Holiday+Homework+Questions

=REVISION ANSWERS FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS=

Systems Analysis

 * Q1. Our normal counting system in day-to-day thoughts is the decimal system. What counting system do computers use?**


 * Q2. Convert the following numbers from decimal to the system used by computers:**
 * 12, 67, 169**


 * Q3. Convert the following numbers from the system used by computers to the decimal system:**
 * 101, 110101001, 1100101**


 * Q4. What types of data would be entered into a database that held information about student results?**


 * Q5. What data types would be entered and saved in a database found in a video store?**


 * Q6. A pizza program designed to determine orders and bills for customers contains the following data types in the fields: number, date, currency, memo, Boolean. Indicate which fields you think would be useful or not useful, and then explain why you made that choice.**


 * Q7. Each company has organisational goals. Explain what they are. Why would a systems analyst be examining the organisational goals?**


 * //David Topping runs a sign-writing boutique called Glassware Writing, at//** **//45 Hoddle Street//** **//Abbotsford. He employs a friend to answer the phone and answer queries from customers walking into the office from the street. David has been in business for about six months and has not received much work from the shops and traders in the area. He creates fliers and advertising material by drawing on paper and then photocopying these to distribute around the local streets. It costs a bit of money to do this, and David doesn’t believe that he is getting value for money in return. He is excited about the growth potential for his business on the World Wide Web and in producing graphics, rollovers and logos for people and businesses to have on their web pages when advertising their goods and services.//**


 * //David has recently purchased a Pentium 850 computer with 256 Mbytes of RAM, colour laser printer, 56K modem and unlimited Internet connection with 3 gigabytes of server space for World Wide Web pages. David has had MS FrontPage, Claris Homepage and MS Office installed on his new computer.//**


 * //David, however, is in trouble. He has to pay his rent each month and he does not yet have enough work from which he can pay all of the bills. David has been a little bit lazy, and also has not yet developed a web site for his own business. He sees this as a last opportunity to save his business from closure.//**


 * Q8. Write out some organisational goals for David’s business.**


 * Q9. What system goals would David want in order for his business to survive?**


 * Q10. How will the use of David’s computer system and decisions with regards to his organisational goals help David to achieve his organisational goals? How will the efficiency and effectiveness of his business change?**
 * Q11. David commissions the company Werrick Mebster to undertake a feasibility study. What is this, and what is its intended purpose?**


 * Q12. Werrick Mebster would identify at least 3 major factors as being important in a feasibility study. List and briefly explain each of these three factors.**


 * Q13. David is interested in going ahead with the establishment of the new web page. How important is scheduling in terms of overseeing a project of this nature?**


 * Q14. As part of the feasibility study, Werrick Mebster also includes a cost benefit analysis for the new system. This analysis shows that David should not just rely on the Internet for sales. What is this ‘cost benefit’ analysis, and why is it important to heed its findings?**


 * Q15. A number of requirements need to be taken into account when (or if) the new system is commissioned to be built. Name five of them, and explain briefly your choices.**


 * //Up until now, David has stored the majority of his data about customers and their orders on a standalone Pentium 166 computer. It has little RAM (16 Mbytes) and a small 1.2 Gbyte hard drive. Before the new system can be built for David, a couple of things need to be taken into consideration.//**


 * Q16. What could the analysts do to find out how the current information about customers and products is stored?**


 * Q17. It is also important that the new program allows the office to be run efficiently. For this to occur, the analysts must know the procedures that are triggered when a customer rings up to place an order, or someone comes in off the street with a request, or David realises that he needs to order more stock. How can these existing procedures be documented?**


 * Q18. In an organisation, there are various levels of people that work within the business, from the CEO’s (general managers) to the second tier of middle level management, to the lower level of general workers such as the clerks, office workers, data entry operators, check out operators, and so on. For each group mentioned, detail the type of data they collect, how this data is stored and processed, who has access to this information, and what they do with the outputted information.**


 * Q19. What is the intent of context diagrams?**


 * Q20. There are four things that characterise most context diagrams – circles, rectangles, arrows and parallel lines. Explain what each of these symbols represent.

Q21. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Q22. How many warts could a warthog hog if a warthog could hog warts?**