Chapter 13—Managing the Systems Development Life Cycle
TRUE/!LSE
1. The majority of the cost of a system is incurred in the new systems development development phase of the life life cycle. ANS: F 2. According According to to the tet! tet! a sta"eho sta"eholder lder is an an end user user of a system. system. ANS: F #. The o$jective o$jective of systems systems planning is to lin" lin" systems projects to the strategic strategic o$jectives of the firm. ANS: T %. The Systems Systems &evelopment &evelopment 'ife 'ife (ycle )S&'(* concept concept applies applies to specific specific applicatio applications ns and not to strategic systems planning. ANS: F +. An accountant,s accountant,s responsi$ility responsi$ility in the the S&'( is is to ensure ensure that the the system applies applies proper accounting conventions and rules and possesses ade-uate control. ANS: T . /n the conceptua conceptuall design phase phase of the Systems Systems &evelopme &evelopment nt 'ife (ycle (ycle )S&'(*! )S&'(*! tas" force mem$ers mem$ers are focused on selecting the new s ystem design. ANS: F 0. hen determining determining the operational feasi$ility feasi$ility of of a new system! the epected ease ease of transition transition from the old system to the new system s ystem should $e considered. ANS: T . 3ne4time 3ne4time costs costs inclu include de operatin operating g and mainten maintenance ance costs costs.. ANS: F 5. hen preparing preparing a cost4$enefit analysis! design costs costs incurred incurred in the systems systems planning! planning! systems analysis and conceptual design phases of the Systems &evelopment 'ife (ycle are relevant costs. ANS: F 16. A tangi$l tangi$lee $enefit $enefit can $e measured measured and and epressed epressed in financia financiall terms. terms. ANS: T 11. /nstead of implementing an application application in a single 7$ig4$ang8 7$ig4$ang8 release! modern systems are delivered in parts continuously continuously and -uic"ly
ANS: T 12. hen the nature of the project and the needs of the the user permit! permit! most organi9ations will see" a pre4 coded commercial software pac"age rather than develop a systems in4house. ANS: T 1#. All of the the steps in the Systems &evelopment &evelopment 'ife (ycle apply to software software that is developed in4house and to commercial software. ANS: F 1%. iing iing technologi technologies es from many vendors vendors improves improves technical technical feasi$ili feasi$ility ty.. ANS: F 1+. The first first step step in the S&'( S&'( is to to develop develop a systems systems strategy strategy ANS: T 1. System mainte maintenance nance is often often viewed viewed as the the first phase phase of a new develop development ment cycle. cycle. ANS: T 10. ;roject initiation initiation is the process $y which systems proposals proposals are assessed for consistency with the strategic systems plan and evaluated in terms of their feasi$ility and cost4$enefit characteristics. ANS: T 1. hen the nature of the project and the needs of the the user permit! permit! most organi9ations will create the system in4house rather than rely on a commercial pac"age. ANS: F 15. <isting <isting )mainta )maintained* ined* applica applications tions are the the prototypes prototypes for their their new versions. versions. ANS: T 26. =ecause of the the ro$ustness ro$ustness of modern modern technology! technology! $usinesses $usinesses today see infre-uent changes in their /T systems and much longer system life spans. ANS: F MULT"#LE C$%"CE
1. hen studying studying the the detailed detailed feasi$ feasi$ility ility of a new new project project a. prototypi prototyping ng does does not affect affect the schedule schedule feasi$ feasi$ility ility analysis analysis $. the need for user training training will influence the schedule schedule feasi$ility analysis analysis c. protectio protection n from fraud fraud and errors errors will influen influence ce the schedul schedulee feasi$ility feasi$ility analy analysis sis d. a cost4$enefi cost4$enefitt review will will affect affect the schedul schedulee feasi$ility feasi$ility analy analysis sis ANS: =
