This Document Contains Chapters 15 to 18 Chapter Extension 15 International MIS 1) Which of the following statements is true of the international business scenario? A) After the dot-com bust, optical fiber was extremely scarce and expensive. B) After the fall of the Soviet Union, the economies of Russia and Western Europe closed their markets to the world. C) With the popularity of the Internet, the economies of North America and Europe became less integrated. D) With the popularity of the Internet, the Chinese economy became more open to the world. Answer: D 2) How has the global economy changed the competitive environment? A) Suppliers are not required to reach a wide range of customers. B) Customers now have less access to information about substitutes. C) It has intensified rivalry by increasing product and vendor choices. D) It has made it easier for new market entrants in all fields to penetrate the market. Answer: C 3) In the current age, global economy changes competitive strategies because it ___________. A) enables unprecedented product differentiation B) makes communication between a company and its customer one-sided C) reduces the risk that a company has to bear D) eliminates the need for localizing products Answer: A 4) How does the global economy change value chains and business processes? A) World time differences enable global virtual companies to operate 24/7. B) Overseas outsourcing is no longer an attractive option. C) It makes it difficult for an international company to conduct sales and marketing efforts locally. D) It makes it mandatory for the manufacturing activities to be carried out from the home country. Answer: A 5) With the fall of the Soviet Union, the economies of Russia and Eastern Europe became alienated from the rest of the world market. Answer: False 6) The global economy has intensified rivalry by increasing product and vendor choices and by accelerating the flow of information about price, product, availability, and service. Answer: True 7) The size of the world economy, combined with the Internet, limits product differentiation. Answer: False 8) Due to information systems, any value chain activity can be performed from anywhere in the world. Answer: True 9) World time differences restrict global virtual companies from operating 24/7. Answer: False 10) How does the global economy change competitive strategy? Answer: The emerging global economy changes thinking about competitive strategies in two major ways. First, the sheer size and complexity of the global economy means that any organization that chooses a strategy allowing it to compete industry-wide is taking a very big risk. Competing in many different countries, with products localized to the language and culture of those countries, is an enormous and expensive task. The second major way today's world economy changes competitive strategies is that its size, combined with the Internet, enables unprecedented product differentiation. 11) The emergence of ___________ technologies has made it easier for companies all over the world to obtain the latest in server technology. A) international cloud B) big data C) data mining D) distributed database Answer: A 12) The process of making a computer program work in a second language is called ___________. A) differentiating B) stringing C) localizing D) optimizing Answer: C 13) Which of the following statements is true about the issues to be addressed when localizing a computer program? A) When translating a user interface for a program, the entire user interface, except the icons, will need to be changed. B) Programming techniques can be used to simplify and reduce the cost of localization. C) Forms and reports should be localized in a manner that does not necessitate redesigning an entire document. D) The help text should always be maintained in English. Answer: B 14) Which of the following statements is true of localizing? A) Translating documents is less expensive, but more time consuming than localizing computer programs. B) Localizing computer programs primarily involves translating documents from one language to another. C) Localization of computer programs should be planned from the beginning. D) Localizing computer programs is easier than translating documents. Answer: C 15) Which of the following is an issue related to global databases? A) Data transmission speeds are too slow to process data from a single geographic location. B) A single database increases data integrity problems. C) A single database is ideal for companies that use multiple languages. D) With a single database, it is not possible to have an integrated view of a customer or an organization's operations. Answer: A 16) ___________ database processing refers to the processing of a single database that resides in multiple locations. A) Clustered B) Distributed C) External D) Hypermedia Answer: B 17) If a distributed database contains copies of the same data, it is called a ___________ database. A) mirrored B) redundant C) replicated D) partitioned Answer: C 18) If a distributed database divides the database into nonoverlapping segments, it is called a(n) ___________ database. A) mirrored B) replicated C) independent D) partitioned Answer: D 19) Which of the following is an advantage of functional systems? A) They facilitate the integration of data across various business functions. B) Two order-processing functional systems located in two different countries need not accommodate language and culture differences in a single system. C) They ensure that organizations do not suffer from islands of automation. D) They solve the problems of data isolation by integrating data into a database that provides a comprehensive and organization-wide view. Answer: B 20) Which of the following statements is true of inherent processes? A) Creating an accurate as-is international process management model is inexpensive and easy. B) Determining the criteria to be used for evaluating the alternative international processes takes little time. C) Each software product assumes that the software will be used by people filling particular roles and performing their actions in a certain way. D) It is likely that international business processes will be developed more like intra-department business