CS507- Information Systems (MID Term Papers)
The departmental structures are _______ in banking and financial sector.
Different
Same
Mixed
Identical
Well structured problems are constrained problems with _________ solutions that engage the application of a limited number of rules and principles within well defined parameters.
Divergent
Convergent
Different
Disparate
The set of processes developed in an organization to create, gather, store, maintain and apply the firm’s knowledge is called ___________
Knowledge base
Development engine
Knowledge management
Inference engine
The practice of checking the impact of a change in the assumptions on the proposed solution is carried out in _______ analysis.
What-If
Goal Seek
Lexical
Business
CBIS helps in updating every change being triggered in less time and with more effort.
True False
There is a greater emphasis on models in case of ___________
KSS
DSS
MIS
TPS
The concept of incremental decision making is introduced by the ___________ model.
Rational Man
Garbage Can
Muddling through
Irrational Man
Which of the following is the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the Organization?
Organizational culture
Organizational Structure
Management Style
Decision Making Style
Sources of information are generally categorized as -------------------------
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Option a, b and c
Level of ___________ refers to the perfection in solution the model will achieve
Depletion
Optimization
Compression
Attenuation
NOTE: Level of optimization – the perfection in solution the model will achieve.
Every decision we take in daily life requires some sort of information about the alternatives available.
True False
Cheaper factor of production is a challenge for the survival of a company in:
Super market
Online market
Competitive market
A TPS wants every transaction to be processed in the same way regardless of:
User
Data
Information
In which of the following category information is presented in its original for, neither interpreted nor condensed nor evaluated by other writers.
Primary information
Primary information
Tertiary information
All of the above
Office automation system includes formal and informal electronic systems primarily concerned with the communication of information to and from persons both inside and outside the firm.
True False
------------- simply means a particular technique of directing one’s attention in learning, discovery or problem solving.
Robustness
Heuristic
DSS
EIS
Data warehouses are generally batch updated at the end of the day, week or some period
True False
Data mining can allow a firm tp develop.
DSS based on the web and specific marketing campaigns for different customer segments
Specific marketing campaigns for different customer segments
DSS based on the web
The systems development life cycle is a project management technique that divides complex projects into smaller, more easily managed segments or phases.
True False
Which of the following model combines the elements of the waterfall model with the philosophy of prototyping?
Prototyping
Iterative
Incremental
RAID
Which of the following is a method of software /information system development where the model is designed, implemented and tested incrementally until the product is finished.
Incremental model
Waterfall model
Iterative model
RAID
Using a decision support system involves an interactive analytical modeling process.
True False
_________ Information can be sought only from marketing information system
Sales
Purchase
Stock
Product
Which of the following is the cognitive process of selecting a course of action from among multiple alternatives?
Planning
Decision Making
CNC
MRP
A _________ decision making model is the most popular type of model and is based around a cognitive judgment of the pros and cons of various options.
Garbage Can
Irrational Man
Rational Man
Muddling through
The set of ________ being discharged set the tone and structure of that department.
Responsibilities
Rules
Laws
Processes
Which of the following subsystem gives a snapshot of statuses of various orders placed, at any given time?
Quality assurance subsystem
Order processing subsystem
Controlled processing subsystem
Concurrent processing subsystem
________ system simulates the judgment and behavior of a human or an organization.
Proficient
Expert
Knowledgeable
Open-loop
NOTE:
Expert system 
(Definition) An expert system is a computer program that simulates the judgment and behavior of a human or an organization that has expert knowledge and experience in a particular field. Typically, such a system contains a knowledge base containing accumulated experience and a set of rules for applying the knowledge base to each particular situation that is described to the program. Sophisticated expert systems can be enhanced with additions to the knowledge base or to the set of rules.