2. ;rotection ;rotection from from inadvertent inadvertent disclosu disclosures res of confidentia confidentiall information information is part of the detailed detailed a. operat operation ional al feasi$ feasi$ili ility ty study study $. schedule feasi$ility feasi$ility study c. lega legall fea feasi si$i $ili lity ty stud study y d. econ econom omic ic feasi feasi$i $ili lity ty study study ANS: ( #. A cost4$ene cost4$enefit fit analys analysis is is a part of of the detail detailed ed a. operat operation ional al feasi$ feasi$ili ility ty study study $. schedule feasi$ility feasi$ility study c. lega legall fea feasi si$i $ili lity ty stud study y d. econ econom omic ic feasi feasi$i $ili lity ty study study ANS: & %. <amples <amples of one4tim one4timee costs includ includee all of the the following following ecept ecept a. hard hardwa ware re ac-u ac-uis isit itio ion n $. insurance c. site site prep prepar arat atio ion n d. prog rogramm amming ANS: = +. <amp <amples les of of recurr recurring ing cost costss includ includee a. soft softwa ware re ac-u ac-uis isit itio ion n $. data conversion c. pers ersonn onnel cost costss d. syst system emss des desig ign n ANS: ( . Site prepar preparation ation costs include include all of the followin following g ecept ecept a. crane crane used used to to ins instal talll e-uip e-uipmen mentt $. freight charges c. supplies d. reinfo reinforcem rcement ent of of the the $uild $uilding ing floor floor ANS: ( 0. The testin testing g of indivi individual dual program program modules modules is a part of of a. soft softwa ware re ac-u ac-uis isit itio ion n cost costss $. systems design costs costs c. data data con conve vers rsio ion n cost costss d. prog progra ramm mmin ing g cos costs ts ANS: & . hen implementing implementing a new system! system! the costs associated associated with with transferring transferring data from one storage medium to another is an eample of a. a rec recur urri rin ng co cost $. a data conversion cost c. a syst system emss desi design gn cost cost d. a pro progr gram amm ming ing cos costt
ANS: = 5. An eam eample ple of of a tangi tangi$l $lee $enefi $enefitt is a. increa increased sed custom customer er satis satisfac factio tion n $. more current information c. redu reduce ced d inve invent ntor orie iess d. faster faster resp respon onse se to com compet petito itorr action actionss ANS: ( 16. 16. An eamp eample le of an an intang intangi$l i$lee $enefi $enefitt is a. epa epans nsio ion n into into oth other er mar mar"e "ets ts $. reduction in supplies supplies and overhead c. more more eff effic icie ient nt ope opera rati tion onss d. reduc reduced ed e-uipm e-uipment ent mainte maintenan nance ce ANS: ( 11. 11. A tang tangi$ i$le le $en $enef efit it a. can $e $e measur measured ed and and epres epressed sed in in financ financial ial terms terms $. might increase revenues revenues c. migh mightt decr decrea ease se cos costs ts d. all all of of th the a$o a$ove ve ANS: & 12. 12. /nta /ntang ngi$ i$le le $en $enef efit itss a. are are eas easil ily y meas measur ured ed $. are of relatively little little importance in ma"ing information information system decisions decisions c. are sometime sometimess estimated estimated using using customer customer satisfa satisfaction ction surveys surveys d. when measured! measured! do do not lend themselve themselvess to manipulati manipulation on ANS: ( 1#. hich technitechni-ue ue is least li"ely li"ely to $e used to -uantify -uantify intang intangi$le i$le $enefits $enefits>> a. opin pinion su survey rveyss $. simulation models models c. prof profes essi sion onal al judg judgme ment nt d. review review of of accoun accountin ting g transa transacti ction on data data ANS: & 1%. The formal product of the systems evaluation and and selection phase of the Systems &evelopment 'ife (ycle is a. the report report of syste systems ms analys analysis is $. the systems selection selection report c. the the deta detail iled ed sy system stem des desig ign n d. the the syst system emss plan plan ANS: = 1+. 3ne time time costs costs include include all all of the follow following ing ecep eceptt a. site site prep prepar arat atio ion n $. insurance c. prog progra ramm mmin ing g and and test testin ing g d. data data conv conver ersi sion on
