Deck 3: Project Management

Question 1

Which of following is not a specific criteria for project selection?

A)appropriate timing of project commitment
B)practical in terms of resources for the analyst and organization
C)backing from programmers
D)worthwhile project compared with other ways the organization could invest resources
E)possibility of improving attainment of organizational goals

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is not a desirable team member characteristic?

A)a good work ethic
B)a readiness to take on leadership based on expertise
C)honesty
D)position within the organization
E)enthusiasm for the project

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of these statements about PERT diagrams is not true?

A)An arrow represents activities.
B)A circle represents events.
C)The length of the arrow indicates activity length.
D)Pseudo activities must occasionally be shown.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Improvements to systems include all the following except:

A)combining processes.
B)streamlining a process through the elimination of unnecessary or duplicated steps.
C)increasing redundant output.
D)reducing errors in input through changes of forms and display screens.
E)speeding up a process.

Question 5

________ examines the direction, size, and pattern of cash flow that is associated with the proposed information system.

A)Cash flow analysis
B)Present value analysis
C)Break-even analysis
D)Employee moral analysis

Question 6

Which of these is not an advantage of a Gantt chart?

A)communicating with users
B)simplicity
C)planning activities
D)showing precedence

Question 7

A Gantt chart contains:

A)time on the vertical access.
B)money on the vertical access.
C)a description of the activities on the vertical access.
D)precedence on the vertical access.

Question 8

Tangible benefits are advantages measurable in ________ that accrue(s)to the organization through the use of the information system.

A)dollars
B)employee moral
C)goodwill
D)advertising

Question 9

Which of the following is dependent upon determining human resources for the project?

A)economic feasibility
B)operational feasibility
C)tactical feasibility
D)technical feasibility

Question 10

Which of these is especially important in estimating project time?

A)experience
B)historical records
C)industry standards
D)mathematical programming

Question 11

Which of the following is concerned with the analyst's time and the costs for system development, hardware, and business employee time?

A)economic feasibility
B)operational feasibility
C)tactical feasibility
D)technical feasibility

Question 12

One way to think about problems is to:

A)think that they arise from bad programming and older technology.
B)visualize them as elements on a feasibility impact grid.
C)realize that we all make mistakes and not assign blame to anyone.
D)reflect on the lack of perfection within any team framework and avoid the blame syndrome.
E)think about them as situations where goals have never been met or are no longer being met.

Question 13

Which of the following is not an advantage of using a PERT diagram over a Gantt chart?

A)easy identification of the order of precedence
B)easy determination of slack time
C)easy to show activities that occur at any given point in time
D)easy identification of the critical path

Question 14

A PERT diagram is useful when:

A)activities can be done in parallel rather than sequence.
B)there is no slack time available.
C)the project team needs to know which activities should be done at which point in time.
D)activities do not have any precedent activities.

Question 15

Which of the following is not a way in which systems projects are considered to be feasible?

A)operationally
B)technically
C)economically
D)physically

Question 16

In an interview, which of the following is not a way to identify a major point for a problem definition from an interview?

A)Users may communicate the same metaphors, such as saying the business is a journey, war, game, organism, machine, and so on.
B)Users may be purposely brief when talking about the problem.
C)Identifying an issue, topic, or theme that is repeated several times, sometimes by different people in several interviews.
D)It may be the first thing mentioned by the user.
E)Users may communicate importance by body language or may speak emphatically on an issue.

Question 17

The longest path through a PERT diagram is called:

A)slack time.
B)the precedent activity path.
C)maximum path time.
D)the critical path.

Question 18

Which of the following is not a corporate objective affected by improvements to an information system?

A)improving cooperation with vendors and partners
B)improving customer service
C)improving the software development strategy of the organization
D)improving internal decision support so that decisions are more effective

Question 19

Which of these is not a reason that goal setting motivates team members?

A)It clarifies what must be done to get results.
B)It makes explicit what is expected of team members.
C)It portrays the operational technology in understandable terms.
D)Simply setting goals and monitoring them seems to motivate individuals.

Question 20

Which of the following is concerned with the current technical resources that can be upgraded or added to in order to fulfill the requests under consideration?

A)economic feasibility
B)operational feasibility
C)tactical feasibility
D)technical feasibility

Question 21

After the objectives are stated on a problem definition, the relative ________ of the issues or objectives must be determined.

A)sequence
B)importance
C)needs
D)costs

Question 22

After the objectives are stated, the relative importance of the issues or objectives must be determined.

Question 23

Which of the following is a reason given by programmers for failed projects?

A)impossible or unrealistic completion dates
B)not adding more people to the project to expedite it
C)seeking outside help instead of trusting the development staff
D)not enough programming development tools

Question 24

________ on a problem definition are the things that must be accomplished.

A)Results
B)Issues
C)Requirements
D)Objectives

Question 25

The longest path through a PERT diagram is referred to as the ________ path.

A)critical
B)hardest
C)fastest
D)slowest

Question 26

An advantage of ________ is that they allow easy identification of the order of precedence and easy determination of slack time.

A)PERT diagrams
B)Gantt chart
C)design diagram
D)database design

Question 27

A ________ is a chart on which bars represent each task.

A)Gantt chart
B)design diagram
C)PERT diagram
D)database design

Question 28

Which of the following is not an advantage of using cloud services?

A)maintenance and upgrades are performed by provider
B)consistency over multiple platforms
C)full control over hardware and software
D)All of the above.

