Deck 2: Representation and Patterns

Question 1

Representation and modeling are important for understanding enterprise information systems.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The more closely a model resembles the real thing it represents, the better the model is.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Representations are created only at the type level of abstraction.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A token is a category of objects.

Question 5

Because a token represents an individual object, there can be only one way to represent each token in a model.

Question 6

Reality-to-category mapping is a very important concept in building enterprise system models to make the complexity of representing thousands of objects manageable.

Question 7

Patterns allow us to make predictions about future events and to make sense of the present based on our past experiences.

Question 8

Object patterns are sequences of events that typically occur in combination with each other.

Question 9

The script patterns we develop based on past experiences help us more often than not in understanding our present and future experiences.

Question 10

Script patterns may not be invoked correctly unless the correct context is understood.

Question 11

The REA in the REA Enterprise Ontology stands for "Relationships between Entities and Attributes."

Question 12

Something that has economic value but has no physical substance and is consumed by an enterprise's operations is a resource in the REA ontology.

Question 13

In the REA ontology, events are activities within an enterprise that need to be planned, controlled, executed, and evaluated.

Question 14

In the REA ontology, only individuals fit into the agent category.

Question 15

A value system level REA model focuses on the individual steps involved in accomplishing events in an enterprise.

Question 16

A supply chain is made up of the value system level models of interconnected business partners.

Question 17

A value chain level REA model focuses on the resource flows between interconnected business processes and on the economic events that accomplish the resource flows.

Question 18

The term business process as used in practice always describes an entire transaction cycle.

Question 19

A business process level REA model focuses on one or more transaction cycles in an enterprise's value chain, expanding the representation to include various types of resources, events, agents, and relationships among them.

Question 20

A task level REA model provides a broad-level overview of the business-entrepreneur script.

Question 21

For which of the following reasons should we build models when designing systems?

A) To help us to visualize a system as it is.
B) To help us to visualize a system as we want it to be.
C) To better understand the system we are developing.
D) To simplify a complex system because we can't comprehend it in its entirety.
E) All of the above.

Question 22

A symbol is a

A) Surrogate for a real construct.
B) Musical percussion instrument.
C) Small metal or plastic cap worn to protect the finger that pushes a needle in sewing.
D) Metal ring around which a rope splice is passed in sailing.
E) Meeting or conference for discussion of some topic.

Question 23

In database design, individual objects are referred to as

A) Types
B) Tokens
C) Relations
D) Divisions
E) Classes

Question 24

In database design, categories of objects are referred to as

A) Individuals
B) Tokens
C) Relationships
D) Types
E) Distinctives

Question 25

Consider the following items:
A red Volkswagon Beetle belonging to Cheryl VanBuren
A red Corvette belonging to Walter Cherrington
A blue Z71 pickup truck belonging to Jim Joseph
A green Volkswagon Beetle belonging to Amy Patrick
A red Corvette belonging to Chris Wolverine
A blue Z71 pickup truck belonging to Mary Craig
To represent these items in a conceptual model at the type level, which symbol is most appropriate?

A) Car
B) Vehicle
C) Name
D) Color
E) Amy Patrick

Question 26

Patterns are used to

A) Better understand the environment around us.
B) Make predictions about future events based on our past experiences.
C) Make sense of the present based on our past experiences.
D) Learn about novel objects by considering their similarities to familiar objects.
E) All of the above.

Question 27

Which of the following objects belongs in an object pattern for an elementary school located in Minnesota?

A) Nuclear physics lab
B) Palm tree
C) Teacher
D) Anesthesiologist
E) Silo

Question 28

When pattern matching is used for problem solving in facing what looks like a new problem

A) A new solution is applied to the old problem without any adaptation of the new solution.
B) An old solution is applied to the new problem without any adaptation of the old solution.
C) A new solution is applied to the old problem, adapting the solution for anything that is different in the old situation.
D) An old solution is applied to the new problem, adapting the solution for anything that is different in the new situation.
E) It is like re-inventing the wheel every time a new problem is solved.

Question 29

The "R" in REA enterprise modeling stands for

A) Relationships
B) Resources
C) Reciprocates
D) Representation
E) Reality

Question 30

The "E" in REA enterprise modeling stands for

A) Entity
B) Entrepreneur
C) Exchange
D) Enterprise
E) Event

Question 31

The "A" in REA enterprise modeling stands for

A) Agents
B) Attributes
C) Acquisitions
D) Artificial constructs
E) Applications

Question 32

Resources in the REA enterprise ontology are defined as

A) Things of economic value provided or consumed by an enterprise's activities and operations.
B) Activities within an enterprise that need to be planned, controlled, executed, and evaluated.
C) Individuals, departments, divisions, or organizations that participate in the control and execution of events.
D) Interconnected business processes.
E) Anything from a single activity of producing a report to an entire transaction cycle.

Question 33

The REA ontology views enterprises at _____ levels of detail.

A) zero
B) two
C) four
D) six
E) ten

Question 34

Which of the following are considered agents in the REA ontology?

A) Individuals
B) Departments
C) Divisions
D) Organizations
E) All of the above

Question 35

A _______ level model in the REA enterprise ontology focuses on the individual steps involved in accomplishing events in an enterprise.

A) Value system
B) Value chain
C) Business process
D) Task
E) Context

Question 36

Which of the following is not part of the business-entrepreneur script?

A) The enterprise gets some money.
B) The enterprise purchases equipment and raw materials.
C) The enterprise sells finished goods.
D) The enterprise is damaged by a flood.
E) The enterprise repays money and lives off its profit.

Question 37

Which level of the REA enterprise ontology is based specifically on the business-entrepreneur script?

A) Value system
B) Value chain
C) Business process
D) Task
E) None of the above

Question 38

Which of the following objects is an economic event?

A) Materials inventory
B) Cash
C) Purchase of materials
D) Purchasing agent
E) Supplier

Question 39

What is the primary deliverable expected to be attained using the REA enterprise ontology?

A) An operational enterprise-wide transaction database
B) A complete strategic analysis of the enterprise's business plan
C) A set of program code used to connect different modules of a best of breed ERP system
D) A blueprint for re-engineering the enterprise workflow
E) An optimized linear programming solution for the logistical issues of the enterprise

Question 40

System flowcharts, data flow diagrams, and fishbone diagrams are examples of
Representations at which level of the REA enterprise ontology?

A) Value chain level
B) Business process level
C) Task level
D) Supply chain level
E) Value system level

Question 41

What is the difference between a token and a type?

Question 42

_______ allow people to make predictions about future events and to make sense of the present.

Question 43

What kind of pattern depicts things and the relationships between them?

Question 44

What is a script pattern?

Question 45

What does each letter of the acronym REA represent?

Question 46

What are resources in the REA enterprise ontology? Name two common resources.

Question 47

What are events in the REA enterprise ontology? Name two common events.

Question 48

What are agents in the REA enterprise ontology? Name two common agents.

Question 49

What symbol is used to represent resource exchanges on a value system level REA model?

Question 50

What pattern is used for modeling the task level in the REA enterprise ontology?

Question 51

Explain how an object and/or script pattern helped you in the past to understand something in your life. In your essay, be sure to describe the pattern you applied, the situation in which you applied it, and how the pattern was helpful.

Question 52

Why is context important in determining what script is evoked in a person's mind? Give an example to support your conclusion.

Question 53

Explain the purpose of each of the four levels of the REA enterprise ontology.

Question 54

List the scenes in the business-entrepreneur script and name the most likely actors and props for each scene.

Question 55

For what purposes should an enterprise use the REA enterprise ontology?