ANS: = 1. ?ecurring ?ecurring costs costs include include all all of the the followin following g ecept ecept a. data ata con conve vers rsio ion n $. software maintenance c. insurance d. supplies ANS: A 10. All of the the followin following g are reasons reasons why new systems systems fail fail ecept ecept a. the user user is is not involved involved in the the developm development ent of of the system system $. system re-uirements are not not clearly specified c. system systemss analysts analysts rely rely on proto prototyp typing ing mode models ls d. system system develo development pment techni-ue techni-uess are are ineff ineffectiv ectivee ANS: ( 1. The systems systems steering steering committee committee is respons responsi$le i$le for for all of the following following ecept ecept a. assi assign gnin ing g prio priori riti ties es $. determining whether whether and when to terminate systems systems projects c. analy9ing analy9ing the techn technical ical feasi$ili feasi$ility ty of of the project project d. $udget $udgeting ing funds funds for for systems systems devel developm opment ent ANS: ( 15. Strategic Strategic systems systems plann planning ing is impor important tant $ecaus $ecausee the plan plan a. provides provides authori authori9atio 9ation n control control for for the Systems Systems &evelo &evelopment pment 'ife 'ife (ycle (ycle $. will eliminate any crisis crisis component in systems systems development c. provides provides a stati staticc goal to $e attain attained ed within within a five4y five4year ear period period d. all all of of th the a$o a$ove ve ANS: A 26. ;roject ;roject feasi$il feasi$ility ity includ includes es all of the the followi following ng ecept ecept a. tech techni nica call feas feasi$ i$il ility ity $. conceptual feasi$ility feasi$ility c. oper operat atio iona nall fea feasi si$i $ili lity ty d. sche schedu dule le feas feasi$ i$il ility ity ANS: = 21. The degree of compati$ility compati$ility $etween the firm,s firm,s eisting eisting procedures and personnel s"ills and the re-uirements of the new system is called a. tech techni nica call feas feasi$ i$il ility ity $. operational feasi$ility feasi$ility c. sche schedu dule le feas feasi$ i$il ility ity d. lega legall fea feasi si$i $ili lity ty ANS: = 22. The a$ility a$ility of a system to protect individual privacy and confidentiality is an eample of a. sche schedu dule le feas feasi$ i$il ility ity $. operational feasi$ility feasi$ility c. lega legall feas feasi$ i$il ilit ity y
d. econ econom omic ic feas feasi$ i$il ility ity ANS: ( 2#. 2#. The system systemss proj project ect propos proposal al a. provides provides managemen managementt with a $asis $asis for deciding deciding whethe whetherr or not to proceed proceed with with the project project $. supplies an input input to the project planning planning activity c. lin"s lin"s the o$jectives o$jectives of the the proposed proposed system system to the system,s system,s schedu scheduling ling re-uirem re-uirements ents d. prioriti9 prioriti9es es the propo proposal sal in relatio relation n to other other system system proposals proposals ANS: A 2%. hich step is not used to evaluate a systems proposal> proposal> An An analysis of the project,s project,s a. feas feasi$ i$il ilit ity y fact factor orss $. a$ility to eliminate eliminate nonessential activities activities and costs c. a$ility a$ility to to provide provide a competit competitive ive advan advantage tage to the the firm d. use of (omputer (omputer Aided Aided Software Software
c. formally formally state the goals goals and o$jective o$jectivess of the system system d. specify specify the the system system proc process essing ing method methodss ANS: & #6. After the the systems systems analysis analysis phase of the the System &evelopm &evelopment ent 'ife (ycle (ycle )S&'(* )S&'(* is complete! complete! the company will have a formal systems s ystems analysis report on a. the concep conceptua tuall desig design n of the the new new syste system m $. an evaluation of the new new system c. users, users, needs and re-uir re-uirement ementss for the new system system d. a comparison comparison of of alternative alternative implem implementat entation ion procedur procedures es for the new new system system ANS: ( #1. The accountan accountant,s t,s role role in systems systems analysis analysis includes includes all all of the following following ecept ecept a. specify specify audit audit trail trail re-ui re-uirem rement entss $. prepare data gathering -uestionnaires -uestionnaires c. sugges suggestt inclus inclusion ion of advan advanced ced audi auditt feature featuress d. ensure ensure mandated