Essentials of Systems Analysis and Design, 6e (Valacich)
Chapter 5 Determining System Requirements
1) The two parts to systems analysis are determining requirements and structuring requirements.
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2) During requirements determination, information can be gathered from users of the current
system, forms, reports, and procedures.
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3) Information refinement means taking the system requirements you find during requirements
determination and ordering them into tables, diagrams, and other formats that make them easier
to translate into technical system specifications.
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4) Assuming anything is possible and eliminating the infeasible describes the reframing
characteristic that a systems analyst should exhibit during the requirements determination phase.
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5) Finding the best solution to a business problem or opportunity describes the attention to
details characteristic that a systems analyst should exhibit during the requirements determination
phase.
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6) Challenging yourself to look at the organization in new ways describes the impertinence
characteristic that a systems analyst should exhibit during the requirements determination phase.
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7) Meeting notes, procedure manuals, and consultant reports are specific deliverables that might
be obtained during the requirements determination process.
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8) Requirements creep is a term used to describe a project that has become bogged down in an
abundance of analysis work.
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9) Joint application design and prototyping can help keep the analysis effort at a minimum yet
still effective.
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10) Collection of information is at the core of systems analysis.
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11) Contrary to popular belief, interviewing is not one of the primary ways analysts gather
information about an information systems project.
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12) In order to promote more truthful responses, the general nature of the interview should not be
explained to the interviewee in advance.
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13) Neutrality is a guideline for effective interviewing.
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14) As a general guideline, you should prepare an agenda with approximate time limits for
different sections of the interview.
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15) Open-ended questions are usually used to probe for information when you cannot anticipate
all possible responses or when you do not know the precise question to ask.
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16) Open-ended questions can put interviewees at ease because they can respond in their own
words using their own structure.
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17) Open-ended questions put the interviewee at ease, are easily summarized, and save time.
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18) Closed-ended questions work well when the major answers to the questions are known.
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19) A major disadvantage of closed-ended questions is that useful information that does not quite
fit the defined answers may be overlooked as the respondent tries to make a choice instead of
providing his or her best answer.
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20) Multiple choice, rating, and ranking are types of closed-ended questions.
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21) You should use the interview process to set expectations about the new or replacement
system.
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22) Since observations are unbiased, they are preferable to other requirements determination
techniques.
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23) While being observed, employees may follow exact procedures more carefully than they
typically do.
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24) In documents you can find information about the values of the organization or individuals
who can help determine priorities for different capabilities desired by different users.
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25) In documents you can find information about special information processing circumstances
that occur irregularly.
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26) When performing observations, it is best to select typical people and sites as opposed to
atypical people and sites.
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27) As a systems analyst, it is part of your job to create a document for a missing work
procedure.
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28) If you encounter contradictory information about procedures from interviews, questionnaires,
or observations, you should reconcile the contradictions before proceeding to other analysis
tasks.
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29) Informal systems develop because of inadequacies of formal procedures, individual work
habits and preferences, and resistance to control.
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30) The most useful forms do not contain data.
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31) When gathering system requirements, document analysis and observation are used the least.
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32) When comparing observations and document analysis, the expense of observations is rated
moderate.
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33) When comparing observations and document analysis, the chances for follow-up and probing
with document analysis are rated high to excellent.
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34) When comparing observations and document analysis, the time required for document
analysis is rated as low to moderate.
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35) The primary purpose of using JAD in the analysis phase is to collect systems requirements
simultaneously from the key people involved with the system.
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36) A JAD is an inexpensive, popular requirements determination technique.
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37) Referencing a JAD session, the sponsor is the individual responsible for organizing and
running a JAD session.
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38) In general, JADs benefit greatly from computer support.
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39) The goal with using prototyping to support requirements determination is to build the
ultimate system from prototyping.
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40) The prototyping process usually includes formal documentation of system requirements.
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41) Rapid process redesign is the search for, and implementation of, radical change in business
processes to achieve breakthrough improvements in products and services.
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42) The idea behind BPR is to reorganize the complete flow of data in major sections of an
organization to eliminate unnecessary steps, achieve synergies among previously separate steps,
and become more responsive to future changes.
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43) A first step in any BPR effort is to understand what processes need to change.
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44) BPR efforts often result in the development of information system maintenance requests or
requests for system replacement.
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45) Key business processes are the structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a
specific output for a particular customer or market.
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46) Key business processes are customer focused.
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47) In terms of BPR, activities deemed important, changeable, and dysfunctional are primary
candidates for alteration.
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48) Disruptive technologies enable the breaking of long-held business rules that inhibit
organizations from making radical business changes.
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