CIS 320 test 1 Ch.3

Business Process Automation (BPA)

- Means leaving the basic way in which the organization operates unchanged and using computer technology to do some of the work. - can make the organization more efficient but has the least impact on the business - BPA projects spend a significant time understanding the current as-is system before moving on to improvements and to-be system requirements

Business Process Improvement (BPI)

- Means making moderate changes to the way in which the organization operates to take advantage of new opportunities offered by technology or to copy what competitors are doing. - can improve efficiency (doing things right) and improve effectiveness (doing the right things) - primary focus is improving business processes

What are the key aspects of using observation in the information-gathering process?

- Observation is very helpful in enabling the analysts to understand the As-Is system. It is often much easier to grasp a process by observing it rather than having it explain verbally. - Observation helps validate information learned from other techniques. As an observer, one must always bear in mind that people's behavior may change because they are being observed. - the results of observation may be questionable. The behavior that is observed is not necessarily the true behavior.

Open-ended question

- Open-ended questions leave room for the interviewee to elaborate on the question in their answer. - Open-ended questions are used to gather a more broad, rich information set. - Open-ended questions can help the interviewer learn why things are the way they are, and also give the interviewee the chance to add ideas or issues that the interviewer did not anticipate.

What are typical response rates for questionnaires and how can you improve them?

- Paper and e-mail questionnaires have typical response rates of 30-50%. Web-based questionnaires have lower response rates of 5-30%. - To improve response rates, many methods have been devised, such as informing the respondent why s/he was selected and why the questionnaire is being sent; stating a specific return due date; offering an inducement; offering to provide a summary of responses; personally requesting that the questionnaire be completed; following up non-responses; and coercion by management.

Probing question

- Probing questions are follow-up questions that ask for more information or examples. - Probing questions are used whenever the interviewer is not satisfied with his/her understanding of the interviewee's answer, and needs more explanation before moving on to another topic.

Under what conditions would you use problem analysis?

- Problem analysis asks the users and managers of the as-is system to identify system problems and to suggest problem solution - Problem analysis would be suitable when the problems being experienced with the as-is system are relatively minor, and the changes needed are primarily 'touch-ups'

Root-Cause Analysis

- Root-Cause analysis focuses on being sure that the problem's underlying cause is understood, rather than just assuming that cause is known - This emphasis helps ensure that solutions chosen will solve real business problems rather than solving a problem symptom - Appropriate when the problems of the as-is system are more significant, and the team needs assurance that they are designing a solution that solves the true problems

What are the 3 primary things that a facilitator does in conducting the JAD session?

a) The facilitator is responsible for guiding the group through the planned activities on the JAD agenda. The facilitator must keep the group on track and try to prevent it from digressing in unproductive directions. b) The facilitator helps foster communication among the group members and assists them through the analysis techniques that are being used. c) The facilitator records the group's ideas on a public display area, organizes the information, and assists the group in working with the information.

Explain the difference between an as-is system and a to-be system.

- An as is system is an existing or a current state of system or process. The As-Is system may or may not incorporate computers. "that currently perform the tasks and functions of the system" - A to be system is the one which is developed on the basis of the analysis done on the current system which needs to be changed. "that will perform the required tasks and functions of the system"

How can you differentiate between facts and opinions? Why can both be useful?

- An opinion is a statement about an issue or situation that may or may not be support by fact. - If it is stated "Most of our collections are on-time," this is an opinion that can be confirmed or denied by doing an actual measurement of on-time collections. - This information is factual, and may provide the basis for the opinion expressed. Alternatively, the opinion may be a misstatement of actual fact, and may suggest an area where there is misunderstanding of the true situation.

What is the primary advantage that concept maps have over traditional textual requirements documents techniques?

- Concept maps are not limited to supporting hierarchical relationships; they support networked or Web-based relationships. - Concept maps can provide a more complete picture of the relationships among the functional and nonfunctional requirements. - they represent meaningful relationship between concepts - useful for focusing individuals on the small number of key ideas on which they should concentrate

How does document analysis help you understand formal system and the informal system?