Question 29

Systems analysts formulate numbers that represent both current and projected ________ for the system so that any hardware obtained will possess the capability to handle current and future needs.

A)inventory
B)power requirements
C)heating and cooling needs
D)workloads

Question 30

Analysts should have little interest in improving worker satisfaction with the system.

Question 31

Which of the following is clarified by the project charter?

A)analysis expectations
B)how much can the scope change before the project will be over budget
C)the project deliverables
D)how much will the project cost

Question 32

On a problem definition, ________ are the current situation and objectives are the desired situation.

A)facts
B)results
C)attitudes
D)issues

Question 33

Requirements on a problem definition include the word "not."

Question 34

Which of the following is not a difference between managing ecommerce projects and the traditional projects?

A)The data used in ecommerce is scattered all over the organization.
B)The staff used for ecommerce has a unified set of skills.
C)Ecommerce managers need to initially build internal and external partnerships.
D)Security in ecommerce is a must.

Question 35

________ feasibility refers to projecting whether the system will operate and be used once it is installed.

A)Operational
B)Economic
C)Technical
D)Resource

Question 36

When trying to define the problems, try to witness the problem first hand.

Question 37

Feedback gives information about the gap between actual and intended performance.

Question 38

Objectives are major independent pieces of the problem.

Question 39

________ includes all the activities required to select a systems analysis team, assign members of the team to appropriate projects, estimate time required to complete each task, and schedule the project so that tasks are completed in a timely fashion.

A)Planning
B)Designing
C)Estimating
D)Scheduling

Question 40

________ gives information about the gap between actual and intended performance.

A)Research
B)Feedback
C)Usage data
D)None of the above.

Question 41

Tangible costs include losing a competitive edge, losing the reputation for being first with an innovation or the leader in a field, declining company image due to increased customer dissatisfaction, and ineffective decision making due to untimely or inaccessible information.

Question 42

A PERT diagram does not allow for easy identification of the critical path and thus critical activities.

Question 43

PERT is an acronym for Program Evaluation and Review Techniques.

Question 44

An advantage of PERT diagrams is the easy determination of slack time.

Question 45

A team leader who is concerned with the social relationships between group members is known as a task leader.

Question 46

The critical path is defined as the most expensive path.

Question 47

A commitment from management to conduct a feasibility study means that the proposed system is accepted.

Question 48

By comparing costs alone, the systems analyst can use break-even analysis to determine the break-even capacity of the proposed information system.

Question 49

Judging the feasibility of a proposed systems project is usually a clear-cut decision.

Question 50

Using a weighted average formula to determine expected activity times is probably the best strategy for estimating those times.

Question 51

PERT diagrams are useful when activities can be done in parallel rather than in sequence.

Question 52

A feasibility study is used to gather broad data for the members of management that in turn enables them to make a decision on whether to proceed with a systems study.

Question 53

The length of the arrows in a PERT diagram has a direct relationship with the duration of the activity.

Question 54

Intangible costs are those that can be accurately projected by the systems analyst and the business's accounting personnel.

Question 55

Technical feasibility is dependent upon determining human resources for the project.

Question 56

When assembling a team, a project manager should look for people with both experience and enthusiasm.

Question 57

Prospective projects should be examined from a systems perspective in order to consider the impact of the proposed change on the entire organization.

Question 58

PERT diagrams occasionally need to use dummy activities to preserve the logic.

Question 59

The main advantage of the PERT diagram is its simplicity.

Question 60

Along with managing time and resources, systems analysts must also manage people.

Question 61

List four criteria for evaluating computer hardware for purchase.

Question 62

An advantage of buying computer hardware is that the organization will have full control regarding the type of hardware and software.

Question 63

Present value analysis helps the systems analyst to present to business decision makers the time value of the investment in the information system as well as the cash flow.

Question 64

In ecommerce systems, the data is scattered across the organization.

Question 65

Cash-flow analysis examines the direction, size, and pattern of cash flow that is associated with the proposed information system.

Question 66

Economic feasibility deals with whether or not it is possible to develop a new system given the current technical resources.

Question 67

The point at which the total costs of the current system and the proposed system intersect represents the break-even point, the point where it becomes profitable for the business to get the new information system.

Question 68

Operational feasibility deals with the basic resources to consider, which are your time and that of the systems analysis team, the cost of doing a full systems study (including the time of employees you will be working with), the cost of the business employee time, the estimated cost of hardware, and the estimated cost of software or software development.

Question 69

Cloud services are not very scalable. Once you pay for the service, it is hard to upgrade in the future.

Question 70

COTS stands for commercial off-the-shelf and refers to software packages that are purchased.

Question 71

What are the five important criteria for systems project selection?

Question 72

Setting goals can motivate team members by clarifying for them and others what must be done in order to get results.

Question 73

The value of a fishbone diagram is to systematically list all of the problems that can occur.

Question 74

What are the three main categories of cloud computing?

Question 75

A disadvantage of buying computer hardware is the initial cost of purchasing the equipment is often very high.

Question 76

A functional norm is one that could make team members waste resources.

Question 77

Since ecommerce systems must link with the outside world, developing and implementing a security plan before the new system is in place is an absolute must.

Question 78

Which form of analysis would you use to "sell" a systems project to a manager that is only interested in how many widgets will need to be sold before the project becomes profitable? Why?

Question 79

What are the five major project management fundamentals?