I. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate answer.

1. The end product for the systems analysis phase of the SDLC is the _____ which
describes management and user requirements, costs and benefits, and outlines alternative
development strategies.

2. The term _____ refers to the reasons, or justification, for a systems development
strategies.

3. _____ is the process of identifying long term organizational goals, strategies, and
resources.

4. During strategic planning, top managers ask a series of questions that is call a(n) _____ because it
examines a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

5. The estimated costs of a proposed system usually are considered the _____ which
includes ongoing support and maintenance costs, as well as acquisition costs.

6. _____ are benefits that can be measured in dollars, resulting from a decrease in expenses, an increase
in revenues, or both.

7. _____ are advantages that are difficult to measure in dollars but are important to a
company.

8. A popular technique for investigating causes and effects is called a(n) _____ is an
analysis tool that represents the possible causes of a problem as a graphical outline.

9. A(n) _____ uses various symbols to show how the system transforms input data into
useful information.

10. In a typical company, _____ might include calculating sales trends, filing online
insurance claims, ordering inventory from a supplier’s system, or verifying e-mail
addresses for Web customers.

11. In the Gane and Sarson symbol set, the symbol for a(n) _____ is a rectangle with rounded corners.

12. In DFD, _____ is a path for data to move from one part of the information system to
another.

13. In DFD, _____ is used to represent data that a system stores because one or more
processes need to use the data at a later time.

14. A spontaneous generation process is a process that has _____.

15. A black hole process is a process that has _____.

Answer in Test I is given below:

Data flow Business case No input Total cost of ownership
Systems requirements document Intangible benefits Data flow diagram
Processes Data store SWOT analysis Fishbone/Ishikawa diagram
No output Strategic planning Tangible benefits Process
II. True or False: Identify if the statement is either TRUE or FALSE.

1. In an information system, information consists of basic facts that are the system’s raw material.

2. Application software manages hardware components, which can include a single

workstation or a global network with many thousands of clients.

3. A vertical system is a system, such as an inventory or payroll application, that can be

adapted for use in many different companies.

4. Corporate organizational structure has remained unchanged in recent years.

5. Many companies find that a trend called empowerment, which gives employees more
responsibility and accountability, improves employee motivation and increases customer satisfaction.

6. Most IT experts agree that a single, best system development strategy exists.

7. Strategic planning looks beyond day-to-day activities and focuses on a horizon that is 3,
5, or even 10 years in the future.

8. Performance limitations results when a system that was designed for a specific hardware
configuration becomes obsolete when new hardware is introduced.

9. When a systems request form is received, a systems analyst or IT manager examines it to

determine what IT resources (staff and time) are required for the preliminary investigation.

10. Depending on what information is needed to investigate a systems request, fact-finding

might consume several hours, days, or weeks.

11. A list of topics should be sent to an interviewee several days before the meeting,
especially when detailed information is needed, so the person can prepare for the
interview and minimize the need for a follow-up meeting.

12. System documentation always is up to date.

13. According to the Hawthorne Effect, normal operations always run as smoothly as
observations indicate.

14. Before publishing a form on the Internet or a company intranet, a systems analyst should
protect it so users can change the layout or design but cannot fill it in.

15. The newest wireless designs combine the best features of PDAs, cell phones, and text and
voice messaging devices.

16. A physical model shows what the system must do, regardless of how it will be implemented.

17. In a DFD, processes contain the business logic, also called business rules, that transforms
the data and produce the require results.

18. Data flows are shown in a context diagram because data stores are external to the system.

19. DFDs are balanced if each internal process is numbered to show that it is a child of the
parent process.

20. In most data dictionaries, records are defined together with the data flows and data stores.
III. Multiple Choice Questions: Choose the best answer among the choices.

