Module 10: RFID, Business Intelligence (BI), Mobile Computing, and the Cloud (10/23 - 10/29)
List the major components of a decision support system (DSS).
A DSS includes three major components: a database, a model base, and a user interface. In addition, a fourth component, the DSS engine, manages and coordinates these major components.
Describe the data management operations performed by a geographic information system (GIS). Provide an example where a GIS system would be appropriate.
A GIS can perform the following tasks: a. Associate spatial attributes, such as a manufacturing plant's square footage, with points, lines, and polygons on maps b. Integrate maps and database data with queries, such as finding zip codes with a high population of senior citizens with relatively high income. A GIS can support some sophisticated data management operations, such as the following: a. Show the customers who live within a 5-mile radius of the Super Grocery at the corner of 34th and Lexington. A database cannot answer this question because it cannot determine the latitude/longitude coordinates of the store, compute distances using the specified location as the center, identify all zip codes within this circle, and pull out the customers living in these zip codes. b. Show the customers whose driving route from work to home and back takes them through the intersection of 34th and Lexington. A database cannot address this query, either. In this case, the GIS maps customers' home and work locations and determines all possible routes. It can then narrow down the customer list by picking only those whose shortest route takes them through the specified intersection.
What is the function of a digital dashboard?
A digital dashboard offers up-to-the minute snapshots of information and assists decision makers in identifying trends and potential problems.
Discuss the role of a model builder in the decision-making process and provide an example.
A model builder is the liaison between users and designers. For example, during the design phase, the model builder might explain users' needs to the managerial designer or technical designer. Later, during the implementation phase, this person might explain the output of a regression analysis to users, describing the assumptions underlying the model, its limitations, and its strengths.
The designers of a management support system (MSS) just released the system to top management. The system is operational but one of the essential functions used in one of the features takes some time since it accesses a remote server to obtain data. What should the designers do?
Add a progress bar so the executives can see the app is waiting for the results.
Which geographic object of a geographic information system (GIS) is most likely used to show a particular zip code or a large tourist attraction?
Areas
Provide an example of the type of activities that take place during the intelligence phase of the decision-making process.
As an example, say an organization has noticed a decrease in total sales over the past six months. To pinpoint the cause of the problem, the organization can collect data from customers, the marketplace, and the competition. After the data has been processed, analysis can suggest possible remedies.
The designers of an MSS are preparing a cost/benefit analysis of the system for top management. One of the benefits is found to be improved communication. What should the designers do next?
Associate communication to sales.
What is defined as the delivery of a software product to a user via the Internet?
Cloud computing
_______ enables decision makers in different locations to communicate in real time.
Communication software
Describe three features that decision support systems (DSSs) include to support decision making and apply an example.
DSSs include the following types of features to support decision making: a. What-if Analysis: This shows the effect of a change in one variable, answering questions such as "If labor costs increase by 4 percent, how is the final cost of a product affected?" and "If the advertising budget increases by 2 percent, what is the effect on total sales?" b. Goal seeking: This is the reverse of what-if analysis. It asks what has to be done to achieve a particular goal-for example, how much to charge for a product in order to generate $200,000 profit, or how much to advertise a product to increase total sales to $50,000,000. c. Sensitivity Analysis: This enables one to apply different variables, such as determining the maximum price he or she could pay for raw materials and still make a profit, or determining how much the interest rate has to go down for him or her to be able to afford a $100,000 house with a monthly payment of $700. d. Exception reporting Analysis: This monitors the performance of variables that are outside a defined range, such as pinpointing the region that generated the highest total sales or the production center that went over budget. e. Optimization Analysis: Enables a decision maker to manipulate a series of key variables in order to maximize profit or minimize cost. In these situations, the decision maker is given a series of constraints. For example, you have 100 units of labor and 200 units of leather. How many pairs of shoes and bags do you have to make in order to maximize profit? Naturally, each pair of shoes and each bag uses different amounts of resources and each one contributes to total profit with different margins.
Discuss the importance of keeping a consistent look and feel for a management support system (MSS).
Designers should use standard layouts, formats, and colors in windows, menus, and dialog boxes for consistency and ease of use. That way, a user who has learned the database portion of the system, for example, should be able to switch to the report-generating portion with little trouble because the interface is familiar. One can see this factor in Microsoft Office, which uses similar features, such as formatting toolbars, in all its applications. Users accustomed to Word, for example, can learn how to use Excel quickly because the interface is familiar.
There has been a delay in the release of the bank's new Decision Support System(DSS) due to efficiency concerns of the system. The delay is acceptable, since efficiency is the most important aspect of the DSS.