processes. Answer: C 21) The human components, such as procedures and people, are affected by language and culture. Answer: True 22) Information systems procedures, unlike business processes, need not reflect local cultural values and norms. Answer: False 23) To localize a computer program, all you need to do is hire a translator to convert it from one language to another. Answer: False 24) International companies that have a single database must declare a single language for the company. Answer: True 25) Cross-functional, integrated systems, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), add to the problems of data isolation. Answer: False 26) Differences in language, culture, norms, and expectations compound the difficulties of international process management. Answer: True 27) What are the issues that have to be addressed when localizing a computer program? Answer: The process of making a computer program work in a second language is called localizing. The following issues have to be addressed while localizing a computer program: a. The user interface, including menu bars and commands, has to be translated. b. The labels in forms, reports, and query prompts have to be translated and possibly redesigned. c. All documentation and help text have to be translated. d. All the diagrams and examples in the help text have to be redrawn and translated. e. All the error messages have to be translated. f. The text in all message boxes has to be translated. g. Sorting order for the different character sets has to be adjusted. h. Special problems in Asian character sets and in languages that read and write from right to left have to be fixed. 28) What are the problems of inherent processes? Answer: Each software product assumes that the software will be used by people filling particular roles and performing their actions in a certain way. ERP vendors justify this standardization by saying that their procedures are based on industry-wide best practices and that the organization will benefit by following these standard processes. This statement may be true, but some inherent processes may conflict with cultural norms. If they do, it becomes difficult for the management to convince the employees in such cultures to follow those inherent processes. Differences in language, culture, norms, and expectations compound the difficulties of international process management. Just creating an accurate as-is model is difficult and expensive in itself; developing alternative international processes and evaluating them becomes incredibly challenging. With cultural differences, it becomes difficult to determine what criteria should be used for evaluating the alternatives and also for performing the evaluation. 29) The phenomenon in which the variability in the size and timing of orders increases at each stage of the supply chain is known as the ___________ effect. A) Zeeman B) butterfly C) bullwhip D) Stroop Answer: C 30) Because of the ___________ effect, a dollar spent will contribute two or three dollars of activity to the economy. A) distribution B) bullwhip C) butterfly D) accelerator Answer: D 31) Information systems increase inventories. Answer: False 32) Information systems are used to reduce or eliminate the bullwhip effect, hence, saving costs. Answer: True 33) Information systems support just-in-time (JIT) inventory techniques. Answer: True 34) The accelerator effect can increase the demand for a product. Answer: True 35) How do global information systems affect supply chain profitability? Answer: Global information systems increase supply chain profitability. Supply chain performance is driven by four factors: facilities, inventories, transportation, and information. Every one of these drivers is positively affected by global information systems. Because of global information systems, facilities can be located anywhere in the world. Information systems reduce inventories and hence save costs. They can be used to reduce or eliminate the bullwhip effect. They also support just-in-time (JIT) inventory techniques worldwide. Information systems allow businesses to choose the delivery option that optimizes the value they generate. Finally, global information systems produce comprehensive, accurate, and timely information. 36) Operating information systems (IS) internationally can be problematic because of different physical environments. Answer: True 37) Which of the following is true of the challenges of international information systems (IS) management? A) Standardizing business processes is a good method to overcome the challenges posed by international IS management. B) Running hardware using the cloud in different countries poses a problem. C) The procedures for using a customer relationship management system remain the same irrespective of the country where it is used. D) The purpose and the scope of a system are determined in the requirement analysis stage of the software development life cycle. Answer: A 38) The purpose and scope of a system are determined in the systems definition stage of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Answer: True 39) In the context of combatting the challenges of international information systems (IS) management, defining a set of standard business processes requires conversion of the organization to different work processes. Answer: True 40) The development rate of international information systems varies among countries and cultures. Answer: True 41) What are the challenges of international information systems (IS) management? Answer: Managing a global information systems development project is difficult because of project size and complexity. Project integration is difficult because international development projects require the complex integration of results from distributed workgroups. Also, task dependencies can span teams working in different countries, increasing the difficulty of task management. Time management becomes difficult because teams in different cultures and countries work at different rates. Some cultures have a 35-hour work week, and some have a 60-hour work week. Some cultures expect 6-week vacations, and some expect 2 weeks. Some cultures thrive on efficiency of labor, and others thrive on considerate working