AIS Test Bank Ch 20

1) A system change that results in an improved product or service and helps lower costs provided a(n)
A) competitive advantage.
B) improved business process.
C) productivity gain.
D) technological change.
Answer: A

2) An antiquated information system used by an office supply manufacturer caused customer

dissatisfaction since it took two days to process a telephone order. After the system was upgraded and
redesigned, the time to process a telephone order was reduced to three minutes. This is a prime
example of
A) a competitive advantage.
B) a technological change.
C) an improved business process.
D) growth.
Answer: C

3) What is the correct sequence of the phases in the systems development life cycle?
A) conceptual design, physical design, system analysis, implementation and conversion, and operations
and maintenance
B) conceptual design, system analysis, physical design, implementation and conversion
C) system analysis, conceptual design, physical design, implementation and conversion, and operations
and maintenance
D) system analysis, physical design, conceptual design, and operations and maintenance
Answer: C

4) In which phase of the systems development life cycle are the broad needs of the users converted into
detailed specifics that are coded and tested?
A) conceptual design
B) implementation and conversion
C) physical design
D) systems analysis
Answer: C

5) The purpose of systems analysis is to

A) identify the problem to be solved by the new (or redesigned) system and the causes of the problem in
the current system.
B) determine design specifications for the new (or redesigned) system.
C) communicate information needs to consider during business process reengineering.
D) discover any violations of policies established by the information systems steering committee.
Answer: A

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6) Which of the following statements about systems development is true?
A) Planning throughout the systems development life cycle promotes coordination between systems and
strategic plans.
B) Organizations should conduct systems development activities at least once every five years.
C) The systems development steps are critical for profit-oriented businesses, but are too expensive and
time consuming for most not-for-profit organizations.
D) Diligently following the steps and suggestions in the systems development life cycle ensures the final
system will meet user needs and be implemented at or below the budgeted cost.
Answer: A

7) Which of the following about planning for systems development is false?

A) Project plans are developed for each new system and each system modification, and together the
project plans comprise the master plan.
B) A project development plan includes an economic feasibility analysis and a schedule of activities.
C) The master plan identifies system goals, who will develop the system, and the resources that will be
needed.
D) The master plan includes details about organizational goals, existing systems and resources, projects
being conducted, and predictions of future needs and requirements.
Answer: A

8) Which of the following activities is performed during the systems development life cycle?
A) assessing the ongoing feasibility of the project
B) managing the behavioral reactions to change
C) planning
D) All of the above activities are performed during the life cycle.
Answer: D

9) Which group of individuals listed below can be the most effective in generating employee support and
encouraging the development and acceptance of an AIS project?
A) accountants
B) information systems steering committee
C) management
D) project development team
Answer: C

10) Who of the following is responsible for ensuring that the new system will meet the needs of users?
A) accountants
B) the information system steering committee
C) the project development team
D) the system analysts and programmers
Answer: D

11) Who is responsible for preparing the specifications that are used to create the programs?
A) management
B) programmers
C) systems analysts
D) the information systems steering committee
Answer: C

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12) One step in the systems development life cycle (SDLC) identifies and evaluates design alternatives
and to develop design specifications. This step is called
A) conceptual design.
B) implementation and conversion.
C) physical design.
D) systems analysis.
Answer: A

13) In which step of the SDLC do all of the elements of the system come together?
A) conceptual design
B) implementation and conversion
C) physical design
D) systems analysis
Answer: B

14) What is the role of the information systems steering committee?

