QUESTION ONE
- In a systems development life cycle, the systems analyst is interested in finding out the organization‘s objectives and exploring the nature and scope of the problems under study during the feasibility stage.
Required:
- Explain three objectives of a feasibility study. (6 marks)
- Explain the methods used by the systems analyst in defining the objectives
of an organization. (6 marks)
- The increased use of multimedia technology can be largely attributed to the easyto-use presentation software together with the decreasing costs of the necessary hardware such as LCD projection panels and laptop computers.
Required:
- State four elements of multimedia technology. (4 marks)
- Explain two major uses of multimedia technology. (4 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)
QUESTION ONE
- To learn more about your prospective client‘s needs.
- To clearly define the product or service that you wish to offer these clients.
- To determine cost of the solution to be developed.
- Interviewing users, employees, managers and customers
- Observing or monitoring users of the current system to determine their needs
as well as their satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the current system.
- Developing and administering questionnaires to interested
stakeholders, such as potential users of the information system.
- Collecting, examining and analyzing documents, reports, layouts, procedures, manuals, and any other documentation relating to the operations of the
current system.
- Modeling, observing and simulating the work activities of the current system.
- Text
- Audio
- Graphics
- Video
- Virtual reality
- Graphical information service (GIS) systems
- Presentation in classroom; seminars.
QUESTION TWO
- Explain the role of information communication technology in business process re- engineering. (6 marks)
- Dunga Beach Sacco Ltd., a farmers savings and credit co-operative society based in Kisumu Municipality installed an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software two years ago. At the time of installation, the Sacco did not undertake the necessary business process changes, as a result of which most users still prefer to use the manual system. The Sacco is now planning to undertake the necessary changes.
Required:
- State four obstacles that may have hampered the business process changes and suggest four possible strategies that may be used to overcome the obstacles. (8 marks)
- A post installation review of the system revealed that the system was not realizing the anticipated benefits. List six other key areas that the review
should have focused on other than the benefits. (6 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)
QUESTION TWO
- ICT can prove useful during the reengineering analysis and design process.
- Graphics software and CASE tools can produce process maps.
- Spreadsheets and costing software allow for activity – based cost analysis.
- Databases can track customer satisfaction and complaints.
- ―Blind‖ e-mail bulletin boards can be used to capture employee suggestions.
- Email and groupware can facilitate communication and coordination across geographical and organizational barriers.
Obstacles
- Attitude or beliefs perhaps arising from cultural and religious or social
Influences.
- Politics i.e. resisting change that might weaken the power in the base of an Individual or group strength a rival position.
- Personal self – interest
- Misunderstanding
- Different view points of the situation
IFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
- Low tolerance of change
Strategies
- Negotiation e.g. offer incentives to the resisting parties.
- Evaluate and reassure resisting parties.
- Participation and by involving potential resistors.
- Force change through and then support the new behavior it requires (carrot and stick method).
- Comparison of the actual system performance against the anticipated
Performance objectives. This involves assessment of the system
Running cost, benefits etc as they compare with estimated or anticipated.
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- The staffing needs and whether they 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.
- The output i.e. whether it is correct, timely and distributed correctly to the relevant users
QUESTION THREE
- Auditing information systems by a company‘s internal auditing staff or external auditors is aimed partly at evaluating whether proper and adequate security measures and management policies have been developed.
Required:
- Define the term ‗electronic audit trail‘
- Differentiate between auditing around the computer and auditing through the computer and explain the approach which uses electronic audit trial.
- State four skills required of information systems auditors. (4 marks)
- Explain the factors that have led to the decentralization of information systems functions.
(8 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)
ANSWERS TO QUESTION THREE
Electronic audit trail – A record provided by some business and financialsoftware of all the transactions that have taken place during previous amendments to data in order that subsequent checking may take place.
Audit around the computer
Audit around the computer refers to the approach of first reviewing input
data and then directly reviewing outputs from the computer, which circumvents
direct usage of the computer. By adopting such an approach, auditor‘s do not review computer Processing or application controls but judge the correctness of the processing by examining inputs and outputs.
Audit through the computer
By audit through the computer, auditors examine documents and procedures in the Computerized accounting systems and then further review
results of accounting.
