Dennis,Wixom,RothSystemsAnalysisandDesign,8thEdition
Chapter1-13 7y
Chapter1:TheSystemsAnalystandInformation 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
SystemsDevelopment
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AnswertoYourTurn1-1:BeinganAnalyst 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
Student answers will vary, dependingon their preferences regardingbeing a: 1) systems
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analyst, 2) business analyst, 3) requirements analyst, 4) infrastructure analyst, or 5) change
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management analyst. Verify that the student has correctly associated the skills needed with
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the type of analyst for which they aspire and that the student has created a plan to acquire those
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skills. The roles and the names used to describe them may vary from organization to
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organization.
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AnswertoYourTurn1-2:ImplementingaSatelliteDataNetwork 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
While answers may vary, answers might include the following:
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1. A cost-benefit analysis, along with other financial processes (ROI, etc.) would
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certainly reveal that a just-in-time (JIT) inventory can reduce inventory costs and
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increase revenue. A standard communication line, encrypted or not, would not be
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able to handle the high bandwidth needed for data, voice and video transmissions.
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2. A competitor would be able to narrow the gap by adopting the JIT type of inventory
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management. Voice and video are not necessaryto keep the inventory up to date on a
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timely basis, data transmissions alone would work well.
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1-1
, Answer to Your Turn 1-3: Too Much Paper, Part 1 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
7y System Request 7y
Element Description
Sponsor Document Manager. 7y
Business Need 7y Increase efficiencyin storing, updating, and retrieving 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
information on employee injury claims. 7y 7y 7y 7y
Business Requirements 7y Automated system which allows for electronic 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
submission of reports via a secure web site. 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
Business Value 7y Reduceresponsetimeforemployeeinquiries, increase 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
effectiveness of storing, updating, and retrieving
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employeeinjuryclaims. Reducestoragecosts of paper files. 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
Special Issues 7y Must havesomeonewho understands how tocreateand 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
maintain a secure web site. Must have resources to migrate
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paper files to data storage. Must work within HIPAA
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guidelines to ensure that medical documents
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are treated according to regulations.
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AnswertoYourTurn1-4:TooMuchPaper,Part2 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
1. Issues arisingfrom digital signatures and electronic documents typicallyfocus on
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establishing validity for signatures and originators. As these issues can be overcome
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using certificates and encryption, they don‘t necessarily affect the project feasibility.
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However, they do need to be addressed.
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2. Answers will vary. The project champion, organizational management, and 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
perhaps most importantly a subset of the stakeholders must believe in and show
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support for the project. One solution would be to plan and provide for sufficient
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trainingthat demonstrates how their jobs might be easier to accomplish with the
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automated system.
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AnswertoConceptsinAction1-A:AnArrayofITFailures 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
Qantas provides for an ―ice-breaker‖ discussion topic for the first class. Perhaps group the
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students and have them discuss this company and then provide for class discussion about
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the importance of IT project success.
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AnswertoConceptsinAction1-B:BPIontheFarm 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
Efficiency gains are mentioned in this Concept in Action. What are the drawbacks to this
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scenario? Is it as easy as it seems? Issues such as Wi-Fi coverage on a farm, perhaps even
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cellular coverage can come into play as can weather, dust, and other issues inherent with a
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farming enterprise.
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1-2
, AnswertoConceptsinAction1-C:InterviewwithDonHallacy,President, 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
TechnologyServices,SprintCorporation 7y 7y 7y 7y
This is an opportune time to identifythe responsibilities of the differingroles that an analyst
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serves.
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7 y 7 y AnswertoConceptsinAction1-D:IntangibleValueatCarlsonHospitality 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
Carlson Hospitality can use the information from the survey to determine whether the one-
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point increase in market share revenue ($20 million per point) will offset costs associated
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with increasingthe level of services to high-qualitycustomers which would result in a 10%
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increase in customer satisfaction.
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AnswertoConceptsinAction1-E:ReturnonInvestment 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
1. One method for determining a return on investment is to complete a Cost-Benefit
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Analysis using the Present Value Method. Many of the costs for server virtualization
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areassociated with the initial construction: physical manipulation of the servers and
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software licensing. The ongoing costs of labor in updating and accessing tables would
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be relatively small. Using this type of analysis would allow the project sponsors to
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show how the benefits of the virtualization would be realized on a long term basis.
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2. Implementing a major change to a system should certainly include a systems analyst. 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
Systems analysts typicallyhave a broad view of the system, and would be able to
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ascertain how virtualizing the servers will affect the whole system.
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AnswerstoEndofChapterQuestions 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
1. List and describe the six general skills all project team members should have.
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[1] Technical skills (knowledge of how to employ technology in development system
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solutions). [2] Business skills (knowledge of how to apply IT to business problems to
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achieve a valuable solution). [3] Analytical skills (abilityto solve complex problems).
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[4] Interpersonal skills (oral and written communication skills with both technical and non-
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technical audiences). [5] Management skills (ability to manage others and cope with an
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uncertain environment). [6] Ethical skills (ability to deal with others honestly and
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ethically).
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2. What are the major roles on a project team? 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
1-3
, Business analyst – emphasis on the business issues addressed by the system: value of new
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system; identification of problems and opportunities; revision of business processes and
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policies.
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Systems analyst – emphasis on IS issues of the system: how IT can be used to support
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business processes; design of new business process and IS; and enforcement of IS
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standards.
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Infrastructure analyst – technical issues associated with integratingnew system 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
components to existing technical infrastructure.
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Requirements analyst – eliciting the requirements of the new system from all 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
stakeholders. Theyunderstand the business well, areexcellent communicators, and are
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highly skilled in obtaining system requirements.
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Change management analyst – emphasis on facilitatingorganizational adaptation to new
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system. Helping to identify and overcome resistance to change and assuring adequate
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training and documentation of new system.
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Project manager – ensuringthat progress is made on the project; time schedules and
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budgets are met; supervision of project team; and manage relations with project sponsor
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and users.
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3. Compare and contrast the role of a systems analyst, business analyst, and
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infrastructure analyst.
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These three roles emphasize different perspectives on the system. The business analyst
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represents the sponsor/users interests, while the systems analyst knows how to apply IS to
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support business needs. Together, the systems analyst and the business analyst can design
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a system that conforms to the IS standards while adding value to the business. The
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infrastructure analyst has more technical knowledge and provides the team with technical
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constraints, or identifies infrastructure changes that the new system will require.
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4. Compareand contrast the role of requirements analyst, change management analyst, and
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project manager.
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These three roles also emphasize different perspectives on the system. The requirements
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analyst focuses on eliciting the requirements from the system stakeholders. The change
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management analyst focuses on people and managing issues surroundingthe installation
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of the system. Theproject manager ensures that the project is completed on time and within
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budget and that the system delivers the expected value to the organization.
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5. Describe the major phases in the systems development life cycle (SDLC). 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y 7y
The planning phase focuses on determining if there is justification to build an information
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system and developing a plan to accomplish the development project. The analysis phase
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is focused on understandingthe existing situation and determining the needs and
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requirements expected from the new system. The design phase refines the system
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requirements (from analysis) and develops specifications for how the new
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1-4