relationships. Thus, there is no standard rate of development for an international project. In terms of cost, different countries and cultures pay vastly different labor rates. Using critical path analysis, managers may choose to move a task from one team to another. Doing so, however, may substantially increase costs. Thus, management may choose to accept a delay rather than move work to an available but more expensive team. The complex trade-offs that exist between time and cost become even more complex for international projects. Quality and human resources are also more complicated for international projects. Quality standards vary among countries. Thus, the integration of programs of varying quality results in an inconsistent system. Worker expectations vary among cultures and nations. Compensation, rewards, and worker conditions vary, and these differences can lead to misunderstandings, poor morale, and project delays. Because of these factors, effective team communication is exceedingly important for international projects, but because of language and culture differences and geographic separation, such communication is difficult. Effective communication is also more expensive. Finally, project procurement is complicated by the normal challenges of international commerce. Chapter Extension 16 Systems Development Project Management 1) Which of the following is a characteristic of large-scale systems development projects? A) short development intervals B) single development site C) avoidance of system localization D) 50-100 development team members Answer: D 2) Which of the following statements is true of large-scale systems development projects? A) They use simple computer programs to ensure consistency and speed in development. B) They use development teams of less than 20 members to reduce complexity. C) Their development involves the integration of services from several companies. D) Their development is carried out in a single site to ensure consistency. Answer: C 3) The development of large-scale systems can involve the integration of products and services from different companies. Answer: True 4) Large-scale systems development requires extended development intervals as long as 5 or 6 years. Answer: True 5) What are the characteristics of information systems (IS) in large-scale systems development projects? Answer: Information systems (IS) in large-scale systems development project have many features and functions. They require substantial computer resources and necessitate the creation of multifaceted, complicated computer programs. They process databases with hundreds of tables; dozens, possibly hundreds, of relationships; and terabytes of data. Such large-scale systems affect many business processes and support hundreds, possibly thousands, of concurrent users. Because of their size, such systems require a large development team, often composed of 50 to 100 or more business and systems analysts, programmers, PQA engineers, and managers. To add further complexity, large-scale systems are often simultaneously developed at multiple sites. A project might involve teams in the United States, India, China, and other countries. Additionally, the development of large-scale systems can involve integrating products and services from different companies. In these larger development projects, some companies provide licensed software; others provide particular expertise, such as database design; and others provide development labor. Large-scale systems are frequently localized for different languages. Finally, large-scale systems development requires extended development intervals, sometimes as long as 5 or 6 years. 6) Systems development projects require the balancing of three critical drivers: requirements, cost, and ___________. A) scope B) time C) performance D) value Answer: B 7) Increasing the cost of a project can reduce the time required to complete the project up to a certain point, beyond which, the time required would increase due to ___________. A) economies of scale B) diseconomies of scale C) economies of scope D) diseconomies of scope Answer: B 8) In the context of a systems development project, which of the following statements is true of the relationships between requirements, cost, and time? A) Increasing the time for the completion of a project always increases the cost of the project. B) Increasing the cost of a project will always reduce the time required to finish the project. C) Reducing the requirements in a project rarely affects the time required to finish the project. D) Reducing the number of requirements in a project reduces the overall cost of the project. Answer: D 9) A plan that stipulates the tasks to be accomplished in a project, the labor and other resources assigned to those tasks, and the schedule for completion of the project is called the ___________. A) baseline B) data model C) line of code D) scatter plot Answer: A 10) The time involved in a project can always be reduced by increasing cost. Answer: False 11) Larger projects with longer development intervals will find it easier to meet baseline requirements. Answer: False 12) What are the trade-offs in a systems development project's requirements, cost, and time? Answer: Systems development projects require the balancing of three critical drivers: requirements (scope), cost, and time. The requirements against the time and against the cost of a project can be traded off. If the requirements are reduced, a project would take less time to complete and the cost of the project will also decrease. The relationship between time and cost is more complicated. Normally, the time can be reduced by increasing cost, but only to a point, beyond which, the time to finish the project will actually increase due to diseconomies of scale. Thus, at some point, adding more people creates diseconomies of scale. In some projects, costs can be reduced by increasing time. However, this trade-off is not always true. By extending the project interval, one will need to pay labor and overhead for a longer period of time. Adding more time can, in this way, increase the cost of the project. 