46) Transaction and clerical systems that displace labor and save space typically produce more
measurable, tangible benefits than management information systems.
47) Intangible benefits generally do not lead to quantifiable gains in the long run.
48) A benefit of using TCO analysis to evaluate an information technology investment is that it
is able to incorporate intangible and “soft” factors such as benefits and complexity costs.
49) More timely information is a intangible benefit of information systems.
50) Real options pricing models use the concept of options valuation borrowed from the financial
industry.
51) ________ methods rely on measures of cash flows into and out of the firm.
52) In one strategic approach to determining information requirements, managers select a small
number of ________ that reflect firm success and profitability.
53) Differentiate between intangible and tangible benefits and list three examples of each. In
what types of systems are intangible benefits more predominant?
54) What is the purpose of using a real options pricing model to estimate the potential value of
an information systems project?
55) Which of the following projects is the riskiest?
A) a project that managers are concerned will affect their roles and job descriptions
B) a project that requires technical expertise that your firm’s IT employees do not have
C) a project that has a strict deadline, or sales will suffer
D) a project that will automate many clerical duties
E) a project that will displace employees
56) Which of the following statements best describes the effect that project structure has on
overall project risk?
A) Highly structured projects are more complex, and run a higher risk of programmers and users
misunderstanding the ultimate goals.
B) Projects with relatively undefined goals are more likely to be subjected to users changing
requirements and to run a higher risk of not satisfying project goals.
C) Highly structured projects tend to be larger, affecting more organizational units, and run both
the risk of out-of-control costs and becoming too difficult to control.
D) Less structured projects are more able to be quickly developed, tested, and implemented using
cutting-edge RAD and JAD development techniques, and pose less risk of running up unforeseen
costs.
E) the less structured a project, the greater the freedom of users to define the system
57) The project risk will rise if the project team and the IS staff lack
A) legacy applications as a starting point.
B) good equipment.
C) the required technical expertise.
D) financial studies and plans.
E) a committed management group of executive leaders.
58) The organizational activities working toward the adoption, management, and routinization of
a new information system are called
A) production.
B) maintenance.
C) implementation.
D) acceptance.
E) final acceptance.
59) One example of an implementation problem is
A) poor user interface.
B) inadequate user training.
C) project running over budget.
D) changes in job activities and responsibilities.
E) reduction in labor force.
60) According to your reading of the chapter, change management is a process that
A) should be addressed before a project is developed.
B) begins when a project is implemented.
C) is used primarily to mandate user acceptance.
D) must be addressed in all systems development.
E) is introduced after the system is developed.
61) Users prefer systems that
A) are oriented to facilitating organizational tasks and solving business problems.
B) work with existing DBMS.
C) are able to provide optimum hardware and software efficiency.
D) are capable of storing much more data than they need.
E) have an easy-to-learn interface.
62) Which of the following is not one of the activities of the systems analyst?
A) acting as a change agent
B) communication with users
C) mediating between competing interest groups
D) formulation of capital budgeting models
E) deciding which systems to develop
63) Which of the following types of projects is most likely to fail?
A) integration of a third-party automated payment system
B) replacement of middleware with Web services for legacy application integration
C) a business process redesign project that restructures workflow and responsibilities
D) redesigning a user interface to an online investment site
E) building a Web-based interface to an existing system
64) Which of the following is not a responsibility of effective change management?
A) integrating legacy systems
B) dealing with fear and anxiety about new systems
C) training users of the new system
D) enforcing user participation at all stages of system development
E) ensuring users are properly trained
65) Which of the following tools is not one you would use to control risk factors in an
information systems project?
A) internal integration tools
B) external integration tools
C) formal planning tools and formal control tools
D) real options pricing models
E) Gantt charts
66) Internal integration tools
A) enable a project to have sufficient technical support for project management and
development.
B) enable a project manager to properly document and monitor project plans.
C) portray a project as a network diagram with numbered nodes representing project tasks.
D) consist of ways to link the work of the implementation team with users at all organization
levels.
E) enable end users to communicate with system developers.