(Definition) An expert system is a computer program that simulates the judgment and behavior of a human or an organization that has expert knowledge and experience in a particular field. Typically, such a system contains a knowledge base containing accumulated experience and a set of rules for applying the knowledge base to each particular situation that is described to the program. Sophisticated expert systems can be enhanced with additions to the knowledge base or to the set of rules.Factors of ________are basic elements of reducing manufacturing cost
Production
Quality
Brand
Cost
Level of ________refers to the perfection in solution the model will achieve
Depletion
Optimization
Compression
Attenuation
________ models represent its entities with an abstraction of lines, symbols or shapes.
Narrative
Physical
Mathematical
Graphical
________ is the optimum quality of replenishment stock to order from a supplier.
DOQ
EOQ
EEQ
COQ
NOTE: Stands for economic order quantity
________ is any mathematical form aula or equation.
Narrative model
Graphical model
Mathematical model
Physical model
_______ is a model that which describe its entity with spoken or written words.
Narrative model
Graphical model
Mathematical model
Physical model
________ is a three-dimensional representation of its entity.
Narrative model
Graphical model
Mathematical model
Physical model
_____ is an abstraction of something, it represents some object or activity which is called ______
Model, entity
Entity, model
Entity, mold
Unit, model
An _______ representation that illustrates the components or relationships of a phenomenon is called a model
Concrete
Actual
Abstract
Tangible
Organizations can be distinguished on the basis of following criteria /criterias.
Organizational structure
Culture of the Organizations
Management Style and Decision Making Style
Option a, b and c
The combination of many _________ databases across an entire enterprise is known as data warehouse.
Similar
Different
Related
Interrelated
_________ models are three dimensional representation of an entity or object.
Narrative
Physical
Mathematical
Graphical
In _________ decision making models, decisions result from competition and bargaining among the organization’s interest groups and key leaders.
Rational Man
Garbage Can
Political
Muddling through
Quality maintenance is an issue which requires structured reporting.
True False
Information technology is being used to overcome the business issues like, Marketing, Brand of the product, Quality of the product, Cost control, Organizational internal and external issues
True False
It is to be noted that IS and MIS are same.
True False
A hierarchical organization is structured in a way such that every entity in the organization, except one, is subordinate to a single other entity.
True False
Medium size organizations usually have simple management structure than those of small organizations;
True False
High level of foreign trade has resulted in imports and exports which require inter linkage for smooth coordination
True False
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Long Questions
Marks: 1
Why does it need for Production subsystem to be linked with marketing system?
Solution:
Production subsystem needs to be linked with the marketing system so as to produce right amount of product.
“These are knowledge workers who facilitate the development of information systems and computer applications by bridging the communications gap that exists between non-technical system users, and System designers and developers.” Identify them.
Solution:
Systems Analyst
Give any example for Incremental model.
Solution:
Incremental Models
In incremental models, software is built not written. Software is constructed step by step in the same way a building is constructed. The products is designed, implemented, integrated and tested as a series of incremental builds, where a build consists of code pieces from various modules interacting together to provide a specific functional capability and testable as a whole.
Identify what is CBIS?
Solution:
CBIS stands for Computer based Information System. It is an information system that uses computer & telecommunications technology to perform its proposed tasks. Information technology (IT) in CBIS becomes a subset (division) of the Information system.
On what factors need of information depends in any organization?
Solution:-
For this there are many factors:
v For organizations information is required in day to day decision making at all levels in businesses
v For performing operation in an effective and efficient manners
v To perform better communication among stakeholders to achieve organizational goals
What is infrastructure?
Solution:
Infrastructure:
Infrastructure is consisting set of interconnected structural elements, which provide the framework for supporting the entire structure. It usually applies only to structures that are artificial e.g. in economics, where it refers to physical infrastructure such as buildings and roads.
Define TQM?
Solution:
TQM stands for total quality management. TQM is a set of management and control activities which focus on product and services quality assurance before delivering it to customers.
What are the conglomerate organizations?
Solution:
Conglomerate or multinational organizations:
Cons of incremental modal
Solution: check
Benefits
• Working functionality is produced earlier – computation of value to cost ratio
• Reduces risks of change in user requirements
• Provides clients flexibility in decision making.
• Risk management is incremental
• Smaller scope for change in user requirements
Define primary data
Solution:
Primary data is a data which is collected first time by some one.
What are three dimensions of information?
Solution:
What is data?
Solution:
Data represents facts of any kind, and when data is processed it becomes information.
Marks: 2
Identify the purpose of Feasibility study.