False
When designing a management support system, guidelines recommend ignoring costs and benefits in order to focus on the interface.
False
A business analyst sees the need for a Decision Support System (DSS). The analyst points to a study conducted by Peter G. Keen, a former MIT professor. Which argument regarding performance could the analyst make based on the study?
Fast response to unexpected situations
The IT manager is not happy with the performance of one of the programmers. Which choice would the manager choose to make the decision unstructured?
Fire the employee.
Cite one disadvantage of using software as a service (SaaS).
Flexibility
A sales analyst at a lumber yard has received a huge shipment of lumber and needs to determine how much to charge for the lot to make $200,000 profit. The analyst uses _____ analysis.
Goal seeking
In the context of defining the objectives and benefits of a management support system (MSS), which is an intangible benefit?
Improving customer service
A department store chain CEO realizes that brick and mortar stores sales are down and something needs to be done to reduce costs. Which phase of the decision making process is taking place?
Intelligence
A business analyst is gathering the same sales data every quarter, comparing it to regional sales, and using it to calculate the profitability of each sales group. Which technology could be used to trigger the calculations automatically to choose the top sales group?
Intelligent agents
In a management support system, why is it important to keep lines of communication open?
It ensures key decision makers are involved in designing the MSS.
Which is an important factor in designing a management support system (MSS)?
Keeping the interface simple
Which geographic object of a geographic information system (GIS) should be used to show a street or a river?
Lines
What is a way to figure out whether an investment is profitable, and to address the time value of money?
Net present value (NPV)
A COO is preparing budgets for each department in the company. A part of this activity is based on intuition and experience, and another part is calculating percentages of available funds for each department. How would this decision be classified?
Semistructured
A sales analyst is attempting to forecast car sales, taking into account the current state of the economy. This type of decision is classified as ___________.
Semistructured
Which statement best characterizes collaboration software?
Shyness is not as much of an issue when using it as in face-to-face meetings.
A group of developers are working on the same codebase. They need an online system to allow them to update the same specification. Which type of collaboration system should the group implement?
Synchronous
Identify one difference between task management software and project management software.
Task management apps emphasize improving the productivity of each team member.
_____ software enables team members to prioritize and track tasks by providing features such as boards, timelines, and calendars.
Task management.
A car sales manager is using a semistructured decision process in order to decide whether or not to give sales employees a raise. Which scenario is likely in a semistructured decision?
The manager balances potential pay increases with operating costs.
The designers of a management support system (MSS) just released the system to top management. The system is operational but one of the features is clearly not what the management expected. What could be the cause of this problem?
The system's objectives should be defined clearly.
A GIS uses spatial and nonspatial data and specialized techniques for storing coordinates of complex geographic objects.
True
A program manager is having a difficult time understanding why the MMS is taking longer than other systems they've built for engineers. The following a reasonable argument:Management support systems have a somewhat different purpose than other information systems.
True
A radio frequency identification device (RFID), which can be attached to products, is a small package (or tag) made up of a microprocessor and an antenna.
True
Business intelligence (BI) is a term used to describe a range of different applications and technologies used to extract and analyze large amounts of data to aid in decision making.
True
Communication software can include audio conferencing, video conferencing, and text messaging.
True
Effective design and implementation of an executive information system (EIS) requires top management support and user involvement.
True
Enterprise information management is a relatively new term that describes the business and technology functions that manage information as a corporate asset.
True
Enterprise performance management is the concept of developing strategic goals for the organization and then gathering data to evaluate how the organization is performing in relation to those goals.
True
Radio frequency identification technology, known commonly as RFID, is a tool that is used for tracking items through a supply chain.
True
Software as a service (SaaS) is a software delivery model in which a software product is hosted by a company on its servers and is accessed by customers via a Web browser.
True
The SAP Enterprise Portal gives users complete access to all their work on a single screen, using links to connect users to all the major applications needed to perform their jobs. The Enterprise Portal acts as a central access point to a company's intranet (its secure internal network), operating through a secure link on the browser.
True
The major opportunity for radio frequency identification device (RFID) technology to reduce out-of-stock situations is not in the supply chain between the manufacturer and the storeroom at the individual store, but between the backroom stock area and the store shelves.
True
Today, most materials are still tracked using bar codes and bar-code readers. However, bar-code labels can degrade in bad weather, and an employee must point a bar-code reader directly at a bar code to read it. RFID technology does not need this line-of-sight connection, and can withstand most environmental stresses.
