Chapter 2
tangible
A 20% increase in sales volume is a ___________ benefit that can be included in a cost-benefit analysis.
e
A critical success factor for project management is to _____. a. create a work plan b. follow the three steps of project management c. identify most project tasks d. manage the hundreds of tasks e. start with a realistic assessment of the work
false
A feasibility analysis includes whether the project has been permitted by the CIO of the company.
false
A functional lead manages a group of programmers and technical staff members.
true
A good technique to help minimize conflict among team members is to hold team members accountable for their tasks.
return on investment (ROI)
A high ___________ results when benefits far outweigh the cost of a new project or information system.
true
A highly effective motivational technique for technical staff is to provide recognition for each team member's accomplishments.
false
A key factor in staffing a project involves motivating people to meet the project's objectives, and the most effective way to do this is through the use of money and bonuses.
false
A limitation of a formal cost-benefits analysis is that it contains the costs and benefits for just one year.
400
A normal system with 400 unadjusted function points would have _____ adjusted function points when the shortcut method is use to determine the complexity of the project.
false
A technical lead manages a group of analysts.
function point
A(n) ____________ is a measure of program size based on the number and complexity of inputs, outputs, queries, files, and program interfaces.
true
According to leading experts in software development, the margin of error when estimating project costs is 100% and the margin of error in project scheduling time is 25%.
c
Adding people to a project team in order to speed up total development time _____. a. is a standard task in timeboxing b. is a useful way to meet a tight deadline c. may actually increase total development time d. simplifies communication within the team e. none of these
false
Adding staff to a project to shorten the project's length is usually a wise move, because adding staff normally translates into increased productivity.
much less
Assume a systems development project effort calculation determines that the system will require 240 function points. If the developers choose to implement this system in the C programming language, approximately 31,200 lines of code will have to be written. If the developers choose Visual Basic to implement the system, the number of lines of code will be _____.
true
Benefits to using computer-aided software engineering (CASE) include faster task completion and alteration, centralized development information, and illustration of information through diagrams.
false
CASE tool is a popular graphic depiction of the work plan that lists project tasks along a y-axis, time along an x-axis, and uses shaded boxes to represent tasks.
break-even point
Calculating the ____________ helps in understanding how long it will take before the system creates real value for the organization.
true
Christine does not have the skills that her project manager feels are necessary and no money has been budgeted for outside consultants. Mentoring is a good option to improve Christine's skills in this situation.
A PERT chart is a graphical network model that depicts a project's tasks and the relationships between those tasks A Gantt chart is a simple horizontal bar chart that depicts project tasks against a calendar. Each bar represents a named project task. The tasks are listed vertically in the left-hand column. The horizontal axis is a calendar timeline. Gantt and PERT charts are not mutually exclusive. Gantt charts are more effective when you are seeking to communicate schedule. PERT charts are more effective when you want to study the relationships between tasks.
Compare and contrast the Cash Flow, Return on Investment, and Net Present Value methods of assessing a project's economic feasibility.
false
Creating a work plan requires three steps: identify the tasks that need to be accomplished, estimate the time that it will take to complete the tasks, and record the task completion time in a Gantt Chart.
false
Daniel has just been assigned as the project manager. To motivate his team properly, Daniel's first step is to award bonuses to team members.
e
Demarco and Lister identify five characteristics of a jelled team. Which one is not the characteristics of a jelled team: a. Jelled teams have a very low turnover during a project. b. Jelled teams have a strong sense of identity. c. The strong sense of identity tends to lead the team into feeling a sense of eliteness. d. during the development process, jelled teams feel that the team owns the information system being developed and not any one individual member. e. They always complete their work on time.
false
Determining whether the new system will be compatible with the existing technology that already exists in the organization is part of the organizational feasibility study.
false
Development costs that are examined during feasibility analysis include costs for software licenses and software upgrades.
b
Diane needs to create a work plan for an upcoming systems project. She must first _____. a. estimate the hours and request deliverables b. identify the tasks and estimate the time needed to complete them c. initiate the project and create the project management assessment d. make tradeoffs and set conservative numbers e. timebox the completion date
false
During organizational feasibility analysis the system users are the stakeholders that are responsible for providing enough budget and promoting the project.
false
Economic feasibility focuses on whether the system can be built by examining the risks associated with the users' and analysts' familiarity with the application, familiarity with the technology, and project size.
true
Essentially a daily scrum meeting is a very short, typically 15 minutes.
true
Estimates from the planning stage will need to be refined as the project progresses, because it is virtually impossible to develop an exact assessment of the project's schedule before the analysis and design phases are conducted.
d
Examples of development costs include all EXCEPT _____. a. consultant fees b. hardware expenses c. salaries for the project team d. software licensing fees e. none of these
PERT uses three estimates: optimistic, pessimistic, and most-likely for the completion time of each task. These estimates are then combined into a single weighted average using a formula: PERT Weighted Average = ((optimistic estimate + (4 x most-likely estimate) + (pessimistic estimate)) /
Explain PERT analysis.
