Pre 5

Quiz
Wenjun Herminado
BSA III

A. Multiple Choice Problems

1.B 11.A
2.D 12.B
3.A 13.D
4.D 14.B
5.A 15.A
6.D 16.A
7.C 17.C
8.A 18.D
9.D 19.E
10.E 20.A

B. Review Questions (Odd numbers only)

1. Distinguish between systems professionals, end-users, and

stakeholders.
Systems professionals are system analysts, creators of systems,
and programmers; the system is ultimately designed by these
people. The people by whom the device is designed are end-users.
The entire enterprise includes end-users. Stakeholders are people
who are involved in the scheme, but not the end customer, either
inside the company or outside.

3. What are the three problems that account for most system
failures?
1. Poorly defined specifications for programs
2. Inadequate strategies for development.
3. Lack of user interest in the development of programs.

5. Who should sit on the systems steering committee? What are its
typical responsibilities?
The composition of the steering committee may include the
following: the chief executive officer, the chief financial
officer, the chief information officer, senior management from
user areas, the internal auditor, senior management from computer
services, external consultants, and external auditors.
The typical responsibilities of the steering committee include:
a. resolving conflicts that arise from the new system.
b. reviewing projects and assigning priorities.
c. budgeting funds for systems development.
d. reviewing the status of individual projects under development.
e. determining at various checkpoints throughout the SDLC whether
to continue the projector terminate it.

7. What is strategic systems planning, and why should it be done?

The allocation of system resources at the macro level requires
strategic system planning. Typically, it deals with a 3 to 5-year
time period. This method is similar to budgeting capital for
other planning activities, such as production of goods, expansion
of factories, market research, and technologies for
manufacturing.

There are four justifications for strategic systems planning:

1. A plan that changes constantly is better than no plan at all.
2. Strategic planning reduces the crisis component in systems
development.
3. Strategic systems planning provides authorization control for
the SDLC.
4. Cost management.
Multiple Choice Problems
1. B
2. D
3. A
4. D
5. A
6. D
7. C
8. A
9. D
10. E
11. A
12. B
13. D
14. B
15. A
16. A
17.
18. D
19. E
20. A
Multiple Choice Problems
1. B
2. D
3. A
4. D
5. A
6. D
7. C
8. A
9. D
10. E
11. A
12. B
13. D
14. B
15. A
16. A
17.
18. D
19. E
20. A

9. What is the object-oriented design (OOD) approach?

Instead of building each system from scratch, OOD creates systems
from the bottom up by the assembly of interchangeable components.
OOD is most commonly associated with an iterative approach to
SDLC, where small bits or components, with a limited time span
from beginning to end, loop very quickly over all the SDLC
phases. Then, once the entire system has been created, extra
components or chunks are inserted in a suitable way.

11. What are the primary fact-gathering techniques?

1. Observation
2. Task participation
3. Personal interviews
4. Reviewing key documents

13. Distinguish among data sources, data stores, and data flows.
Two categories of organizations are included in data sources: (a)
external, such as customers or suppliers, and (b) internal, other
organizational units. The files, databases, accounts, and source
documents used in the system are data stores. Data flows reflect
the transfer between data sources, data warehouses, processing
activities and consumers with documentation or reports.
15. What is the purpose of a systems analysis, and what type of
information should be included in the systems analysis report?
The aim of the study of processes is to consider both the real
and the ideal states. The system review report should include the
issues found with the existing system, the needs of the customer,
and the proposed system specifications.

17. What are two approaches to conceptual systems design?

1. The structured approach
2. The object-oriented approach.

19. What is an object, and what are its characteristics in the

object-oriented approach? Give two examples.
Construct information structures from interchangeable standard
modules or objects is the object-oriented programming (OOD)
method. In the object-oriented approach to systems architecture,
the idea of reusability is fundamental. Standard modules can be
used in other systems with similar needs once they have been
developed. Ideally, the systems practitioners of the company
would create a library (inventory) of modules that can be
accessed inside the business by other system designers. For
instance, prior to updating, the tasks of validating data in a
payroll system or an AR system are similar in nature and can be
carried out by software modules extracted from the same object.
The advantages of this technique include decreased development,
repair and testing time and costs and increased customer
experience and consistency in the development process.

21. Who should be included in the group of independent evaluators

performing the detailed feasibility study?
The following individuals may be involved:
1. The project manager
2. A member of the internal audit staff
3. A user representative
4. Systems professionals who are not part of the project but
have expertise in the specific areas covered by the
feasibility study.

23. Classify each of the following as either one-time or

recurring costs:
a. training personnel – one-time
b. initial programming and testing – one-time
c. systems design – one-time
d. hardware costs – one-time
e. software maintenance costs – recurring
f. site preparation – one-time
g. rent for facilities – recurring
h. data conversion from old system to new system – one-time
i. insurance costs – recurring
j. installation of original equipment – one-time
k. hardware upgrades – recurring

25. Discuss the relative merits of in-house programs versus

commercially developed software.
Although in-house services are very time-consuming and costly to
implement and involve a lot of trained system workers, their many
benefits drive businesses to develop in-house systems. For
upgrades and repairs, in-house applications are not relying on an
outside vendor; these elements are locally managed. The in-house
systems are entirely personalized, while software produced
commercially is not.

27. Why should test data be saved after it has been used?
The saved data is considered a base case which documents how at
one point in time the machine worked. The base case should yield
the same outcomes at some point in the future. In order to allow
future testing, it is also preserved.