13) Which of the following is a technique that stipulates phases and processes for constructing information systems (IS) but does not address the management of large-scale projects? A) systems development life cycle B) rapid application development C) agile software development D) structured system analysis Answer: A 14) In the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide, the different stages in the life of a project are referred to as ___________. A) configuration controls B) knowledge areas C) process groups D) resource zones Answer: C 15) ___________ is the knowledge area that refers to the management of an entire project and the construction of the final product. A) Project integration B) Project management C) Procurement management D) Quality management Answer: A 16) ___________ is a knowledge area that concerns the methods, media, and schedules for exchanging information with the project's sponsors within a team and with others who have an interest in the progress of the project. A) Procurement management B) Communications management C) Quality management D) Project integration Answer: B 17) ___________ is a knowledge area that concerns contracts with outside vendors for services, materials, and outsourcing of functions. A) Communications management B) Quality management C) Project integration D) Procurement management Answer: D 18) The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide identifies those practices that are known to be effective for different situations and briefly describes their use. Answer: True 19) Knowledge areas of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide refer to the factors in a project that need to be managed throughout the life of the project. Answer: True 20) What is the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide for project management? Answer: Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide, compiled by the Project Management Institute (PMI), contains what many believe are the best project management processes, practices, and techniques. The document does not describe the details of each practice or technique but instead identifies those practices that are known to be effective for different situations and briefly describes their use. Versions of this document are denoted by the year in which they are published. As of 2013, the current version is "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide, Fifth Edition." PMBOK® Guide is organized according to a grid, which shows five process groups and nine knowledge areas. The process groups refer to different stages in the life of a project. The nine knowledge areas refer to factors to be managed throughout the life of the project. 21) Each task in a systems development project should culminate in one or more ___________. A) deliverables B) zones C) segments D) designs Answer: A 22) A(n) ___________ is a hierarchy of the tasks required to complete a project. A) scatter plot B) work breakdown structure C) encryption algorithm D) virtual model Answer: B 23) A ___________ defines the boundaries of a system in a work breakdown structure (WBS). A) trade-off B) code C) scope D) scale Answer: C 24) Which of the following tools shows the tasks, dates, and dependencies in a project? A) Gantt chart B) exception report C) push report D) DPlot Answer: A 25) A(n) ___________ is the sequence of activities that determine the earliest date by which a project can be completed. A) Gantt chart B) critical path C) encryption algorithm D) scatter plot Answer: B 26) Prototypes are examples of deliverables in a systems development project. Answer: True 27) The critical path is a hierarchy of the tasks required to complete a project. Answer: False 28) In case of task dependencies in a project, all tasks must begin and end at the same time. Answer: False 29) Baseline work breakdown structures can be used for monitoring a project. Answer: True 30) What is a critical path? How is a critical path analysis done? Answer: A critical path is a sequence of activities that determine the earliest date by which a project can be completed. The earliest date is the date determined by considering the longest path through the network of activities. Paying attention to task dependencies, a planner can compress tasks as much as possible. Those tasks that cannot be further compressed lie on the critical path. Microsoft Project and other project-planning applications can readily identify critical path tasks. Managers can use the critical path to perform critical path analysis. If a task is on the critical path, and if that task runs late, the project will be late. Hence, tasks on the critical path cannot be allowed to run late if the project is to be delivered on time. Additionally, tasks not on the critical path can run late to the point at which they would become part of the critical path. Hence, up to a point, resources can be taken from noncritical path tasks to shorten tasks on the critical path. Using critical path analysis, managers can move resources among tasks so as to compress the schedule. 31) Which of the following activities is the biggest challenge in planning systems development? A) creating B) scheduling C) analyzing D) testing Answer: B 32) Scheduling a large-scale project is more difficult than scheduling individual projects. Answer: True 33) One approach businesses take to address scheduling challenges in large-scale systems is avoiding the development of software in-house. Answer: True 34) A function point is a feature or function of a new program. Answer: True 35) The biggest challenge in planning large-scale systems development is scheduling. Describe the three approaches that organizations can take to address this challenge. Answer: The first approach that organizations can take to address the challenge of scheduling large-scale systems development projects is to avoid all major schedule risks by never developing software in-house. Instead, they can license software from vendors. However, if no suitable software exists, companies can take one of two remaining approaches. They can admit the impossibility of systems development scheduling and plan accordingly. They can abandon the systems development life cycle and decide to invest a certain level of resources into a project, manage it as best as they can, and take the schedule that produces results. The third approach is to attempt to schedule the development project in spite of all difficulties. Several different estimation techniques can be used. If the project is similar to a past project, the schedule data from that past project can be used for planning. When such similar past projects exist, this technique can produce quality schedule estimates. If there is no such past project, managers can estimate the number of lines of code that will need to be written. Then they can use industry or company averages to estimate the time required. Another technique is to estimate the function points in a program, use each function point to determine the number of lines of code, and use that number to estimate schedules. 