Package Title: Testbank Questions
Course Title: IS 5e
Chapter Number: 13
Question Type: True/False
1. The application portfolio in an organization is a set of recommended applications resulting
from the planning and justification process in application development.
2. The IT infrastructure delineates the way an organization’s information resources should be
used to accomplish its mission.
3. IT architecture focuses only on the technical aspects of information resources.
4. The IS operational plan is a set of projects that will be executed by the IS department and by
functional area managers.
5. Costs are harder to quantify than benefits.
6. The return on investment (ROI) method of cost-benefit analysis measures the effectiveness
of management in generating profits with its available assets.
7. The buy option is particularly attractive if the software vendor allows the company to modify
the package to meet its needs.
8. Insourcing application development is usually less time consuming and less expensive than
buying or leasing.
9. Software rental is a method of delivering software in which a vendor hosts the applications
and customers use them over a network, typically the Internet.
10. Open-source applications are basically the same as a proprietary application except for
licensing, payment, and support.
11. The earlier in the development process that errors are detected, the less expensive they are
to correct.
12. The SDLC is relatively inflexible.
13. The SDLC encourages changes to user requirements once they have been established.
14. Technical feasibility determines if the project is an acceptable financial risk and if the
organization can afford the expense and time needed to complete the project.
15. Systems analysis describes how a system will solve the business problem, and systems
design describes what the system must do to accomplish the task.
16. Adding functions after a project has been initiated is called scope creep.
17. In a direct conversion, the new system is turned on, and the old system is turned off at a
later time.
18. Pilot conversion is the process in which the new system is introduced in one part of the
organization.
19. Systems maintenance includes debugging and updating a system.
20. Maintenance ends when the new system is implemented and has run long enough for a
systems audit.
21. Prototyping allows the users to clarify their information requirements as they use the
prototype.
22. Joint application design is used to collect user requirements.
23. With agile development, a company develops only what it needs right now to be successful.
24. A key principle of the scrum approach for agile development is that users cannot change
their minds during a project.
25. Object-oriented development focuses on properties and operations.
26. Refer IT’s About Business 13.4 – Atlassian Helps Manage Large Software Projects: Making
too much information about the projects available to the software developers will confuse them
and slow down the development time.
Question Type: Multiple Choice
27. The information systems planning process proceeds in which order?
A. Organization mission – organization strategic plan – IS strategic plan – new IT architecture
B. Organization mission – IS strategic plan – organization strategic plan – IS operational plan
C. Organization strategic plan – organization mission – IS strategic plan – new IT architecture
D. IT architecture – IS strategic plan – organization strategic plan – organization mission
E. IS development projects – IS operational plan – new IT architecture – organization mission
28. Which of the following is not a part of the typical IS operational plan?
A. The mission of the IS function
B. The organizational mission
C. The IT architecture
D. The application portfolio
E. The IS function’s estimate of its goals
29. Evaluating the benefits of IT projects is more complex than evaluating their costs for all of
the following reasons except:
A. Benefits are harder than costs to quantify.
B. Benefits tend to be more tangible than costs.
C. IT can be used for several different purposes.
D. The probability of obtaining a return from an IT investment is based on the probability of
implementation success.
E. The proposed system may be “cutting edge.”
30. A company’s IT application portfolio is
A. A list of existing application the company owns.
B. A list of applications that need to be updated.
C. A list of applications that need to be removed.
D. A list of applications that need to be replaced.
E. A list of application to be added or modified.
31. A company’s IT architecture includes all of the following except:
A. Hardware and software
B. Networks
C. Database management systems
D. The members of the IT staff
E. How IT decisions will be made
32. Which of the following statements about determining the costs and benefits of IT
investments is false?
A. Some costs are fixed.
B. Costs do not end when the system is installed.
C. Many IT projects end up being over budget.
D. Benefits are hard to quantify because implementing new technology could be used for
multiple purposes.
