CIS301 test 2

Draw a flowchart representing typical Prototyping/Iterative Processes in IS development. Give comments:

*Prototyping: Process of building experimental system quickly and inexpensively (used as a template for the final system) for demonstration and evaluation so that users can better determine information requirements •Prototype: Preliminary working version of information system for demonstration and evaluation purposes •Iterative: A process of repeating over and over again the steps to build system •Prototyping is most useful when there is some uncertainty about requirements or design solutions. •Encourages end-user involvement and is more likely to fulfill end-user requirements •Hastily constructed systems, however, may not accommodate large quantities of data or numbers of users.

What are the four main conversion strategies? Give short comments and illustrate each of them with appropriate chart:

-Parallel Strategy: Conservative conversion approach where both the old system and the potential replacement are run together -Direct Cutover: Risky conversion approach whereby the new system replaces the old system on an appointed day. -Pilot Study: Strategy to introduce the new system to a limited area of the organization until it is proven to be fully functional -Phased Approach: Introduces new system replacement in stages

Draw the chart representing different types of organizational change enabled by information technology. Give an example of each type of change, as it might be illustrated through the operations of a publishing company.

1. In automation, employees are assisted with performing tasks automatically. 2. In rationalization of procedures, standard operating procedures are streamlined. 3. In business process re engineering, business processes are analyzed, simplified and redesigned. I 4. In paradigm shift, the very nature of the business is rethought and new business models are defined.

4. List and describe at least four of the systems-building approaches (or their modifications). Potential Systems-Building Approaches:

1. Traditional systems lifecycle: Traditional methodology for developing IS that partitions the systems development process into formal stages that must be completed sequentially 2. Prototyping: Process of building experimental system quickly and inexpensively (used as a template for the final system) for demonstration and evaluation so that users can better determine information requirements 3. End-user development: The development of information systems by end users with little or no formal assistance from technical specialists - Allows users to specify their own needs 4. Outsourcing: contracting computer center operations, tele-communications networks, or applications development to external vendors

7) Which of the following services enables logging on to one computer system and working on another?

A) FTP

6) The total amount of digital information that can be transmitted through any telecommunications medium is measured in

A) bps.

1) Business processes are analyzed, simplified, and redesigned in

A) business process redesign.

8) Fourth-generation tools cannot replace conventional development tools because they

A) cannot handle large numbers of transactions or extensive procedural logic.

3) Interpretations of Moore's law assert that

A) computing power doubles every 18 months.

8) Which of the following is NOT one of the current software platform trends?

A) grid computing

5) Software that manages the resources of the computer is called

A) operating system software.

10) Which model can be used to analyze the direct and indirect costs to help firms determine the actual cost of specific technology implementations?

A) total cost of ownership

10) Which of the following would you be most likely to use RFID technology for?

A) tracking inventory

8) Together, a protocol prefix, a domain name, a directory path, and a document name, are called a(n)

A) uniform resource locator.

Define what "Extranet" is. Draw a chart representing the General Model of an extranet.

An extranet is a controlled private network that allows access to partners, vendors and suppliers or an authorized set of customers. Extranet - authorized vendors and customers have limited access to company intranet Advantages: • Exchange large volumes of data using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) • Share product catalogs exclusively with trade partners • Collaborate with other companies on joint development efforts • Jointly develop and use training programs with other companies Disadvantages: • Extranets can be expensive to implement and maintain within an organization (e.g., hardware, software, employee training costs), if hosted internally rather than by an application service provider. • Security of extranets can be a concern when hosting valuable or proprietary information

1) Place the following eras of IT infrastructure evolution in order, from earliest to most recent: (1) Cloud Computing Era (2) Client/Server, (3) Enterprise Era, (4) Personal Computer, and (5) Mainframe and Minicomputer.

B) 5, 4, 2, 3, 1

9) Web browser software requests Web pages from the Internet using which protocol?

B) HTTP

2) In a telecommunications network architecture, a protocol is

B) a standard set of rules and procedures for control of communications in a network.

6) Legacy systems are still used because they

B) are too expensive to redesign

10) 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?

B) component-based development

9) Your firm needs to implement electronic timesheet software and needs to keep within a small budget. Which of the following would be the most costly method of implementing this new software?

B) programming the new software in-house

2) 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

B) rationalization of procedures.

4) Systems design

B) shows how the new system will fulfill the information requirements.

5) In a bus network

B) signals are broadcast in both directions to the entire network.

6) System testing

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

2. Draw a chart representing the Bus Network Topology Model. Explain how it works?

Bus networks signals are broadcast in both directions to the entire network. if one link is broken the whole network is disabled. Advantages: • Very easy to connect a computer or peripheral to a linear bus • Requires less cable length than a star topology resulting in lower costs • It works well for small networks • It is easy to extend by joining cable with connector or repeater • If one node fails, it will not effect on the whole network Disadvantages: • Entire network shuts down if there is a break in the main cable or one of the T connectors break • Large amount of packet collisions on the network, which results in high amounts of packet loss • Slow with many nodes in the network

3) What are the four layers of the TCP/IP reference model?

C) application, transport, Internet, and network interface

1) The Internet is based on which three key technologies?

C) client/server computing, packet switching, and the development of communications standards for linking networks and computers

7) Connecting geographically remote computers in a single network to create a "virtual supercomputer" is called

C) grid computing.

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

C) maintenance.

4) Which type of network would be most appropriate for a business that comprised three employees and a manager located in the same office space, whose primary need is to share documents?

