Chapter 9 Process Specifications and Structured Decisions SAD EXAM

Short Answer: List three of the five conventions that should be followed when using structured English.

1. Express all logic in terms of one of these four types: sequential structures, decision structures, case structures, or iterations. 2. Use and capitalize accepted keywords such as IF, THEN, ELSE, DO, DO WHILE, DO UNTIL, and PERFORM. 3. Indent blocks of statements to show their hierarchy (nesting) clearly. 4. When words or phrases have been defined in a data dictionary, underline those words or phrases to signify that they have a specialized, reserved meaning. 5. Be careful when using "and" and "or," and avoid confusion when distinguishing between "greater than" and "greater than or equal to" and like relationships.

Short Answer: What are the three reasons for producing process specifications?

1. To reduce the ambiguity of the process 2. To obtain a precise description of what is accomplished, which is usually included in a packet of specifications for the programmer 3. To validate the system design

In order to use structured English, which convention is not advisable?

Blank a line and indent blocks of statements to show their hierarchy.

Process descriptions may exist on a form or within a ________ repository.

CASE tool

When creating process specifications, what needs to be done for manual tasks?

Create well-defined procedures for employees performing the tasks.

Short Answer: Compose a structured English statement for the following supermarket scenario: "First, we determine whether the customer has shopped with us before. If they have, we give them a free bonus coupon. If they have not yet shopped with us, we give them a free membership card. We do this until there are no more customers in line."

DO WHILE there are customers in line IF customer has shopped here before THEN give customer a bonus coupon ELSE THEN give customer a free membership card END DO

When iteration is indicated for an element or a group of elements in the data dictionary:

DO WHILE, DO UNTIL, or PERFORM UNTIL structured English statements must be included.

________ are an important tool in the analysis of structured decisions.

Decision tables

________ are used when complex branching occurs in a structured decision process.

Decision trees

In order to build decision tables, what does the analyst not need to do?

Determine the minimum size of the table.

Besides the obvious advantage of clarifying the logic and relationships found in human languages, structured English has another important advantage as a communication tool. T/F

False

Iteration data dictionary entries become simple structured English statements in a sequence. T/F

False

Process descriptions may exist on a form but not within a CASE tool repository. T/F

False

Process specifications are always produced for input and output operations, such as a read or write operation. T/F

False

When structured decisions are not complex, an appropriate technique for analyzing the decision process is the use of semistructured English. T/F

False

While process specifications produce a precise description of what is accomplished, they are not detailed enough to validate the system design. T/F

False

A data structure with optional elements contained in parenthesis or either/or elements contained in brackets will have a corresponding ________ statement in the process specification.

IF ...THEN ...ELSE

Which of the following is not an example of a keyword for structured English?

IS LIKE

_______, indicated by braces on a data structure, must have a corresponding DO WHILE, DO UNTIL, or PERFORM UNTIL structured English statement.

Iteration

________ are created for primitive processes on a data flow diagram.

Process specifications

What is the advantage of using structured English to communicate with people in the organization?

Structured English can be taught to and hence understood by users in the organization, so if communication is important, structured English is a viable alternative for decision analysis.

What three advantages do decision trees have over decision tables?

The decision tree has three main advantages over a decision table. First, it takes advantage of the sequential structure of decision tree branches so that the order of checking conditions and executing actions is immediately noticeable. Second, conditions and actions of decision trees are found on some branches but not on others, which contrasts with decision tables, in which they are all part of the same table. Third, compared with decision tables, decision trees are more readily understood by others in the organization. Consequently, they are more appropriate as a communication tool.

Decision trees are useful when it is essential to keep a string of decisions in a particular sequence.

True

Process logic may be represented as either structured English, a decision table, a decision tree, or a formula. T/F

True

Process specifications show the decision-making logic and formulas necessary to transform process input data into output. T/F

True

Selection data dictionary entries become IF...THEN...ELSE structured English statements. T/F

True

Which is the correct choice?

Use decision trees when the sequence of conditions and actions is critical.

When drawing the tree, systems analysts do not have to identify:

all outcomes.

When selection is indicated for elements in the data dictionary:

an IF...THEN...ELSE structure must be present in the structured English statements.

Which of the following is not one of the three basic constructs used to code computer programs?

computation

In a decision table, ________ occur(s) when rules suggest different actions but satisfy the same conditions.

contradictions

What is a way to examine, describe, and document structured decisions?

decision table

Running a section of code over and over again until some condition is met is an example of a:

loop.

Process specifications are sometimes called ________, because they are a small portion of the total project specifications.

minispecs

Which is not one of three main advantages of a decision tree over a decision table?

more correct as a communication tool

Structured English can be more complex if blocks of (instructions) are ________ within each other to show hierarchy.

nested

In order to determine the human information requirements using a decision analysis strategy, what must the systems analyst determine?

objectives

Unlike the decision tree used in management science, what doesn't the analyst's tree contain?

outcomes

One of the goals of producing ________ is to validate the system design, including the data flow diagram and the data dictionary.

process specifications

Primitive process specifications are not produced for:

processes for which pre-written code already exists.

Which of the following is not a business rule?

programming language IF statements

Which of the following is not one of the main problems that can occur in developing decision tables?

repetition

In a decision table, contradictions occur when:

rules suggest different actions but satisfy the same conditions.

When structured decisions are not complex, an appropriate technique for analyzing the decision process is the use of ________.

structured English

Process logic may be represented as:

structured English, a decision table., a decision tree, a formula. E) All of the above.

Which of the following is not a goal of producing process specifications?

to reduce the time it takes for a process to run

Which of the following is not a problem when creating decision tables?

too many conditions

Which is structured English not based on?

unstructured logic

Which of the following is not a business rule?

user ethics

A goal of producing process specifications is to:

validate the system design, including data flow diagrams and the data dictionary.