1. Examples of company-wide applications, called _____, include order processing systems, payroll
systems, and company communications networks.
a. enterprise applications
b. network operating system (NOS)
c. operating applications
d. legacy systems

2. Knowledge management systems are called expert systems because they _____.
a. provide job-related information to users at all levels of a company
b. simulate human reasoning by combining a knowledge base and inference rules that determine
how the knowledge is applied
c. process data generated by day-to-day business operations
d. include e-mail, voice mail, fax, video conferencing, word processing, automated calendars,
database management, spreadsheets, and high-speed Internet access

3. In a typical company organizational model, top managers’ _____.

a. develop long-range plans, called strategic plans, that define the company’s overall mission
and goals
b. provide direction, necessary resources, and performance feedback to supervisors and team
leaders
c. oversee operation employees and carry out day-to-day functions, coordinating operational
tasks and people
d. include users who rely on TP systems to enter and receive the data they need to perform their
jobs

4. A(n) _____ describes the logic that programmers use to write code modules.
a. process model
b. object model
c. business model
d. network model

5. Traditionally, the SDLC is picture as a(n) _____, where the result of each phase, which is called a
deliverable or end product, flows sequentially into the next phase.
a. interactive model
b. requirements model
c. waterfall model
d. object model

6. In the model of the SDLC, during _____, the IT staff maintains, enhances, and protects the
system.
a. systems operation, support, and security
b. systems implementation
c. systems analysis
d. systems planning

7. Traditionally, IT departments had a(n) _____ group composed of systems analysts and
programmers who handled information system design, development, and implementation
a. Web support
b. Application development
c. Systems support
d. Database management
8. When evaluating systems requests, all of the following are disadvantages of a systems review
committee except _____.
a. action on requests must wait until the committee meets
b. one person’s bias is more likely to affect the decisions
c. members might favor projects requested by their own departments
d. internal political differences could delay important decisions

9. Of the measures of feasibility, _____ considers questions such as “Does management support the
project?” and “Will the new system require training for users?”
a. schedule feasibility
b. technical feasibility
c. economic feasibility
d. operational feasibility

10. Of the measures of feasibility, _____ considers points such as “Does the proposed platform have
sufficient capacity for future needs?” and “Will the hardware and software environment be
reliable?”
a. schedule feasibility
b. technical feasibility
c. economic feasibility
d. operational feasibility

11. Of the measures of feasibility, _____ assesses tangible and intangible benefits to the company in
addition to costs.
a. schedule feasibility
b. technical feasibility
c. economic feasibility
d. operational feasibility

12. Examples of tangible benefits include all of the following except a(n) _____.
a. user-friendly system that improves employee job satisfaction
b. new scheduling system that reduces overtime
c. online package tracking system that decreases the need for clerical staff
d. sophisticated inventory control system that cuts excess inventory

13. When assessing priorities for systems requests, a systems analyst should look for high scores in
all of the following except _____.
a. Will the proposed system serve customers better?
b. Will the proposed system reduce costs?
c. Will the proposed system serve the organization better?
d. Will the proposed system decrease revenue for the company?

14. In sequence, the interviewing process involves a series of steps: ____, conduct the interview,
document the interview, and evaluate the interview.
a. determine the people to interview, establish objectives for the interview, develop interview
questions, prepare for the interview
b. establish objectives for the interview, develop interview questions, prepare for the interview,
determine the people to interview
c. develop interview questions, prepare for the interview, determine the people to interview,
establish objectives for the interview
d. prepare for the interview, determine the people to interview, establish objectives for the
interview, develop interview questions

15. A survey is _____, generally takes less time, and can involve a broad cross-section of people.
a. more flexible than a series of interviews, and it is less expensive
b. more flexible than a series of interviews, and it is more expensive
c. not as flexible than a series of interviews, and it is less expensive
d. not as flexible than a series of interviews, and it is more expensive
16. _____ are especially important to a systems analyst who must work with people at all
organizational levels, balance conflicting needs of users, and communicate effectively.
a. Analytical skills
b. Artistic skills
c. Interpersonal skills
d. Confrontational skills

17. In an interview, _____ are questions that ask a person to evaluate something by providing limited
answers to specific responses or on a numeric scale.
a. open-ended questions
b. close-ended questions
c. leading questions
d. range-of-response questions

18. When preparing a representative sample from a list of 200 customers who complained about
errors in their statements, a ____ might select any 20 customers.
a. systematic sample
b. stratified sample
c. random sample
d. comprehensive sample

19. A black hole process is a process that has ____.

a. no input
b. at least one output and one input, but the output obviously is too insufficient to generate the
input shown
c. no output
d. at least one input and one output, but the input obviously is too insufficient to generate the
output shown

20. The selection structure is the completion of _____.

a. one or more process steps based on the results of a test or condition
b. steps in a chronological order, one after another
c. a process step that is repeated until a specific condition changes
d. a specific condition that is repeated until a process change