Chapter 13

The oldest method for building information systems is:

the systems life cycle.

Compared to the use of proprietary components, web services promise to be less expensive and less difficult to implement because of:

their ability to enable communication among different systems using universal standards.

________ development focuses on rapid delivery of working software by breaking a large project into a series of small subprojects that are completed in short periods of time using iteration and continuous feedback.

Agile

Which of the following is more powerful than rationalization of procedures?

Business process redesign

Which of the following statements about CASE is not true?

CASE tools reduce the need for end user participation in systems development.

Groups of objects are assembled into software components for common functions, which can be combined into large-scale business applications, in which type of software development?

Component-based development

Transferring data from a legacy system to the new system would be defined by which category of system design specifications?

Conversation

________ is the process of changing from the old system to the new system.

Conversion

A data flow diagram shows each level of design, its relationship to other levels, and its place in the overall design structure.

False

A primary benefit of offshore outsourcing is that this can substantially reduce hidden costs.

False

A process specification offers a logical and graphical model of information flow, partitioning a system into modules that show manageable levels of detail.

False

A prototype is a working version of an information system that serves as a final model.

False

Documentation reveals how well a system works from both a technical standpoint, but not an end-user standpoint.

False

Objects are grouped into hierarchies, and hierarchies into classes.

False

Organizations will adjust to new information systems without any special efforts if the system is a good system to begin with.

False

Systems development activities always take place in sequential order.

False

The most common form of IT-enabled organizational change is redesign of processes.

False

As a technical project manager, you have decided to propose implementing a prototyping methodology for a small web-based design project. What is the order of steps you will follow in this project?

Identify user requirements, develop the prototype, use the prototype, revise and enhance the prototype.

________ provide(s) a detailed statement of the information needs that a new system must satisfy; identifies who needs what information, and when, where, and how the information is needed.

Information requirements

What is the purpose of responsive web design?

It allows one website to serve different platforms, such as tablets, PCs, and mobile phones.

Which type of systems development is characterized by significantly speeding up the design phase and the generation of information requirements and involving users at an intense level?

JAD

Changes in hardware, software, documentation, or production to a production system to correct errors, meet new requirements, or improve processing efficiencies are termed:

Maintenance

What is the most significant barrier to successful business process change?

Organizational culture

A(n) ________ is an organizational change that involves rethinking the nature of the business and the nature of the organization itself.

Paradigm shift

Which conversion process introduces the system first to a limited portion of the organization?

Pilot study strategy

________ describe the transformation occurring within the lowest level of the data flow diagrams.

Process specifications

You are an IT project manager for an advertising firm. The firm wishes to create an online tool that will be used to survey focus group reactions to products in development. The most important consideration for the firm is being able to offer the tool as soon as possible as a new corporate service. However, you know that many of the senior managers that are business owners of this project have difficulty in understanding technical or software development issues, and are likely to change their requirements during the course of development. What development method would be most successful for this project?

Prototyping

The process of creating workable information systems in a very short period of time is called:

RAD

Which process develops a detailed description of the functions that a new information system must perform?

Requirements analysis

To show each level of a system's design, its relationship to other levels, and its place in the overall design structure, structured methodologies use:

Structure charts

In what stage of systems development are design specifications created?

Systems design

Unit testing:

Test each program separately

Which of the following may occur when systems are created rapidly, without a formal development methodology?

Testing and documentation may be inadequate.

A paradigm shift involves a radical rethinking of the business model.

True

A request for proposal (RFP) is a detailed list of questions submitted to software vendors

True

Prototyping is more iterative than the conventional lifecycle.

True

The systems life cycle methodology maintains a formal division of labor between end users and information systems specialists.

True

Which of the following statements about mobile web apps is true?

Users access mobile web apps through their mobile device's web browser.

To understand and define the contents of data flows and data stores, system builders use:

a data dictionary

A native mobile app is:

a standalone application that does not use a browser

During the ________ stage of system development, systems tests are evaluated by users and reviewed by management.

acceptance testing

End-user development:

allows ends users to develop simple information systems.

In a parallel conversion strategy, the new system:

and the old are run together for a time.

In the traditional systems life cycle, end users:

are limited to providing information requirements and reviewing the technical staff's work.

The four kinds of structural organizational change enabled by IT, in order from least to most risky, are:

automation, rationalization, redesigning, and paradigm shift.

BPM software provides tools that help business do all of the following except:

capture and identify information system requirements for a new system.

Object-oriented modeling is based on the concepts of:

class and inheritance.

Possible functions of BPM tools include all of the following except:

completing a systems analysis study

Organizational software packages often include ________ features that allow the software to be modified to meet organizational requirements.

customization

IN automation

employees are enabled to perform their tasks more efficiently

An entire information system can be broken down into its subsystems by using a:

high-level structure chart.

Object-oriented development could potentially reduce the time and cost of writing software because:

objects are reusable.

An upscale organic foods grocery store chain is implementing an information system that will enable it to add same-day home delivery of groceries to its customers. This is an example of:

paradigm shift.

Acceptance testing:

provides the final certification that the system is ready to be used in a production setting.

In the direct cutover conversion strategy, the new system:

replaces the old one on an appointed day.

In order, what are the first three steps in BPM?

1. identifying processes for change, 2. analyzing existing processes, 3. designing the new process.

________ provide(s) a methodology and tools for dealing with the organization's ongoing need to revise and optimize its numerous business processes.

Business process management

In an object-oriented development framework for a university, how would the classes Degree, Mathematics, and Physics be related?

Degree is a superclass to Mathematics and Physics.

Which of the following is not a top priority in mobile application development?

Designing for keyboard data entry

Six sigma describes the measurement of quality as 60 defects per million.

False

Traditional structured development is more incremental than object-oriented development.

False

The idea that the achievement of quality control is an end in itself describes a main concept of:

TQM

What is the primary driving factor for firms in selecting domestic outsourcing firms to build system solutions?

To take advantage of technical skills the firm does not have

CASE tools facilitate the creation of clear documentation and the coordination of team development efforts.

True

Often there are multiple possible designs for a system.

True

The primary tool for representing a system's component processes and the flow of data between them is the:

data flow diagram.

A "responsive design" for mobile applications is a design that responds to a user's:

digital device and screen size.

A systems analysis includes a ________ that is used to determine whether the solution is achievable, from a financial, technical, and organizational standpoint.

feasibility study

A systems building approach in which the system is developed as successive versions, each version reflecting requirements more accurately, is described to be:

iterative

In object-oriented development:

processing logic resides within objects.

A bank has reworked its mortgage application process so that several steps are handled by computer software, and some steps are combined to reduce bottlenecks in processing. The goal is to gradually improve its efficiency over time. This is an example of:

rationalization of procedures.

A software package evaluation process is often based on a series of detailed questions sent to vendors, called a(n):

request for proposal

Systems design

shows how the new system will fulfill the information requirements.

A(n) ________ is the model or blueprint for an information system solution and consists of all the specifications that will deliver the functions identified during systems analysis.

systems design document

System testing:

tests the functioning of the system as a whole in order to determine if discrete modules will function together as planned.

In which type of systems building are the development stages organized so that tasks in one stage are completed before the tasks in the next stage begin?

traditional

End-user-developed systems can be completed more rapidly than those developed through the conventional systems lifecycle.

true

The entire system-building effort is driven by:

user information requirements.