INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY BLOCK REVISION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Dec 2013

QUESTION ONE

The term ―computer‖ describes a device made up of a combination of

electronic and electromechanical components. By itself, a computer has no intelligence and is referred to as hardware which means simply the physical equipment. Tile hardware cannot be used, until it is connected to other elements, all of which constitute the six parts-of a computer-based information system.

Required:

Describe the six components of a computer-based information system. (12 marks)

Any communication network, such as a telephone system, can be connected to others. This is an example of connectivity, the ability to connect computers, telephones and other devices to other computers, other devices and sources of information. It is this connectivity that is the foundation of Information Age. Connectivity has also made many activities possible.

Required:

Explain any four activities that have become possible because of connectivity.

(8 marks)

(Total: 20 marks)

December 2013

ANSWERS TO QUESTION ONE

(a)

Input, processing, storage, output
Organization
Environment
Technology
Feedback
People

(b)

Data sharing
e-Business and Commerce
e-Learning
Communication
Video conferencing^{QUESTION TWO}
- Explain the role of senior management during systems implementation.
(6 marks)
- Locating computer hardware, software and information communication staff in one area realizes a number of benefits to an organization. (2 marks)
^Required:

Explain the nature of the following advantages:
- The firm you work for is in the process of designing a customer database in order to improve its debts management.
Name any eight important customer details that would constitute this database system.

8 marks)

(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION TWO

An approval from senior management is required after the completion of the first
- seven of the SDLC phases, annually during operations and maintenance phase and six _{months after the disposition phase.}
Senior management approval authority may be varied based on currency value, visibility level, congressional interests or a combination of these.

Economies of scale.

Use of resources in a pool makes it possible to save on costs especially for

shared purchases which can be bought in bulk. (ii) Enforcement of systems development standards

Sharing of information between departments. All users are given guidelines on systems to be developed i.e. tools to be used, level of testing required and

implementation plans. Resources located in one place e.g. network printer can

be shared by staff in one area.
Customer name, number, items purchased, cost of the items, form of payment, Date of transaction, receipt number, Payment date,, customer contacts.

QUESTION THREE

You have been appointed the internal auditor of a bank. The bank has several computerized systems networked in a distributed network system. There is need to review the variouscontrols existing within the systems.
- Outline six main areas that the review should cover. (6 marks)
- Describe how you would carry out your audit procedures using the following computer assisted audit techniques (CAATs):
Parallel simulation (3 marks)

Embedded Audit Module(3 marks)

Explain why you may have some difficulties in auditing distributed systems.

(8 marks)

(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION THREE

Comparison of the actual system performance against the anticipated performance

This involves assessment of system running cost, benefits etc. as they compare with estimated or anticipated.
The staffing needs and whether th0ey are more or less than anticipated.
Any delays in the processing and effects of such delays.
Effectiveness of the inbuilt security procedures in the system.
The error rates for input data.

Parallel simulation

In which actual client data is processed using a copy of the client‘s software and isunder the control of the auditor. The data processed on the auditor‘s copy of the software is compared to the data previously processed by the client to ensure that the processing is identical. This procedure provides evidence as to the effectiveness of design of programmed control procedures as well as aspects of the effectiveness of operation.

Embedded Audit Module

Is a CAAT in which code prepared by the auditor is embedded in the clients software. The code may be designed for example, to replicate a specific aspect of control procedure, or to record details of certain transactions in a file accessible only to the auditor. Thus, this audit software may be used as both a test control or as a substantive procedure. This CAAT is particularly applicable to continuous auditing.

Inconsistency: There may be a problem when it comes to consistency in auditing sincethe systems are distributed hence part of the system may be audited and some parts may not

hence ―half baked‖ auditing of systems may crop up leading to poor auditing. – Quality Tools: System quality can be significantly enhanced by the use of quality tools.Lack of these tools may bring about difficulties in auditing systems. Some of the tools developed may not me tailored to suite distributed systems hence a challenge to system auditors where as some tools may not be easy to use or lack proper documentation.

Difficulty in Data Quality Audits: In may be difficult for an organization to undertakeregular data quality audits for the fact that data is distributed to some or all the components of a distributed system hence the difficulty to know what data is accurate, incomplete of ambiguous.
Size: The size of a distributed system may be too large for an organization to fully andeffectively carry out a successful audit. The possibility of redundancy auditing may bring about

QUESTION FOUR

Farmquip Ltd. designs and manufactures irrigation equipment. The irrigation equipments are sold to flower nationality. The company regards customer service, that is the ability to respond effectively and properly to service calls as critical to its success.

Initially, field engineers inspect faulty irrigation equipment. Currently three quarters of the faulty irrigation equipment are referred to the repair centre, to be mended by the repair centre.

Engineers, resulting in a turnaround time of up to 10 days. The company has decided to investigate the possibility of carrying out more field repairs with the aid of a portable expert system, in order to reduce the turnaround time.

