UTA INSY 2303 Exam 3 Review (Unit 9)

Critical path

In a PERT chart, the sequence of tasks that takes the shortest time to complete.

PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)

A technique used for analyzing the time needed to complete each project task.

Colocation center

A data center that contains servers for more than one business.

Data center

A specialized facility designed to hold and protect computer systems and data.

Data centers cannot be below sea level or in a floodplain.

True

Data centers cannot be in a location that is prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes.

True

Data centers cannot be near hazardous materials manufacturing, storage, or transport facilities.

True

Data centers cannot be in an area without world-class telecommunications infrastructure.

True

Data centers cannot be in large metropolitan areas where accidents and violence put people and equipment at risk.

True

Data centers can be near an airport flight path.

False

Data centers cannot be in locations where power is expensive or unreliable.

True

Application development tool

Software, such as 4GLs, expert system shells, and component objects, that can be assembled into the application software for an information system.

ERP (Enterprise resource planning)

A suite of software modules that integrate major business activities such as sales, CRM, and SCM ; it is sometimes described as "the central nervous system of an enterprise".

An ERP system can provide the following benefits to an enterprise:

1. Improved overall performance by standardizing business processes based on best practices.

2. Minimized technology overhead for managers and other workers who interact with a single, centralized, and integrated set of software modules.

3. Increased efficiency and productivity from streamlined workflows.

4. Improved access to information from a single database.

5. Enhanced customer satisfaction based on efficient sales and distribution.

6. Reduced costs and errors when transferring data between systems such as accounting and human resources.

7. Increased profitability from the ability to collect analytics for all aspects of business operations.

8. Reduced inventory costs resulting from better planning, forecasting, modeling, and tracking.

Systems analysis and design

A discipline that focuses on developing information systems.

SDLC (System development life cycle)

The scope of systems analysis and design encompasses the people, procedures, computers, communications networks, and software involved with handling information in an organization.

The first phase of the SDLC where the goal of the activities is to create a project development plan is the _______ phase.

Planning

The second phase of the SDLC where the goal is to produce a list of requirements for a new or revised information system is the _______ phase.

Analysis

The third phase of the SDLC where he project team must figure out how the new system will fulfill the requirements specified in the system requirements report is the _______ phase.

Design

The fourth phase of the SDLC where the project team supervises the tasks necessary to construct the new information system is the _______ phase.

Implementation

The fifth and last phase of the SDLC where it involves the day-to-day operation of the system, making modifications to improve performance, and correcting problems is the _______ phase.

Maintenance

Feature creep

An undesirable occurrence during information system development when users, customers, or designers attempt to add features after the final specifications have been approved.

JAD (Joint application design)

A widely accepted design technique that is based on the idea that the best information systems are designed when end users and systems analysts work together on a project as equal partners.

BI (Business intelligence)

The process of collecting and analyzing past and present business data as the basis for operational and strategic decision making.

Object-oriented methodology

An approach to system development that regards the elements of a system as a collection of objects that interact with each other to accomplish tasks.

The current standard for object-oriented documentation is referred to as _______.

UML (Unified modeling language)

Three of the most frequently used UML tools include:

Use case diagrams, sequence diagrams, and class diagrams.

UML (Unified modeling language)

A tool for diagramming a set of object classes.

Use case diagram

Documentation of the users of an information system and their functions.

Class diagram

A diagram that provides the name of each object, a list of the object's attributes, a list of methods, and an indication of the cardinality between objects.

Sequence diagram

A tool used by a project team that depicts the detailed interactions that take place within an information system.

System conversion

The process of deactivating an old information system and activating a new one; it is also referred to as a "cutover" or "to go live"

Unit testing

The process of testing a completed application module to make sure that it operates reliably and correctly.

System testing

The process of testing an information system to ensure that all of the hardware and software components work together.

Integration testing

The testing of completed modules of an application to ensure that they operate together correctly.

MRP (Manufacturing resource planning)

A business management technique in which an optimum manufacturing plan is generated based on a wide variety of data.

Data flow diagram

The core documentation tool for project teams using structured methodology.

System requirements also serve as an evaluation checklist at the end of a project, so sometimes they are referred to as _______.

Success factors

Gantt chart

A chart that shows the duration of development tasks as they occur over time.

WBS (Work breakdown structure)

A breakdown of a complete task into a series of subtasks.

PERT (Program evaluation and review technique)

A technique used for analyzing the time needed to complete each project task.

JIT (Just in time)

An inventory management method whereby materials, goods, and labor are scheduled to arrive or be replenished exactly when needed in the production process.

Horizontal market

Where software is designed for common elements of many businesses.

Vertical market

Where software is designed for a specific industry or enterprise; the software that controls touchscreen order entry at fast food restaurants is an example.

Turnkey system

A computer system that has been customized for a particular application. The term derives from the idea that the end user can just turn a key and the system is ready to go. includes all the hardware and software necessary for the particular application.

E-commerce

Business transactions that are conducted electronically over a computer network.

Business-to-business (B2B) E-commerce:

A type of transaction that exists between businesses, such as one involving a manufacturer and wholesaler, or a wholesaler and a retailer. Websites such as FedBid, Oracle, and Ingram sell goods and services to other businesses or to the government.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) E-commerce:

Business or transactions conducted directly between a company and consumers who are the end-users of its products or services. Online storefronts such as Zappos, Amazon, and Dell offer merchandise and services to consumers.

Business to Government (B2G) E-commerce:

The concept that businesses and government agencies can use central Web sites to exchange information and do business with each other more efficiently than they usually can off the Web. Websites such as FedBid, Oracle, and Ingram sell goods and services to other businesses or to the government.

Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) E-commerce:

A business model that facilitates the transaction of products or services between customers. Consumers sell to each other at popular auctions and list sites such as eBay and TaoBao.

An _______ is the software that handles e-commerce transactions.

E-commerce application

Fuzzy logic

An approach to computing based on "degrees of truth" rather than the usual "true or false" (1 or 0) Boolean logic on which the modern computer is based.

Expert system

A software tool containing an inference engine and a user interface that developers use to enter facts and rules for a knowledge base.

Expert systems are designed to deal with data that is imprecise or problematic; using a technique called _______ , an expert system can deal with this type of data by working with confidence levels.

Fuzzy logic

An expert system, sometimes referred to as a _______ , is a computer system designed to analyze data and produce a recommendation, diagnosis, or decision based on a set of facts and rules.

Knowledge-based system

The facts and rules of an expert system are incorporated into a knowledge base which is stored in a computer file and can be manipulated by software called an _______.

Inference engine

Knowledge engineering

The process of designing, entering, and testing the rules in an expert system.

TPS (Transaction processing system)

A system that provides a way to collect, process, store, display, modify, or cancel transactions.

DSS (Decision support system)

A system that helps people make decisions by directly manipulating data, accessing data from external sources, generating statistical projections, and creating data models of various scenarios.

OLTP (Online transaction processing system)

A real-time method in which each transaction is processed as it is entered.

Batch processing

A method where a group of transactions are collected and held until the end of a day or pay period, when the entire batch is processed.

Exception report

A report that contains information that is outside of normal or acceptable ranges.

Summary report

A report that combines, groups, or totals data.

Ad hoc report

A report that contains a business intelligence process designed to answer a single, specific business question.