Deck 2: Project Management

Question 1

_____ is the process of examining the technical, economic, and organizational pros and cons of developing a new system.

A) Committee approval
B) Feasibility analysis
C) Functionality determination
D) Risk analysis
E) System request

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Peter is the vice president of accounting and finance. For the past year he has solely provided the resources necessary to get the just-in-time accounting system through the planning and analysis phases of the SDLC. Other managers have openly stated that the JIT system is not worth the investment. The SEC has just placed Peter under investigation for insider trading and the board has asked him to resign. This project is failing _____ feasibility analysis.

A) organizational
B) champion
C) functional
D) economic
E) technical

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Examples of development costs include all EXCEPT _____.

A) consultant fees
B) hardware expenses
C) salaries for the project team
D) software licensing fees
E) none of these

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following factors would tend to increase the technical risk of a project?

A) familiarity with the technology
B) large project size
C) creating an application that is familiar to the users and analysts
D) small project size
E) the number of other applications under development in the firm

Question 5

Operational costs that are examined during feasibility analysis include _____.

A) data conversion cost
B) development training
C) user training
D) equipment upgrades
E) initial consultant fees

Question 6

The project champion is a(n)_____.

A) high-level IS executive who is usually but not always the project sponsor who initiated the system request
B) mid-level IS manager who has the responsibility of controlling and directing the development process
C) high-level non-IS executive who is usually but not always the project sponsor who initiated the system request
D) senior member of the user group who participated in the RAD sessions
E) none of these

Question 7

The level of acceptance by the users of a system and the extent to which the new system will be incorporated into the operations of the organization are expressed in the _____ feasibility.

A) economic
B) familiarity
C) functional
D) organizational
E) technical

Question 8

Feasibility analysis may be defined as a(n)_____.

A) assessment of ability of the ultimate users of the system to accept the system and incorporate it into the ongoing operations of the organization
B) determination of the extent to which the system can be technically designed, developed, and installed
C) guide to determining whether to proceed with a project
D) identification of only the costs and benefits associated with the project
E) none of these

Question 9

The calculation that measures the amount of money an organization receives in return for the money it spends is called the _____.

A) cash flow
B) net present value
C) total investment
D) tangible costs
E) return on investment

Question 10

_____ value can be quantified during the project initiation phase.

A) Expected
B) Tangible
C) Intangible
D) Real
E) Salvage

Question 11

_____ is the process of planning and controlling the development of a system within a specified time frame at a minimum cost with the right functionality.

A) Project management
B) Semantic timeline
C) Task identification
D) Time estimation
E) Work plan

Question 12

The four elements commonly found on a system request are _____.

A) economic, organizational, technical, and operational feasibility
B) project sponsor, business need, business requirements, and business value
C) risk analysis, familiarity, project size, and cost-benefit analysis
D) training, software, installation, and equipment
E) upgrades, licensing fees, repairs, and charges

Question 13

In order to approve a system request, the approval committee must know

A) all of the details of the ultimate system to be developed.
B) the high level functionality of the system.
C) what the screens and reports will look like in the final system.
D) who the end users of the system will be and exactly how they will use it in their jobs.
E) all of these.

Question 14

Suppose a proposed new financial reporting system for the AMF Biotech Corporation must be completed by the start of the next fiscal year in order to comply with new government regulations. This information should be included as part of the ____________ section of the system request.

A) business need
B) business value
C) business requirements
D) special issues or constraints
E) none of these

Question 15

If end users feel fearful or threatened by a proposed new system, this factor should be included as a part of the _____.

A) economic feasibility assessment
B) organizational feasibility assessment
C) system proposal
D) system request
E) technical feasibility assessment

Question 16

Which of the following factors could be included in a technical risk assessment?

A) Cost of a new Web server
B) Cost of hiring a Webmaster
C) No previous experience with Java within the IS department
D) Some fear of job loss among order entry department personnel
E) all of these

Question 17

The person who identifies the business value that can be gained from using information technology is called the _____.

A) manager
B) project sponsor
C) staff member
D) system analyst
E) system request

Question 18

_____ feasibility is determined by identifying costs and benefits associated with the system.

A) Economic
B) Functional
C) Organizational
D) Intangible
E) Technical

Question 19

Explaining "the business capabilities of the information system" is written in the _____ section of the system request.

A) business need
B) business value
C) business requirements
D) project need
E) special issues

Question 20

Most system requests include all of the following except _____.

