Diagram 5 UMUC Mid Term Exam

University of

ITEC 630

Midterm

The Midterm is due by 11:59 pm EST

This is an open-book individual exam comprised of 5 questions.

Guidelines:

Put your name in the exam.

You should submit your exam to your assignment folder in WebTycho in a MS-Word (preferred),
MS-RTF, PDF or ASCII file. Please scan your file against viruses before submitting.

Please keep the full text of the question as part of your answering sheet.

Be as clear and objective as you can in all questions and be sure you are answering what is asked. Address each question in a comprehensive manner.

Justify all your numerical answers and address 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!).

Do not submit multiple files

Make sure that you read, acknowledge, and follow the following rules

Rules:

The exam is to be taken in accordance with the UMUC Honor Code – e.g., do not collaborate or seek help from anyone else.

This is an open-book exam but you are only allowed to use your textbook and information posted in our classroom. Please do not use any other sources that are not listed in our classroom. For example, you can refer to our class lecture notes and all links posted in the lecture notes but you should not search the Web for information to solve exam questions.

You should not discuss exam questions with other students or anyone else. If you have any questions about the exam, please send me an email.

Acknowledge:

I, _Antonio L. Stewart acknowledge the above rules.

(Your name)

Stewart, Antonio L.

ITEC 630 Hargiss

November 9, 2014

Problem I – (50 points)

Steve Smith is a restaurant owner who wants to spend his $10,000 to modernize his restaurant by adapting it more closely to the preferences of his repeat customers. Keeping track of his customers’ likes and dislikes. Information such as where they like to sit, what they like to eat, when they normally arrive at the restaurant are all items of interest to him, since he believes that in this way he can better serve his customers. Steve has asked you to develop a system for him that will help make his customers happy while increasing his business.

You have heard what Steve had to say about his customers. There are certainly more preferences that he can keep track of.

Develop a problem definition for Steve, as discussed in the Session Five lecture notes and readings.

Be sure to include: (10pts. per section)

Problem Definition

Steve Smith wants to modernize his restaurant in order to suit more according to what his customers expect. Accordingly, he wants to keep track of his customers preferences; however, the preferences are more than what Mr. Smith can keep track of.

Issues

Manager wishes to modernize business by adapting it to 10

Its repeat customers

Customer preferences are more than projected 9

Keeping track of preferences are of great interest to manager 7

Objectives

Develop a system that will be likened to preferences of consumers while increasing the business

Create an automated survey that will enable customer to lists likes and dislikes of the restaurant

Requirements

The system must be secure

Consumers responses can be anonymous

The system must be easy to use by nontechnical people

Constraints

Development costs must not exceed $10,000

The initial Web site must be operational within 30-45 days for consumer access.

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 79 Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

Problem II- (50 points) (This is a 3-part Question)

A. Please label each question as either closed question or open-ended question.

How many personal computers do you have in this department? Closed question

How is this task performed? Open Ended Question 

Why do you perform the task that way? Open Ended Question 

How many hours of training does a clerk receive?  Closed Question

How many customers ordered products from the Web site last month?  Closed Question

What are users saying about the new system?  Open Ended Question

How are the checks reconciled?  Open Ended Question

What added features would you like to have in the new billing system?  Open Ended Question

Is the calculation procedure described in the manual?  Closed Question

Is there anything else you can tell me about this topic?  Closed Question

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 133-134 Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

B. You are going to interview the local manager of LDI, a national tire retailer, who has asked you to work as a system analyst on a management information system to provide inventory information. Design five questions for the meeting:

1. Describe key decisions you are responsible for.

2. How well do your employees accept changes in the system?

3. Is the current system providing you with enough information to help you make decisions?

4. Do you have any problems with your current system?

5. What kind of output would you like to see? What type of format is preferred?.

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 132-135 Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

C. Order your questions in a:

(1) pyramid structure

Do you have any problems with your current system?

What kind of output would you like to see? What type of format is preferred?

Is the current system providing you with enough information to help you make decisions?

How well do your employees accept changes to the system?

Describe key decisions you are responsible for.

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 132-135 Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

(2) funnel structure

Describe key decisions you are responsible for.

How well do your employees accept changes to the system?

Is the current system providing you with enough information to help you make decisions?

What kind of output would you like to see? What type of format is preferred?

Do you have any problems with your current system?

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 132-135 Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

(3) diamond-shaped structure

Describe key decisions you are responsible for.

How well do your employees accept changes to the system?

Do you have any problems with your current system?

Is the current system providing you with enough information to help you make decisions?

What kind of output would you like to see? What type of format is preferred?

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 132-135 Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

Problem III- (50 points)

What are six fact finding techniques and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Interviewing – a directed conversation with a specific purpose that uses a question and answer format (Kendall, 132).

