IB Computer Science System
fundamentals Final Review Exam And
Correct Answers.
System - Answer A set of principles or procedures following an organised scheme to process a set of
inputs to produce a desired and reproducible output.
Input-process-output - Answer The main parts of a system
Feedback loop - Answer Allows inputs to be adjusted to respond to the outputs
Extents of a system - Answer How large is the system?
How powerful?
How many users?
How much hardware is required?
Limitations of a system - Answer What prevents the system from exceeding certain limits?
What restrictions are there that cannot be overcome?
Organisational issues for a new system - Answer Mission/strategic: The strategic goals set by companies
may need to change as new systems are implemented.
Data security: Data can be sold for marketing.
Operational dependency: Reliance on a single company for data retrieval and system operation.
Change management - Answer An approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organisations to a
desired future state. This is a structured approach for ensuring that changes are smoothly and
successfully implemented to achieve lasting benefits.
Planning for change - Answer Alignment: Aligning the organisational goals with the new system?
,Measurement: How will the success of the change be measured (what data should be collected before
the changes)?
Communication: How will the change be communicated to stakeholders?
Compatibility: How compatible is the new system with existing dependent systems? What data
conversion is required for the new system?
Installation: Which installation process would work best for the organisation?
Managing change - Answer Recognising changes in the broader business environment and adjusting
other impacted systems.
Training employees on the appropriate changes.
Winning the support of the employees with the benefits of the changes.
Documenting the change process, in case problems arise after installation of the new system.
Legacy systems - Answer Refers to outdated computer systems, programming languages or application
software that are used instead of available upgraded versions.
Compatibility issues - Answer Historic data may not have to be converted into the new system format.
Cannot keep updated with latest technology (incompatible).
Legacy systems are high maintenance and may involve intricate patching and modifications.
User satisfaction and efficiency may be low.
International system compatibility - Answer When two systems interact or are integrated together
there are a range of issues that might arise:
Character encoding systems may differ.
Database systems may be different.
Issues with usage rights of propriety systems.
Conflicting work cultures of those working with the systems. Also, conflicting organisational goals.
Hosting and Installation - Answer Should the system be installed on-site within an organisation, or
should it be hosted remotely in the cloud?
, Software as a Service (SaaS) - Answer Also referred to as "hosted applications", it is a software delivery
method that provides access to software remotely as a web-based service. Its pricing is usually based on
a monthly fee instead of software licensing.
Benefits of SaaS - Answer Scalability - As an organisation grows, more users need to be added to a
system, rather than purchasing additional in-house server hardware and buying more software licences,
an organisation can simply adjust their monthly SaaS service subscription.
Accessibility - A browser and an internet connection is all that's usually required to access many SaaS
applications.
Upgradeability - A service provider deals with hardware and software updates.
Resilience - Infrastructure and data reside in the cloud service provider's datacenter. If some from of
disaster should occur on an organisation's premises, the system can be used remotely with internet.
Collaborative tools - Many SaaS solutions offer online tools for collaboration.
Limitations of SaaS - Answer Data mobility - What happens to the data and systems of an organisation
when a service provider fails? Or if a company needs to change SaaS vendor for another reason like cost?
Security - If sensitive company data and business processes are to be entrusted to third-party providers,
then issues such as identity and access management need to be addressed.
Integration - Businesses that adopt multiple SaaS applications face the problem of software integration
with other systems within a company.
Compliance - When data resides in a service provider's data centre, ensuring that an organisation
complies with the relevant governmental data-protection regulations can be a problem.
Downtime / loss of connectivity - Outages do happen. Any downtime is irritating, but a lengthy outage of
a critical system could prove disastrous. This is especially problematic in less developed countries, where
the internet service is not as reliable.
Platform as a System (PaaS) - Answer Offers the hardware, operating system and the infrastructure for
running applications over the internet. The service provider has already built the infrastructure and the
program, so all the developer has to do is write their program and display it. Maintenance is the
responsibility.
Infrastructure as a System (IaaS) - Answer Form of cloud computing that provides virtualised
computing resources over the internet.
fundamentals Final Review Exam And
Correct Answers.