67) An example of using an internal integration tool would be to
A) define task dependencies.
B) include user representatives as active members of the project team.
C) create a PERT chart.
D) hold frequent project team meetings.
E) develop a system planning document for technical specialists.
68) Formal planning and control tools
A) enable a project to have sufficient technical support for project management and
development.
B) enable a project manager to properly document and monitor project plans.
C) portray a project as a network diagram with numbered nodes representing project tasks.
D) consist of ways to link the work of the implementation team with users at all organization
levels.
E) enable senior management to track the development of systems.
69) Which type of planning tool shows each task as a horizontal bar whose length is proportional
to the time required to complete it?
A) PERT chart
B) Gantt chart
C) both A and B
D) neither A nor B
70) To review a project’s tasks and their interrelationships, you would use a
A) PERT chart.
B) Gantt chart.
C) either A or B.
D) neither A nor B.
71) Which type of tool helps project managers identify bottlenecks in project development?
A) internal integration tools
B) external integration tools
C) formal planning and control tools
D) both B and C
72) External integration tools
A) enable a project to have sufficient technical support for project management and
development.
B) enable a project manager to properly document and monitor project plans.
C) portray a project as a network diagram with numbered nodes representing project tasks.
D) consist of ways to link the work of the implementation team with users at all organization
levels.
73) An example of using an external integration tool would be to
A) define task dependencies.
B) include user representatives as active members of the project team.
C) create a PERT chart.
D) hold frequent project team meetings.
74) Which of the following is not an organizational factor in systems planning and
implementation?
A) standards and performance monitoring
B) government regulatory compliance
C) health and safety
D) user interface
75) In sociotechnical design
A) separate sets of technical and social design solutions are developed and compared.
B) ergonomic features of a system and the system’s technical design are given equal importance.
C) systems analysts with proven backgrounds in sociological concerns rate and compare a
system’s social and technical aspects.
D) all of the above.
76) The most widely used project management software today is
A) Vertabase.
B) IBM Project Guide.
C) Microsoft Project.
D) Microsoft Excel.
77) The larger the systems project, the greater the chance that the project will be completed on
time, within budget, and according to project requirements.
78) The systems analyst is the catalyst for the entire change process and is responsible for
making sure that everyone involved accepts the changes created by a new system.
79) The relationship between users and information systems specialists has traditionally been a
problem area for information systems implementation efforts.
80) User concerns and designer concerns are usually the same at the beginning of the project but
may diverge later as the system is built.
81) A Gantt chart graphically depicts project tasks and their interrelationships.
82) Mandatory use of a system is one effective way of overcoming user resistance to an
information system.
83) Counterimplementation refers to a deliberate strategy to thwart the implementation of an
information system or an innovation in an organization.
84) The design of jobs, health issues, and the end-user interface of information systems are all
considerations in the field of ergonomics.
85) The goal of sociotechnical design is to create systems where the organization and the
technology change and adjust to one another.
86) Successful system building requires careful ________ management to minimize
organizational resistance.
87) A user-designer ________ occurs when there is a difference in background, interests and
priorities that impedes discussion and problem solving among users and IS specialists.
88) ________ is the interaction of people and machines in the work environment, including the
design of jobs, health issues, and the end-user interface of information systems.
89) You are the senior project manager for a Web development company with upwards of 100
current client projects. You have been assigned to evaluate two upcoming projects. One project
is to develop a time- tracking solution that would allow your 20 freelancers to submit daily time
sheets and would report on the time spent on each project. The other project is to redesign the
client interface to the company extranet to make it easier to use. The extranet allows clients to
log in and view their current Web sites under development, as well as view project statistics,
documents, and progress reports. Compare the two projects in terms of risk factors.
90) Americlinic, a national chain of budget health-care clinics, is creating an information system
that will allow patients and doctors at participating franchises to communicate online. The goal
of the system is to allow doctors to respond to minor health questions quickly and more
efficiently, saving patients unnecessary visits to the clinic. This will be a major procedural
change. What steps would you recommend to this company to ensure the user acceptance of the
system?