C) peer-to-peer network

1. Name and describe the three major developments (Key Digital Networking Technologies) that have shaped contemporary telecommunications systems

Client/Server computing, the use of packet switching, and the development of widely used communications standards such as TCP/IP are the three technologies that have shaped contemporary telecommunications systems. Client/Server computing has extended to networking departments, workgroups, factory floors, and other parts of the business that could not be served by a centralized architecture. The Internet is based on client/server computing. Packet Switching technology allows nearly full use of almost all available lines and capacity. This was not possible with the traditional dedicated circuit-switching techniques that were used in the past. TCP/IP is a suite of protocols that has become the dominant standard of network communications. Having a set of protocols for connecting diverse hardware and software components has provided a universally agreed upon method for data transmission.

What is a Client/server computing? Draw a general view and give some explanations:

Client/server computing - splits processing between "clients" and "servers" on a network A multitiered architecture for e-commerce and e-business, incl. • Web services: Universal standards using Internet technology for exchanging data between systems • Web server: Manages requests for Web pages on computer where they are stored • Application server: Middleware software handling application operations between user and back-end business systems

4) Which of the following factors provides an understanding of why computing resources today are ever more available than in previous decades?

D) all of the above

2) The introduction of the minicomputer

D) all of the above.

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

D) conversion

9) 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?

D) prototyping

3) The entire system-building effort is driven by

D) user information requirements.

T F 1. Client/server computing is a widely used form of centralized processing.

FALSE

T F 1. Rationalization of procedures describes a radical rethinking of the business models.

FALSE

T F 10. Systems development activities always take place in sequential order.

FALSE

T F 10. TCO refers to the original cost of purchased technology: both hardware and software.

FALSE

T F 2. An NOS must reside on a dedicated server computer in order to manage a network.

FALSE

T F 2. Application server software is responsible for locating and managing stored Web pages.

FALSE

T F 3. A hub is a networking device that connects network components and is used to filter and forward data to specified destinations on the network.

FALSE

T F 4. A structure chart is a bottom-up chart, showing each level of design, its relationship to other levels, and its place in the overall design structure.

FALSE

T F 5. Central large mainframe computing has largely replaced client/server computing.

FALSE

T F 8. In a ring topology, one station transmits signals, which travel in both directions along a single transmission segment.

FALSE

T F 8. Today most business firms have discontinued operating their legacy systems, replacing these with inexpensive Web services and hosted software.

FALSE

T F 9. A primary benefit of offshore outsourcing is that this can substantially reduce hidden costs.

FALSE

T F 9. The number of cycles per second that can be sent through any telecommunications medium is measured in kilobytes.

FALSE

1. Distinguish between grid computing, cloud computing, and utility computing.

Grid computing involves connecting geographically remote computers into a single network to create a virtual supercomputer that combines the computing power of all the computers on the network with which to attack large computing problems. In cloud computing, technology services are provided over a network, primarily the Internet. These may be infrastructure services, such as storage or networking, or platform services On-demand computing occurs when firms pay subscription fees or pay only for their usage of a vendor's cloud computing services.

Draw a chart representing the Star Network Topology Model, and describe how this model works (pros/cons).

In its simplest form, a star network consists of one central hub which acts as a conduit to transmit messages. every host is connected to a central hub (computer) Advantages: • If one node or its connection breaks it doesn't affect the other computers and their connections. • Devices can be added or removed without disturbing the network. Disadvantages: • An expensive network layout to install because of the amount of cables needed and the cost of the central computer. • The central hub is a single point of failure for the network

What is scalability? Why is it essential to the success of the modern business firm?

Scalability is the ability of the computer, product, or system to expand to survey larger numbers of users without breaking down at very low/zero cost. It is important because as firms grow, they can quickly outgrow their infrastructure.

T F 1. Increasingly, voice, video, and data communications are all based on Internet technology.

TRUE

T F 10. The Domain Name System (DNS) converts IP addresses to domain names.

TRUE

T F 2. Failure to address properly the organizational changes surrounding the introduction of a new system can cause the demise of an otherwise good system.

TRUE

T F 3. A data flow diagram offers a logical and graphical model of information flow, partitioning a system into modules that show manageable levels of detail.

TRUE

T F 3. N-tier computing is a multi-tier, load-balancing scheme for Web-based applications in which significant parts of Web site content, logic, and processing are performed by smaller, less expensive servers located nearby the user.

TRUE

T F 4. Enterprise integration requires software that can link disparate applications and enable data to flow freely among different parts of the business.

TRUE

T F 4. In a client/server network, a network server provides every connected client with an address so it can be found by others on the network.

TRUE

T F 5. Object-oriented development is more incremental than traditional structured development.

TRUE

T F 5. The mainframe market has grown steadily over the past decade.

TRUE

T F 6. A protocol is a standard set of rules and procedures for the control of communications in a network.

TRUE

T F 6. CASE tools facilitate the creation of clear documentation and the coordination of team development efforts.

TRUE

T F 6. The operating system is used to manage the computer's activities.

TRUE

T F 7. A problem with prototyping is that the systems constructed using this method may not be able to handle large quantities of data in a production environment.

TRUE

T F 7. SANs create large central pools of storage that can be rapidly accessed and shared by multiple servers.

TRUE

T F 7. Two computers using TCP/IP can communicate even if they are based on different hardware and software platforms.

TRUE

T F 8. End-user-developed systems can be completed more rapidly than those developed through the conventional systems lifecycle.

TRUE

T F 9. Scalability refers to the ability of a computer, product, or system to expand to serve a large number of users without breaking down.

TRUE

3. Show (Draw) the systems model of a computer, including its Hardware components:

The model looks complicated with not clear I/O directions and this is because some devices have multiple purpose. Despite this, one can find here all components of the general systems model, which work together (as one whole) to achieve the common goal.