Solution:
Differentiate CBIS from manual information systems.
Solution:
CBIS stands for Computer based Information System. CBIS is an Information System that uses computer & telecommunications technology to perform its intended tasks. In CBIS, Information technology (IT) becomes a subset of the Information system. While manual information systems the transformation was difficult to apply, since input of data into records was by itself the output which also included simple computations. Concept of control mechanism was weak in manual information system but it is stronger in computerized information systems. CBIS for its uses is far beyond manual information system.
Identify the Characteristics of the Incremental Model
Solution:
Characteristics of the Incremental Model
• The system development is broken into many mini development projects
• Partial systems are successively built to produce a final total system.
• Highest priority requirements tackled early on.
• Once an incremented portion is developed, requirements for that increment are frozen.
What aspects should be covered by design of information flow?
Solution:
Design of the information flow
It is a major step in the conceptual design. Following aspects should be covered
• Flow of data & information and transformation points
• The frequency and timing of flows
• The extent of formality in these flows – input forms, report formats.
Key area of feasibility
Solution:
Key areas of feasibility are:
- Technical Feasibility
- Operational Feasibility
- Economic feasibility
- Behavioral feasibility
Define AIS.
Solution:
AIS stand for accounting information system. It is linked to all the information systems in an organization.
Give any example that is basically a primary source but is also a secondary source too.
Solution:
- Dissertations or theses
- Newspaper articles
What do you understand by Information Value chain? Give any example.
Solution:
Information Value Chain
Raw information is transformed at various points and value is added before passing onwards. Every step of processing should make the information stored more valuable.
Example
When customer order received, data punched into computerized system, which updates order list, customer records and store room records. When order has been served, customer orders are filed into records.
Enlist the types of models used in DSS.
Solution:
Physical Models
Narrative Models
Graphic Models
Mathematical Models
Marks: 3
Designing file or database is a major component of system designing. Identify its basic purposes.
Solution:
The basic purpose of designing file or database is of Data integrity (in my opinion).
- Data accessibility is ensured to the user is ensured as and when required.
- Data consistency – data updates in master file will automatically update the data in the whole system.
- Data is efficiently processed & stored.
- Data integrity that is Correctness of data is ensured. This does not mean that incorrect amounts entered into the computer will be automatically corrected by because the computer only records what is entered but if there is an error in entering pre-defined parameters these would be corrected or thrown up as an error. Further, the data processed according to the predefined procedures every time around without any change unless an error has been caused to the program handling the data.
What do you understand by ESS?
Solution:
ESS stands for Executive Support Systems. ESS is basically use by for executive level (top level management) to make strategic decisions. ESS involves more of a war room style graphical interface that overlooks the entire enterprise or ESS uses more graphical interface for quick decision making.
What do you understand by ERD? Define briefly
Solution:
ERD stands for Entity Relationship Diagram. It is a diagrammatical tool used indicates simple relationships. These relationships may be between employee and departments. More ESS use to show the relations between various fields in files used to record specific data.
How the chief executive is elected in any organization and what are his responsibilities?
Solution: inprocess
The responsibilities of chief executive in an organization are providing vision and mission statement. Make management infrastructure, conceptual modeling for organization etc.
What system analyst does?
Solution:
System analyst is a person must who have a detailed knowledge of computers and systems design. It is more educated in computer field and it is his responsibility to design system according to organizational needs.
What are the information requirements for Management level in Accounting & financial Information Systems.
Solution:
The information requirements for management level in accounting and financial Information systemsare all related to book keeping, cash, stocks, bonds, assets, liabilities, capital, transactional reports from all departments of an organization, their expenses and revenues etc. They need all such information to calculate accurate costs, predict cash flow and net profit for organization.
Define internal environment and external environment of a system.
Solution: in process
Internal environment of an organization is all those factors which affect the organization and itself affected by the organization while external environment includes all those forces effect does not the short run activities of the organization but it influenced the long run activities or decisions.. Environmental scanning of an organization is done by its internal and external environment.
What is the need for Accounting Information System (AIS) to be linked to all the information systems in an organization?
Solution:
Accounting information system is linked to all the information systems in an organization. This is important because the data required for proper book keeping and generation of transactional reports is extracted from all over the organization. For instance sales information can be sought only from marketing information system and stock information is available in manufacturing information system.
The purpose of AIS is to accumulate data and provide decision makers (investors, creditors, and managers) with information to make decision.
Define Data Mart?
Solution:
Data warehouses can become enormous with hundreds of gigabytes of transactions. As a result,
Data mart is a subset of data warehouse. Data Mart is creayed because due to hundreds of gigabytes of transactions data warehouse becomes huge so it is often created for one department or product line. Data warehouse combines databases across an entire firm while Data Marts are usually smaller and focus on a particular subject or department or product line.
Marks: 5
What do you understand by system design and identify the steps it includes.
Solution: in process
Definition:
“A problem solving technique that re-assembles a system’s components back into a complete system. This may involve adding, changing deleting pieces relative to the original system” or alternatively as “the process or art of defining the hardware and software architecture, components, modules, interfaces, and data for a computer system to satisfy specified requirements.” It can be explained and presented in diagrammatic as well as in narrative form.
Steps in system design:
System design involves converting the informational, functional, and network requirements identified during the initiation and planning phases into unified design specifications. This includes
• Formulation of strategic requirements
• Organizational & job design
• Elicitation of detailed requirements
• Design of the information flow
• Design of database
• Design of user interface
• Physical design
• Design of hardware & software platform
The major components of system design are:
• Designing usable and complete input
• Designing well defined and usable output with flexibility to redefine presentation of outputs in any form.
• Designing file or database
• Designing user interface (input screen as it would be seen by the user)
Briefly discuss different phase or stages of Decision Making Process.
Solution:
Decision-making process or phases of decision making:
• Intelligence – searching for conditions in the environment that call for decisions
• Design – inventing, developing, and analyzing possible courses of action
• Choice – selecting a course of action from those available
• Implementation – implementing the selected course of action
• Monitoring – checking the consequences of the decision made after implementation
Briefly discuss typical activities included in Implementation Phase of Decision Making Process.
Solution:
Activities included in Implementation Phase of Decision Making Process are as under:
• Follow the implementation plan
• Deal with resistance to change and necessary approvals and authorizations
• Conduct training
• Transfer resources
At implementation stage approved policy is communicated to the interested and relevant: for example
o Conducting training sessions of sales department or issuing an office memorandum.
o Communicating and convincing customers of the new credit terms so as to avoid confusion.
o Once again MIS will be used to record and report the results/effects of the policy.
How will you classify Support System into categories?
Solution:
Support System is computerized systems that plan for other employees in the organization which are not middle or top level manager. Support System helps them complete their work efficiently and effectively. MIS is for IT department while DSS a category of support system is for middle managers.
Support systems can be classified into two categories
• Office automation systems
• Decision support systems
Identify the basic purpose of DFD and identify the steps of designing a DFD for any process?
Solution:
DFD stands for Data Flow Diagrams. "A data flow diagram is a graphical representation of the "flow" of data through an information system."
Purpose of data flow diagrams:
The purpose of data flow diagrams is to provide a linking bridge between users and systems developers.
Benefits of data flow diagrams:
Data flow diagrams facilitate users to understand how the system operates. DFD’s also help developers to better understand the system which helps in avoiding delays in proper designing, development, etc. of projects.
Steps of designing a DFD for any process
Entity represents sources of data receivedby the system or destinations of the data produced by the system.E.g.
Customers, suppliers, purchase department. If the entity is repeated in the DFD, the same symbol with the addition of a bar in the left hand corner is used and looks like.
Process represents an activity that transforms or manipulates the data (combines, reorders, converts, etc.) E.G
Calculate Gross Salary or Calculate Tax Deductions
Data Flow represents movement of data
Data Store Represents the permanent or temporarydata storage site. E.g. Employee Master File
If this storage site is repeated in the DFD, the same symbol with the addition of a bar in the left hand corner is used and looks like. Employee Master File
Culture of organization
Solution:
Every organizational have specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups with in an organization. Culture of an organization also controls the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization. Culture is set of basic assumptions that exist and grow with the organization. Employees have to understand their understand the culture
Organizational values are beliefs and ideas about what kinds of goals members of an organization should pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or standards of behavior organizational members should use to achieve these goals. From organizational values develop organizational norms, guidelines or expectations that prescribe appropriate kinds of behavior by employees in particular situations and control the behavior of organizational members towards one another.
