ISTM 210 (Honors): Exam 2 Review - Systems Development, Decision Making & Data Analytics, Internet & Cybersecurity

What are the three constrained resources in information systems development?

People, capital (money), and time.

Why do organizations start system development projects?

(Main) To fix an existing problem or capture a new business opportunity. (Other) Government regulation, mergers, or acquisitions.

What is a discretionary project?

An optional project; the organization can choose whether to complete it.

What is a non-discretionary project?

A mandatory project that the organization must complete. ie: legal issues

What does SDLC stand for?

Systems Development Life Cycle.

What is SDLS?

A series of well-defined phases performed in sequence that serve as a framework for developing a system or project.

What are the five SDLC phases, in order?

Planning, Analysis, Design, Implementation, Maintenance.

What is the purpose of the Planning phase?

To select a project based on feasibility.

What does an economic feasibility study evaluate?

Whether the benefits are worth the costs, including tangible and intangible costs and benefits and ROI.

What does technical feasibility evaluate?

Whether the organization has the technology and skills needed.

What does operational feasibility evaluate?

Whether people will use the system and whether the organization can maintain it.

What does schedule feasibility evaluate?

Whether the project can be completed within the required timeframe.

What does legal feasibility evaluate?

Whether the project complies with laws and regulations.

What is an intangible cost or benefit?

Something difficult to measure financially, such as goodwill.

What is the purpose of the Analysis phase?

To gather and understand user requirements.

What are system requirements?

Descriptions of what users need the system to do.

What are the pros of individual interviews?

They provide detailed answers and allow follow-up questions.

What are the cons of individual interviews?

They can be time-consuming, difficult to schedule, and produce conflicting responses.

What are the pros of group interviews?

They are time-efficient and let multiple people share information together.

What is an undertalker in a group interview?

Someone who rarely speaks, even when they have useful information.

What is an overtalker in a group interview?

Someone who dominates the conversation and prevents others from contributing.

What is a power differential in a group interview?

Differences in authority that may make lower-level employees uncomfortable speaking honestly.

What is direct observation used for during requirements gathering?

To reveal details people may forget or overlook when answering questions.

What is the Hawthorne Effect?

The act of observing people affects their behavior or what is being observed.

What is document review?

Examining existing documents to understand current processes and requirements.

What is the build vs. buy decision?

Deciding whether to develop a system internally or purchase it from an outside vendor.

What factors should be considered in a build vs. buy decision?

Cost, functionality, and vendor support and viability.

What is the purpose of the Design phase?

To turn requirements into a logical or conceptual model of the system.

What does it mean that Analysis and Design are iterative?

The team may move back and forth between the phases as new requirements are discovered.

What is the purpose of the Implementation phase?

To code, test, and deploy the system.

What is a module in system development?

A smaller part or component of a system.

What is unit testing?

Testing an individual module or component.

What is system testing?

Testing whether the complete system works as a whole.

What is integration testing?

Testing whether the system works correctly with other systems, including legacy systems.

What is user acceptance testing (UAT)?

Users confirm that the system meets organizational requirements.

What is the production environment?

The environment where the accepted system is deployed for real use.

What is a system of record?

The system used as the authoritative source of organizational data or records.

What is direct cutover?

Immediately replacing the old system with the new system; VERY RISKY

What is the main risk of direct cutover?

It is very risky because there is little room to return to the old system.

What is phased conversion?

Introducing the new system one part at a time.

What is pilot conversion?

Testing the system at one location or section before expanding it.

What is parallel conversion?

Operating the old and new systems simultaneously and comparing results; LEAST RISKY, most expensive, used when big money is involved

Which conversion method is riskiest?

Direct cutover.

Which conversion method is least risky but most expensive?

Parallel conversion.

How are pilot and phased conversion different?

Pilot starts at one location or section; phased introduces the system one part at a time.

What is the purpose of the Maintenance phase?

To update and correct the system so it continues meeting organizational needs.

What is corrective maintenance?

Fixing an existing bug or problem.

What is adaptive maintenance?

Modifying a system to accommodate new requirements or conditions.

What is perfective maintenance?