36) The challenges of managing large-scale systems development projects arise from ___________. A) economies of scale B) economies of scope C) increase in configuration control D) lack of coordination Answer: D 37) ___________ refers to a set of management policies, practices, and tools that developers use to maintain control over a project's resources. A) Perceptual mapping B) Coordination control C) Critical path analysis D) Configuration control Answer: D 38) A well-managed project will never face problems of diseconomies of scale. Answer: False 39) A loss of control over a project's configuration is usually negligible and not so expensive to fix. Answer: False 40) The smaller and shorter a project, the greater the chance of disruption due to unanticipated events. Answer: False 41) What are the biggest challenges for managing a large-scale systems development project? Answer: The challenges of managing large-scale systems development projects arise from four different factors: coordination, diseconomies of scale, configuration control, and unexpected events. Large-scale projects are usually organized into a variety of development groups that work independently. Coordinating the work of these independent groups can be difficult, particularly if they reside in different geographic locations or different countries. An accurate and complete work breakdown structure (WBS) facilitates coordination, but no project ever proceeds exactly in accordance with the WBS. The coordination problem is increased because software is pure-thought stuff. Another problem is diseconomies of scale. Adding more people to a project increases coordination requirements. The number of possible interactions among team members rises exponentially with the number of team members. Ultimately, no matter how well managed a project is, diseconomies of scale will set in. Also, as the project proceeds, controlling the configuration of the work product becomes difficult. Problems can occur with designs, program code, database data, and other system components. Configuration control is vital here. The last major challenge to large-scale project management is unexpected events. The larger and longer a project lasts, the greater the chance of disruption due to an unanticipated event. 42) ___________ is the process by which users agree to one set of conditions, then add a bit more, then add a bit more, and so forth. A) Requirements creep B) Diseconomies of scale C) Configuration control D) Coordination Answer: A 43) Taking responsibility for requirements is the single most important task a user can perform for a large-scale development project. Answer: True 44) Requirements creep is the process by which a project manager reduces his or her responsibilities for requirements through miniscule rollbacks. Answer: False Chapter Extension 17 Agile Development 1) According to the systems development life cycle (SDLC), the progress from requirements to design to implementation is called the ___________ method. A) life cycle B) waterfall C) water cycle D) scrum Answer: B 2) Why is the systems development life cycle (SDLC) called the waterfall method? A) It does not return to a development phase that has been completed. B) It uses feedback from team members to schedule tasks. C) It delivers a working version of the product at frequent intervals. D) It can be used only for projects on information systems. Answer: A 3) The systems development life cycle (SDLC) gained popularity because it was stipulated that it would be used for all software development contracts by the U.S. Department of ___________. A) Defense B) Education C) Agriculture D) Commerce Answer: A 4) Which of the following statements indicates why the SDLC is falling out of favor? A) The system design is revised frequently. B) It allows the team members to establish the project schedule. C) It is risky, as no value is generated until the end of the project. D) Systems requirements do not change during a project. Answer: C 5) The nature of the systems development life cycle (SDLC) denies the fact that system requirements are fuzzy and always changing. Answer: True 6) According to the systems development life cycle (SDLC), the progress from requirements to implementation is nonlinear. Answer: False 7) The systems development life cycle (SDLC) gained popularity when the U.S. Department of Commerce stipulated that it would be used for all software development contracts. Answer: False 8) In software development, where requirements change periodically, the waterfall model works well. Answer: False 9) The waterfall model used by the systems development life cycle (SDLC) is suitable for building physical things, such as a runway. Answer: True 10) The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is falling out of favor because it is very risky. Answer: True 11) Why is the systems development life cycle (SDLC) losing credibility? Answer: The systems development life cycle (SDLC) process is falling out of favor in the systems development community, primarily for two reasons. First, the nature of the SDLC denies what every experienced developer knows is true: systems requirements are fuzzy and always changing. They change because they need to be corrected, or more is known, or users, once they see a part of the application, change their minds. Other reasons are that business needs change, or technology offers other possibilities. According to the SDLC, however, progress goes in a linear sequence from requirements to design to implementation. Sometimes this is called the waterfall method because the assumption is that once a phase is finished, it is not revisited. Requirements are done. Then design is taken up. Design is completed, and is followed by implementation. However, experience has shown that it just doesn't work that way. Another reason that the SDLC is falling out of favor is that it is very risky. The people for whom the system is being constructed cannot see what they have until the end. At that point, if something is wrong, all the money and time has already been spent. Furthermore, what if the project runs out of money or time before it is completed? The result is a form of management blackmail in which the developers ask for more money or time. If management declines, which it might because the time or money at that point is sunk, they are left not only with the loss but also with the unmet need that caused them to start the process in the first place. 