UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2014/2015
ORDINARY EXAMINATION FOR THE BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
BIT 1205 SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN
DATE: DECEMBER 2014 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question ONE and any other TWO
SECTION A (30 Marks): Answer ALL questions in this Section
QUESTION ONE
Briefly describe the activities carried out in the following phases of the systems
development life cycle.
i) System Analysis (2 marks)
ii) System Design (3 marks)
a) As a system analyst on the development team, you chair a meeting to define the aims
of system improvement with the project owners and users. Describe any 3 reasons
why system improvement is done. (6 Marks)
b) Describe any two roles of the system review committee during system analysis.
(4 marks)
c) What do you understand by the following terms;
i) Operational Feasibility (2 Marks)
ii) Technical Feasibility (2
Marks)
iii) Legal Feasibility (2 Marks)
d) The rules of deciding the postage of a postal parcel is described as follows: if the parcel is to be sent by express, then the basic charge will be 6$/kg, otherwise the basic
charge will be 4$/kg. If the distance is over 200km, then each kg will be charged for
one more dollar. If the parcel’s weight is over 10kg, then another 0.5 dollar will be
charged for each kg that exceeds 10 kg. Suppose a parcel’s weight is W kilograms,
please draw a decision table to show the calculation of the postage for this parcel.
Draw Decision table to show the calculation of the postage for this parcel.
(5 Marks)
e) With reference to the KCA students’ results system, give a typical example of each
one of the following:
i) A process (1 mark)
ii) A data flow (1 mark)
iii) A data store (1 mark)
iv) An entity (1 mark)
SECTION B: Answer ONLY Two (02) Questions
QUESTION ONE
Data Flow Modelling is widely used in the Structured System Analysis and Design
Methodology (SSADM).
a) Explain the purpose of Data Flow Modelling. (2 Marks)
b) Draw and explain the symbols used in Data Flow Diagrams. (6 Marks)
c) With the aid of a sketch, explain the different levels in data flow diagrams.
(5 Marks)
d) Explain the differences between logical and physical data flow diagrams, and suggest
how one is derived from the other. (4 Marks)
e) In which stages of SSADM are the different data flow models created? (3 Marks)
QUESTION TWO
Nairobi High School has recently been formed by joining together six smaller schools.
The head teacher wants to have a modern ICT system to administer staff and student
records. She has decided to employ a systems analyst to look at the existing systems and
recommend a new system. The system will need to produce hundreds of reports in one
session and should be able to find individual records very quickly. Using the results of
the analysis of the current system the analyst will need to design the new system. Once
the system has been designed and developed, user and technical documentation will need
to be produced.
a) Other than observation, describe the methods that the systems analyst could use to research the current systems. (6 Marks)
b) Describe four different items that the systems analyst will need to include at the requirements modeling stage. Using the scenario of Nairobi High School, explain the
factors that will influence the choice of each item. (4 marks)
c) Explain the purpose of technical documentation. (3 Marks)
d) Describe the two types of technical documentation including details of the contents of
each one. (7 Marks)
QUESTION THREE
a) Some systems analysts find it better to start with a decision table, and then construct a
decision tree. Others believe it is easier to do it in the reverse order. Which do you
prefer? And Why? (5 marks)
b) Explain at least three specific data validation checks that might help reduce input errors into a system. (3 marks)
c) Explain at least four user interface design guidelines that a system analyst can follow
to improve appearance the new system. (8 marks)
d) Explain the difference between the structured and agile software development methods. (4 marks)
QUESTION FOUR
At the Faculty of Computing and Information Management (FoCIM) CATs and Final exams are scheduled to take place during the timester. Initially, a final exam time table is issued out to students for use during examinations which are based on degree program of3
fered and the various course units in the program. The examination time-table displays
the date, time and room allocation when and where a specific course unit will be done.
However students’ sitting arrangement is done according to alphabetical order of students’ surnames, which is dependent on the number of students doing a given course unit.
As a result room allocation keeps changing which causes inconveniences, such as spill
over of students especially for the bigger group whose names start with K to O; wastage
of time when trying to identify extra room for affected students. These concerns cause
students, invigilators and supervisors to get very anxious. The management of FoCIM
would like advice on proper systems analysis and design to automate the Students examination sitting arrangement.
a) Write a clear problem statement for the above business case scenario that the Management of FoCIM would present in the request for proposal for a new system.
(2Marks)
b) How best would you systematically solve the business case in 1 clearly pointing out
the specific methods? (5 Marks)
c) Describe the system boundary for the student examination sitting arrangement.
(2Marks)
d) Suggest any one possible requirement to achieve efficient and effective student examination sitting arrangement for the following categories:
i) Functional Requirements (1 Mark)
ii) Non-Functional Requirement (1 Mark)
iii) System Requirements (1 Mark)
e) Briefly explain any one advantage of using CASE tools during the development of
the Students Examination Sitting Arrangement System for FoCIM.
(2Marks)
f) Draw a Context diagram for the student examination sitting arrangement system.
(6Marks)