- Distributed processing
- Networks
- Database Technology
Decentralised organization structures
QUESTION FOUR
- Most computers in use today have open architecture which enables users to open them easily and install new devices. The need to buy new computers is reduced since the existing capability may be enhanced using expansion slots on the computer motherboard to plug in expansion cards.
Required:
Describe any three types of expansion cards. (6 marks)
- List four scanning devices and explain how a scanning device works. (8 marks)
- Digital video disk (DVD) is a relatively new type of data storage device that may be used for diverse data storage tasks.
Describe three characteristics of a DVD.
QUESTION FOUR
- Network Interface card (N.I.C)
- VGA card
- Sound card
- Image scanner – converts images on a page to electronic signals
- Character and mark Recognition devices – scanning devices used to read marks on documents.
- Fax machine – converts light and dark areas of an image into format that can be sent over telephone lines.
- Barcodes readers – photoelectric scanner that reads vertical stripped marks printed on items.
How a scanning device(Scanner) works
- light bar moves across the object being scanned (the target) and the
light is reflected to the charge coupled device (CCO) by a system of mirrors. Each cell produces an electrical signal proportional to the strength of the reflected light that hit it. The signal which represents one pixel in the original images is converted into binary number and sent to the computer.
Darker portions of the target reflect less light and are given lower numbers
- As a disc, DVD looks very much like the CD. Both are shiny discs that are
4.75‖ (112.0cm) in diameter. Both are optical formats
containing digitalinformation.
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- Smaller pit size
- Tighter track spacing
- Multiple layer capability
- The DVD may be used for video, audio, or data storage.
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QUESTION FIVE
- In a file set up or development process, the file‘s structure is defined and its contents identified. The four characteristics considered in defining the structure and identifying the contents in a file set up or development process are; volatility, activity, size and growth.
Required:
- Using the example of a payroll file, explain the terms; volatility, activity, size and growth. (4 mark
- Explain how each of the characteristics in (i) above may influence decisions to do with a file structure design and in planning whether the mode of access should be sequential, indexed sequential or random. (8 marks)
- Organizations use different options of human computer interfaces such as GUI, command driven or special interfaces. Define GUI and state its advantages.
(8 marks)
ANSWERS TO QUESTION FIVE
Volatility – This is the frequency with which records are added to the fileor
deleted from it. If the frequency is high, the file is said to be volatile.
- file that is not altered is ―static‖. If frequency is low, the file is said to be ―semi-static‖.
Activity –Is the processing of a master file. Hit rate is a measure of the ‗activity‘ of the file.
Size –This is the amount of data stored in the file. It may be expressed interms of the number of characters or number of records.
Growth –Files often grow steadily in size as new records are added. growth mustbe allowed for when planning how to store a file.
Volatility
- A file with Volatile variable (has data that can be changed with external process) is preferably designed to be accessed using index sequential.
- This is because of speed of access; index sequential files are fast to locate than random or sequential files.
- For a file whose records are relatively permanent in nature meaning that the hit rate is low, then random file organization would be preferred.
Activity
- Files that are accessed every now and then should be designed to be accessed using index sequential method. Speed being one of the reasons for this. Since its mostly used in transaction files where the hit rate is high to enable records to be located faster.
Size
- A small sized file can well be accessed using random method or sequential method where as a large file containing large amount of data, its data can easily be located using an index sequential method since an index file can be used to effectively overcome the problem of key searching, and to speed up the key search as well.
Growth
- The same consideration would be put in place as that of size of files.
GUI – Graphical User Interface–Is a human computer interface (HCI)based upon a graphical display. The GUI software is organized in layers including components such as windows libraries.
Advantages of GUI
- Graphical symbols are more easily recognized and memorized than text. – Direct manipulation, for example by pointing and clicking on graphical objects with a mouse, reduces learning time for users and gives them a
greater feeling of control over the HCI.
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- Make computer operations more intuitive and thus easier to use and learn. – Provide users with immediate, visual feedback about the effect of each action. – Allow users to take full advantage of the powerful multitasking
- QUESTION SIX
- Explain three ways in which modern information communication technology (ICT) has affected the portability of information. (6 marks)
- Outline any two anomalies that are associated with redundant data. (2 marks)
- Explain the type of information that should be maintained for the post-
implementation review of a system. (6 marks)
- Explain the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) to a developing country.
