IST Chapter 9

68) T/F-The biggest increases in productivity result from increased system efficiency rather than system effectiveness. (350)

FALSE

71) T/F-Salaries and benefits for personnel managing a system are non-recurring costs. (354)

FALSE

74) T/F-When making the case for an IS investment, it is undesirable to translate all potential benefits into monetary terms. (356)

FALSE

78) T/F-The first phase of the systems development lifecycle is systems design. (364)

FALSE

80) T/F-Strategic alignment considers the number of individuals and the length of time needed to complete a project. (366)

FALSE

81) T/F-In an entity-relationship diagram, each data entity can have only one attribute that describes it. (367)

FALSE

85) T/F-Corrective maintenance involves making changes to an information system to evolve its functionality, to accommodate changing business needs, or to migrate it to a different operating environment. (375)

FALSE

86) T/F-Purchasing an existing system from an outside vendor is referred to as outsourcing. (377)

FALSE

87) T/F-An RFP is sent to buyers who might potentially be interested in buying hardware and/or software for the system. (379)

FALSE

89) T/F-Public domain software severely restricts access to the source code and gives users no rights to copy or modify the software. (381)

FALSE

90) T/F-In a basic relationship, the buyer and the supplier set preferences and prices to the benefit of each other. (838)

FALSE

51) The process of making changes to an information system to evolve its functionality, to accommodate changing business needs, or to migrate it to a different operating environment is known as ________. (375)

adaptive maintenace

39) ________ testing is testing of the overall system to see whether it meets design requirements. (371)

alpha

9) Business case arguments based on data, quantitative analysis, and/or indisputable factors are known as arguments based on ________. (351)

facts

7) Business case arguments based on ________ focus on beliefs about organizational strategy, competitive advantage, industry forces, customer perceptions, market share, and so on. (351)

faith

34) A ________ is a business document containing some predefined data, often including some areas where additional data can be filled in. (368)

form

33) In an information system, a ________ is the point of contact between a system and users. (368)

human-computer interface

19) A break-even analysis ________. (356)

identifies at what point tangible benefits equal tangible costs

25) During the first phase of the systems development life cycle, organizations ________. (366)

identify, plan, and select a development project from all possible projects that could be performed

18) Which of the following is an example of an intangible benefit for a firm? (354)

improved customer perceptions of the firm

29) ________ is a group meeting-based process for requirements collection. (367)

joint application desgin

53) Preventive maintenance of a system involves ________. (375)

making changes to a system to reduce the chance of future system failure

49) ________ use the Internet to check the software vendor's Web site for available fixes for problems. The application downloads and installs these in order to fix software flaws. (375)

patch mangement systems

52) Which of the following types of system maintenance involves making enhancements to improve processing performance or interface usability? (375)

perfective maintenance

22) Which of the following is the main advantage of customizable software over off-the-shelf software? (361)

problem specificity

31) ________ represents the way in which data are transformed. (367)

processing logic

42) Developmental testing of an information system is performed by ________. (371)

programmers

58) BelAir has decided to buy an information system from an external vendor. The company has made a list of its requirements and asked prospective vendors to submit proposals for the system. Which of the following is the next step in the company's external acquisition process? (379)

proposal evaluation

21) ________ are alternative measures of outcomes that can help clarify what the impact of a change will be on a firm. (359)

proxy variablees

32) Processing logic is often expressed in ________, which is independent of the actual programming language being used. (367)

pseudocode

16) BelAir Tech implements a new information system and sees a 5 percent increase in monthly sales after implementation. This is a(n) ________ of the system. (354)

recurring cost

35) A ________ is a business document containing only predefined data for online viewing or printing. (368)

report

27) ________ is the process of gathering and organizing information from users, managers, customers, business processes, and documents to understand how a proposed information system should function. (366)

requirements collection

62) ________ licenses are activated as soon as the packaging of the software has been removed. (381)

shrink-wrap

45) Programming is the process of ________. (371)

A) transforming the system design into a working computer system

5) BelAir Tech replaced its outdated information system with a newer version. As a result, its employees reported a significant increase in work speed. Which of the following is most similar to BelAir's situation? (350)

At Sterling Inc. the average number of application forms processed in an hour rose from 4 to 6 as a result of the new system.

67) Which of the following is an example of a basic relationship between an outsourcing vendor and client? (383)

BelAir buys a system from the vendor who offers the cheapest prices.

66) BelAir Tech has developed and run its own information system for the past ten years. However, the company has now decided to outsource its IS function to a service provider. Which of the following, if true, will strengthen BelAir's decision? (382)

BelAir has seen a fall in company revenue over the last year.

8) Business case arguments based on fear are dependent on ________. (351)

D) the notion that if the system is not implemented, the firm will lose out to the competition or go out of business

75) T/F-Steering committees are ill-equipped to handle larger, riskier projects. (359)

FASLE

40) Jason has just made some changes to the information system at BelAir Tech and wants to check if the system is working correctly. He wants to conduct a beta test of the system. Which of the following should he do to achieve this? (371)

He should ask users of the system to test it using actual data

10) Which of the following is an example of a business case argument based on fear? (351)

If we do not implement this system, our competitors could gain a significant advantage over us.

65) Which of the following is true of Software as a Service? (381)

It allows clients to access services on an as-needed basis.

6) B&Z Inc. implemented a new information system two months ago but there have been no concrete increases in productivity as a result of the system. A similar system has been in place at the company headquarters for the past two years, and this system has resulted in significant, quantifiable benefits. Which of the following reasons is the most likely explanation for the lack of results? (350)

It can take years from the first implementation of this new system before the magnitude of benefits is felt by the organization.

