Solution Manual for Systems Analysis and Design 8th Edition by Alan Dennis, All Chapters

SolutionManualforDennis,Wixom,RothSystemsAnalysisandDesign,8th
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Edition
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Chapter1:TheSystemsAnalystand v v v




InformationSystemsDevelopment
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AnswertoYourTurn1-1:BeinganAnalyst v v v v v v v




Student answers will vary, depending on their preferences regarding being a: 1) systems
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analyst, 2) business analyst, 3) requirements analyst, 4) infrastructure analyst, or 5)
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change management analyst. Verify that the student has correctly associated the skills
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needed with the type of analyst for which they aspire and that the student has created a
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plan to acquire those skills. The roles and the names used to describe them may vary from
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organization to organization.
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AnswertoYourTurn1-2:ImplementingaSatelliteDataNetwork
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While answers may vary, answers might include the following:
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1. A cost-benefit analysis, along with other financial processes (ROI, etc.) would
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certainly reveal that a just-in-time (JIT) inventory can reduce inventory costs and
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increase revenue. A standard communication line, encrypted or not, would not be
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able to handle the high bandwidth needed for data, voice and video transmissions.
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2. A competitor would be able to narrow the gap by adopting the JIT type of
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inventory management. Voice and video are not necessary to keep the inventory
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up to date on a timely basis, data transmissions alone would work well.
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1-1

, Answer to Your Turn 1-3: Too Much Paper, Part 1 v v v v v v v v v




v System Request v




Element Description
Sponsor Document Manager. v



Business Need v Increase efficiency in storing, updating, and retrieving v v v v v v



information on employee injury claims.
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Business Requirements v Automated system which allows for electronic submission v v v v v v



of reports via a secure web site.
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Business Value v Reduce response time for employee inquiries, increase
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effectiveness of storing, updating, and retrieving
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employee injury claims. Reduce storage costs of paper
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files.
Special Issues v Must have someone who understands how to create and
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maintain a secure web site. Must have resources to
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migrate paper files to data storage. Must work within
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HIPAA guidelines to ensure that medical documents are v v v v v v v



treated according to regulations.
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AnswertoYourTurn1-4:TooMuchPaper,Part2 v v v v v v v v v




1. Issues arising from digital signatures and electronic documents typically focus on
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establishing validity for signatures and originators. As these issues can be
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overcome using certificates and encryption, they don‘t necessarily affect the
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project feasibility. However, they do need to be addressed.
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2. Answers will vary. The project champion, organizational management, and
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perhaps most importantly a subset of the stakeholders must believe in and show
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support for the project. One solution would be to plan and provide for sufficient
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training that demonstrates how their jobs might be easier to accomplish with the
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automated system.
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AnswertoConceptsinAction1-A:AnArrayofITFailures v v v v v v v v v v




Qantas provides for an ―ice-breaker‖ discussion topic for the first class. Perhaps group the
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students and have them discuss this company and then provide for class discussion about
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the importance of IT project success.
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AnswertoConceptsinAction1-B:BPIontheFarm v v v v v v v v v




Efficiency gains are mentioned in this Concept in Action. What are the drawbacks to this
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scenario? Is it as easy as it seems? Issues such as Wi-Fi coverage on a farm, perhaps even
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cellular coverage can come into play as can weather, dust, and other issues inherent with a
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farming enterprise.
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1-2

, Answerto ConceptsinAction1-C:InterviewwithDonHallacy,President,
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Technology Services, Sprint Corporation v v v v




This is an opportune time to identify the responsibilities of the differing roles that an analyst
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serves.
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AnswertoConceptsinAction1-D:IntangibleValueatCarlsonHospitality
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Carlson Hospitality can use the information from the survey to determine whether the
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one-point increase in market share revenue ($20 million per point) will offset costs
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associated with increasing the level of services to high-quality customers which would
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result in a 10% increase in customer satisfaction.
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Answerto ConceptsinAction1-E: ReturnonInvestment v v v v v v v v




1. One method for determining a return on investment is to complete a Cost-Benefit
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Analysis using the Present Value Method. Many of the costs for server
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virtualization are associated with the initial construction: physical manipulation of
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the servers and software licensing. The ongoing costs of labor in updating and
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accessing tables would be relatively small. Using this type of analysis would allow
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the project sponsors to show how the benefits of the virtualization would be realized
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on a long term basis.
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2. Implementing a major change to a system should certainly include a systems v v v v v v v v v v v



analyst. Systems analysts typically have a broad view of the system, and would be
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able to ascertain how virtualizing the servers will affect the whole system.
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AnswerstoEndofChapterQuestions v v v v v




1. List and describe the six general skills all project team members should have.
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[1] Technical skills (knowledge of how to employ technology in development system
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solutions). [2] Business skills (knowledge of how to apply IT to business problems to
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achieve a valuable solution). [3] Analytical skills (ability to solve complex problems).
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[4] Interpersonal skills (oral and written communication skills with both technical and
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non-technical audiences). [5] Management skills (ability to manage others and cope
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with an uncertain environment). [6] Ethical skills (ability to deal with others honestly
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and ethically).
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2. What are the major roles on a project team?
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1-3

, Business analyst – emphasis on the business issues addressed by the system: value of
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new system; identification of problems and opportunities; revision of business
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processes and policies.
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Systems analyst – emphasis on IS issues of the system: how IT can be used to support
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business processes; design of new business process and IS; and enforcement of IS
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standards.
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Infrastructure analyst – technical issues associated with integrating new system v v v v v v v v v



components to existing technical infrastructure.
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Requirements analyst – eliciting the requirements of the new system from all v v v v v v v v v v v



stakeholders. They understand the business well, are excellent communicators, and are
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highly skilled in obtaining system requirements.
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Change management analyst – emphasis on facilitating organizational adaptation to
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new system. Helping to identify and overcome resistance to change and assuring
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adequate training and documentation of new system.
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Project manager – ensuring that progress is made on the project; time schedules and
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budgets are met; supervision of project team; and manage relations with project
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sponsor and users.
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3. Compare and contrast the role of a systems analyst, business analyst, and
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infrastructure analyst.
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These three roles emphasize different perspectives on the system. The business analyst
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represents the sponsor/users interests, while the systems analyst knows how to apply IS
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to support business needs. Together, the systems analyst and the business analyst can
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design a system that conforms to the IS standards while adding value to the business.
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The infrastructure analyst has more technical knowledge and provides the team with
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technical constraints, or identifies infrastructure changes that the new system will
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require.
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4. Compare and contrast the role of requirements analyst, change management analyst,
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and project manager.
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These three roles also emphasize different perspectives on the system. The
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requirements analyst focuses on eliciting the requirements from the system
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stakeholders. The change management analyst focuses on people and managing issues
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surrounding the installation of the system. The project manager ensures that the project
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is completed on time and within budget and that the system delivers the expected value
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to the organization.
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5. Describe the major phases in the systems development life cycle (SDLC).
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The planning phase focuses on determining if there is justification to build an
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information system and developing a plan to accomplish the development project. The
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analysis phase is focused on understanding the existing situation and determining the
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needs and requirements expected from the new system. The design phase refines the
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system requirements (from analysis) and develops specifications for how the new
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