E. Benefits are hard to quantify because they are tangible.
33. Which of the following is not an advantage of the buy option for acquiring IS applications?
A. Few types of off-the–shelf software are available, thus limiting confusion.
B. The software can be tried out.
C. The buy option saves time.
D. The company will know what it is getting.
E. All of the above
34. Which of the following are disadvantages of the buy option for acquiring IS applications?
A. The software may not exactly meet the company’s needs.
B. The software may be impossible to modify.
C. The company will not have control over software improvements.
D. The software may not integrate with existing systems.
E. All of the above
35. Which of the following systems acquisition methods saves the company’s time, enables the
company to select software that has been used for similar problems in other organizations, and
allows the company to try out the software?
A. Systems development life cycle
B. Prototyping
C. End-user development
D. Buy option
E. Object-oriented development
36. Which of the following systems acquisition methods can result in a company’s acquiring
software that is controlled by another company, may be difficult to enhance or modify, and may
not support the desired business processes?
A. Systems development life cycle
B. Prototyping
C. End-user development
D. Buy option
E. Component-based development
37. Which of the following systems acquisition methods requires staff to systematically go
through every step in the development process and has a lower probability of missing important
user requirements?
A. Systems development life cycle
B. Prototyping
C. End-user development
D. External acquisition
E. Object-oriented development
38. Which of the following systems acquisition methods is time consuming, costly, and may
produce excessive documentation?
A. Systems development life cycle
B. Prototyping
C. End-user development
D. External acquisition
E. Object-oriented development
39. _____ is a method of delivering software in which a vendor hosts the applications and
customers access these applications over the Internet.
A. Software-as-a-Service
B. Prototyping
C. Leasing the application
D. Service-oriented architecture
E. The buy option
40. Which of the following statements is false?
A. Companies that use Software-as-a-Service are running applications on the vendor’s
hardware.
B. Application service providers are similar to Software-as-a-Service providers.
C. Companies that purchase open-source software cannot modify it.
D. Outsourcing refers to acquiring IT applications from outside contractors.
E. Insourcing refers to building IT applications in-house.
41. Place the stages of the systems development life cycle in order:
A. Investigation – analysis – design – programming/testing – implementation –
operation/maintenance
B. Investigation – design – analysis – programming/testing – implementation –
operation/maintenance
C. Analysis – design – investigation – operation/maintenance – programming/testing –
implementation
D. Investigation – analysis – design – programming/testing – operation/maintenance –
implementation
E. Investigation – implementation – analysis – programming/testing – design –
operation/maintenance
42. The _____ that changes are made in the systems development life cycle, the _____
expensive these changes become.
A. Sooner, less
B. Later, less
C. More frequently, more
D. More extensively, more
E. Sooner, more
43. _____ feasibility determines if the project is an acceptable financial risk and if the
organization can afford the expense and time needed to complete the project.
A. Technical
B. Economic
C. Organizational
D. Behavioral
E. Time
44. _____ feasibility addresses the human issues of an information systems project.
A. Technical
B. Economic
C. Organizational
D. Behavioral
E. Time
45. _____ feasibility concerns a firm’s policies and politics, power structures, and business
relationships.
A. Technical
B. Economic
C. Organizational
D. Behavioral
E. Time
46. Which of the following is not a part of systems analysis?
A. Defining the business problem
B. Identifying the causes of, and solutions to, the business problem
C. Identifying the information requirements that the solution must satisfy
D. Identifying the technical specifications of the solution
E. Gathering information about the existing system
47. In the traditional systems development life cycle, users:
A. Are important and ongoing members of the development team throughout the life of the
project.
B. Are important only in the testing phases of the project.
C. Have no input.
D. Are important only in the maintenance phase of the project.
E. Provide information requirements.
48. The deliverable of the systems design stage is:
A. User requirements.
B. Technical system specifications.
C. The prototype.
D. The source code.
E. A working application.
49. Systems design answers the question, _____:
A. How will the information system resolve the business problem?
B. How much will the information system cost?
C. What is the problem the information system must address?
D. Who will benefit from use of the information system being developed?
E. What is the effective operational life of the system?
50. When users ask for added functionality during a systems development project, this is called:
A. User-defined software.
B. Scope creep.
C. Bloatware.
D. An out–of-control project.
E. A runaway project.
51. Which of the following statements about scope creep is true?
A. Scope creep is relatively cheap, regardless of when it occurs in a project.
B. Because scope creep is relatively cheap, successful project managers allow it.
C. Because scope creep is expensive, successful project managers will not allow it.
D. Because scope creep is expensive, successful project managers limit it.
E. Scope creep means that user requirements are being successfully taken care of.
52. In the _____ stage of the systems development life cycle, the design specifications are
translated into computer code.
