Exam 7: Moving on to Design

There are three methods to create a new system. They are _____.

Mariana, the IS manager, has just received a note from the accounting department stating that they wish a new purchasing system could be placed on the priority list. The chief accounting officer (CAO) has just learned that three of their competitors have new purchasing systems. Since purchasing has not been considered a key business function in the past, the CAO is concerned that his department lacks the functional expertise to implement a new purchasing system. She feels that purchasing is becoming a strategic necessity for the company and a new system should be in place by this time next year. The CAO has managed the automation of numerous accounting functions, such as the purchase of a combined general ledger with accounts receivable and accounts payable, the custom development of a just-in-time inventory control system, and the management of a financial projections and stock funds project that was contracted to an outside vendor. What would you recommend Mariana do? Include in your discussion the design strategy selection process and the important characteristics that apply to the strategy selected.

An advantage of custom development is that the organization can _____.

A(n) ______ matrix can be used to organize the pros and cons of the design alternatives so that the best solution will be chosen in the end.

Many project teams believe that packaged software is the best way to create a system because they have complete control over the way the system looks and functions, and they can be flexible and creative in the way they solve business problems.

Packaged software is preferred when the business need is common and time is a constraining factor?

The purpose of the design phase is to create a blueprint for the new system.

What is the purpose of an alternatives matrix? What is the typical content? How will this tool be used by a project team in the context of design strategy selection?

The following are all strengths of a packaged software design strategy EXCEPT _____.

A workaround is a custom-built add-on program that interfaces with the packaged application to handle special needs.

The design strategy that would be most logical to a firm with a very limited amount of in-house IS expertise is allow end-users to create the system.

The _____ layer addresses how the software will execute on specific computers and networks.

The _____ layer addresses the issues involving the persistence of the objects contained in the system.

What is the purpose of the different layers?

Explain how the "project management" factor influences the selection of a design strategy for a project.

Michelle would like the opportunity to increase the experience level of her IS staff by having them analyze and design a new web-based distribution system. The skills learned from this project may help with future strategic applications. Since the time period for the project is very flexible and this is a somewhat unique business need, Michelle has decided to use packaged software for this project.

Describe how to balance the functional and structural models.

Pirate Adventures, Inc., a company that owns and operates hotels in tropical locations, is interested in replacing the 15-year-old room reservation system in all of its hotels. Custom development would be the best design strategy.

Briefly describe the five different software layers.

It is much less efficient to buy packaged software that has already been created, tested, and proven than to build a system from scratch.