12) The systems development life cycle (SDLC) generates values ___________. A) in the beginning B) after the design phase C) at frequent intervals D) at the very end Answer: D 13) Designing only the portions of the system that are needed to complete the current work being done is known as ___________ design. A) waterfall B) scrum C) just-in-time D) frequent Answer: C 14) Which of the following is an advantage of using agile techniques over the SDLC? A) In projects using agile techniques, customers test only the completed version of the product. B) Changes in systems requirements are incorporated toward the end of the project. C) System design is completed at the beginning of the project. D) A working version of the product is delivered frequently during the project. Answer: D 15) "Test as you go" is a principle of the SDLC. Answer: False 16) Extreme programming is one of the alternatives to the systems development life cycle (SDLC). Answer: True 17) Agile development methodologies welcome changes in requirements. Answer: True 18) The systems development life cycle (SDLC) processes are designed to frequently deliver a working version of a product. Answer: False 19) Unlike agile techniques, the systems development life cycle (SDLC) delivers benefits early and often. Answer: False 20) Agile development methodologies advocate the design of the complete system at the beginning. Answer: False 21) Agile development methodologies discourage interaction between developers and customers. Answer: False 22) Just-in-time design may lead to substantial revision of the work product produced previously in the project. Answer: True 23) According to agile development methodologies, testing never involves business customers. Answer: False 24) Agile development techniques assume that the development teams are unaware of their weaknesses. Answer: False 25) Agile development methodologies are applicable only to team projects on information systems. Answer: False 26) What are the principles of agile development methodologies? Answer: The following are the principles of agile development: ® go • Team knows best how it's doing/how to change • Can be used for applications, information systems, and business process development 27) Which of the following development methodologies is associated with the scrum process? A) agile development B) systems development life cycle C) V-Model D) rapid application development Answer: A 28) According to scrum essentials, the first step of each work period is to ___________. A) conduct team meets B) determine tasks to perform C) select requirements to consider D) deliver a working version Answer: C 29) In ___________, two members share the same computer and write a computer program together. A) imperative programming B) paired programming C) task parallelism D) parallel computing Answer: B 30) The ___________ is the only person on a scrum team who has the authority to add, delete, or change requirements and their priority. A) scrum master B) product owner C) database designer D) business analyst Answer: B 31) The function of a scrum master is to ___________. A) stop the misuse of meeting time B) change product requirements and their priority C) test programs on a regular basis D) develop the database design Answer: A 32) Scrum essentials encourage minimal documentation. Answer: True 33) In the scrum process, a stand-up is a 15-minute team meeting. Answer: True 34) In paired programming, two computers are used by the same programmer. Answer: False 35) Briefly outline the scrum essentials. Answer: The following are the scrum essentials: • Requirements list drives process • Each work period (1 to 4−8 weeks): Select requirements to consider Determine tasks to perform–select requirements to deliver Team meets daily for 15 min (stand-up) • What I did yesterday • What I'm going to do today • What's blocking me Test frequently Paired work possible Minimal documentation Deliver (something) that works Evaluate team's work process at end of period (and say thanks) • Rinse and repeat until: Customer says we're done Out of time Out of money • Three principal roles: Product Owner (business professional) Scrum Master Team Members (7 ± 2 people) 36) According to the scrum essentials, when is a project said to be done? Answer: Work continues in a repeating cycle of scrum periods until one of three conditions is met: • The customer is satisfied with the product created and decides to accept the work product, even if some requirements are left unsatisfied. • The project runs out of time. • The project runs out of money. 37) In a scrum, who is a product owner? Answer: The product owner is the business professional who provides the requirements and is available for clarification and testing. The product owner is the only person on a scrum team who has the authority to add, delete, or change requirements and their priority. 38) In a scrum, who is a scrum master? What are his or her responsibilities? Answer: A scrum master is an expert in scrum processes who helps to keep the process organized and operating. The scrum master is not the boss; he or she is more like a coach or even a referee. The scrum master steps in when meetings go too long, when team members are misusing meeting time, when the product sponsor isn't doing his or her job, and when other situations are not working. The scrum master is also the guardian of team members' time. If distractions occur, the scrum master steps in to eliminate them. If someone other than the product sponsor attempts to change requirements or priorities, the scrum master negates that attempt. 