Sample Final Exam - Answer Key - Business System Development | MIS 374 | Exams Introduction to Business Management

MIS 374 System Development Name ________Sample Answer________

Sample Final Exam – Answer Key page 1

For each of the following questions complete your answer in the space provided. Do not use additional paper.

Complete sentences are not required, but clarity is. Please check to see that you have all 5 pages and 5

questions. When finished, fold the exam lengthwise and write your name on the outside.

Case Problem Background

The vice-president for Marketing of Stafford Plastics, Inc. has requested that the Information Services

division (ISD) develop a marketing analysis system to help with decisions about product development and

advertising. The current sales analysis system provides a wealth of information on the sales force and

customers in each region. The VP envisions a system that will allow the corporate and regional marketing

analysts to access this data plus external information about manufacturing areas that are heavy users of plastic

products. The 6 marketing analysts in the corporate office are very eager for this system to be developed; the 2

or 3 marketing analysts in each of the 16 regional offices are interested, but concerned that this will lead to too

much interference from corporate marketing executives.

The ISD director has assigned a project team to look into the costs and benefits of such a system. The

Team Members are:

Tom A.: MBA graduate who has worked in the Stafford marketing R&D group for three years: the

marketing analysis system request is actually an outgrowth of suggestions he made to his

boss, the R&D director.

Mo F.: Programmer-analyst responsible for maintaining the sales analysis system; has six years of

experience in ISD.

May H.: Programmer-analyst who has been with ISD six months.

Additional Information on the System and Stafford Plastics There are sixteen regional offices. Each has

its own sales force and some autonomy over product choices and sales goals. Tom wants a system flexible

enough to vary somewhat across regions.

The sales analysis system runs on Stafford’s intranet. The Visual Basic front end accesses a SQL Server

backend. The database has 15 tables; the system includes 25 forms and about 100 procedures including

interactive data entry, some query capability, and both weekly and monthly batch report runs. Mo guesses

(based on just a fifteen-minute talk last week with Tom about his idea) that software can be purchased for a

basic market analysis system, but a greater variety of report runs will be required so considerable customization

will be necessary.

1. (a) Assume that Stafford follows a purchase-and-customize strategy. What would your basic

installation approach be to put a marketing analysis system into production for all 16 regional

offices and headquarters?

Phased installation by geographic region or Pilot installation, then bring up other

regions one at a time. (for full credit “one at a time” must be clear -- e.g. say phase by regions)

(b) Explain and justify your choice in (a).

Need at least 3 reasons, or 2 reasons and an explanation of the chosen method.

Good reasons include: *Won’t interrupt all locations at once.

*complexity of installation is decreased.

*learning curve advantages in later installations.

*reduced risk and cost.

*able to customize for each region.

(20 points)

Sample Final Exam -- Answer Key, page 1

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MIS 374 System Development Name ________Sample Answer________ Sample Final Exam – Answer Key page 1 For each of the following questions complete your answer in the space provided. Do not use additional paper. Complete sentences are not required, but clarity is. Please check to see that you have all 5 pages and 5 questions. When finished, fold the exam lengthwise and write your name on the outside. Case Problem Background The vice-president for Marketing of Stafford Plastics, Inc. has requested that the Information Services division (ISD) develop a marketing analysis system to help with decisions about product development and advertising. The current sales analysis system provides a wealth of information on the sales force and customers in each region. The VP envisions a system that will allow the corporate and regional marketing analysts to access this data plus external information about manufacturing areas that are heavy users of plastic products. The 6 marketing analysts in the corporate office are very eager for this system to be developed; the 2 or 3 marketing analysts in each of the 16 regional offices are interested, but concerned that this will lead to too much interference from corporate marketing executives. The ISD director has assigned a project team to look into the costs and benefits of such a system. The Team Members are : Tom A.: MBA graduate who has worked in the Stafford marketing R&D group for three years: the marketing analysis system request is actually an outgrowth of suggestions he made to his boss, the R&D director. Mo F.: Programmer-analyst responsible for maintaining the sales analysis system; has six years of experience in ISD. May H.: Programmer-analyst who has been with ISD six months. Additional Information on the System and Stafford Plastics There are sixteen regional offices. Each has its own sales force and some autonomy over product choices and sales goals. Tom wants a system flexible enough to vary somewhat across regions. The sales analysis system runs on Stafford’s intranet. The Visual Basic front end accesses a SQL Server backend. The database has 15 tables; the system includes 25 forms and about 100 procedures including interactive data entry, some query capability, and both weekly and monthly batch report runs. Mo guesses (based on just a fifteen-minute talk last week with Tom about his idea) that software can be purchased for a basic market analysis system, but a greater variety of report runs will be required so considerable customization will be necessary.