A) business need
B) business requirements
C) project sponsor
D) project manager
E) business value

Question 21

Function points are used to measure the estimated _____ of a project.

A) complexity
B) effort required
C) program size
D) time required
E) TUFP

Question 22

To identify the tasks for a work plan the project manager can _____.

A) control and direct the project
B) estimate the size, staff the project, and remember technical skills
C) establish a possible reporting structure
D) list the four phases of the SDLC and the steps that occur in each
E) set conservative numbers for the project software

Question 23

Familiarity with the application and technology are major factors considered under economic feasibility.

Question 24

Happy customers is a tangible cost that can be included in a cost-benefit analysis.

Question 25

A normal system with 400 unadjusted function points would have _____ adjusted function points when the shortcut method is use to determine the complexity of the project.

A) 200
B) 260
C) 400
D) 540
E) 600

Question 26

A critical success factor for project management is to _____.

A) create a work plan
B) follow the three steps of project management
C) identify most project tasks
D) manage the hundreds of tasks
E) start with a realistic assessment of the work

Question 27

The three steps of project management are _____.

A) controlling the project, directing the project, and creating the work plan
B) creating the work plan, staffing the project, and controlling and directing the project
C) directing the project, creating the work plan, and naming the tasks
D) naming the tasks, creating the work plan, and completing the deliverables
E) setting the start date, estimating the time, and reading the actual time

Question 28

Project managers can develop task lists for a project with the help of _____.

A) established methodologies
B) system proposals
C) system requests
D) user application hardware
E) user requirements

Question 29

Diane needs to create a work plan for an upcoming systems project. She must first _____.

A) estimate the hours and request deliverables
B) identify the tasks and estimate the time needed to complete them
C) initiate the project and create the project management assessment
D) make tradeoffs and set conservative numbers
E) timebox the completion date

Question 30

The _____ is a dynamic schedule that logs and monitors all of the tasks that need to be accomplished for the length of the project.

A) margin of error
B) project manager
C) project objective
D) timebox
E) work plan

Question 31

Kathryn has little experience estimating the time it will take to complete a systems project. She has just completed the planning phase of the project. What method should she use to estimate the time required to build the system?

A) adjusted project complexity
B) function points
C) industry standards
D) Microsoft Project
E) more complex approach

Question 32

Assume a systems development project effort calculation determines that the system will require 240 function points. If the developers choose to implement this system in the C programming language, approximately 31,200 lines of code will have to be written. If the developers choose Visual Basic to implement the system, the number of lines of code will be _____.

A) about the same
B) can't tell without more information
C) exactly the same
D) much greater
E) much less

Question 33

The process of assigning values for the time and effort needed to perform a system project is called _____.

A) analysis
B) estimation
C) identifying
D) planning
E) preparation

Question 34

The most significant challenge to project managers is _____.

A) lack of project management training
B) no one really understands how to manage a complex systems development project
C) the lack of tools that can assist in controlling project progress
D) unrealistic schedule demands by project sponsors
E) all of these

Question 35

Adding people to a project team in order to speed up total development time _____.

A) is a standard task in timeboxing
B) is a useful way to meet a tight deadline
C) may actually increase total development time
D) simplifies communication within the team
E) none of these

Question 36

A(n) ____________ is a measure of program size based on the number and complexity of inputs, outputs, queries, files, and program interfaces.

A) function point
B) line of code
C) project plan
D) standard module
E) workplan

Question 37

To identify the costs and benefits related to the computer technology for a project the systems analyst should rely on the business users.

Question 38

Traditional Work Breakdown Structures tend to

A) focus on the design of the system as oppose to the needs of the current phase and iteration
B) force too many levels of detail early on for large project and they tend to allow too few level of detail for small projects
C) be too specific for the project and difficult to compare across projects
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 39

When using a function point estimation worksheet, there are 14 factors that impact the complexity of a project. These factors include _____.

A) data communications, time tradeoffs, and estimated effort
B) end-user efficiency, data communications, and reusability
C) performance and programming language
D) reports printed and PCA
E) x-rays, extensibility, and operational conversion

Question 40

Cost benefit analysis identifies the financial costs and benefits associated with a systems project.

Question 41

Economic feasibility focuses on whether the system can be built by examining the risks associated with the users' and analysts' familiarity with the application, familiarity with the technology, and project size.

Question 42

A limitation of a formal cost-benefits analysis is that it contains the costs and benefits for just one year.

Question 43

The feasibility analysis helps the approval committee determine whether or not to proceed with a project.