Timeboxing is a popular technique which sets a fixed deadline for a project and delivers the system by that deadline no matter what, even if functionality needs to be reduced.
Explain the concept of timeboxing.
The project champion is a high-level non-IS executive who is usually but not always the person who created the system request. The champion supports the project by providing time, resources, and political support within the organization. The champion effectively communicates the importance of the project to organizational decision makers. Often more than one project champion is desirable, to account for the possibility that the champion may leave his/her current job within the organization.
Explain the role of the project champion.
business requirements
Explaining "the business capabilities of the information system" is written in the _____ section of the system request.
false
Familiarity with the application and technology are major factors considered under economic feasibility.
c
Feasibility analysis may be defined as a(n)_____. a. assessment of ability of the ultimate users of the system to accept the system and incorporate it into the ongoing operations of the organization b. determination of the extent to which the system can be technically designed, developed, and installed c. guide to determining whether to proceed with a project d. identification of only the costs and benefits associated with the project e. none of these
c
For use-case point estimation purposes, actors can be classified as simple, __________, or complex. a. difficult b. medium c. average d. common e. feasible
false
For use-case point estimation purposes, actors/use cases can be classified as simple, common, or complex.
false
From a practical point of view, to estimate effort using use-case points, the use cases and the class diagrams must have been created.
program size
Function points are used to measure the estimated _____ of a project.
false
Happy customers is a tangible cost that can be included in a cost-benefit analysis.
false
How well a system is accepted by the users and incorporated into the ongoing operations of the business is defined in the technical feasibility.
(1) Identify costs and benefits (2) Assign values to costs and benefits (3) Determine cash flow (4) Determine net present value (5) Determine return on investment (6) Calculate break-even point (7) Graph break-even point
Identify the seven steps involved in conducting the economic feasibility.
organizational feasibility assessment
If end users feel fearful or threatened by a proposed new system, this factor should be included as a part of the _____.
jelled
In a _______ team, team members enjoy doing their work.
b
In order to approve a system request, the approval committee must know a. all of the details of the ultimate system to be developed. b. the high level functionality of the system. c. what the screens and reports will look like in the final system. d. who the end users of the system will be and exactly how they will use it in their jobs. e. all of these.
CASE
Integrated __________ tools are used to support tasks that happen throughout the SDLC.
false
It is not necessary to assign dollar values to intangible costs and benefits; it is almost impossible to come up with reasonable numbers for all of the costs and benefits that haven't happened yet.
false
It is not wise to identify tasks for a current project using existing methodology, because methodologies that have been used by an organization for other projects probably will not work for this project without extensive changes.
false
Jim Smith, the project manager for a high-profile project, has permitted the users to add additional features to the systems project. The schedule and costs are now running over. This project suffers from poor standards.
c
Kathryn has little experience estimating the time it will take to complete a systems project. She has just completed the planning phase of the project. What method should she use to estimate the time required to build the system? a. adjusted project complexity b. function points c. industry standards d. Microsoft Project e. more complex approach
false
Kelly Smith, the vice president of marketing, has provided resources and political support for the new production management information system. She has acted as the project manager for the project.
false
Lauren, a systems analyst, has excellent interpersonal skills. To take advantage of her skills, the functional lead of the project should assign her to program in Java and C++.
false
Lauren, a systems analyst, is concerned that she and the end-users at her company do not have experience with a new scanner technology that will soon be implemented. This identified risk falls under economic feasibility.
true
Matching people's skills with the needs of the project, motivating employees, and minimizing personnel conflict are all part of the staffing process.
d
Most system requests include all of the following except _____. a. business need b. business requirements c. project sponsor d. project manager e. business value
false
Natalie has been asked by her project manager to list the possible intangible benefits for a new system. Her list will include reduced expenses for the company.
economic feasibility
Nicole has identified development and operational costs for a soon-to-be built information system. Her findings will be listed under ________ in the analysis report.
false
One of the greatest weaknesses of systems consulting firms is that they try to apply estimates and methodologies that they have developed over time and applied to other projects, most of which are very different from the current project.
d
Operational costs that are examined during feasibility analysis include _____. a. data conversion cost b. development training c. user training d. equipment upgrades e. initial consultant fees
organizational
Peter is the vice president of accounting and finance. For the past year he has solely provided the resources necessary to get the just-in-time accounting system through the planning and analysis phases of the SDLC. Other managers have openly stated that the JIT system is not worth the investment. The SEC has just placed Peter under investigation for insider trading and the board has asked him to resign. This project is failing _____ feasibility analysis.