39) Who are considered scrum team members? Answer: Team members are the programmers, systems analysts, business analysts, database designers, cloud engineers, PQA testing personnel, and any other staff needed to build the work product. Scrum teams are small; five to nine team members are recommended. If work requires more personnel, then the work is reorganized to be accomplished by multiple scrum teams working in parallel. It's not clear that scrum works well for exceedingly large projects, but then again, it's not clear that any other development process works well for them, either. 40) Which of the following statements is true about the points system? A) Points are assigned by the clients at the beginning of the project. B) The most difficult task is assigned a point score of 1. C) Consecutive integers are used to award point scores to tasks. D) Points estimate the relative difficulty, rather than the relative duration of tasks. Answer: D 41) As teams work together, they will learn the total number of points of work they can accomplish each scrum period. That term is called the team's ___________. A) velocity B) capacity C) momentum D) vector Answer: A 42) Which of the following statements is true about velocity? A) The customer sets the velocity of each scrum period. B) When a project begins, the senior team members guess the velocity of the team. C) After a scrum team commits to requirements in a scrum period, it estimates the velocity it can achieve. D) A team approaches the scrum master to change the order of the requirements to which it has committed. Answer: B 43) Which of the following is a characteristic that makes agile development a valid systems development process? A) Team iteration and feedback are used for scheduling and tasking. B) Process scheduling is performed by the scrum master. C) Through iteration, team members decide when a project is complete. D) Once a phase of development is completed, it is not revisited. Answer: A 44) Scrum is distinguished from other agile development methodologies, in part, by the way that it uses requirements to drive planning and scheduling. Answer: True Chapter Extension 18 Business Process Management 1) A(n) ___________ is a network of activities, actors, roles, repositories, and data and sequence flows that interact to accomplish a business function. A) business enterprise B) business process C) inventory network D) communication system Answer: B 2) Which of the following is the first step in processing an order? A) checking customer credit B) approving special terms C) verifying availability D) preparing a quotation Answer: D 3) A customer's credit is checked before checking the availability of goods in order to ___________. A) increase the rate of credit approval of customers B) arrange for the special terms requested C) prevent the wastage of shipping-verification labor D) align the processes with organizational goals Answer: C 4) A company stops stocking an item but procures it directly from the manufacturer. This implies that the company has made a change in its ___________. A) product line B) supply chain C) credit policy D) distribution structure Answer: B 5) Which of the following steps is the most appropriate if a company decides to accept more risk and sell to companies with lower credit scores? A) modifying the credit checking process B) implementing different ways of checking credit C) approving special terms before checking the credit D) shipping the inventory directly from the manufacturer to lower the credit Answer: C 6) In which of the following situations will credit checking be made the first step in the procedure of processing an order? A) during recession B) during a merger C) during an acquisition D) during inflation Answer: A 7) Repositories are most often collections of data. Answer: True 8) While processing a purchase order, if a customer's request for special terms is disapproved, the cost of checking availability and credit is wasted. Answer: True 9) A substantial change in the business environment, like the onset of recession, might mean that checking credit becomes unnecessary. Answer: False 10) The credit-check process is independent of the inclusion or exclusion of new categories of customers. Answer: False 11) Give an example to illustrate how business processes fail to work when misaligned with an organization's goals. Answer: Business processes do not work well when they are misaligned with an organization's goals, objectives, or competitive strategy. The most obvious reason for changing a process is that it has efficiency or effectiveness problems. Consider a sales process. If the organization's goal is to provide high-quality service, then if the process takes too long or if it rejects credit inappropriately, it is ineffective and needs to be changed. 12) How can a change in customers, product lines, and supply chains affect business processes? Answer: A new category of customers could mean that the credit-check process needs to be modified; a certain category of customers is too risky to be extended credit. All sales to customers in this category must be for cash. A change in product lines might require different ways of checking availability. A change in the supply chain might mean that a company no longer stocks some items in inventory, but ships directly from the manufacturer instead. 