Advantages – important method for collecting data on informational requirements, as well as a tool for exploring the human-computer interation concerns (Session 2 Lecture Notes)

Disadvantages – time and cost consuming (Kendall, 132).

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 132 Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

Joint Application Design – this method can replace a series of interviews with the user community (Kendall, 139).

Advantages – JAD can be used when the following occur:

A. Users are restless and want something new.

B. The organizational culture supports joint problem-solving behaviors.

C. Analysts forecast an increase in the number of ideas using JAD.

D. Personnel may be absent from their jobs for the length of time required

Disadvantages –

A. Requires significant planning and scheduling effort.

B. Requires significant stakeholder commitment of time and effort.

C. Requires trained and experienced personnel for facilitation and recording.

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 132-135 Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

Questionnaires – an information-gathering technique that allows systems analysts to study beliefs, behavior, and characteristics of several key people in the organization who may be affected by the current and proposed systems (Kendall, 142).

Advantages – useful if organization members are widely dispersed, if many members are involved with the project, if exploratory work is needed, or if problem solving prior to interviews is necessary (Session 2 Lecture Notes).

Disadvantage – Is argued to be inadequate to understand some forms of information – i.e. changes of emotions, behaviour, feelings etc. due to the mass number of people in the organization (Kendall, 142-143).

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 142-143 Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

Sampling – the process of systematically selecting representative elements of a population (Kendall, 158)

Advantages – reduction of costs, speeding up the data gathering process, improving effectiveness, and reduction of data gathering bias (Session 2 Lecture notes)

Disadvantages – the systems analyst, when deciding whom to interview, has to determine whether the population should include only one level in the organization or all the levels (Kendall, 159).

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 159, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

Investigation – this technique is the act of discovery and analysis of data (Kendall, 162).

Advantage – as a systems analyst works to understand users, their organization, and its informational requirements, it becomes important to examine different types of hard data that offer information unavailable through any other method of data gathering (Kendall 162).

Disadvantage – the procedure is useful, but can be time consuming (Kendall, 165).

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 159, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

Observation – an information-gathering technique that provides insight on what organizational members actually do (ITEC 630, Lesson 2 Lecture Notes).

What are the types of facts a systems analyst is required to collect?

Raw data – used to create useful information (Session 1 Lecture Notes)

Processes – this changes or transforms data in an information system (Kendall, 48-50).

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 48-50, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

What is a fact-find strategy that will make the most of your time with end-users?

A fact finding strategy that will make the most of your time with end users would be the interviewing technique. Simply put, you get more out of face to face interaction with your interviewee (ex. Preferences will help other fact finding techniques such as sampling) (Session 2 Lecture Notes).

How do you develop an interview agenda and a questionnaire?

In developing an interviewing agenda and a questionnaire, five steps must be followed:

A. reading background material

B. establishing interview objectives

C. deciding whom to interview

D. preparing the interviewee

E. deciding on question types and structure

Retrieved from Session 2 Lecture Notes

What is the role of ethics in the process of fact finding?

The role of ethics plays an integral part in the fact finding process in the sense that a systems analyst wants to be able to use accurate information for the requirements determination.

Retrieved from Session 2 Lecture Notes

Problem IV – (50 points)

Perfect Pizza wants to install a system to record orders for pizza and chicken wings. When regular customers call Perfect Pizza on the phone, they are asked their phone number. When the number is typed into a computer, the name, address, and last order date is automatically brought up on the screen. Once the order is taken, the total, including tax and delivery, is calculated. Then the order is given to the cook. A receipt is printed. Occasionally, special offers (coupons) are printed so the customer can get a discount. Drivers who make deliveries give customers a copy of the receipt and a coupon (if any). Weekly totals are kept for comparison with last year’s performance. A summary of business activities for taking an order at Perfect Pizza is as follows:

1. Draw a context-level data flow diagram for Perfect Pizza using the following items listed in #2. (process names, data stores, entities)

2. Explode the above context-level diagram by drawing the logical data flow diagram 0 showing all the major processes using the following items:

Process names:

(1) Find and display customer record

(2) Take customer order

(3) Send order to cook

(4) Print customer receipt

(5) Deliver customer order

(6) Print weekly totals

Data stores:

(1) Customer master

(2) Product file

(3) Coupons

(4) history

Entities:

(1) Customer

(2) Management

(3) Cook

Finds/Takes customer

order

Displays

record

Sends order to cook

Problem V: (50 points)

In the following proposed DFD design, there are some typical errors among external entities (E), processes (P) and data stores (DS).

Identify and explain any errors in the above design.

P3 has no output

DS1 should not directly connect to DS3

DS3 should not directly connect to E2.

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 214, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall

2. Propose any design modifications, if necessary.

P2 can connect to P3

DS1 can flow through P2

DS3 can flow through P3

Kendall, K.E. & Kendall, J.E (2014). Systems Analysis and Design, 9, 214, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall