EXAM #1 CIS 300 – SECTION A ADAMS
Fall Semester 2015
Student Name: ____Kerry Carter___
Total value of this exam is 100 points. The value of each question is shown in parenthesis. Please
answer each question with short sentences, short essay or completing the instructions.
1. This question is worth 15 points.
a. Can the project sponsor and the project champion be the same person? Explain
– Yes on smaller projects they might be, on larger projects you have more than one sponsor or more
than champion; or they might just be different people.
b. What calculations are used in economic feasibility?
– Return on investment; NPV – net present value of money; breaks-even Analysis; cost/
benefit analysis.
c. What is the difference between a systems analyst and a business analyst?
– A system analyst interface between the business side and the development/ technical site
while a business analyst focuses on the business side of the project.
d. One of the skills needed for a systems analyst is to be ethical. Why do you think that is
important?
– I think the reason that being ethical important is that the job requires you to be honest and
truthful when giving out information and planning systems.
e. What are the four phases of the SDLC and what is the major deliverable from each of the
phases?
– Planning – deliverables is the system request(also feasibility study and project plan )
– Analysis – deliverables is the system proposal
– Design – deliverables in the system specification (also alternative matrix)
– Implementation – deliverables is the installed system(including documentation, migration
plan and support plan)
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2. This question is worth 15 points.
a) What are the steps for writing a use case?
– Identify the person, groups or organizations served by your system.
– Brainstorm use case scenarios.
– Outline all steps and interactions.
– Identify the value of the system.
– Format your use case document.
– Finalize your use case document.
b) What are the most common ways to gather information for use cases?
– The requirements determination processes – and generally from interviews,
JAD sessions and observations.
c) Matt has identified 15 major steps in a use case. What should he do now?
– If I was in matt situation I would go back and redo the use case – to have each
step about the same size and to have (generally) no more than 9 major steps.
d) Vanessa is a manager in the department that has requested an updated system. Chad is the
systems analyst who has been working with Vanessa on the project. He interviewed her (and
others in her department); he developed a set of requirements for the project; he has created use
cases for the project. What might be Vanessa’s duty now that Chad has created the use cases?
– Vanessa should confirm the use cases by role-playing the cases – step-by-step –
like following a recipe – to make sure that the steps, inputs, outputs and
processes are correctly defined and are just like she does the process
e) Shaunti has trouble identifying (a) the primary actor and (b) the trigger for a use case. What
directions would you suggest to her?
– The primary actor is generally an external user that triggers the event to which
the system responds. Frequently this is a person external to the system (like a
customer or a patient), but could also be an organization or another information
system. Triggers are the event that causes the use case to begin – like a customer
placing an order, a shipping arriving at the loading dock (external triggers) or a
temporal trigger (generally something like a specific date / time – like the end-
of-the-month report is due).
3) Williams Specialty Company is a small printing and engraving 0rganization,Whcn Pat Williams,
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the owner, brought computers into the business office 8 years ago, the business was very small
and very simple. Pat was able to utilize an inexpensive PC—based accounting system to handle
the basic information processing needs of the firm. As time has gone on, however; the business
has grown and the work being performed has become significantly more complex. ‘l’he simple
accounting software still in use is no longer adequate to keep track of many of the company’s
sophisticated deals and arrangements with its customers. Pat has a staff of four people in the
business office who are familiar with the intricacies of the company’s record-keeping
requirements. Pat recently met with her staff to discuss her plan to hire an IS consulting firm to
evaluate their information system needs and recommend a strategy for upgrading their computer
system. The staff is excited about the prospect of a new system, since the current system causes
them much aggravation, No one on the staff has ever done anything like this before, however,
and they are a little wary of the consultants who will be conducting the project. Assume that you
are a systems analyst on the consulting team assigned to the Williams Specialty Co. engagement.
At your first meeting with the Williams staff, you want to be sure that they understand the work
that your team will be performing and how they will participate in that work, (20 points)
b. Explain, in clear, nontechnical terms, the goals of the analysis phase of the project.
– The goal of the analysis phase of the project is to find out who will use the
system, what the system will do, and when and where it will be used. During the
phase, the current system will be analyzed, tells any opportunities where
improvements can be made. After the analysis a concept for a new system will
be developed. They’re three steps in the analysis phase, the analysis strategy,