True
An outside consultant is invited in to present an idea for a new product line the company might be interested in. Which decision type does this involve?.
Unstructured intuition
A CEO was discussing the issues of a software package the company currently uses for Human Resources. Another CEO makes a convincing argument for their HR system. What should the CEO do to make it a semistructured decision to replace their system?
Use a program to analyze the cost-benefit analysis of purchasing the software.
A manager wants to give the employees a raise at the lumber yard. The manager uses _____ analysis to determine how each raise percentage may affect production costs.
What-if
Why would a sales analyst at a lumber yard use optimization analysis to determine how many trusses and walls his 300 builders can assemble?
With optimization analysis, the decision maker is given a series of constraints and needs to maximize profits.
A collaboration system supports decision makers by providing access to_____.
a shared environment
A group of analysts communicate through email to give updates on the project. This is an example of _____ communication.
asynchronous
While designing a management support system, it's important to remember that executives do not care about _____.
choice of platform
Which component of a decision support system (DSS) enables the DSS to perform analysis operations on the information stored in the system?
database
A(n) _____ is an interactive information system consisting of hardware, software, data, and models (mathematical and statistical) designed to assist strategy makers in an organization.
decision support
In a management support system, it's important to examine the ____ that executives use.
decision-making process
Asynchronous software enables team members to work together at _____.
different times
A business analyst suggests an idea to give executives a straightforward way to integrate information from multiple sources and present it in a unified, understandable format such as in charts and graphs. Which system would be most appropriate for this situation?
digital dashboard
An analyst needs to analyze sales data using multiple features of an EIS. Which feature of the EIS system should the analyst use?
digital dashboard
Google Apps for Work, Confluence, and Samepage are examples of ____ software.
document management
An analyst can see the total sales for the country, but needs to look at sales data from the eastern, western, northern and southern region. Which feature of the EIS system should the analyst use?
drill-down
A city planner wants to choose the boundaries for school districts to allow the most diverse student population possible at each school. This is an example of _____.
education planning
What analysis feature of a decision support system (DSS) pinpoints the region that generated the highest total sales?
exception reporting
A business analyst wants to give managers more information from internal and external data with which to analyze data. Which type of system is best for this?
executive information
A(n) _____ system uses spatial and nonspatial data and specialized techniques for storing coordinates of networks of lines (roads, rivers, streets) and reporting zones (zip codes, cities, counties, states).
geographic information
In _____, a geographic information system (GIS) is used to make the best use of personnel and equipment while dealing with a tight budget and maintaining crime statistics.
government
Technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) and smartphones are fueling explosive growth in the amount of data available for businesses to process. This data can provide real business value, but the challenge is ____.
how to manage and evaluate the data to gain business knowledge
When designing a management support system (MSS), designers should keep the ____ consistent.
look and feel
The _____ component of a decision support system (DSS) includes mathematical and statistical models that, along with the database, enable a DSS to analyze information.
model base
Which system performs tasks similar to a database management system (DBMS)?
model base management
In the decision support system (DSS) environment, a _____ is responsible for supplying information on what a model does, what data inputs it accepts, how the model's output should be interpreted, and what assumptions go into creating and using the model.
model builder
When designing a management support system, using a(n) ____ can help reduce frustration.
progress bar
In the context of the features of a decision support system (DSS), _____ analysis enables you to apply different variables in decision making.
sensitivity
In a management support system, executives rarely tolerate ____.
slow response times
A geographic information system (GIS) with analytical capabilities evaluates the impact of decisions by interpreting _____ data.
spatial
A GIS with analytical capabilities evaluates the impact of decisions by interpreting _____.
spatial data
A software engineering manager wants to get his team collaboration software that will allow team members to work together at the same time. What type of collaboration software should be purchased?
synchronous
In the decision support system (DSS) environment, the _____ focuses on how a DSS is implemented and usually addresses questions about data storage, user access, response time, and security measures.
technical designer
The primary performance measure for data storage systems is latency. Latency is defined as ____.
the time between when a request is made for data from a storage device and when the data is delivered
A city planner wants to choose the best bus routes through the city. This is an example of _____.
urban planning
In _____, a geographic information system (GIS) is used to track changes in ridership on mass-transit systems.
urban planning
A business analyst is using an executive information system (EIS) to flag sales data that is way beyond the range of other sales in the region. This is an example of _____.
variance reporting
To facilitate a more face-to-face collaborative experience for their online students, the school district introduced _____.
video conferencing
A delivery driver needs to be able to change routes depending on traffic patterns. Which Google Maps DSS feature is useful in this case?
what-if analysis
