1. What are the five major project fundamentals?

The five major project management fundamentals that the systems analyst must handle are
(1) project initiation—defining the problem
(2) determining project feasibility
(3) activity planning and control
(4) project scheduling
(5) managing systems analysis team members.

2. List three ways to find out about problems or opportunities that might call for a systems solution.
 Check output against performance criteria.
 Observe behavior of employees.
 Listen to external feedback from: Vendors. Customers. Suppliers
3. List the five criteria for systems project selection.
 That the requested project be backed by management
 That it be timed appropriately for a commitment of resources
 That it move the business toward attainment of its goals
 That it be practical
 That it be important enough to be considered over other possible projects

4. Define technical feasibility.

Technical feasibility assesses whether the current technical resources are sufficient for
the new system and if not, can they be upgraded to provide the level of technology
necessary for the new system.

5. Define economic feasibility.

Economic feasibility determines whether the time and money are available to develop
the system, including the purchase of new equipment, hardware, and software.

6. Define operational feasibility.

Operational feasibility determines if the human resources are available to operate the
system once it has been installed.
7. List four criteria for evaluating system hardware.

 The time required for average transactions

 The total volume capacity of the system
 The idle time of the CPU or network
 The size of the memory provided
8. What are the three main options for the acquisition of computer hardware?
 Buying
 Leasing
 Renting
9. What does COTS stand for?
Short for commercial off-the-shelf, an adjective that describes software or hardware products
that are ready-made and available for sale to the general public.
10. What does ASP stand for in terms of software delivery?

An application service provider (ASP) is a business providing computer-based services

to customers over a network; such as access to a particular software application (such as
customer relationship management) using a standard protocol (such as HTTP).
11. Define tangible costs and benefits. Give an example of each one.
Tangible costs are those that can be accurately projected by systems analysts and the business'
accounting personnel; for example, the cost of equipment, costs of resources, and cost of systems
analysts' time. Next, tangible benefits are advantages measurable in dollars that accrue to the
organization through use of the information system; for example, increase in speed of processing,
and getting information on a more timely basis than before.

12. Define intangible costs and benefits. Give an example of each one.
Intangible costs are those that are difficult to estimate, and may not be known; for example, the
cost of losing a competitive edge, and declining company image. Next, intangible benefits are
advantages from use of the information system that are difficult to measure; for example, improved
effectiveness of decision-making processes and maintaining a good business image.

13. List four techniques for comparing the costs and benefits of a proposed system.
They are
 break-even analysis
 payback
 cash-flow analysis
 present value methods.

14. When is break-even analysis useful?

Break-even analysis is useful when a business is growing and volume is a key variable in costs.

15. What are the three drawbacks of using the payback method?
The three drawbacks of the payback method are:
(1) it is strictly a short-term approach to investment and replacement decision
(2) it does not consider the importance of how repayments are timed
(3) it does not consider total returns from the proposed systems project that may go
well beyond the payback year.

16. When is cash-flow analysis used?

Cash-flow analysis is used to examine the direction, size, and pattern of cash flow associated
with the proposed information system.
17. As a general guideline, when should present value analysis be used?
Use present value when the payback period is long, or when the cost of borrowing
money is high.

18. What is a Gantt chart?

A Gantt chart is an easy way to schedule tasks. It is a chart on which bars represent each
task or activity. The length of each bar represents the relative length of the task.

19. When is a PERT diagram useful for systems projects?

PERT is useful when activities can be done in parallel rather than in sequence. The
systems analyst can benefit from PERT by applying it to systems projects on a smaller scale,
especially when some team members can be working on certain activities at the same time that
fellow members are working on other tasks.

20. List three advantages of using a PERT diagram over a Gantt chart for scheduling systems projects.
 Easy identification of the order of precedence.
 Easy identification of the critical path and thus critical activities.
 Easy determination of slack time
21. Define the term critical path
The information required for effective project control.

22. How does a project manager assess the risk of things going wrong and take that into consideration
when planning the time needed to complete the project?

The project manager needs to understand how to determine what is needed and how to
initiate a project; how to develop a problem definition; how to examine feasibility of completing the
systems project; how to reduce risk; how to identify and manage activities; and how to hire, manage,
and motivate other team members.

23. List the two types of team leaders.

 Task leader
 socioemotional leader

24. What is meant by a dysfunctional team norm?

25. What is meant by team process?

When norms change over time and are better thought of

26. What are three reasons that goal setting seems to motivate systems analysis team members?

Team members know prior to any performances review exactly what is expected of them.
Setting a challenging but achievable goal and then periodically measuring performances against the goal
seems to work
27. What are four ways in which ecommerce project management differs from traditional project
management?

 Is that the data used by ecommerce systems are scattered all over an organization
 Ecommerce project teams typically need more staff with a variety of skills including
developers, consultants database experts and system integrators
 Need to build partnerships externally and internally well ahead of the implementation
 The system will be linking with the outside world via the Internet, security is the utmost
importance.

28. What elements are contained in a project charter?

The project charter describes in a written document the expected results of the systems project
(deliverables) and the time frame for delivery. It essentially becomes a contract between the chief
analyst (or project manager) and the analysis team, with the organizational users requesting the new
system.

29. What is a fishbone diagram used for?

May be used to identify all the things that can go wrong in developing a system.

30. What are the three steps the systems analyst must follow to put together an effective systems
proposal?

They are

 effectively organizing the content

 writing in a professional style
 orally presenting the proposal in an informative way

31. List the 10 main sections of the systems proposal.

 Cover letter
 Title page of project
 Table of contents
 Executive summary (including recommendations)
 Outline of systems study with appropriate documentation
 Detailed results of systems study
 Systems alternatives (3 or 4 possible solutions)
 Systems analysts' recommendations
 Summary
 Appendices (assorted documentation, summary of phases, correspondence, etc.)