mandated procedures procedures are part part of of the the design design ANS: = #2. The role of the the steerin steering g committe committeee includ includes es a. design designing ing the the sys system tem outpu outputs ts $. resolving conflicts conflicts that arise from a new system system c. select selecting ing the the progra programmi mming ng techn techni-u i-ues es to $e used used d. approving approving the accoun accounting ting procedure proceduress to $e impleme implemented nted ANS: = ##. ;roject ;roject plannin planning g includes includes all of the followi following ng ecept ecept a. specify specifying ing system system o$ject o$jective ivess $. preparing a formal project proposal proposal c. sele select ctin ing g hard hardwa ware re ven vendo dors rs d. produc producing ing a proj project ect schedu schedule le ANS: ( #%. Aspects Aspects of project project feasi$i feasi$ility lity includ includee all of the followi following ng ecept ecept a. tech techni nica call feas feasi$ i$il ility ity $. economic feasi$ility c. logi logist stic ic feas feasi$ i$il ility ity d. sche schedu dule le feas feasi$ i$il ility ity ANS: ( #+. hich of the following following is not not a tool tool of systems systems analysts> analysts> a. o$servation $. tas" participation participation c. audi auditt repo report rtss d. pers person onal al inte interv rvie iews ws ANS: ( #. hen developin developing g the concep conceptual tual desig design n of a system! system! a. all similari similarities ties and and differenc differences es $etween $etween competin competing g systems systems are highlig highlighted hted
$. structure diagrams are commonly commonly used c. the format format for input input screen screenss and source source document documentss is decided decided d. inputs! inputs! processes processes!! and outputs that that distinguis distinguish h one alternative alternative from another another are identified identified ANS: & #0. The role of the accountant@internal accountant@internal auditor in the conceptual design phase of the Systems &evelopment &evelopment 'ife (ycle includes all of the following ecept a. the accoun accountant tant is is respons responsi$le i$le for for designing designing the physical physical system system $. the accountant is responsi$le responsi$le to ensure that that audit trails are preserved preserved c. the internal internal auditor auditor is responsi$ responsi$le le to confirm that that em$edded em$edded audit audit modules modules are included included in the conceptual design d. the accountant accountant is responsi$le to ma"e sure that that the accounting conventions that apply apply to the module are considered $y the system designers ANS: A S$%RT !&S'ER
1. hy is it important important that the the systems professionals who design a project not perform the detailed feasi$ility study of the project> ANS: 3$jectivity is essential to the fair assessment of each project design. To ensure ensure o$jectivity! an independent systems professional should perform the study. 2. 'ist at least least three one4tim one4timee costs and three three recurring recurring costs costs in system develo development pment.. ANS: 3ne time costs include: hardware ac-uisition! site preparation! software ac-uisition! system design! programming and testing! testing! data conversion! training. training. ?ecurring costs include: hardware maintenance! software maintenance! insurance! supplies! personnel costs. #. $enefits $enefits can $e measured measured and epressed epressed in financial financial terms! terms! while $enefits cannot cannot $e easily measured and@or and@or -uantified. ANS: Tangi$le! intangi$le %. hat hat is a system systemss select selection ion repo report> rt> ANS: A systems selection report is a formal document that consists of a revised feasi$ility study! a cost4 $enefit analysis! and a list and eplanation eplanation of intangi$le $enefits $enefits for each alternative design. design. The steering committee uses this report to select a s ystem. +. hy is the pay$ac" method often often more useful useful than the the net present present value method for evaluating systems projects> ANS: =ecause of $rief product life cycles c ycles and rapid advances in technology! technology! the effective lives of information system tends to $e short. Shorter pay$ac" projects are often desira$le.