- Document analysis entails reviewing the documentation and examining the system itself. - It can provide insights into the formal and informal system. - Under ideal circumstances, the project team that developed the existing system will have produced documentation, which was then updated by all subsequent projects. In this case, the project team can start by reviewing the documentation and examining the system itself.

What is e-JAD, and why might a company be interested in using it?

- E-JAD incorporates groupware into the JAD process. - Groupware has been shown to reduce many problems experienced by decision-making groups. - Applying groupware to JAD helps the JAD sessions be more productive & time efficient & can reduce common difficulties experiences by groups

Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

- Means changing the fundamental way in which the organization operates—"obliterating" the current way of doing business and making major changes to take advantage of new ideas and new technology. - their goal is to focus on new ideas and new ways of doing business

What is the purpose of the executive summary of the system proposal?

- The executive summary provides all critical information in a very concise form. - it's purpose is to allow a busy executive to quickly read through it and determine which parts of the proposal he or she needs to go through more thoroughly.

How does JAD facilitator differ from a scribe?

- The facilitator is responsible for conducting the session. - He/she is generally knowledgeable about IS issues, JAD facilitation, and group behavior management. - The scribe merely records information as the session proceeds, perhaps using CASE tools.

How does the formal system differ from the informal system?

- The formal system consists of the forms, reports, policies, and procedures that were established when the system was first created. - Over time, users often modify their use of the system; as user needs change, the formal system may not change, so users adapt by creating an informal system. - The informal system is the actual forms, reports, policies, and procedures that are currently used by the system's users

How does designing questions for questionnaires differ from designing questions for interviews or JAD sessions?

- The major difference is the fact that questions on questionnaires need to be very carefully stated in order to avoid misunderstanding by the recipient. - If a question during an interview or a JAD session is misunderstood, the misunderstanding can be immediately detected and the question clarified. - A poorly worded question on a questionnaire may confuse the recipient and lead to incorrect information

How are participants selected for interviews and JAD sessions?

- The people who appear on the interview schedule are selected based on the analyst's information needs. - Joint application development "JAD" is an information gathering technique that allows the project team, users, and management to work together to identify requirements for the system. Participants are selected based on the information they can contribute, to provide a broad mix of organizational levels, and to build political support for the new system.

Explain the difference between a top-down and bottom- up interview approach. When would you use each approach?

- The top-down approach begins with broad, general issues, and moves gradually toward more specific questions. The bottom-up approach is the opposite; beginning with very specific questions and moving to broad, general questions. - The top-down approach is most common, because it allows the parties to develop a shared understanding of the general situation before getting to details. Using the bottom-up approach can be difficult and non-productive unless the interviewer has already learned quite a bit about the situation is only needs to verify or elaborate on some items.

Activity-Based Costing

- assesses the time requirements to complete a process - the cost of each major process or each step in a business function is measured - the most costly processes are targets for the team's improvement efforts - this technique is complex in practice due to the difficulty of determining indirect costs (incorrectly assigning indirect costs may bias the results of the analysis)

Duration Analysis

- assesses the time requirements to complete a process - the total time required to complete a business process is determined. Then the process is broken down into individual steps, and the time required to complete each step is determined. The total time of all steps is calculated and compared to the total time of the process. - if the total time of process > total time of process steps then significant inefficiencies exist, and the process needs major revision

Unstructured Interview

Interviews that are planned to include broad, far-ranging questions. Often open-ended questions are used to gather information. - used early in the information gathering process, when few details are known, & the analyst is trying to understand the basic business process and the as-is system

Explain factors that can be used to select information-gathering techniques.

- the astute analyst will use a combination of techniques in any project - The analyst should select the techniques based on the type of information being sought, the breadth and depth of information needed, the degree to information needs to be integrated, the need for user involvement, and the cost of the technique - Interviews and JAD sessions are the most productive information gathering methods; these techniques require the most skilled analysts to conduct

Similarities between the business goals of BPA, BPI, and BPR

- these techniques are tools used by analysts when they need to guide the users in explaining what is wanted from a system. - they help users critically examine the current state of systems and processes (the as-is system), identify exactly what needs to change, and develop a concept for a new system (to-be system).