13) A business will be in crisis continually, dealing with one process emergency after another, when it ___________. A) plans to develop the business process B) actively seeks to change business processes C) waits and lets the need for change just happen to it D) plans to update its business process Answer: C 14) Which of the following is the first step in a business process management (BPM) cycle? A) defining business process requirements B) creating models of business processes C) implementing the needed business processes D) assessing business process effectiveness Answer: B 15) In which of the following types of business process management (BPM) scopes does problem resolution via committee and policy occur? A) functional B) departmental C) inter-enterprise D) enterprise Answer: D 16) Which of the following is an example of an inter-enterprise scope? A) supply chain management B) enterprise resource management C) accounts management D) customer relationship management Answer: A 17) When organizations plan to develop and modify business processes, their businesses will continually be in crisis, dealing with one process emergency after another. Answer: False 18) Business process management (BPM) cannot be applied to nonprofit organizations. Answer: False 19) Describe business process management (BPM) in brief. Answer: Business process management (BPM) is a cyclical (recurring) process for systematically creating, assessing, and altering business processes. This cycle begins by creating models of business processes. The business users who have expertise and are involved in a particular process adjust and evaluate those models. Usually, teams build an as-is model that documents the current situation. Depending on the nature of a problem, new process models are then created. The next step is to create process components. Next, the new or changed business processes are implemented. Well-managed organizations don't stop there. Instead, they create policies, procedures, and committees to continually assess business process effectiveness. When a need for change arises, a company models a new, adjusted business process, and the cycle is repeated. 20) Which of the following statements is true about the relationship between business processes and information systems (IS)? A) A business process and an information system (IS) have the same purpose. B) An information system (IS) in an organization is used by only one business process. C) Every activity in a business process is a component of an information system (IS). D) Information system (IS) elements are embedded within a business process. Answer: D 21) The components and purpose of a business process and an information system are the same. Answer: False 22) Business processes and information systems overlap. Answer: True 23) A procedure is a component of an information system and is embedded within a process activity. Answer: True 24) A business process need not use just one information system. Answer: True 25) A particular information system cannot be used by multiple single business processes simultaneously. Answer: False 26) Every activity of a business process involves an information system. Answer: False 27) The relation between business processes and information systems is many-to-many. Answer: True 28) What are the three principles that relate business processes and information systems? Answer: According to the first principle, information system elements are embedded within business processes, but some activities in business processes are not part of any information system. Business processes and information systems overlap, but they are different. Second, a business process can use zero, one, or more information systems. According to the third principle, a particular information system may be used by one or more business processes. 29) Which of the following statements is true about choosing whether to develop information systems (IS) or business processes first? A) For a business process that is being constructed, building an information system (IS) after creating the business process is likely to cause problems. B) If an information system is built after the creation of business processes, other business processes that use the same information system (IS) can be integrated easily. C) If business processes are built after the information system (IS) development process, activities that are not part of the IS may not be considered. D) If an information system (IS) is built first, the development team should determine the requirements by itself. Answer: C 30) Creating computer programs and designing databases in-house is more affordable than buying off-the-shelf software. Answer: False 31) Both information systems and business processes can be purchased off-the-shelf. Answer: False 32) An advantage of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is that to implement it, an organization need not attempt to do everything at once. Answer: False 33) An application that works for the business processes developed initially is likely to include functions that will cater to business processes designed in the future. Answer: True 34) Enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors do not include business processes as a part of the software package. Answer: False 35) An application that includes business processes as part of the package requires time for integration and training. Answer: True 36) Which of the following statements is true about process problems? A) The task of solving a process problem is ideally given to systems analysts. B) An as-is diagram for business processes exists in all organizations. C) Business analysts prefer to use process schematics instead of Business Process Modeling Notation. D) When a business process has simply evolved, it is possible that no one knows the entire process. Answer: D 37) Which of the following statements is true about designing, creating, and implementing a new business process? A) Process changes that don't work can be undone easily. B) Computer simulation of alternative processes is inexpensive. C) Technology may change during the development process. D) Resolution of implementation problems is easier for enterprise processes. Answer: C 38) The difficulty of creating an as-is process diagram depends on the sophistication of the organization. Answer: True 39) If employees are already using an information system (IS), one way of adjusting role resources is to improve the information system so as to facilitate a new process. Answer: True 40) The resolution of implementation problems can be difficult for enterprise and inter-enterprise processes because there is no recognized authority to enforce solutions. Answer: True Test Bank for Experiencing MIS David Kroenke, Randall Boyle 9780133939132, 9781292107707, 9780134773636, 9780136509868, 9780136078685, 9781486019281, 9780132157940
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