(6 marks)
ANSWERS TO QUESTION SIX
- Increased access: Through networks, it is possible to access remote databases.
- Large capacity storage: Databases technology has facilitated storage of large
amounts of data in corporate databases.
- External Storage Media: Such media is flash disk, DVD, can carry large amounts of data making it possible to transfer data from one point to the other.
- Poor utilization of databasespace requirements. storage space which might be minimal. Large storage
Problem of securing all the redundant data. Though the data in such a database is redundant, it must still be secured from unauthorized access. This task is very difficult to data. implement because each functional area of an organization holds the §
- Confusion data may have different means in different parts of an organization.– since data is collected and maintained in so many different places, the same
Difficulty in performing updates – to update a redundant data item, one must
- update all instances of the redundant item in all the department files of an This is clearly hectic.
- Compromised system integrity.
Comparison of the actual system performance against the anticipated performance objectives.
- The staffing needs and whether they 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.
The output i.e. whether it is correct, timely and distributed correctly to the relevant users.
- Economic of scale – it reduces the cost of hiring experts to some of the work which are technical.
- Medicare: Four doctors able to serve many patients through AI – expert systems.
Important tool for teaching
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QUESTION SEVEN
- A washing machine is designed to rinse and spin clothes for some predetermined intervals regardless of whether the clothes are clean or not.
Required:
- Using the general systems theory, indicate whether this is an open loop or
closed loop control system. (4 marks)
- Explain the importance of open loop and closed loop control concepts in the context of a business system. (4 marks)
- Explain how the following systems development tools or techniques can assist a systems developer to reduce an application‘s development period and costs.
- Fourth generation languages (4GLs). (3 marks)
- Prototyping (3 marks)
- Computer aided software engineering (CASE) tools. (3 marks)
- Explain three major benefits of mobile banking (M -banking). (3 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)
QUESTION SEVEN
Its open-loop control system.
- Soaking, washing and rinsing are operated on a timed basis.
- Does not measure the output signal – the cleanliness of the clothes.
- Output is not compared with the reference input.
In closed loop systems, feedback, makes the system response relatively insensitive to disturbances and internal variations in system parameter. (b)
Most fourth generation systems use a mixture of graphics and text which eases the specification of user requirements.
- Use of wimp – create a user friendly environment to the systems analyst.
- Highly skilled experts not required less costly.
Prototypes help users get an idea of what the system will look like, and make it
- easier for users to make design decisions without built. waiting for the system to be
In prototyping, a number of SDLC stages are not undertaken hence short time in system development.
Using a case product, you can easily create professional readable data models without the use of paper, pencil, eraser and templates hence cut on costs. The
- models can be easily modified to reflect corrections and changes suggested by end-users. You don‘t have to start over.
Some case products can even help you analyse the data model for consistency, completeness a nd flexibility. The potential time and quality savings are substantial.
- Allowing for immediate transactions (meaning the unbanked become banking customers).
- An alternative to carrying cash which in turn means better cash retention.
- Increased security and payment efficiencies
Reduced dependency on ATMs and branch infrastructures (meaning lowering of operating expenditure) etc.
QUESTION EIGHT
Witu Ltd., a motor vehicle spare parts dealer, has its head office in Nairobi. The company has eight branches in Kenya, two in Uganda and one in Rwanda. To enable the branches share data and other resources, the company has a large database that is replicated in the computers located in the branches. These computers are interconnected through data communication networks. The database is centrally administered from Nairobi but the branches have flexibility and may customize the database to meet their needs.
Required:
- State the type of database used by Witu Ltd. (2 marks)
- Explain the business reasons that may have encouraged Witu Ltd. to use this (6 marks)
- State and briefly explain advantages and disadvantages of the database used by
Witu Ltd. (12 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)
ANSWERS TO QUESTION EIGHT
Network database
- Secure transactions
- Multiple access by customers
- Communication purposes
- For backing up reasons
- Resource sharing
Advantages
- Scalability
- Support large client population
- Most flexible of the database
- Optimizes resource utilization
- More secure – Enables identification and monitoring of real users
Disadvantages
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- Complex and difficult to comprehend, modify or reconstruct in case of failure. – Costly – initial costs and maintaining costs.
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