A) It is a team of systems specialists, managers, accountants, and auditors that guides project
development.
B) Since AIS development spans functional and divisional boundaries, an executive-level group is
established to plan and oversee the IS function.
C) The group takes an active role in designing system controls and periodically monitoring and testing
the system to verify the controls are implemented and functioning properly.
D) None of the descriptions above are appropriate.
Answer: B

15) Which group of professionals is responsible for planning and monitoring a project to ensure timely
and cost-effective completion?
A) information systems steering committee
B) management
C) project development team
D) system analysts
Answer: C

16) All of the following are benefits of planning and managing systems development except
A) controlling costs.
B) ensuring that the system is consistent with the organization's goals.
C) guaranteeing use of the system.
D) helping keep the organization abreast of technological change.
Answer: C

17) In which plan within planning systems development is the prioritized list of projects contained?
A) project development plan
B) scheduled project plan
C) the master plan
D) all of the above
Answer: C

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18) What is the basic building block of information systems planning?
A) the master plan
B) the project development plan
C) systems analysis
D) adaptability
Answer: B

19) A planning horizon of at least ________ years is reasonable for any master plan; however, the plan
should be updated at least ________ each year.
A) 3; twice
B) 5; twice
C) 7; once
D) 5; once
Answer: A

20) ________ requires that all activities and the precedent and subsequent relationships among them be
identified.
A) CASE
B) The Gantt chart
C) The PERT diagram
D) The SDLC cycle
Answer: C
21) A network of arrows and nodes representing project activities that require an expenditure of time
and resources and the completion of initiation of activities, respectively, is called
A) a Gantt chart.
B) a PERT diagram.
C) a SDLC cycle.
D) CASE.
Answer: B

22) Which planning technique does not show the relationships among various activities?
A) Gantt chart
B) PERT
C) the critical path method
D) VAN
Answer: A

23) In which phase of the systems development life cycle is the feasibility study first performed?
A) conceptual design
B) implementation and conversion
C) physical design
D) system analysis
Answer: D

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25) Which of the following parts of a feasibility study is generally considered the most important and is
frequently re-analyzed?
A) economic feasibility
B) operational feasibility
C) scheduling feasibility
D) technical feasibility
Answer: A

29) There are several important aspects to be considered during a feasibility study. The aspect that asks
the question, "Can people use the system and will they use it?" is called
A) economic feasibility.
B) operational feasibility.
C) scheduling feasibility.
D) technical feasibility.
Answer: B

38) During what step in systems analysis is an examination made of each development activity to define
the problem to be solved?
A) information needs and systems requirements
B) the feasibility study
C) the initial investigation
D) the systems survey
Answer: C

39) When is a proposal to conduct a systems analysis prepared?

A) after a written request for systems development is prepared
B) after the development team completes the survey of the existing AIS
C) after the initial investigation of the project is approved
D) before the initial investigation
Answer: C

40) During which phase of systems analysis does modeling of the existing system occur?
A) information needs and system requirements
B) the feasibility study
C) the initial investigation
D) the systems survey
Answer: D

41) Which data gathering method is most helpful to deal with the question: "Why?"
A) interviews
B) observation by the analyst
C) questionnaires
D) system documentation
Answer: A

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42) Significant system changes were implemented two months ago. The changes were well-planned,
well-designed, thoroughly tested before and after conversion, and several employee training sessions
were conducted. Still, the changes haven't resulted in any productivity increases, cost savings, or process
improvements. Management is puzzled and needs to find out why the system isn't successful. The best
action for management to take is
A) conduct face-to-face interviews with managers, key personnel, and randomly selected employees
from each functional area impacted by the system changes in an attempt to discover why the changes
aren't effective.
B) make sure the system changes were well documented and review the documentation to see if
perhaps some important feature or process was overlooked during the design phase.
C) email a series of questions to all employees, asking for input about further changes that would bring
about the desired results.
D) advise employees that consultants will be conducting observation sessions over the next two weeks
to determine if employees have fully implemented changes and whether there is any evidence of
resistance to the changes.
Answer: A

43) Which method of data gathering is most likely to result in information that represents the personal
biases and opinions of the person giving the information?
A) a questionnaire
B) an interview
C) observation by the analyst
D) system documentation
Answer: B

44) When the information is brief and well defined, which is the best data-gathering approach to use?
A) a questionnaire
B) an interview
C) observation by the analyst
D) system documentation
Answer: A

45) Which is the best data-gathering approach to use when information must be obtained from many
different people?
A) a questionnaire
B) an interview
C) observation by the analyst
D) system documentation
Answer: A