true
Project management is the second major component of the planning phase of the systems development life cycle (SDLC), and it includes three steps: creating the work plan, staffing the project, and controlling and directing the project.
a
Project managers can develop task lists for a project with the help of _____. a. established methodologies b. system proposals c. system requests d. user application hardware e. user requirements
true
Project size is an important consideration in technical feasibility. Larger projects create more risk, both because they are more complicated to manage and because there is a greater chance that some important system requirements will be overlooked or misunderstood.
true
ROI calculations do not consider the present value of future money.
false
Scope creep is only a minor factor in projects running over schedule, and every effort should be made to incorporate any changes into the present system if they would truly be beneficial.
true
Sergei, the project manager, is worried about completing the project on time. To increase the productivity of his 15-person team he should create subteams with no more than 10 people on a subteam.
project manager
Staffing plan that lists the roles and the proposed reporting structure that are required for the project. Typically, a project will have one _____________, who oversees the overall progress of the development effort, with the core of the team comprising the various types of analysts.
special issues or constraints
Suppose a proposed new financial reporting system for the AMF Biotech Corporation must be completed by the start of the next fiscal year in order to comply with new government regulations. This information should be included as part of the ____________ section of the system request.
false
System requests often include the project team members including the project manager and the analysts.
true
System users are stakeholders who perform hands-on activities related to the project.
work plan
The _____ is a dynamic schedule that logs and monitors all of the tasks that need to be accomplished for the length of the project.
network diagram
The __________ is a graphical way that lays out the project tasks in a flowchart to look at project work plan information.
feasibility analysis
The ___________ helps the approval committee determine whether or not to proceed with a project.
return on investment
The calculation that measures the amount of money an organization receives in return for the money it spends is called the _____.
CASE repository
The central component of any CASE tool is the ____________,
false
The champion is a high-level IS executive who initiates the system request and supports the project by providing time, resources, and political support within the organization by communicating the importance of the system to other organizational decision makers.
false
The critical path in a network diagram is the shortest path from the project inception to completion.
project charter
The document that describes the project's objectives and rules is called the __________
true
The evolutionary Work Breakdown Structure makes it easy to compare the current project with past project.
Work Breakdown Structure
The evolutionary _____________ approach is very useful when the requirements of the system are not well understood.
false
The first step of timeboxing is set the date for system analysis.
false
The formula for net present value (NPV) is the ratio of (Total benefits - Total Costs) to Total Costs.
b
The four elements commonly found on a system request are _____. a. economic, organizational, technical, and operational feasibility b. project sponsor, business need, business requirements, and business value c. risk analysis, familiarity, project size, and cost-benefit analysis d. training, software, installation, and equipment e. upgrades, licensing fees, repairs, and charges
organizational
The level of acceptance by the users of a system and the extent to which the new system will be incorporated into the operations of the organization are expressed in the _____ feasibility.
scope creep
The most common reason for schedule and cost overruns that surface after the project is underway is _______________.
d
The most significant challenge to project managers is _____. a. lack of project management training b. no one really understands how to manage a complex systems development project c. the lack of tools that can assist in controlling project progress d. unrealistic schedule demands by project sponsors e. all of these
false
The organizational management of a business is involved in hands-on activities related to the project.
project champion
The person or group that funds a project and enthusiastically promotes the project throughout the organization is the ______________.
project sponsor
The person who identifies the business value that can be gained from using information technology is called the _____.
b
The process of assigning values for the time and effort needed to perform a system project is called _____. a. analysis b. estimation c. identifying d. planning e. preparation
c
The project champion is a(n)_____. a. high-level IS executive who is usually but not always the project sponsor who initiated the system request b. mid-level IS manager who has the responsibility of controlling and directing the development process c. high-level non-IS executive who is usually but not always the project sponsor who initiated the system request d. senior member of the user group who participated in the RAD sessions e. none of these
false
The project charter describes the qualifications of the people who will work on a project and the reporting structure of the project team.
false
The project team has just determined that the deadline for completion will not be met. In order to deliver a high quality system on schedule, the team has requested that the features be prioritized and that a fixed deadline be imposed for the project. This technique is referred to as SDLC methodology.
false
The return on investment (ROI) should be used as the sole indicator of a project's worth because it considers the end points of the investment, not the cash flow in between.
false
The science (or art) of project management is in making trade-offs among three important concepts: the functionality of the system, the time to complete the project, and the reliability of the project.
b
The three steps of project management are _____. a. controlling the project, directing the project, and creating the work plan b. creating the work plan, staffing the project, and controlling and directing the project c. directing the project, creating the work plan, and naming the tasks d. naming the tasks, creating the work plan, and completing the deliverables e. setting the start date, estimating the time, and reading the actual time
false
The traditional Work Breakdown Structure approach is very useful when the requirements of the system are not well understood.