. (ontrast (ontrast reacti reactive ve and and proactiv proactivee managemen managementt styles. styles. ANS: ?eactive management responds to pro$lems only when they reach a crisis state and can no longer $e ignored. /n this situation! pro$lem resolution is generally su$optimal. ;roactive management is alert for early signs of pro$lems and actively loo"s for ways to improve the organi9ation,s systems. systems. This allows ade-uate time for planning and implementing solutions. 0. <plain why accountants accountants are interested in the the legal feasi$ility of a new new systems systems project. ANS: 'egal feasi$ility identifies conflicts $etween the proposed system and the company,s a$ility to discharge its legal responsi$ilities. Accountants Accountants are often tas"ed with the legal re-uirements associated with developing the internal control system and securing information from inappropriate disclosure. . <plain an advantage of of surveying the current system when preparing a systems analysis analysis for a new systems project. ANS: An analysis of the current system: will identify what aspects of the current system should $e retained will facilitate the conversion from the old to the new system may uncover causes of reported pro$lems 5. hat are are two purposes purposes of the systems systems project project proposa proposal> l> ANS: First! it summari9es the findings of the study conducted to this point into a general recommendation for a new or modified system. This ena$les management to evaluate the perceived pro$lem along with the proposed system as a feasi$le solution. Second! the proposal outlines the lin"age $etween the o$jectives of the proposed system and the $usiness o$jectives of the firm. / t shows that the proposed new system complements the strategic direction of the firm. 16. 'ist two two ways that a systems systems project project can contri$ut contri$utee to the strategic strategic o$jectiv o$jectives es of the firm. ANS: A new system can improve the operational performance $y eliminating nonessential activities and costs! provide a method of differentiating the product or service from the competitors! and provide information that will help improve management decision4ma"ing. 11. 11. 'ist four four types types of facts that that should should $e gathered gathered during during an analysi analysiss of a system. system. ANS: data sourcesB information usersB data storesB processesB data flowsB controlsB transaction volumesB error ratesB resource costsB $ottlenec"sB and redundant operations 12. hat is the the /nternal /nternal =usiness =usiness ;rocess ;rocess ;erspect ;erspective> ive> ANS: etrics $ased on this perspective allow the manager to "now how well their $usiness is running! and whether its products and services conform to customer re-uirements . 1#. hat is the the 'earni 'earning ng and and Crowth Crowth ;erspectiv ;erspective> e>
ANS: 'earning and growth constitute the essential foundation for success of any organi9ation. This perspective includes includes employee training and corporate cultural attitudes attitudes related to $oth individual and corporate self4improvement 1%. hen a company company is doing doing financially financially well! well! why is the (ustomer (ustomer ;erspect ;erspective ive measure measure important important>> ANS: These are leading indicators: if customers are not satisfied! they will eventually find other suppliers that will meet their needs. ;oor performance from this perspective predicts of future decline! even though the current financial picture ma y loo" good. The (ustomer ;erspective includes o$jective measurements such as customer retention rate! as well as more su$jective criteria such as mar"et research and customer satisfaction surveys. 1+. &istingu &istinguish ish $etween $etween escapa$le escapa$le and inescap inescapa$le a$le costs. costs. Cive an eample. eample. ANS: ANS: The $enefits of information systems are oftentimes very difficult to assess. any times the $enefits are intangi$le! such as improved decision ma"ing capa$ilities. Also! maintenance costs may $e difficult to predict. ost other investments investments that organi9ations organi9ations ma"e! i.e. purchase purchase of a new piece of e-uipment! e-uipment! tend to have more tangi$le and estima$le costs and $enefits. 10. hat does assessing assessing user feed$ac" feed$ac" invol involve> ve> ANS: 1. recogni9ing the pro$lem 2. defining the pro$lem #. specifying system o$jectives %. determining project feasi$ility +. preparing a formal project proposal ESS!(
1. <plain <plain the the five stages stages of of the systems systems devel developmen opmentt life cycle> cycle> ANS: strategy! which re-uires an Systems Strategy) The first step in the S&'( is to develop a systems strategy! understanding the strategic $usiness needs of the organi9ation. organi9ation. This may $e derived from the organi9ation,s organi9ation,s mission statement! an analysis of competitive pressures on the firm! and the nature of current and anticipated mar"et conditions. These needs reflect the organi9ations current position relative to where it needs to $e long term to maintain strategic advantage.
