Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Principles of MIS

© 2005 by Jerry Post

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

1. Interview a local manager to determine the requirements for a new system. Explain which method would be the best approach to develop the system. Estimate how long it would take to complete the project and how much it would cost. Advanced option: illustrate the new system with a data flow or object-oriented diagram. More advanced: create the system.
2. Using the example of the zoo, along with any other information you know about zoos, define an initial list of objects that would be used to create an information system.
3. A regional bank office generates loans for builders. The office has several bankers who form alliances with regional builders and negotiates loans and other services. The manager wants a system to track the leads, including the potential amount of the loan and the probability of the loan going through. Every month, the main office sends a spreadsheet file with current loan information. The manager and the main office want the regional bank officers to project the amount of money that will be loaned in the coming months. The manager wants a system to help collect and track this data. Identify the best development methodology. Assuming no one in the regional office has the skills to create the application, do some research to find at least two firms that could handle the job for a reasonable price.
4. You have been hired to create a new checkout system for a grocery chain. It wants to put scanners into the shopping carts and have shoppers scan their own products. The system will track the basic purchases by customer so it can offer discounts and recommend related products based on current and past purchases. You need to find a way for people to pay for their purchases. You want to minimize theft, but one of the goals is to reduce costs by using fewer checkout clerks. Create an initial design for this system.
5. For each of the following information system projects, identify the method that would be the best approach for most companies.
   1. A new system to track customer requests and comments for the marketing department at a large ski manufacturer.
   2. A system to help managers evaluate regional sales data, from the existing sales system running on an Oracle database.
   3. A system to track current location and maintenance status of thousands of baggage carts at an airport.
   4. A website to sell “homemade” dog treats over the Internet for a small business.
   5. A scientific system to help astronomers collect data from colleagues, track specific items (e.g., comets), and send announcements and questions over the Internet to a group of registered users.
   6. A system to help a group of financial managers monitor client transactions and observe them for potentially illegal patterns such as insider trading.
   7. A system running on one PC that connects to a truck scale and records incoming shipments of recyclable materials.
   8. A system for a manager that pulls data on cell phone usage from all of her workers. It groups the calls and costs so she can see if workers are making too many personal phone calls.
6. Assume that you are on a project to build a new website for a mid-sized company. The firm sells materials to home builders—usually contractors, but some individual sales as well. The company wants to take orders over the Web and enable customers to track the status of current orders. Contractors also want the ability to look at old orders when placing new ones. For example, if they build the same style of house twice, they will need approximately the same materials. The manufacturer is not completely certain on many of the details yet, and you will have to interview customers to get additional details and feedback. Set up a schedule for developing this system using the SDLC approach. Then, identify ways that RAD might be used to reduce the overall development time.
7. You work for a company that is increasingly asking employees to develop their own applications using Microsoft Office tools connected to the corporate database. This process has not been working very well, and employees are grumbling. But, the company has decided it cannot afford to hire all of the MIS people that would be needed to develop all applications and reports within the MIS department. How can the company improve the process? What tools and capabilities should the company add?

Technology Toolbox

8. Write a short macro program in Excel that adds all of the numbers between the values in cell A1 and cell A2 and puts the result in cell A5. For example, if A1 = 1 and A2 = 5, then add 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 to get 15. Hint: You can read or write to a cell with the command Range(“A1”).
9. Write an Excel macro that looks at each item selected to see if any cells are blank. If any are blank, display a message notifying the user how many blank cells there are. Hint: Use the IsEmpty function to test and the MsgBox command to display a message.
10. Create a form in Microsoft Access (or Visual Studio). Place text boxes on the form for: amount to borrow, interest rate, and number of months. Add a fourth textbox to hold the resulting payment amount. Set the properties to format and name each of the boxes. Add a button to calculate and display the payment amount based on the entered data. Use the Pmt function to do the calculation.
11. Assume that you need to analyze an IS problem at a business. Create an outline that you could use for a final report. You do not actually have to do the entire analysis at this point, just write the general outline that you would use.
12. Choose one of the cases in this book and identify the main problem and the cause of the problem. Why is it often difficult to identify the cause of business problems?

Teamwork

13. Interview computer users to determine how they feel about their current system. Do they like it? What are the major advantages and drawbacks? How long have they used it? When was it changed last? Are there changes users want to see? Are they willing to accept changes? How are relations with the MIS workers? Who initiates changes, users or MIS? If users proposed a new project, how long would it take for MIS to get to it (how long is the backlog)? Each team member should interview a different person (some users, some in MIS). Combine your results to get a picture of the entire company. Do users agree with each other? Does the MIS department agree with the users? Do they see the same problems? Hint: If you do not have access to another company, you can always find computer users in the university.
14. Choose one person in the team who has an interesting job. Create a data flow diagram for the job and organization. Be sure to label everything and provide a data dictionary.
15. Begin by having each person think about an application that would be useful for some task. Split into pairs with one person as the business manager and one as the systems analyst. The analyst has to interview the manager to identify the details and create an initial system design. Trade partners and repeat the process until everyone has had a chance to be a manager and an analyst. Combine the results and identify any difficulties you experienced and how you might avoid those problems in the future.
16. Choose a problem that needs a new application, or find an existing business application. For example, consider a bank, a retail store, or a small manufacturer. Split the team into two groups. One group diagrams the system with a process approach (DFD), the other with an object-oriented approach. Combine the two results and briefly discuss any differences or advantages.
17. Choose a problem that needs a new application, or find an existing business application. Have each team member choose an alternative development methodology (prototyping, JAD, RAD, XP, and so on) and describe how it might be used and the effect on the development process. Combine the results and recommend a methodology or combination of methodologies.

Rolling Thunder Database

18. Rolling Thunder Bicycles needs a new website to sell its custom bicycles. How should it be developed? What methodology could be used?
19. Using the help system and website description of Rolling Thunder, create a data flow diagram to show the main processes directly involved with the customers (taking orders, sending notices and bills, and receiving payments).
20. Rolling Thunder Bicycles needs a new system to generate and track electronic orders (EDI) to its suppliers. What methodology should be used to develop the system?
21. Assume that the managers of Rolling Thunder bicycles have decided to purchase and implement an enterprise resource planning system. You have been selected to help determine which system the company should purchase. Outline the steps you will have to perform to select a vendor.