Systems Analysis and Design Exam 1

Reusing software results in a higher quality application because:

the software has been tested more when used previously

Risks can arise from:

the use of new technology; Resistance to Change; member inexperience with technology or the business area; and availability to critical resources

In many instances, off-the-shelf software can meet up to ________ percent of an organization's needs.

70

A software solution involving both in-house and purchased software is called:

A hybrid solution

An online or hard-copy repository for all project correspondence, inputs, outputs, deliverables, procedures, and standards that is used for performing project audits, orientation of new team members, communicating with management and customers, identifying future projects, and performing post project reviews is called:

A project workbook

Your primary responsibility as a systems analyst concerns:

Application Software Development

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 responsibility for keeping all team members informed of the project status best describes:

Communicating the project status

An irreducible part, or an aggregation of parts within a system, is called a(n):

Component

Determining the strengths and weaknesses of project deliverables, the processes used to create them, and the project management process is done during:

Conducting post-project Reviews

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

Cost of Hardware

The extent to which subsystems depend on each other is called:

Coupling

The extent to which subsystems depend on each other refers to:

Coupling

The process of breaking the description of a system down into its smaller components best defines:

Decomposition

Breaking a system down into its smaller components is called:

Decompressing

Open source software requires internal staff to:

Define requirements and evaluate software

Indicating when and how written and oral reports will be provided by the team, how team members will coordinate work, what messages will be sent to announce the project to interested parties, and what kinds of information will be shared with vendors and external contractors involved with the project describes:

Develop a Communication Plan

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

Discount Rate

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

Employee Moral

Any person, group of people, piece of equipment, or material used in accomplishing an activity is referred to as a(n):

Entity

All methodologies incorporate only one development technique. (T/F)

False

Cloud computing always complies with government regulations. (T/F)

False

If a company purchases application software, it does not necessarily need to conduct systems analysis (T/F)

False

If the net present value (NPV) of all costs is $100,000 and the NPV of all benefits is $170,000, then the ROI would be 35 percent (T/F)

False

Increased flexibility is an example of an intangible benefit. (T/F)

False

Logical design is tied to a specific hardware and software platform. (T/F)

False

One of the primary benefits of using an enterprise resource planning system is the short time period required for implementation. (T/F)

False

Project initiation is the second phase of the project management process, which focuses on defining clear, discrete activities and the work needed to complete each activity within a single project. (T/F)

False

Purchased software cannot be modified. (T/F)

False

Sometimes the systems development life cycle (SDLC) is iterative. (T/F)

False

Strategic business goals of the organization must be matched to the organizations approach to off-the-shelf software (T/F)

False

The source code itself is not freely available for open-source software. (T/F)

False

Research has found that projects identified by individual departments or business units most often:

Have a narrow, tactical focus

Research has found that projects identified by top management more often:

Have a strategic, organizational focus.

Which of the following is NOT a project management phase?

Implementing the Project

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

Intangible Benefit

Open-source software has enjoyed its success due to:

Internet

Which of the following is a disadvantage of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems?

Lack of in-house expertise

Influencing the activities of others toward the attainment of a common goal through the use of intelligence, personality, and abilities refers to which of the following project manager activities?

Leadership

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 cost associated with project start-up refers to a(n):

One-time Cost

The extent to which the project is viewed as improving profits, customer service, etc., and the duration of these benefits best defines which of the following evaluation criteria?

Potential Benefits

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

Present Value

A technique that uses optimistic, pessimistic, and realistic time to calculate the expected time for a particular task best defines:

Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT).

A planned undertaking of related activities to reach an objective that has a beginning and an end best defines:

Project

A controlled process of initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project best defines:

Project Management

An individual with a diverse set of skills-management, leadership, technical, conflict management, and customer relationship-who is responsible for initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project best defines:

Project Manager

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 true statement regarding project time estimates?

Project time estimates for task completion and overall system quality are significantly influenced by the assignment of people to tasks.

Building a scaled-down version of the desired system best describes:

Prototyping

Money can be made from open source software by:

Providing Maintenance and other Services

Which of the following is not a way of validating purchased software information?

Purchasing the software first and then testing

An information system interacts with its environment by:

Receiving Data

The primary concern about cloud computing is:

Reliability

A centralized database that contains all diagrams, forms and report definitions, data structure, data definitions, process flows and logic, and definitions of other organizational and system components best describes a(n):

Repository

The document sent to vendors asking them to propose hardware and software that will meet the requirements of your new system is called a:

Request for Proposal (RFP)

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

Return on Investment (ROI)

One major concern that IT managers have about cloud computing is:

Security

The amount of time that an activity can be delayed without delaying the project refers to:

Slack Time

Making assets available for others involves:

Storage

The extent to which the project is viewed as helping the organization achieve its strategic objectives and long-term goals describes:

Strategic Alignment

Organizations use a standard set of steps to develop and support their information systems, which is called the:

Systems Development Methodology

The first phase of the systems development life cycle is:

Systems Planning and Selection

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

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

Time Value of Money

A boundary marks the inside and outside of a system and sets the system apart from its environment. (T/F)

True

A project can terminate naturally or unnaturally. (T/F)

True

A slipped completion date for an activity may initiate a change to the baseline project plan (T/F)

True

A system is an interrelated set of business procedures used by one business unit, working together for a purpose. (T/F)

True

A systems development methodology is a standard process followed in an organization to conduct all the steps necessary to analyze, design, implement, and maintain information systems. (T/F)

True

A systems development project may be undertaken to take advantage of business opportunities or to solve business problems. (T/F)

True

A walkthrough is a peer group review of any product created during the systems development process. (T/F)

True

Critical path scheduling is a scheduling technique whose order and duration of a sequence of task activities directly affect the completion date of a project. (T/F)

True

Despite all the alternative sources of software, in-house development is still an option. (T/F)

True

Ease of installation is a measure of the difficulty of loading the software and making it operational (T/F)

True

Economic feasibility is a process of identifying the financial benefits and costs associated with a development project. (T/F)

True

Establishing a relationship with a customer is a project initiation activity. (T/F)

True

Gantt charts do not show how tasks must be ordered. (T/F)

True

Involving the user in analysis and design is a key advantage to the prototyping technique. (T/F)

True

Methodologies are a sequence of step-by-step approaches that help to develop the information system. (T/F)

True

Outsourcing can include having a firm develop and run another firm's application on its computers. (T/F)

True

Site preparation is an example of a one-time cost. (T/F)

True

Systems analysis is the second phase of the systems development life cycle. (T/F)

True

Techniques are processes that you, as an analyst, will follow to help ensure that your work is well thought-out, complete, and comprehensible to others on your project team. (T/F)

True

The ability to easily make changes to a project is a very powerful feature of most project management environments. (T/F)

True

The benefits of reuse grow as more corporate experience is gained from it. (T/F)

True

The construction of an information system can have political ramifications. (T/F)

True

The criteria used to evaluate projects will vary by organization. (T/F)

True

The focus of project management is to ensure that systems development projects meet customer expectations and are delivered within budget and time constraints. (T/F)

True

The project manager is responsible for initiating, planning, executing, and closing down the project. (T/F)

True

The time value of money (TVM) compares present cash outlays to future expected returns. (T/F)

True

Software that cannot be modified to meet the particular needs of an organization is called a(n):

Turnkey System

The objective of the project planning process is the development of:

a Baseline Project Plan and Project Scope Statement

A critical path refers to:

a sequence of task activities whose order and durations directly affect the completion date of a project.

A key part of reuse strategy is:

establishing rewards, incentives and organizational support.

The four approaches to reuse include all of the following EXCEPT:

ex ante