What should be the basic characteristics of paper free environment?
Solution:
The basic characteristics of paper free environment or electronic document management are:
Quick fast processing
Maintenance of records in hard form (paper form) has always proven to be a cumbersome task.
Easy to update, modify and edit
Efficient ways to manage electronic document by an IS/CBIS should be
Customer orders can meet efficiently and effectively through Virtual Private Networks and intranets
Payments made through Electronic payment system.
By this report generation and record analysis gets convenient and easy.
Discuss the attributes on which Organizational Information Requirements depends
Solution:
There are several surveys indicate that a significant percentage of data warehouses fail to meet business objectives or are outright failures. One of the reasons for this is that requirement analysis is typically overlooked in real projects. Goal-oriented approach to requirement analysis for data warehouses based on the Tropos methodology. Two different perspectives are integrated for requirement analysis: organizational modeling, centered on stakeholders, and decisional modeling, focused on decision makers. Our approach can be employed within both a demand-driven and a mixed supply/demand driven design framework.
Also Functional security requirements of information systems can roughly be classified into two: computer security requirements and communications security requirements.
Challenges for developing notations for expressing these requirements are numerous, most importantly the difficulty of dealing with layers of abstraction, flexibility to adapt into many types of requirements, groupings of requirements, and requirement dependencies. Many frameworks for dealing with information security highlight the importance of a properly defined organization of security but fail to establish models to support the specification. This paper establishes one such model and demonstrates how the above difficulties can be overcome through extensive application of organizational modeling of information security.
Define evaluate alternatives, identify and resolve risks phase of spiral model.
Solution:
Risk analysis – it includes addressing any factors which may risk the successful completion of the entire project of IS development including alternative strategies and constraints
Prototyping
“Prototyping is the process of quickly putting together a working model in order to test various aspects of the design to gather early user feedback.” The working model made during this process is called “Prototype”. Prototyping is often treated as an integral part of the development process where it is believed to reduce project risk and cost.
Effect of Changes in Environment
Solution:
All elements that exist outside the boundary of the business (organization) and have the potential to affect all or part of the organization is known as business environment.
Environmental changes are very powerful as they can even change the entire system and way of doing business of organizations. The forces in the environment are, economic, social, technological, legal and ethical.
The effect of any change in environment like change in economic condition of country has direct impact on business. For example a rapid increase in inflation can reduce luxury goods demand. Any environmental factor like pollution by firm’s wastage can have direct affect of business.
Marks: 10
The difference between the manual and computerized environment arises due to the many reasons, discuss them in detail.
Solution:
The difference between the manual and computerized environment arises due to the following reasons, quite simply because of the different nature of the environments:
• Logical access control issues in computerized environment.
• Duplication of clerical work generally observed in a manual environment is eliminated in the computerized environment.
• Automatic generation of specified reports: In a computerized environment as opposed to manual data compilation.
• Data integrityis more fully secured in a computerized environment with addition or authorized changes in data being automatically updated for all purposes through a single button effort as opposed to making changes or updating in each register or record affected by the same in a manual environment.
• Drill down function to conduct analysis of recorded data is available in a computerized environment as opposed to undertaking a manual analysis of all data.
• Flexibility of presenting data in desired or different format including using specified data to be shown graphically is available in computerized environment.
• Data Security and confidentiality can be assured to a higher degree in a computerized environment.
How the changing needs impact on the change of information?
Solution:
Changing Needs
When needs change, requirements for information change. Information needs of users are changing as a result of changes in the availability of information content in electronic form. Changing needs of the users determine the nature of the physical form in which information content is currently being made available for users’ access and use in electronic information environments.
Information needs:
• Each user has a different type of information need depending on what he's trying to find and why he's trying to find it. If we can determine the most common information needs a site's users have, we can select the few best architectural components to address those information needs.