Question 44

It is not necessary to assign dollar values to intangible costs and benefits; it is almost impossible to come up with reasonable numbers for all of the costs and benefits that haven't happened yet.

Question 45

Development costs that are examined during feasibility analysis include costs for software licenses and software upgrades.

Question 46

A high return on investment (ROI) results when benefits far outweigh the cost of a new project or information system.

Question 47

User participation should be promoted throughout the development process to make sure that the final system will be accepted and used.

Question 48

Technical feasibility focuses on whether the system can be built by examining the risks associated with the application.

Question 49

Project size is an important consideration in technical feasibility. Larger projects create more risk, both because they are more complicated to manage and because there is a greater chance that some important system requirements will be overlooked or misunderstood.

Question 50

Economic feasibility includes an assessment of financial impact in four categories: (1) development costs, (2) operational costs, (3) tangible benefits, and (4) intangible costs and benefits.

Question 51

Organizational feasibility can be evaluated by conducting a(n) stakeholder analysis.

Question 52

Lauren, a systems analyst, is concerned that she and the end-users at her company do not have experience with a new scanner technology that will soon be implemented. This identified risk falls under economic feasibility.

Question 53

How well a system is accepted by the users and incorporated into the ongoing operations of the business is defined in the technical feasibility.

Question 54

Natalie has been asked by her project manager to list the possible intangible benefits for a new system. Her list will include reduced expenses for the company.

Question 55

A feasibility analysis includes whether the project has been permitted by the CIO
of the company.

Question 56

A 20% increase in sales volume is a tangible benefit that can be included in a cost-benefit analysis.

Question 57

ROI calculations do not consider the present value of future money.

Question 58

System requests often include the project team members including the project
manager and the analysts.

Question 59

Project initiation begins when the project sponsor identifies business value that can be gained by using information technology.

Question 60

Nicole has identified development and operational costs for a soon-to-be built information system. Her findings will be listed under economic feasibility in the analysis report.

Question 61

Present value calculation takes inflation and time into account.

Question 62

Determining whether the new system will be compatible with the existing technology that already exists in the organization is part of the organizational feasibility study.

Question 63

The work plan records and keeps track of all of the tasks that need to be accomplished over the life of the project, listing each task, along with important information about it, such as when it needs to be completed, the person assigned to do the work, and any deliverables that will result.

Question 64

One of the greatest weaknesses of systems consulting firms is that they try to apply estimates and methodologies that they have developed over time and applied to other projects, most of which are very different from the current project.

Question 65

System users are stakeholders who perform hands-on activities related to the project.

Question 66

Calculating the break-even point helps in understanding how long it will take before the system creates real value for the organization.

Question 67

When planning a systems project, overly optimistic timetables are the cause of project completion delays.

Question 68

Kelly Smith, the vice president of marketing, has provided resources and political support for the new production management information system. She has acted as the project manager for the project.

Question 69

The organizational management of a business is involved in hands-on activities related to the project.

Question 70

Project management is the second major component of the planning phase of the systems development life cycle (SDLC), and it includes three steps: creating the work plan, staffing the project, and controlling and directing the project.

Question 71

It is not wise to identify tasks for a current project using existing methodology, because methodologies that have been used by an organization for other projects probably will not work for this project without extensive changes.

Question 72

Creating a work plan requires three steps: identify the tasks that need to be accomplished, estimate the time that it will take to complete the tasks, and record the task completion time in a Gantt Chart.

Question 73

Adding staff to a project to shorten the project's length is usually a wise move, because adding staff normally translates into increased productivity.

Question 74

To complete a 20 person-month project in 10 months, a team should have 4 full-time staff members assigned to the project.

Question 75

When estimating project time schedules using industry standards for a systems project, the following values are acceptable: 15% for planning, 25% for analysis, 50% for design, and 10% for implementation.

Question 76

The person or group that funds a project and enthusiastically promotes the project throughout the organization is the project champion.

Question 77

Using typical industry standards for estimating project time schedules, the estimated analysis phase would be 10 person-months for a systems project where the planning phase was completed in 7.5 person-months.

Question 78

The formula for net present value (NPV) is the ratio of (Total benefits - Total Costs) to Total Costs.

Question 79

Project management is the process of planning and controlling the development of a system within a specified time frame at a minimum cost with the right functionality.

Question 80

During organizational feasibility analysis the system users are the stakeholders that are responsible for providing enough budget and promoting the project.