization has same software and so there are no compatibility issues;
Direct observation is a technique used by a system analyst to determine user requirements for updating a computer system. (a) Identify one advantage of direct observation.
Direct observation is a systematic process.
Direct observation is a technique used by a system analyst to determine user requirements for updating a computer system. b) Identify one disadvantage of direct observation.
Direct observation is time consuming.
An application package used in an office includes a word processor. A secretary uses the word processor to create a text file. (a) Describe how a spellchecker checks whether a word in a text file is correctly spelt or not. [2]
Each word in the text file is compared with words in a dictionary (held online) and if the word is not found in the dictionary, spellchecker will recognize that it is incorrectly spelt.
The company decides to improve its service by introducing a new user interface for its customers and has developed this interface to the point that it needs to be tested by users who are outside of the company. c) Explain why beta testing is used to gather feedback for the new user interface.
Enables feedback to be given to the developers, so that the software can be improved, and real world testers may find more bugs as the system is used in ways not originally intended.
A large mail order company is concerned about the security of its stored data. b) Outline two backup strategies that may be used to limit data loss.
Failover system, a duplicate copy to be used in the event the main system fails. Incremental backup only backs up data that has changed, this requiring less storage capacity.
A new computerized system is being planned for a school library. Describe one method by which systems requirements can be obtained from the stakeholders.
Interviews could be held with stakeholders, to establish the functions required by the system.
All programs and data should be protected from theft, destruction, manipulation and alteration in this process. Describe why data loss is a more serious problem than the loss of software or hardware for a sales company. [3]
It is impossible to replace, Loss of software should not be a critical problem if owner has made backup copies(reinstalled), and loss of hardware should not be a major problem and it is not too expensive for the company, if the hardware is insured then new substitute hardware could be found quickly repurchased.
At the point of sale there are peripheral devices other than the scanning device and printer. Outline the purpose of one other possible peripheral device in this scenario. [2]
Keyboard, To type in some additional data.
An oil and gas company has a networked computer system for use of their employees in the Head Office. The company also uses the internet to enable communication with employees working on exploration and production in many remote geographical areas. The sub-sea oil and gas exploration and production unit of the company relies on thousands of kilometres of pipeline which are monitored by a computer control system which can detect leaks. The process of detecting leaks is carried out by sensors which are continuously monitoring changes in the flow and pressure of the liquids in the pipes. This data is processed on a computer in the office. If any of sensor values are outside of the acceptable parameters stored on a disk in the office, the following error routines are performed: an alarm is sounded on the computer at the office an email message is sent to managers in the Head Office. A member of staff can also configure the system. (e) Construct a system flowchart to represent the process described above.
LOOK AT DESKTOP PICTURE.
An application package used in an office includes a word processor. A secretary uses the word processor to create a text file. The text file is automatically saved at regular periods while being edited. Identify two additional features of a word processing package that could be useful for this office. [2]
Mail merge and print.
A large mail order company is concerned about the security of its stored data. a) Describe two possible causes of data loss.
Malicious activities, an unauthorized user gaining access to data and deleting it. Human error, accidental deletion of files;
The medical centre is concerned about the privacy of the data it is storing and has to make decisions concerning: • access to the data stored on this system • storing the data locally or through the use of a cloud service. (c) Discuss the issues that should be considered before making these decisions. [6]
Official access to the data: Access to this sensitive data must be restricted. Only those directly concerned can be able to access it. Even less people should be able to edit it. Therefore access levels should be set up, with strong levels of authentication. Physical access to servers should be controlled if using the local system; Data Security: Is the data safer stored locally or on the cloud? Cloud service providers are professionals -they should have stronger security than a hospital system.
Explain what is meant by beta testing. [2]
Performed by end users, and to see if it works properly.
The customers can also buy books online. A customer can select a book, and then enter their name, address and credit card number. This data is stored on the book shop's central computer in a database of customer orders. Outline the purpose of protocols in transferring this data. [2]
Protocols are sets of rules for transmitting data correctly, They ensure that data is sent from a customer's computer and received by the shop's computer.
A prototype of the new system is created to present to the examination office. Describe the purpose of this prototype. [3]
Prototype is used to ensure all essential functions of the system are present the needs of the users. Prototype is used to speed up development process. Or else a further prototype should be created in order to develop the satisfactory system.
An examination office of a university must securely store students' examination papers and their grades. The office keeps the documentation of past students for two years. After two years the office only stores the student grades. All documentation of current students is frequently accessed for other operations and the volume of the data increases quickly. Describe how direct observations on the current system may provide information to help propose a suitable new system. [3]
Quick realistic information on data in the current system. Help better understand positive and negative features of the current system. Which can be used when specifying requirements of the new system
The examination office needs to upgrade the computing resources for their operations, and this will require data migration. Outline one economic aspect that the examination office needs to take into account to support parallel running. [3]
Safe way of validating the new system, running two systems could be cheaper than losing all data in case of failure;
Describe one way that software developers can ensure that the users are aware of any available updates for their products. [2]
Send an email, with a link to the update;
Outline two usability features in relation to the characteristics of a new laptop. [4]
Standard accessibility for visually impaired, larger text option or text to speech. Larger screen, easier to view large amounts of data without excessive scrolling or squinting.
The company decides to improve its service by introducing a new user interface for its customers and has developed this interface to the point that it needs to be tested by users who are outside of the company. (e) Identify two features that could be used to improve the accessibility of the new user interface.
Touch screens, and voice recognition;
The company decides to improve its service by introducing a new user interface for its customers and has developed this interface to the point that it needs to be tested by users who are outside of the company. d) Outline one consequence of not involving end-users in the design and testing stages.
The software may be missing some key features, and the software may not be user friendly;
An examination office of a university must securely store students' examination papers and their grades. The office keeps the documentation of past students for two years. After two years the office only stores the student grades. All documentation of current students is frequently accessed for other operations and the volume of the data increases quickly. To better support its operations, the office is creating a new system to provide this storage. Identify two aspects of the data that need to be taken into account during the planning of the new system. [2]
The type of access needed, for example read and write online or offline.
Identify two reasons for releasing a software update.[2]
To patch any vulnerabilities and to ensure compatibility with other updated technologies.
Outline why a prototype would be used to demonstrate the proposed system to the client.
To provide feedback on the efficiency or design of the product, and to give an idea or feel of the final product.
Outline what is meant by beta testing. [2]
To use the software product and to give the feedback to the authors, which helps in correcting bugs.