(a) Assume that Stafford follows a purchase-and-customize strategy. What would your basic installation approach be to put a marketing analysis system into production for all 16 regional offices and headquarters? Phased installation by geographic region or Pilot installation, then bring up other regions one at a time. (for full credit “one at a time” must be clear -- e.g. say phase by regions) (b) Explain and justify your choice in (a). Need at least 3 reasons, or 2 reasons and an explanation of the chosen method. Good reasons include: *Won’t interrupt all locations at once. *complexity of installation is decreased. *learning curve advantages in later installations. *reduced risk and cost. *able to customize for each region. (20 points)

Sample Final Exam – Answer Key page 2

See Final Exam Notes page for more information on possible approaches to this question. Grading criteria ease of use: must include in 4 criteria; can be “simplify marketing analyst’s task” or ease of navigation or ease of writing queries 5 points ease of learning: must include in 4 criteria; marketing analysts will not use this system every day or maybe even every week so a certain amount of relearning is likely to occur for the 1st^ 10 to 20 uses over several months or a year 5 points analyst satisfaction/user satisfaction/user buy-in: must be included as the explanation for at least one of the criteria – e.g. ease of use, clarity, simplifying user’s task, ease of learning 5 points speed of response: should not be on the list of top 4 or should be ranked 3 or 4 (this is a low volume system with lots of thinking to do, so this is not important like it is for high volume data entry or other tasks with lots of data entry or retrieval for hours at a time) 5 points Other valid criteria: see list on Notes page for criteria or requirements not included above -------------------------------- Sample Answer -------------------------------------------------------------- Criteria 1: Ease of Use__________ Ranking among the 4 criteria you chose: 1 (1=most important; 4 = least important of your 4) Explanation of the importance of this criteria for the decision support add-on screens: Marketing analysts should be able to navigate through the data and create a wide variety of ____ ___ reports that cannot be predicted before hand due to ad hoc nature of this decision support system Criteria 2: ____Ease of Learning_____ Ranking among the 4 criteria you chose: 2 (1=most important; 4 = least important of your 4) Explanation of the importance of this criteria for the decision support add-on screens: ____ Marketing analysts will not use this system every day or maybe even every week so lots of __ __ instructions on the screens for relearning the system will be helpful for the 1st^ 10 to 20 uses _____ Criteria 3: ____Accuracy________ Ranking among the 4 criteria you chose: 3 (1=most important; 4 = least important of your 4) Explanation of the importance of this criteria for the decision support add-on screens: _____Since important business decisions will be made based on the reports the screens should be ___ ______designed so that the analysts can be sure they are selecting the right fields, time lines, etc. ____ Criteria 4: _____Speed of response Ranking among the 4 criteria you chose: 4 (1=most important; 4 = least important of your 4) Explanation of the importance of this criteria for the decision support add-on screens: _____The report screens will be used for analysis rather than high volume number crunching or ___ _____ data entry so quick response is not as important for the marketing analysts as other criteria

Sample Final Exam – Answer Key page 4

Assume that Stafford Plastics decided to hire a consulting firm to create a custom marketing analysis system that would (1) derive information from the current sales analysis system and external data and (2) allow Stafford marketing analysts to generate both a series of standard analysis reports and create their own reports. What are seven major deliveries that a consulting firm should leave with Stafford at the end of the engagement? (These deliveries are all items that should be created and left with Stafford at the END of the engagement, not a Delivery 1 report, Delivery 2 report etc. like the series of major deliveries you have had over the course of your client project.) Explain each delivery briefly, stating what the delivery is and why it is important for the consultants to provide this for Stafford. (30 points) Delivery 1 working software with well-documented code Explanation This is what will be put into production -- without it, Stafford would have no working, functional system Delivery 2 User Manual for Marketing Analysts Explanation Document that has information that nontechnical Marketing analysts need to know. It focuses on report procedures and incorporates quick reference guides and tutorials for analysts. Important because it teaches the analysts how to use the system Delivery 3 Operations Manual Explanation Important because it describes the start-up and end-of-day procedures for the system hardware and software. If the key people responsible for operations are absent another staff member can refer to this so Stafford can perform it’s daily operations. Delivery 4 Installation Manual Explanation Needed because these show how to install the hardware and software and how to configure the system for the current operating system & peripherals. Also, the main memory requirements are described. Needed for each of the 16 regions. Delivery 5 Systems Manual Explanation Needed so that the Developers who have to maintain the system will have a reference to go by, contains key information about the system like testing information ERD, code standards, etc, also serves as a reference for future systems development. Delivery 6 Training documentation and materials (tutorial software) Explanation Needed so that the employees can learn the system in the best efficient manner as developed by key users & the development team. Also tutorials can serve as a refresher for those needing it. Delivery 7 Post-Implementation Review (or Post-Mortem Report) Explanation After changeover, the team should deliver a report that summarizes the results of the project. This will alert the developers in ways in which future projects can be evaluated or which the current system in operation can be improved. Other correct answers : * test environment (can list different deliveries for this, e.g. test data, test results)
- development environment (e.g. change log) *user manuals for other users

Sample Final Exam - Answer Key - Business System Development | MIS 374, Exams of Introduction to Business Management

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