29. What documents not typically needed by other stakeholders do

accountants and auditors need for the new system?
Accountants and auditors require paper flowcharts for manual
operations. The physical system is defined in these flowcharts by
specifically displaying the flow of information between
departments, the departments in which the activities are
currently done, and the various styles and amount of information-
carrying records. This paper also includes a view of feature
isolation, the adequacy of the source records, and the location
of the files.

C. Discussion Questions (Even numbers only)

2. Discuss how rushing the system’s requirements stage may delay
or even result in the failure of a systems development process.
Conversely, discuss how spending too long in this stage may
result in “analysis paralysis.”
If the requirements process of the scheme is hurried, the wishes
of the customers will not be thoroughly explored or disclosed.
Thus, before specifying the necessary and full specifications,
the device may be designed. If the device is designed with an
insufficient set of specifications, the results required will not
be achieved. If the current system doesn't fulfill their needs,
consumers may get dissatisfied and disappointed. On the other
hand, too much research will preclude further improvement from
being achieved by the firm. With time, specifications, and
technologies change. At some level, it is important to decide
that the framework will be based on the specifications decided to
date. The specifications of the framework should also not be
hurried, but then waiting and hanging on to the process for too
long should not be tolerated.

4. Distinguish between a problem and a symptom. Give an example.

Are these usually noticed by upper-, middle-, or lower-level
managers?
The consequence of an issue is a symptom. Unfortunately,
businesses frequently seek to tackle the symptom rather than the
problem. A symptom, not a problem, is decreased production by
workers. The dilemma is not addressed as management tries to fix
this issue by recruiting additional staff. The issue may be that
the quality of the raw materials is so poor that each unit needs
to waste more time. If the question is correctly handled, the
dilemma can be fixed with higher quality raw materials, not more
workers. Hiring more employees merely lets more employees work
inefficiently. Operational level administrators usually detect
and record signs when they have the closest interaction with day-
to-day activities.

6. The cost and time specifications of the SDLC was overlooked by

most businesses by as much as 50 percent. Why do you think that's
happening? What are the phases where you believe the
underestimates are more dramatic?
Companies typically understate the deployment time. One reason is
that overly unrealistic period estimates for workers planning are
excessively optimistic. Another reason is that no hardware will
arrive on time. Debugging systems are another area where time is
often ignored. Migrating data from the old system to the new
system often takes a longer time than expected. In addition,
programs that have been rushed in the device review process that
needs more maintenance are due to requests from disgruntled
consumers.

8. Many new systems projects grossly underestimate transaction

volumes simply because they do not take into account how the new,
improved system can actually increase demand. Explain how this
can happen, and give an example.
More inquiries than the old method could be created by a method
that is easy to reach and delivers information quickly. Taking
the account balance investigation services sold by most credit
card firms, for example. A dialog between the cardholder and an
account representative was included in the old system of account
balance investigation by a cardholder. The representative of the
account will ask the cardholder questions and then send the
cardholder the details. It was only at those hours that several
businesses offered this service. The new systems facilitate 24
hours a day account balance inquiry, and no human agent is
engaged. The client uses the telephone keypad as an input device
and can very easily and efficiently access account balance
information. As a result of its greater simplicity and greater
privacy, the demand for this service has grown.

10. Do you think legal feasibility is an issue for a system that

incorporates the use of machines to sell lottery tickets?
The legal concern has to do with the illegal selling of tickets
to minors; however, some states have such machines.

12. If a firm decides early on to go with a special-purpose

system, such as SAP, based on their commendations of the external
audit firm, should the SDLC be bypassed?
The systems development life cycle should be conducted, albeit in
a modified form. Better yet, the firm should not decide on a
package until it has determined its needs requirements and
considered alternatives.

14. If the system is behind schedule and if each program module

is tested and no problems are found, is it necessary to test all
modules in conjunction with one another? Why or why not?
Yes, all modules must be tested in conjunction with another. This
is necessary to ensure that modules interact together in the
desired fashion. In other words, the data may be processed by
multiple modules and tests are necessary to ensure that one
module does not corrupt the data processed by another module.

16. Who conducts the post-implementation review? When should it

be conducted? If an outside consulting firm were hired to design
and implement the new system, or a canned software package were
purchased, would a post-implementation review still be useful?
The post-implementation analysis should be performed by the
system workers regardless of whether the system was built in-
house or bought. As well as the accountants, the end customers
should be interviewed. A few months after the deployment period,
the post-implementation analysis can take place so that the
customer can adapt to the method and operation happens at a
regular pace.

18. Discuss the independence issue when audit firms also provide
consulting input into the development and selection of new
systems.
This is a misuse of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Getting a system
audited by the consulting company that originally proposed it may
establish a bias on the part of the consulting company to view
the system in a favorable light.

20. Discuss three benefits associated with modular programming.

The following three benefits are associated with modular
programming.
a. Programming Efficiency. Modules can be coded and tested
independently, which vastly reduces programming time. A firm can
assign several programmers to a single system. Working in
parallel, the programmers each design a few modules. These are
then assembled into the completed system.
b. Maintenance Efficiency. Small modules are easier to analyze
and change, which reduces the start-up time during program
maintenance. Extensive changes can be parceled out to several
programmers simultaneously to shorten maintenance time.
c. Control. If modules are kept small, they are less likely to
contain material errors or fraudulent logic. Because each module
is independent of the others, errors are contained within the
module.