#ro*ect "nitiation) ;roject initiation is the process $y which systems proposals are assessed for consistency with the strategic systems plan and evaluated in terms of their feasi$ility and cost4$enefit characteristics. Alternative Alternative conceptual designs are considered and those selected enter the construct phase of the S&'(. "n+$o,se Development) As mentioned earlier! earlier! some organi9ations have have such uni-ue information needs that they can only $e ade-uately met through internal development. The in4house development step includes analy9ing user needs! designing processes and data$ases! creating user views! programming the applications! applications! and testing and implementing the completed completed system. Commercial #ac-ages) hen the nature of the project and the needs of the user permit! most organi9ations organi9ations will see" a pre4coded commercial software pac"age rather than develop a new s ystem from scratch.
involves $oth ac-uiring and implementing implementing the latest Maintenance an. S,pport) aintenance involves software versions of commercial pac"ages and ma"ing in4house modifications to eisting systems to accommodate changing user needs. aintenance may $e relatively trivial! such as modifying an application to produce a new report or more etensive! such as programming new functionality into a system. Another Another aspect of maintenance includes a esta$lishing a user support infrastructure. This could include help des" services! providing user training and education classes! and documenting user feed$ac" pertaining to pro$lems and system errors. 2. hat hat is the $alanc $alanced ed scor scoreca ecard> rd> ANS: The alance. scorecar. )=S(* is a management system that ena$les organi9ations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. /t provides feed$ac" $oth from internal $usiness processes and eternal eternal outcomes to continuously continuously improve strategic strategic performance. hen fully fully deployed! the $alanced scorecard transforms strategic planning from an academic eercise into operational tas"s. #. &efine the feasi$ility measures that should $e considered during during project analysis and give an eample of each. ANS: Technical Technical feasi$ility is an assessment as to whether the system can $e developed under eisting technology or if new technology is needed. An eample might $e a situation where a f irm wants to completely automate the sales process. A -uestion would $e4/s technology availa$le that allows sales to $e made without humans> 'egal feasi$ility identifies any conflicts with the proposed system and the company, co mpany,ss a$ility to discharge its legal responsi$ilities. responsi$ilities. An eample would $e a firm that is proposing a new mail order sales processing system for selling wine. 3perational feasi$ility shows the degree of compati$ility $etween the firm,s eisting procedures and personnel s"ills and the operational re-uirements re-uirements of the new system. system. &o the firm have the right wor" wor" force to operate the system> /f not! can employees $e trained> /f not! can they $e hired> Schedule feasi$ility pertains to whether the firm can implement the project within an accepta$le time frame. An eample would $e a new tic"et sales s ystem for a sports team. The system would need to $e implemented prior to the start of the new season.
%. <plain <plain the the role of accoun accountants tants in in the concept conceptual ual design design stage. stage. ANS: Accountants are responsi$le for the logical information flows in a new system. Alternate systems considered must $e properly controlled! audit trails must $e preserved! accounting conventions and legal re-uirements must $e met. The audita$ility of a new system depends in part on its design characteristics. +. (ontrast the the feasi$ility feasi$ility study performed in the systems systems analysis phase of the Systems Systems &evelopment &evelopment 'ife (ycle )S&'(* with the study performed in the systems selection phase of the S&'(. ANS: A preliminary preliminary feasi$ility study for the project as a whole is performed in the systems analysis phase of the S&'(. Five aspects to project feasi$ility are considered: technical feasi$ility! feasi$ility! economic feasi$ility! legal feasi$ility! operational feasi$ility! and schedule feasi$ility. The preliminary analysis is $ased largely on the judgment and intuition of the systems professionals. /n the systems selection phase of the S&'(! the same five feasi$ility factors are considered for the specific system features that have $een conceptuali9ed and for each conceptual design alternative. The economic feasi$ility study in the detailed analysis includes a cost4$enefit analysis for each alternative. . <plain <plain why the Systems Systems &evelopm &evelopment ent 'ife (ycle (ycle is of interest interest to accountants accountants.. hat is the accountant,s accountant,s role in the Systems &evelopment 'ife (ycle> ANS: The information system re-uires a significant financial investment. Accountants Accountants are concerned that the capital investment involved in ac-uiring an information s ystem is properly handled. Also! the