The prototyping approach was used, and an evaluation of the final prototype made it clear that an expert system used in conjunction with 11.1ptop microcomputer would improve the situation to the extent that only 10% of irrigation equipment would need to be returned to the repair centre, with majority of repairs being carried out at the customers‘ premises by the field engineers.

Required

Define the term expert system and explain how it could be of use in this context.

(4 marks)

What is meant by prototyping? Briefly comment on its advantages and disadvantages and explain how this approach is used. (4 marks)

Discuss the changes that would take place if the expert system was implemented in terms of position, status; tasks and responsibilities of engineers at the company‘s

repair centre and in the field. (12 marks)

(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION FOUR

An expert system is an intelligent computer system which uses knowledge and interface

procedures to solve problems that are difficult enough to require significant human _{experts for their solution.}

It is a computer-based system that simulates the human thought process or reasoning to

solve problems which require human expertise. It enables non_{achieve comparable results to human experts in that field.} -experts in a given filed to

In this context, the expert system will help in solving time in repairs and reduce cost drastically which would have incurred on the repair engineers.

Prototyping is a technique for quickly building a functioning, but incomplete modelof the information system using rapid application development tools. Prototypes typically evolve into the final version of the system or application.

Advantages of prototyping

It is useful for projects in which user requirements are uncertain or imprecise.

It encourages active user and management participation (as opposed to a passive reaction to non-working system models). This increase end-user enthusiasm for the project.

Projects have higher visibility and support because of extensive user involvement throughout the

Users and management see working, software -based solutions more rapidly than in model-driven development.

Errors and omissions tend to be detected earlier in prototypes than in system models. § Testing and training is a natural by-product of the underlying prototyping approach.

The interactive approach is a more ―natural‖ fit because change is an expected factor

during development.

It reduces risk because you test the technical solution iteratively instead of making a wholesale commitment to any solution.

Disadvantages of prototyping

There can be considerable pressure to implement an early prototype. Often users observing a working model cannot understand why the early prototype has to be refined further. The fact that the prototype has to be expanded to handle transaction

volumes, terminal networks, back up and recovery procedures, as well as provide for _{audit ability and control is not often understood.}

It often leads to functions or extras being added to the system that are not included in the initial requirements document. All major enhancements beyond the initial requirements document should be reviewed to ensure that they need the strategic

needs of the organization and are cost effective otherwise, the final system can end _{up being functionally rich but inefficient.}

The finished system will have poor controls. By focusing mainly on what the user wants and what the user uses, system developers may miss some of the controls that come out of the traditional system development approach, such a back up recovery, security and audit trails. Change control often becomes much more complicated with prototyped systems. Changes in designs and requirements happen so quickly that they are seldom documented or approved and can escalate to a point of being unmaintainable.

How this approach is used

Build the model to create the design. Then based on that model, develop the system with all the processing capabilities needed.

Retrenchment of some engineers
Some specialized positions would be faced out for instance some engineers may have acquired specialization due to many years of experience hence regarded special in position such positions may be faced out by the new system, leading to

loss of status in the organization

The new system may lower morals of those affected negatively by it.
Repositioning of staff, some engineers may be assigned other responsibilities, which may be different from what they used to do and probably not in the engineering sector.

QUESTION FIVE

Lack of historical data and prior knowledge of an information system makes it difficult to estimate the cost of an information systems project.

Required:

Formulate a checklist that could assist an organization in identifying, quantifying and evaluating information systems costs. (12 marks)

The basic objective of user interface is to minimize the human error during data entry.

Required

Explain the error control measures that should be incorporated into a user interface. (4 marks)

What are the implications of the error control measures in (i) above? (4 marks) (Total: 20 marks)

ANSWERS TO QUESTION FIVE

Feasibility study: Preparation of gross estimates of_{costs for each probable alternative solution.} developments, implementation and operation

Development costs are one-time costs that will not recur after the project has been

completed e.g. systems development, hardware/software, user training, site _{and data conversion.} preparation

Operating costs are costs that tend to recur throughout the lifetime of the system. E.g.

maintenance, data storage expenses, communications expenses, software licenses. Such costs can be classified as:

Fixed costs – occur at regular intervals but at relatively fixed rates

Forward error control – additional redundant information is transmitted with each

character or frame so that the receiver cannot only detect when errors are present, but can also determine where the error has occurred and thus corrects it.

Feedback (backward) error control – only enough additional information is transmitted so that the receiver can identify that an error has occurred. An

associated retransmission control system is then used to request that another copy of the information be sent.

§ Ensures data integrity during data transmission.

QUESTION SIX

The following diagram illustrates the e-business planning process, which focuses on discovering innovative approaches to satisfying a company‘s customer value and business value goals:

Key insight Key objectives Priorities

Customer and

e-business

business value

strategies and

application

visioning

models

architecture

development and deployment

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY BLOCK REVISION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Dec 2013

Written by MJ

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