Managing Information Technology, 7e (Brown)
Chapter 8 Basic Systems Concepts and Tools
1) Which of the following is a type of control that is used to ensure the development of a high
quality, reliable information system?
A) methodology standards
B) system testing
C) system backup
D) all of the above
2) Why is it important for a system analyst to document formal as well as informal systems
within an organization?
A) informal systems are always less efficient.
B) the usage of an informal system by users means that the formal system is deficient in some
way and users have designed ways to work around it.
C) informal systems require natural language processing, but formal systems do not.
D) all of the above
3) Which of the following elements usually includes subcomponents to filter, translate, store, and
correct data that flows through it?
A) component
B) environment
C) storage
D) interface
4) Using a sales tracking system as an example, the customer orders and customer returns of
goods are examples of which type of system components?
A) outputs
B) inputs
C) storage
D) memory
5) Using a payroll system as an example, paychecks and W-2 forms are examples of which of the
following system elements?
A) outputs
B) inputs
C) storage
D) memory
6) In basic systems terminology, the process of breaking down a system into successive levels of
subsystems is called:
A) functional analysis.
B) factoring.
C) interfacing.
D) hierarchical decomposition.
7) A numerical digit based on the other digits within a numerical identifier is referred to as a:
A) ITIL rule.
B) check digit.
C) lottery number.
D) none of the above
8) Which of the following is an example of a goal of hierarchical decomposition?
A) to take advantage of the simplicity of a system
B) to analyze or change only part of the system
C) to design and build each subsystem at the same time
D) to increase the interdependence of the system components
9) Which of the following is not an example of a principal method for system decoupling?
A) slack resources to provide alternative paths
B) usage of standards
C) sharing data stores
D) benchmarking
10) A physical system description depicts ________ the system operaters, while a logical system
description depicts ________ the system does.
A) how; what
B) how; why
C) what; how
D) why; what
11) Which of the following system descriptions depicts the function and purpose (the what) of
the system without reference to, or implications for, the actual way in which the system will be
implemented?
A) functional system description
B) logical system description
C) physical system description
D) network system description
12) Which is a basic principle of business process reengineering (BPR) suggested by Hammer ?
A) integrating information processing into the work that produces the information
B) building reengineering efforts around legacy systems
C) developing parallel processes for redundancy
D) escalating decision-making up an organizational hierarchy
13) As defined in the textbook, the generic systems development life cycle consists of the
following three phases:
A) requirements, design, and implementation.
B) definition, construction, and implementation.
C) specifications, development, and installation.
D) feasibility analysis, testing, and maintenance.
14) Which of the following best describes the definition phase of the systems life cycle?
A) The system is functionally designed, and then its physical design is specified.
B) The new system is installed.
C) Business and systems professionals document systems needs and feasibility.
D) Data and procedures from the old system are converted.
15) Which of the following best describes the construction phase of the systems life cycle?
A) The system is functionally designed, and then its physical design is specified.
B) The new system is installed.
C) Business and systems professionals document systems needs and feasibility.
D) Data and procedures from the old system are converted.
16) Which of the following describes an early step in the implementation phase of the systems
life cycle?
A) The system is detailed functionally, and then its physical design is specified.
B) Programs and computer files are designed.
C) Operational feasibility is conducted.
D) Data and procedures from the old system are converted.
17) Procedural-oriented approaches to systems design first involve the:
A) Logical To-Be model.
B) As-Is model.
C) Physical To-Be model.
D) Want-To-Be model.
18) When a physical model of a system is depicted with a diagram, cylinders are used to
represent:
A) major modules.
B) databases.
C) data flows.
D) processes.
19) Which of the following technique is most closely associated with the Logical To-Be model?
A) work process flow diagram
B) context diagram
C) data flow diagram
D) swimming lane diagram
20) Which of the following is not graphically represented in a data flow diagram (DFD)?
A) sender
B) process
C) data flow
D) data store
21) When developing a logical data flow diagram, a circle indicates:
A) an element in the environment of the system that sends or receives data.
B) data in motion.
C) data at rest.
D) a process component.
22) When developing a logical data flow diagram, a rectangle (or open rectangle) indicates:
A) data at rest.
B) data in motion.
C) an element in the environment of the system that sends or receives data.
D) a process component.
23) The most common approach to defining data elements in a DFD is to create a(n):
A) data store.
B) data dictionary/directory.
C) process.
D) external entity.
24) All of the following are tools for representing the Logical To-Be model of an information
system except a(n):
A) program chart.
B) data dictionary.
C) entity-relationship diagram.
D) data flow diagram.
25) In the object-oriented (O-O) approach to software engineering, the term “encapsulation”
refers to:
A) sharing commonalities between classes of objects.
B) a relationship between a generalized object class and one or more specialized classes.
C) storing data and related operations together within objects.
D) the reusability of objects across a wide variety of applications.
26) Which of the following diagrams is not part of the Unified Modeling Language for O-O
modeling?
A) class diagram
B) context diagram
C) sequence diagram (to capture messages)
D) use Case diagram
27) Which of the following statements is not true about system testing controls in the
construction phase of the systems life cycle?
A) Each program is tested individually and in combination with other programs.
B) The results from processing typical and atypical inputs are examined.
C) Users are not involved in system testing.
D) Validation rules and calculations are checked.
28) What set of international guidelines includes an extensive set for implementation
management practices against which firms can benchmark their own practices?
A) CCM
B) COSO
C) ITIL
D) none of the above
29) Controls for the validity of data entered into an application program (such as ensuring that
only numbers are entered into a numeric field) are referred to as:
A) batch totals.
B) encryption rules.
C) access privileges.
D) edit rules.
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30) Security measures that are concerned with whether or not users can run an application, read a
file, or change data in a database, or can change who can access to data that others have created
are referred to as:
A) logical access controls.
B) physical access controls.
C) backup procedures.
D) audit trails.
31) One of the fundamental principles of systems analysis and design (SA&D) is that the logical
system should be described before the physical system.
32) System testing only occurs when systems are initially developed.
33) In general, the term “system” is defined as a set of interrelated components that must work
together to achieve some common purpose.