information system gathers the data used to prepare financial statements. Accountants Accountants must $e certain that the information system is applying accounting principles properly and that the system itself has ade-uate internal controls. Any deficiencies in the information system could result in misstated financial statements. Accountants have three roles in the Systems &evelopment 'ife (ycle. Accountants are users of the information system and as such must $e a$le to communicate their needs to the systems designers. These needs include audit trail re-uirements! depreciation models! and other accounting techni-ues. Accountants are mem$ers of the S&'( development team and are epected to provide information a$out the re-uirements of the system including security needs. Finally! accountants are auditors of the information system and determine what audit features should $e designed into the system. 0. hat are are three pro$l pro$lems ems that that account account for most most system system failures failures>> ANS: ost system failures can $e traced to three pro$lems: a. poorly poorly specified specified system system re-uiremen re-uirements! ts! due to communica communication tion pro$lem pro$lemss $etween users users and systems systems professionals! the the iterative nature of the process! process! and the need to rewor" parts parts of the systemB $. ineffective development development techni-ues for for presenting! documenting! documenting! and modifying systems systems specificationsB and c. lac" of of user involveme involvement nt during during criti critical cal developm development ent stages. stages. . hat is is /ndustry /ndustry analy analysis sis and and why do managers managers do it. it. ANS:
with an analysis of the the driving forces that affect affect their "n.,stry !nalysis provides management with industry and their organi9ation,s performance. performance. Such analysis offers a fact4$ased perspective on the industry,s industry,s important trends! significant ris"s! and potential opportunities that may impact the $usiness,s $usiness,s performance. 5. hy is the the announceme announcement nt of a new systems systems project project so critica criticall to project project success> success> ANS: (hange is threatening to many individuals. A new system can $e perceived as putting jo$s at ris" in the name of 7efficiency!8 7efficiency!8 as a threat to organi9ational structure! and as re-uiring jo$ s"ills that some users fear they lac". The announcement of a new system must include upper management support and an eplanation of the $usiness rationale for the system and the epected $enefits for ultimate users. 16. (ontrast the preliminary project project feasi$ility feasi$ility study with the feasi$ility study study performed in the systems evaluation and selection phase of the S&'(. ANS: A preliminary preliminary feasi$ility study for the project as a whole is performed in the systems needs analysis phase of the S&'(. Five aspects aspects to project feasi$ility feasi$ility are considered: technical technical feasi$ility! feasi$ility! economic feasi$ility! legal feasi$ility! operational feasi$ility! and schedule feasi$ility. The preliminary analysis is $ased largely on the the judgment and intuition intuition of the systems systems professionals. /n the systems evaluation and selection phase of the S&'(! the same five feasi$ility factors are considered for the specific system features that have $een conceptuali9ed and for each conceptual design alternative. The economic feasi$ility study includes a cost4$enefit analysis for each alternative. 11. ;art of systems planning is a project feasi$ility feasi$ility study. study. Several feasi$ility feasi$ility issues can $e raised. hat are they> <plain the "ey concerns. ANS: The "ey feasi$ility issues include: technical, economic, legal, operational, and schedule. and schedule. Technical Technical feasi$ility relates to whether the proposed system can $e developed with eisting technology or re-uires new.
insurance costs installation of original e-uipment hardware upgrades ANS: training personnel4one4time initial programming and testing4one4time system design4one4time design4one4time hardware costs4one4time software maintenance costs4recurring site preparation4one4time preparation4one4time rent for facilities4recurring data conversion from old system to new s ystem4one4time ystem4one4time insurance costs4recurring installation of original e-uipment4one4time e-uipment4one4time hardware upgrades4recurring 1%. hat is is competen competency cy analysi analysiss and why why do manage managers rs do it. it. ANS: Competency !nalysis provides a complete picture of the organi9ation,s organi9ation,s effectiveness as seen via four strategic filters: ?esources! /nfrastructure! ;roducts@Services and (ustomers. =y assessing these factors! an organi9ation can develop an accurate view of its relative strengths! wea"nesses and core competencies. The analysis helps in developing strategic options! which are $ased on an understanding of the future environment and firm,s core competencies. Strategic opportunities may include mar"et entry options or new product development options.