A. Systems analysis
B. Programming
C. Systems design
D. Prototyping
E. Feasibility study
53. ________ conversion is the riskiest type of conversion process.
A. Parallel
B. Direct
C. Pilot
D. Phased
E. They all have equal risk.
54. A firm shuts down its old COBOL legacy system and immediately starts up its new
PeopleSoft ERP system. This process is called __________ conversion.
A. Phased
B. Direct
C. Parallel
D. Pilot
E. Timely
55. A firm implements a new information system in one of its plants, assesses the new system’s
performance, and then implements the new system in its other plants. This is an example of
__________ conversion.
A. Phased
B. Direct
C. Parallel
D. Pilot
E. Timely
56. As systems age, maintenance costs _____.
A. Decrease
B. Increase
C. Remain the same
D. Are negligible
E. Are not considered
57. Which of the following systems acquisition methods helps clarify user requirements,
promotes genuine user participation, and may produce part of the final system?
A. Systems development life cycle
B. Prototyping
C. End-user development
D. External acquisition
E. Component-based development
58. Which of the following systems acquisition methods may encourage inadequate problem
analysis, is not practical with large numbers of users, and may result in a company’s purchasing
a lower-quality system?
A. Systems development life cycle
B. Prototyping
C. End-user development
D. External acquisition
E. Component-based development
59. When systems are created rapidly, without a formal development methodology:
A. End users can take over the work of MIS analysts.
B. The organization quickly outgrows the new system.
C. Hardware, software, and quality standards are less important.
D. Testing and documentation may be inadequate.
E. The organization saves money.
60. As an MIS analyst, you have decided to use a prototyping methodology for a small, Web–
based design project. What is the order of steps that you will follow in the project?
A. Develop the prototype; use the prototype; revise and enhance the prototype.
B. Identify user requirements; develop the prototype; use the prototype; revise and enhance the
prototype.
C. Develop the prototype; identify user requirements; use the prototype; revise and enhance the
prototype.
D. Identify user requirements; develop solutions; select the best prototype; implement the
prototype.
E. Identify user requirements; develop the prototype; revise and enhance the prototype.
61. The _____ approach to systems development is a group-based tool for collecting user
requirements.
A. Integrated computer-assisted software engineering
B. Joint application design
C. Rapid application development
D. Prototyping
E. Systems development life cycle
62. Which of the following is not an advantage of the joint application design approach to
systems development?
A. It involves fewer users in the development process.
B. It saves time.
C. It results in greater user acceptance of the new system.
D. It can produce a higher-quality system.
E. It provides for greater user participation in the definition of the requirements.
63. Agile development
A. Takes a long time.
B. Requires little user input.
C. Delivers functionality in rapid interactions.
D. Focuses on all required functionality at each step of the way.
E. Uses the scrum approach to design the system.
64. _____ is a software development methodology that delivers functionality in rapid iterations,
usually measured in weeks.
A. Agile development
B. Prototyping
C. The systems development life cycle
D. Joint application development
E. Component-based development
65. Object-oriented development
A. Is similar to traditional development approaches.
B. Focuses on the original task to be handled.
C. Focuses on the processes that must be modeled to perform that task.
D. Focuses on data.
E. Identifies the subjects of the new system.
66. Which of the following systems acquisition methods may eventually require maintenance
assistance from the IT department, can produce inadequate documentation, and might result in
a company’s acquiring a system with inadequate interfaces to existing systems?
A. Systems development life cycle
B. Prototyping
C. End-user development
D. External acquisition
E. Component-based development
67. Refer to Opening Case – Tweak or Trash: Which of the following statements concerning
Accentures approach to rework their IT needs is not true?