Assuming time and money were not important concerns, would BPR projects benefit from additional time spent understanding the as-is system? Why or why not?

-In order to understand why the transition from as-is to to-be is necessary at and if the request of the team is genuine it is mandatory that one understands the existing system or the as is system. - Without understanding the current system it becomes extremely difficult for the approval committee to give the green light for the project -We need to prove that the requirement is genuinely required

What are the important factors in selecting an appropriate analysis strategy?

-The potential business value varies with analysis strategy - BPA has the potential to improve the business, the benefits are tactical and small. BPA can improve efficiency -BPI offers moderate benefits depending on the project scope because it seeks to change the business in some way. It can increase efficiency and effectiveness -BPR creates large potential benefits because it seeks to radically improve the nature of the business

5 major steps to conducting interviews

1. Selecting interviewees 2. Design the interview questions 3. Prepare for the interview 4. Conduct the interview 5. Prepare post-interview report

Describe the 5 major steps in conducting JAD sessions

1. Selecting participants- determine who should be inclined & why they should be included 2. Design the JAD session- plan the activities & techniques that will be incorporated into the JAD session 3. Prepare for the JAD session- inform participants about the process & the contributions 4. Conduct the JAD session- establish rapport with participants, define session ground rules, follow session plan 5. Follow up the session by preparing a post-session report circulating it among session attendess

What are the 3 basic steps of the analysis process?

1. Understanding the as-is system 2. Identifying improvements 3. Developing requirements for the to-be system

Closed-ended question

Closed-ended questions require a specific answer, Closed-ended questions are used to capture specific, factual information.

Describe document analysis.

Document analysis focuses on existing documentation of the current system, forms and reports that are a part of the current system, plus any personal forms, reports, or files that have been developed informally by the end users. - the analyst can gain insight into the existing system

Similarity of duration analysis and activity based costing

Duration analysis and activity-based costing are techniques used in Business Process Improvement to help identify system improvement opportunities. These two techniques focus on existing business processes in the As-Is system.

Structured interviews

Interviews that are planned to gather very specific, detailed information. These interviews use more closed-ended questions that zero in on specific information and facts. - conducted later in the information gathering process, when the analyst has learned enough about the business process in order to formulate more specific, detailed questions

Similarities of problem analysis and root cause analysis

Problem Analysis and Root-Cause Analysis are two different techniques to be employed in Business Process Automation to determine improvements to the current system. The two strategies vary in the emphasis of the analysis performed.

Which step is sometimes skipped or done in a cursory fashion? why?

Sometimes the first step (i.e., understanding the as-is system) is skipped or done in a cursory manner. This happens when no current system exists, if the existing system and processes are irrelevant to the future system, or if the project team is using a RAD or agile development methodology in which the as-is system is not emphasized.

What are some of the advantages of using story cards and task lists as a requirements-gathering and documentation technique?

Story cards and tasks lists from the agile methodologies provide a low-tech, high-touch, easily updatable, and very portable approach that users find simple and intuitive to use to document both functional and nonfunctional requirements

What are the key deliverables that are created during the analysis phase?

The Analysis Phase takes the general ideas in the system request and refines them into a detailed requirements definition and answers the questions of who will use the system, what the system will do, and where and when it will be used. - During this phase, the project team will learn about the system - The functional model - Structural Model - Behavioral Models *they together form the system proposal

What is the purpose of the requirements definition?

The requirements definition report—usually just called the requirements definition—is a straightforward text report that simply lists the functional and nonfunctional requirements in an outline format. - The most obvious purpose of the requirements definition is to provide the information needed by the other deliverables in analysis, which include functional, structural, and behavioral models, and to support activities in the design phase. (to define the scope of the system) (When discrepancies arise, the document serves as the place to go for clarification)

What is the final deliverable from the analysis phase, and what does it contain?

The system proposal also includes revised project management deliverables, such as the feasibility analysis and the work plan. The system proposal is presented to the approval committee, who decides if the project is to continue.

What information is typically included in a system proposal?

The system proposal typically includes an executive summary, the systems request, the workplan, the feasibility analysis, the requirements definition, the functional models, the structural models, and the behavioral models.