47) Which of the following is true for patch management? (375)

It helps in performing corrective or preventive maintenance for a system.

59) Which of the following statements is true of a request for proposal? (379)

It is a list of user requirements sent to prospective vendors.

3) Which of the following is true of system effectiveness? (350)

It is the extend to which a system enables the firm to accomplish goals well

56) Which of the following is true for prototyping? (375)

It uses a trial-and-error approach for discovering how a system should operate.

54) BelAir Tech has a five-member team in charge of the development and maintenance of its information systems. An information system is in place, and the team performs routine maintenance to keep it running smoothly. Which of the following scenarios is an example of perfective maintenance? (375)

Justin work on the systems to make the user interface more user-friendly

55) BelAir Tech has a five-member team in charge of development and maintenance of its information systems. An information system is in place, and the team performs routine maintenance to keep it running smoothly. Which of the following scenarios is an example of adaptive maintenance? (375)

Sara knows that the company is migrating to a new operating environment next month, and makes the appropriate changes to the system.

44) Which of the following can be considered beta testing? (371)

System users at URP feed data into a new information system to test its capability.

69) T/F-Business case arguments based on faith do not require hard data based on system costs. (350)

TRUE

70) T/F-The total cost of ownership is focused on understanding not only the total cost of acquisition but also all costs associated with ongoing use and maintenance of a system. (354)

TRUE

72) T/F-A break-even analysis is a type of cost-benefit analysis to identify at what point tangible benefits equal tangible costs. (355-356)

TRUE

73) T/F-A net-present-value analysis is an analysis of the relevant cash flow streams associated with the system at the organization's discount rate. (356)

TRUE

76) T/F-Proxy variables can be used to measure changes in terms of their perceived value to the organization. (359)

TRUE

77) T/F-Traditionally, the most common option for packaged software was commercial off-the-shelf software. (361)

TRUE

79) T/F-Requirements collection is the process of gathering and organizing information to understand how a proposed information system should function. (366)

TRUE

82) T/F-Data flows represent the movement of data through an organization or within an information system. (367)

TRUE

83) T/F-Processing logic represents the way in which data are transformed. (367)

TRUE

84) T/F-System conversion is the process of decommissioning the current way of doing things and installing the new system in the organization. (371)

TRUE

88) T/F-Systems benchmarking is the use of standardized performance tests to facilitate comparison between systems. (380)

TRUE

4) Which of the following scenarios demonstrates system efficiency? (350)

The new information system at Barker's helped employees work faster, with less effort.

1) Which of the following statements best describes the productivity paradox for technology investment? (349)

While it is easy to quantify the costs associated with developing an information system, it is often difficult to quantify tangible productivity gains from its use.

41) ________ testing involves testing of the capabilities of the system in the user environment with actual data. (371)

beta

43) ________ testing is performed by actual users of the system. (371)

beta

63) A(n) ________ license refers to a license primarily used for downloaded software that requires computer users to choose "I accept" before installing the software. (381)

click-wrap

50) The process of making changes to an information system to repair flaws in design, coding, or implementation is known as ________. (375)

corrective maintenance

13) Which of the following is an example of an intangible cost for a system? (354)

cost of losing customers

30) ________ represent(s) the movement of data through an organization or within an information system. (367)

data flow

12) Which of the following is an example of a recurring cost associated with an information system? (354)

employee salaries

2) System efficiency is the extent to which a system ________. (350)

enables people to do things faster or at lower cost

26) Requirements collection takes place during the ________ phase of the systems development life cycle. (366)

system analysis

60) ________ is the use of standardized performance tests to facilitate comparison between systems. (380)

system benchmarking

46) ________ is the process of decommissioning the current way of doing things and installing the new system in the organization. (371)

system conversion

28) Which of the following steps takes place in an organization during both in-house systems development as well as external acquisition? (366)

systems analysis

61) BelAir has submitted a request for proposal to a number of vendors. It must now evaluate the proposals it has received. Which of the following methods can it use to compare the different systems? (380)

systems benchmarking

24) After systems analysis, the next phase in the systems development life cycle is ________. (364)

systems design

37) Software programming and testing takes place during the ________ stage of the systems development process. (371)

systems implementation

48) The final phase of the systems development life cycle is ________. (375)

systems maintenance

23) The first phase of the systems development life cycle is ________. (364)

systems planning and selection

14) BelAir Tech is conducting a cost-benefit analysis for its IS department. In this, the salary of an employee is an example of a(n) ________. (354)

tangible and recurring cost

17) "Increased customer reach of the new Web-based system will result in at least a modest increase in sales." This statement represents a(n) ________ for the company. (354)

tangible benefit

38) Which of the following best describes developmental testing? (371)

testing the correctness of individual modules and the integration of multiple modules

57) BelAir Tech needs a new information system to manage increasing customer orders and changing demands. The company's five-member IS team is competent and capable of developing a new system, but BelAir decides against developing a system in-house. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken BelAir's decision? (382)

the company requirements for the new systems are very specialized

36) The processing and logic operations of an information system refer(s) to ________. (370)

the procedures that transforms raw data inputs into new or modified information

11) The total cost of ownership of a system refers to ________. (354)

the total cost of acquisition and all costs associated with use and maintenance of a system

15) Which of the following is true for tangible costs? (354)

they are relatively easy to quantify

64) An enterprise license is also known as a(n) ________ license. (381)

volume

20) A method for deciding among different IS investments or when considering alternative designs for a given system is ________. (356)

weighted multicriteria analysis