System - Answer A set of principles or procedures following an organised scheme to process a set of
inputs to produce a desired and reproducible output.
Input-process-output - Answer The main parts of a system
Feedback loop - Answer Allows inputs to be adjusted to respond to the outputs
Extents of a system - Answer How large is the system?
How powerful?
How many users?
How much hardware is required?
Limitations of a system - Answer What prevents the system from exceeding certain limits?
What restrictions are there that cannot be overcome?
Organisational issues for a new system - Answer Mission/strategic: The strategic goals set by companies
may need to change as new systems are implemented.
Data security: Data can be sold for marketing.
Operational dependency: Reliance on a single company for data retrieval and system operation.
Change management - Answer An approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organisations to a
desired future state. This is a structured approach for ensuring that changes are smoothly and
successfully implemented to achieve lasting benefits.
Planning for change - Answer Alignment: Aligning the organisational goals with the new system?
,Measurement: How will the success of the change be measured (what data should be collected before
the changes)?
Communication: How will the change be communicated to stakeholders?
Compatibility: How compatible is the new system with existing dependent systems? What data
conversion is required for the new system?
Installation: Which installation process would work best for the organisation?
Managing change - Answer Recognising changes in the broader business environment and adjusting
other impacted systems.
Training employees on the appropriate changes.
Winning the support of the employees with the benefits of the changes.
Documenting the change process, in case problems arise after installation of the new system.
Legacy systems - Answer Refers to outdated computer systems, programming languages or application
software that are used instead of available upgraded versions.
Compatibility issues - Answer Historic data may not have to be converted into the new system format.
Cannot keep updated with latest technology (incompatible).
Legacy systems are high maintenance and may involve intricate patching and modifications.
User satisfaction and efficiency may be low.
International system compatibility - Answer When two systems interact or are integrated together
there are a range of issues that might arise:
Character encoding systems may differ.
Database systems may be different.
Issues with usage rights of propriety systems.
Conflicting work cultures of those working with the systems. Also, conflicting organisational goals.
Hosting and Installation - Answer Should the system be installed on-site within an organisation, or
should it be hosted remotely in the cloud?
, Software as a Service (SaaS) - Answer Also referred to as "hosted applications", it is a software delivery
method that provides access to software remotely as a web-based service. Its pricing is usually based on
a monthly fee instead of software licensing.
Benefits of SaaS - Answer Scalability - As an organisation grows, more users need to be added to a
system, rather than purchasing additional in-house server hardware and buying more software licences,
an organisation can simply adjust their monthly SaaS service subscription.
Accessibility - A browser and an internet connection is all that's usually required to access many SaaS
applications.
Upgradeability - A service provider deals with hardware and software updates.
Resilience - Infrastructure and data reside in the cloud service provider's datacenter. If some from of
disaster should occur on an organisation's premises, the system can be used remotely with internet.
Collaborative tools - Many SaaS solutions offer online tools for collaboration.
Limitations of SaaS - Answer Data mobility - What happens to the data and systems of an organisation
when a service provider fails? Or if a company needs to change SaaS vendor for another reason like cost?
Security - If sensitive company data and business processes are to be entrusted to third-party providers,
then issues such as identity and access management need to be addressed.
Integration - Businesses that adopt multiple SaaS applications face the problem of software integration
with other systems within a company.
Compliance - When data resides in a service provider's data centre, ensuring that an organisation
complies with the relevant governmental data-protection regulations can be a problem.
Downtime / loss of connectivity - Outages do happen. Any downtime is irritating, but a lengthy outage of
a critical system could prove disastrous. This is especially problematic in less developed countries, where
the internet service is not as reliable.
Platform as a System (PaaS) - Answer Offers the hardware, operating system and the infrastructure for
running applications over the internet. The service provider has already built the infrastructure and the
program, so all the developer has to do is write their program and display it. Maintenance is the
responsibility.
Infrastructure as a System (IaaS) - Answer Form of cloud computing that provides virtualised
computing resources over the internet.