false
The traditional Work Breakdown Structure makes it easy to compare the current project with past projects.
true
The underlying cause of many missed project deadlines is scope creep.
true
The work plan records and keeps track of all of the tasks that need to be accomplished over the life of the project, listing each task, along with important information about it, such as when it needs to be completed, the person assigned to do the work, and any deliverables that will result.
true
Timeboxing is a time-oriented approach to project development.
false
To complete a 20 person-month project in 10 months, a team should have 4 full-time staff members assigned to the project.
false
To identify the costs and benefits related to the computer technology for a project the systems analyst should rely on the business users.
d
To identify the tasks for a work plan the project manager can _____. a. control and direct the project b. estimate the size, staff the project, and remember technical skills c. establish a possible reporting structure d. list the four phases of the SDLC and the steps that occur in each e. set conservative numbers for the project software
d
Traditional Work Breakdown Structures tend to a. focus on the design of the system as oppose to the needs of the current phase and iteration b. force too many levels of detail early on for large project and they tend to allow too few level of detail for small projects c. be too specific for the project and difficult to compare across projects d. all of these e. none of these
true
Typically, a project will have one project manager, who oversees the overall progress of the development effort.
false
Typically, a technical lead is usually assigned to manage a group of analysts.
false
Typically, the task of a daily scrum meeting is to find solutions for important development issues.
d
Unlike traditional Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), evolutionary WBSs are a. organized in a standard manner across all projects b. created in an iterative and incremental manner c. designed so one can compare the current project to past projects d. all of these e. none of these
true
Use-case point-based estimation also has a set of factors that are used to adjust the use-case point value.
b
Use-case point-based estimation also has a set of factors that are used to adjust the use-case point value. Which one list in the following is Not one of the technical factors: a. Whether the system is going to be a distributed system b. The importance of customer service c. The efficiency level of the end user using the system d. The complexity of the internal processing of the system e. The importance of code reuse
use cases
Use-case points is a project effort estimation approach based on unique features of _______ and object orientation.
true
Using typical industry standards for estimating project time schedules, the estimated analysis phase would be 10 person-months for a systems project where the planning phase was completed in 7.5 person-months.
false
Usually, a functional lead oversees the progress of a group of programmers and more technical staff members.
false
When estimating project time schedules using industry standards for a systems project, the following values are acceptable: 15% for planning, 25% for analysis, 50% for design, and 10% for implementation.
true
When planning a systems project, overly optimistic timetables are the cause of project completion delays.
b
When using a function point estimation worksheet, there are 14 factors that impact the complexity of a project. These factors include _____. a. data communications, time tradeoffs, and estimated effort b. end-user efficiency, data communications, and reusability c. performance and programming language d. reports printed and PCA e. x-rays, extensibility, and operational conversion
c
Which of the following factors could be included in a technical risk assessment? a. Cost of a new Web server b. Cost of hiring a Webmaster c. No previous experience with Java within the IS department d. Some fear of job loss among order entry department personnel e. all of these
b
Which of the following factors would tend to increase the technical risk of a project? a. familiarity with the technology b. large project size c. creating an application that is familiar to the users and analysts d. small project size e. the number of other applications under development in the firm
Economic
_____ feasibility is determined by identifying costs and benefits associated with the system.
Feasibility analysis
_____ is the process of examining the technical, economic, and organizational pros and cons of developing a new system.
Project management
_____ is the process of planning and controlling the development of a system within a specified time frame at a minimum cost with the right functionality.
Tangible
_____ value can be quantified during the project initiation phase.
PERT
_______ chart can be used to track the tasks of a project when task time estimates are fairly uncertain.
Technical feasibility
___________ focuses on whether the system can be built by examining the risks associated with the application.
Economic feasibility
____________ includes an assessment of financial impact in four categories: (1) development costs, (2) operational costs, (3) tangible benefits, and (4) intangible costs and benefits.
Timeboxing
____________ is a popular technique which sets a fixed deadline for a project and delivers the system by that deadline no matter what, even if functionality needs to be reduced.
Cost benefit analysis
_____________ identifies the financial costs and benefits associated with a systems project.
Project initiation
______________ begins when the project sponsor identifies business value that can be gained by using information technology.
Organizational feasibility
______________ can be evaluated by conducting a(n) stakeholder analysis.
User participation
______________ should be promoted throughout the development process to make sure that the final system will be accepted and used.
Present value
_______________ calculation takes inflation and time into account.
Project management
_______________ is the process of planning and controlling the development of a system within a specified time frame at a minimum cost with the right functionality.
Network diagrams
_________________ are the best way to communicate tasks dependencies because they lay out the tasks in the order in which they need to be completed.
Economic feasibility
_________________ is determined by identifying costs and benefits associated with the system, assigning values to them, and then calculating the cash flow and return on investment for the project.