46) The ________ method of gathering information helps to determine how a system actually works.
A) interview
B) observation
C) questionnaire
D) system documentation
Answer: B

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47) The ________ method of gathering information helps to determine how a system should work.
A) interview
B) observation
C) questionnaire
D) system documentation
Answer: D

48) What are the best strategies for determining system requirements?
A) analyze existing systems, ask users what they need, prototyping, and monitoring
B) ask users what they need, analyze existing systems, develop concept of new system, and prototyping
C) ask users what they need, analyze existing systems, examine existing system utilization, and
prototyping
D) ask users what they need, analyze existing systems, examine existing system utilization, and develop
concept of new system
Answer: C

49) When would a company go through a systems development life cycle?

A) only when major changes are needed
B) only when minor changes are needed
C) Usually a company only goes through one complete systems development life cycle, after which the
only phase that is repeated is the operations and maintenance phase.
D) whenever minor or major changes are needed
Answer: D

50) What report serves as a repository of data from which systems designers can draw information?
A) the executive steering committee report
B) the initial investigation report
C) the systems analysis report
D) the systems survey report
Answer: C

51) Which group is responsible for preparing a systems analysis report?

A) computer analysts
B) management
C) the project development team
D) the steering committee
Answer: C

52) In which systems analysis step do analysts conduct an extensive study of the present system to gain a
thorough understanding of how it works?
A) feasibility study
B) information needs and requirements
C) systems analysis report
D) systems survey
Answer: D

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53) The question of what the project should and should not accomplish is determined in what step of
systems analysis?
A) feasibility study
B) initial investigation
C) systems analysis report
D) systems survey
Answer: B

54) A Logical model used to gather information about an existing system

A) comes only after a physical model of the existing system is created.
B) describes how a system actually works, rather than how it should work.
C) illustrates how a system functions by describing the flow of documents and computer processes.
D) illustrates what is being done, regardless of how that flow is actually accomplished.
Answer: D

55) The system objective concerned that crucial information be produced first, and then less important
items as time permits is known as
A) flexibility.
B) reliability.
C) timeliness.
D) usefulness.
Answer: C

56) A prototype
A) is expensive to create and is therefore only created once user needs are well-defined.
B) is making an internal and external review of the system to be analyzed, noting that users may not use
the existing AIS as intended.
C) is typically created during the physical design phase of systems development.
D) can be used to help users identify and communicate their system needs.
Answer: D

58) A project development team at Midwest Construction was assigned the task of improving the
efficiency of the firm's accounting information system. As part of the ________ step in the systems
development life cycle, the team has determined that the objectives of the project can be accomplished
by installing a new computer system or by upgrading the existing system.
A) systems analysis
B) implementation and conversion
C) physical design
D) conceptual design
Answer: C

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59) A project development team at Midwest Construction was assigned the task of improving the
efficiency of the firm's accounting information system. As part of the ________ step in the systems
development life cycle, the team has initiated an end user training program in preparation for switching
over to the new system.
A) systems analysis
B) operations and maintenance
C) implementation and conversion
D) physical design
Answer: C

60) A project development team at Midwest Construction was assigned the task of improving the
efficiency of the firm's accounting information system. As part of the ________ step in the systems
development life cycle, the team defined the procedures to back up and secure system data.
A) operations and maintenance
B) implementation and conversion
C) physical design
D) conceptual design
Answer: C

74) The least time-consuming method of collecting data for use in a systems survey is
A) observation.
B) interviews.
C) questionnaires.
D) reviewing system documentation.
Answer: C

75) Which of the following is the most important and frequently analyzed aspect of a feasibility study?
A) Economic feasibility
B) Technical feasibility
C) Legal feasibility
D) Operational feasibility
Answer: A

76) Which of the following aspect of a feasibility study is concerned with meeting external reporting
requirements?
A) Technical feasibility
B) Legal feasibility
C) Scheduling feasibility
D) Operational feasibility
Answer: B

77) Which of the following aspect of a feasibility study is concerned with human resources?
A) Technical feasibility
B) Legal feasibility
C) Scheduling feasibility
D) Operational feasibility
Answer: D

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