Question 1

Part 1

Match any of the key terms above with the definition that best fits it (Ignore any key terms that do not fit.)

• ____________ is the organizational role most responsible for the analysis and design of information systems.
• ____________ is a picture of the movement of data between external entities and the processes and the data stores within a system.
• ____________ are questions in interviews that ask those responding to choose from among a set of specified responses.
• ____________ is a data flow diagram that represents a system's major processes, data flows, and data stores at a high level of detail.
• ____________ is a data flow diagram of the scope of an organizational system that shows the system boundaries, external entities that interact with a system, and the major information flows between entities and the system.
• ____________ is a structured process in which users, managers, and analysts work together for several days in a series of intensive meetings to specify or review system requirements.

Part 2

Label each question as either closed-ended (CE) question or open-ended (OE) question.

a. Why do you perform the task that way? ______________________________________
b. How are the checks reconciled? _____________________________________________
c. Is the calculation procedure described in the manual? ______________________
d. Do you review the reports before they are sent out? ________________________
e. What is the volume of shipments on an average day? __________________________
f. How is the system updated when a shipment is sent? __________________________
g. How are returns handled? ____________________________________________________
h. How are employee responsibilities divided among the various procedures? _____

Question 2

Part 1

An analyst needs an organized method for collecting facts. Some systems analysts will frequently jump right into interviews. They believe, "Go to the people. That's where the real facts are!" Wrong! This approach fails to recognize an important fact of life: People must complete their day-to-day jobs. You may be thinking, "But I thought you've been seen saying that the system is for people and that direct end user involvement in systems development is essential. Aren't you contradicting yourselves?"

Write a paragraph to offer your opinion on the issue described in the above statement.

For this question, please limit your response to half a page.

Part 2

Given that you can use all six information-gathering techniques: (1) document analysis or investigation, (2) conduct interviews and discussion with users, (3) observe the work environment and document business processes, (4) distribute and collect questionnaires, (5) sampling, and (6) conduct joint application design (JAD) sessions.

Using all of these six techniques, propose a general step-by-step strategy (which technique goes first and which technique goes next) to discover information system requirements and provide an explanation of your strategy decision.

For this question, please limit your response to a maximum of one page.

Question 3

Part 1

Suppose you are evaluating two hardware lease proposals. Option 1 costs $10,000, but requires that the entire amount be paid in advance. Option 2 costs $12,000, but thepayments can be made $2,000 now and $2,000 per year for the next five years.

If you do a present value analysis assuming a 2 percent discount rate, which proposal is less expensive? (Hint: Use the formula 1/(1 + i)n to find the multipliers for years 1 to 5.)

For this question, please limit you response to a maximum of two pages.

Justify all your numerical answers and answer all the questions using your own words.

Show all your work, including how you found your answer (this is very important and essential to have your answer graded appropriately!).

Part 2

Mr. Smith, who owns a furniture company, wants to develop an information system for tracking shipments to warehouses. Using the data from the table below, please do the following:

a. Draw a Gantt chart to help Mr. Smith organize his design project.
b. Drawn a PERT diagram and then list all paths, calculate and identify the critical path.

Question 4

In the following proposed DFD design, there are some typical errors among external entities (E1 and E2), processes (P1, P2, and P3) and data stores (DS1, DS2, and DS3). Identify and explain any errors in the following design.

Question 5

A summary of business activities for registering courses for enrolled students and for registering class lists for faculty members and administrators at an online university is as follows:

Students log into a system with their "user name and password" that is validated by a secure logon system handled by a "Network and Security" department. Students then send in a course registration form consisting of their personal information and their desired courses. The system checks that the courses are available and that the student is academically qualified to take the course.

Students could pay for their courses by credit cards or they could pay through the Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), if qualified. For the FAFSA students, the system checks with the "Business" department to see if the student is financially qualified to take the course. For credit cards, the system validates students' credit card information through a credit card company and generated appropriate status message to students.

Based on the checking results, the system will send to the student a confirmation and/or rejection letter for each requesting course with detailed information of what to do next in either case. In addition, for any rejection cases, the system will also notify the Counselor department so students could arrange appointments to talk with their counselors to resolve their issues, if possible.

1. Draw a context-level diagram for the Courses Registration system. Please make sure to include reasonable data flows for the diagram.

2. For the level-0 diagram, please list necessary processes and data stores for the Courses Registration system. Note that there is no need to draw this level-0 diagram.