Improving system performance, efficiency, or functionality.

What is preventive maintenance?

Addressing potential problems before they occur.

What are common reasons system development projects fail?

Poor planning or project management, changing organizational goals, lack of management support or resources, and changing technology.

Why is decision-making becoming harder for organizations?

There is more data, more competition, more regulation, and less time.

What are the four steps in the decision-making process from the notes?

Problem, Alternatives, Decision/Choice, Outcome.

What is a structured decision?

A decision with a well-defined procedure that can often be automated.

What is a semi-structured decision?

A decision where some parts follow established procedures and other parts require judgment.

What is an unstructured decision?

A unique, one-time, decision with no standard operating procedures.

What is an example of a structured decision?

Reordering inventory when stock is low.

What is an example of a semi-structured decision?

Sales forecasting.

What is an example of an unstructured decision?

Hiring or firing an employee.

What is total certainty in decision-making?

The outcome can be predicted with 100% certainty.

What is risk in decision-making?

The outcome is uncertain, but probabilities can be estimated.

What is total uncertainty in decision-making?

The outcome cannot be reliably predicted or assigned a dependable probability.

What are the three levels of the decision-making hierarchy?

Operational, Tactical, and Strategic.

Operational decisions

Day-to-day decisions with a narrower scope and more detailed information.

Tactical decisions

Mid-level decisions between operational and strategic.

Strategic decisions

Big-picture decisions with broader scope and greater complexity.

What is the decision-making hierarchy from narrowest to broadest scope?

Operational → Tactical → Strategic.

What is bounded rationality?

People unconsciously recognize patterns and limit their thinking to what they believe is possible.

What is the 7 ± 2 rule?

People can typically keep about 5-9 items in mind at once.

What is satisficing?

Choosing an option that is good enough from a limited set of alternatives, even if it is not optimal.

Why do people satisfice?

They have limited time and mental processing capacity.

How can information systems improve decision-making?

They can compare more alternatives, process data faster, and apply rules consistently.

What is data analytics?

Examining raw data to draw conclusions and support decisions.

What activities can data analytics involve?

Extracting, cleaning, transforming, and analyzing data to find trends, patterns, and useful insights.

What is data mining?

Examining large amounts of data to discover patterns or relationships that are not readily apparent.

What is cluster analysis?

Grouping entities with similar characteristics.

What is decision tree analysis?

Using past information and decision rules to classify entities or help predict outcomes.

What is market basket analysis?

Identifying products that are frequently purchased together.

What is the Internet?

A worldwide network of interconnected networks.

What was the predecessor of the Internet mentioned in the notes?

ARPANET.

What does TCP/IP stand for?

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.

What does TCP/IP do?

It enables communication between devices across different networks.

What is packet switching?

Dividing data into packets that travel across a network and are reassembled at the destination.

Why is packet switching useful?

Packets can take different routes, so data may still be delivered if one route is unavailable.

What is the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web?

The Internet is the global network; the Web is a service that runs on it and provides linked web pages and resources.

What is SMTP used for?

Sending email.

What is FTP used for?

Transferring files.

What does URL stand for?

Uniform Resource Locator.

What is a URL?

The address used to locate a resource on the Web.

What is an intranet?

An organization's internal network that uses Internet protocols.

What is an extranet?

An intranet that provides limited access to external business partners.

What is the difference between an intranet and an extranet?

An intranet is for internal use; an extranet also provides authorized external access.

What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?

A network of physical objects with IP connectivity that can communicate or exchange data.

What is e-commerce?

Using the Internet to facilitate the exchange of goods and services.

What does B2B mean?

Business-to-Business: a business sells to another business.

What does B2C mean?

Business-to-Consumer: a business sells to an individual consumer.

What does C2C mean?

Consumer-to-Consumer: one consumer sells to another consumer.

What is cybersecurity?

Protecting people, systems, and data from cyberattacks through technology, processes, and policies.

What is a cyberattack?

An intentional attempt to steal, expose, alter, disable, or destroy data or other assets through unauthorized access.

What is adware?

Software installed on a computer without permission that displays pop-up ads.