A. Upgrading systems does not require the elimination of all existing systems
B. The most efficient option is to develop the new systems in-house
C. The initial costs of upgrading organization wide systems can be very high
D. Upgrading a large organization’s IT systems can take years
E. Continuous minor upgrades (or tweaking) to existing systems will ultimately hinder progress
68. Refer to IT’s About Business 13.1 — Anniston Orthopaedics and Greenway Medical
Technologies: Assuming that a contract can be reached and Anniston decides to install
Greenway’s software, which is the best implementation approach?
A. Pilot
B. Piecemeal
C. Direct
D. Parallel
E. Any one of the above will be fine.
69. Refer to IT’s About Business 13.2 – A Disastrous Development Project: Marin County hired
Deloitte Consulting to work with them on the implementation of the new SAP system. This
arrangement is called ____________.
A. Insourcing
B. Outsourcing
C. Offshoring
D. Hiring part-time employees
E. SaaS
70. Refer IT’s About Business 13.3 – General Motors Insources Its Information Technology
Function: Based on reading the case, GM’s decision to switch from outsourcing to in-house
development was motivated by which of the following factors?
A. Outsourcing is more expensive than in-sourcing
B. They wanted to retrain existing employees to develop software
C. They wanted shorted lead times
D. They did not want their strategy to be known by outsiders
E. Government incentives to use American developers
71. Refer to Closing Case – Putting It All Together: Which of the following statements is not true
about Chubb Insurance’s strategy
A. Considerable effort was made to explain the advantages of the unified architecture to
employees
B. The unified architecture reduced costs
C. The unified architecture is flexible and allows employees to use technologies of their choice
D. The unified architecture enables Chubb to make faster decisions
E. The unified architecture enables Chubb to reduce time to market
Question Type Essay
72. Differentiate between the IT strategic plan and the IS operational plan.
73. Contrast the tangible and intangible benefits of a proposed information system.
74. Why is it so hard to justify an information system?
75. Describe the feasibility study of the SDLC, and discuss why this study is so important.
76. What are the outputs from each of the six steps in the SDLC?
77. Contrast agile development and the SDLC.
78. Contrast component-based development and the SDLC.
79. Compare and contrast the various strategies for acquiring IT applications.
80. Compare and contrast rapid application development and joint application design.
Question Type: Multiple Choice
81. Jennifer is the owner of a start-up boutique that specializes in hard–to-find dress sizes for
women. She has been keeping her financial books by using Excel and by hand. She thinks it’s
time to buy an accounting package. What question does she need to answer first?
A. How will the accounting package resolve my business problem?
B. How much will the accounting package cost?
C. What is the problem the accounting package must address?
D. Who will benefit from the use of the accounting package?
E. What is the effective operational life of the accounting package?
82. Jennifer is the owner of a start-up boutique that specializes in hard–to-find dress sizes for
women. She has been keeping her financial books by using Excel and by hand. She researched
available accounting packages for a business like hers and has decided on Boutique
Accounting. What is the best way for Jennifer to implement Boutique Accounting?
A. Pilot
B. Piecemeal
C. Direct
D. Parallel
E. Any one of the above will be fine.
83. Anna works in the sales organization of a mid-size company. The company is evaluating
whether it should replace its existing sales support system. At what stage of the SDLC should
Anna expect to participate?
A. Systems analysis
B. Programming
C. Systems design
D. Prototyping
E. Feasibility study
84. Ryan works for a small consulting company. They want to do a better job of tracking their
clients and the jobs they have bid on and either won or lost. There are no processes in place
right now, and all users (consultants and managers) have different ideas. What is the best
systems development approach for Ryan’s company?
A. SDLC
B. Prototyping
C. JAD
D. Buy option
E. Object-oriented development
85. Anna works in the sales organization of a mid-size company. The company decided to
purchase Sales SME that is offered as a SaaS. What would you expect to see in a SLA with the
vendors?
A. Price of the software
B. Upgrade prices for the software
C. Whether the software can be changed by Anna’s company
D. Availability guarantees
E. Bug reporting process