• For example, if a user is designing a staff directory, we can assume that most users are searching for items they already have information about. The user already knows exactly what he's looking for, he has the terms necessary to articulate that need, and he knows that the staff directory exists and that it's the right place to look. This type of information need would be best served by employing a search system. So resources should be invested in developing and maintaining a comprehensive search system.
• Another example: the site's users are often new or infrequent visitors. And perhaps the site's content scope is changing frequently. So the information architecture probably should be very good at supporting orientation. If that's the case, invest in a table of contents or some other IA component that's effective at orienting users and communicating what content is contained in the site.
Discuss different phase of IT Planning for System development.
Solution:
Phases of IT planning
Although information technology plans are unique, the planning process and the underlying activities are similar.
• Orientation -- This start-up phase is required to establish the scope of the plan and the methodology and techniques to be applied
• Assessment -- Major steps in this phase are
• Confirm business direction and drivers;
• Review technology trends; outline future requirements;
• Inventory existing information systems; and
• Develop an assessment of what is needed.
• In the concluding step of this phase there should be a well-developed assessment of the current and future business needs,
• Strategic Plan -- This phase commences with developing the vision and desired future positioning of information technology within the organization.
• Tactical Plan -- The selected strategies are divided into a series of projects which are scheduled for implementation depending upon relative priorities and resource availability. The planning process is concluded by recommending a monitoring and control mechanism.
Discuss the purpose of Feasibility Study? Discuss key areas?
Solution:
Purpose of Feasibility Study
Key Areas of Feasibility
Following aspects/criteria can be covered in a feasibility study.
• Technical Feasibility – is the available technology sufficient to support the proposed project? Can the technology be acquired or developed?
• Response times – time between request and execution
• Volume of transactions which can processed within the given time
• Capacity to hold files or records of a certain size
• Number of users supported without execution
• Operational Feasibility – compliance and adjustability with the way organization works with attitude to change or chains of command.
• Can the input data be collected for the system?
• Is the output usable?
• Economic feasibility – Do the benefits of the system exceed the costs?
It should be the BEST OPTION among those under consideration for the same purpose.
• Behavioral feasibility– What impact will the system have on the user’s quality of working life?
• Reduction is job stress
• Job satisfaction
• Quality of output by employees
Spiral model
Solution:
Spiral Model:
SPIRAL is an iterative approach to system development. The spiral lifecycle model is a combination of the classic waterfall model and aspects of risk analysis. This model is very appropriate for large and complex Information Systems. The spiral model emphasizes the need to go back and reiterate (repeat or recall) earlier steps a number of times as the project progresses.
It's actually a series of short waterfall cycles, each producing an early prototype representing a part of the entire project. It is a circular view of the software lifecycle as opposed to the linear view of the waterfall approach. It can incorporate other models in its various developmental phases.
Four distinct phases of the spiral model software development approach:
- Determine objectives, alternatives, constraints
- Evaluate alternatives, identify and resolve risks (in it Risk analysis & Prototyping is done )
- Develop, verify next-level product
- Plan next phase
Characterized of a system
Define good and bad design of a system
Solution:
Characterized of a system are as under
The first characterize of a system is to support manager for his/her timely and effective decision making.
While designing the information system, output, in terms of suitable reports is essential to analyze, highlight and bring to attention situations that may require decision making. The top manager looks for value addition to his/her knowledge of business operation.
Good and bad design of a system
System Design (definition)
“A problem solving technique that re-assembles a system’s components back into a complete system. This may involve adding, changing deleting pieces relative to the original system” or alternatively as “the process or art of defining the hardware and software architecture, components, modules, interfaces, and data for a computer system to satisfy specified requirements.”
Good design of system is one in which key or preferred features and operations in detail are found. More good design should include screen layouts, business rules, process diagrams other documentation.
Other aspects of good design system are as under.
Good system fulfills user requirements because it is properly designed by designers
It has complete required input for management (user)
Good system is efficient as well as effective
It also detects problems in critical areas
Good system must have design of databases
By good design system helps management in reporting and system modification easy.
Bad design of a system is one which does not follow the good designed system requirement and is inefficient and ineffective.
