it for business questions

8/13/2019 IT for Business Questions

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ASTON UNIVERSITY IT for BUSINESS

Question 1

Which are the main methods of application software acquisition and when they

are used?

The three main methods used to acquire application software in order to cover the

business needs of an organization are:

1. Bespoke: In this case a tailor made application is developed to suit thebusiness needs. Apparently this method requires time and headcount as well as

a very good test before the system implementation and changeover. On the

other hand it provides a better long term solution that covers most of the user

needs and confers competitive advantages. If the business requirements are

complex and unique this is the best alternative.

2. User-developed: A user or a group of users with some IT knowledge aredeveloping the new application. The expected quality of such an application is

not high but is can be achieved within a sort period of time and usually it

provides solution to most of the user needs. This alternative is recommended

when the application is not complex and there are constraints in time and

budget.

3. Off-the-shelf: Commonly used Software applications developed by softwarehouses are used in this case. Usually these applications cover most off the user

needs provided that the business requirements are not unique. Accounting and

inventory control systems are examples of such applications. Most of the times

problems occur in the integration of off-the-self applications with other

application already used by a company unless they are modified to suit the

business needs.

Question 2

Discuss the security aspects that are essential in a Business information system

and the main security threats.

According to my opinion, in general terms, a quality Information System must

provide the following key elements:

Authentication: It must be traceable who has done what. The initiator of every

transaction and update must be recorded. It is important to know the personresponsible for certain sensitive actions

Authorization: It has to be defined who can do what, in other words only authorized

personnel must have the ability to perform certain actions.

Data Privacy must be implied using encryption techniques to ensure that transferred

data cannot be interpreted by an intruder.

The data integrity is also important. Corruption of data must be avoided by any

means.

If the system is exposed to the internet precautions must be taken to avoid all the

common Web threats such as viruses, Trojan horses, worms, spam, spyware etc. The

operating system to be used along with the selection of a good antivirus-software

must be a part of the system architecture design.


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Question 3

According to your opinion what are the advantages of RAD

It is known that there are many methods currently used to achieve a quality system

design. The method to be used depends on some key business elements such as:

Time constrains: The system must be ready and operational as soon as possibleBudget constrains: The cost of the system must be reasonable and affordable by the

company.

User involvement: Many times the user(s) of a company request participation during

the system design phase.

According to my opinion the most appropriate method to be used, if we want to

develop information systems as fast as possible, reducing the cost and increasing the

user involvement is the so called Rapid Applications Development (RAD) method.

This method uses prototyping. Prototyping is the initial development of the user

interface and screen interaction without the actual functioning of the system. Users

can review the prototype and suggest modifications prior to the actual development of

the internal functions and programs. This method ensures the delivery of a good user

interface but is implies the presence of qualified and experienced users.

Question 4

Discuss the requi red output of System Analysis and System Design phases.

The aim of System analysisis to define what the Information System is to do. In other

words the user specifications must be well defined and documented. The feasibility

study and the evaluation of alternatives must be also conducted during this phase toverify that the best solution has been selected.

The output of the system analysis must be clear and unambiguous. Users and IS

personnel must have a common understanding of the main functions and capabilities

of the system to be developed. A sign-off between the two parties is required at this

stage and before the initiation of the system design.

At this stage emphasis is given to requirements and not to the technical aspects of the

system, i.e. how the requirements will be implemented.

The system designoutput must be a detailed description of how the requirements will

be implemented, i.e. the design of the modules, the design of the screens (external

design), the database design and also the internal design that includes the program and

function coding specifications.


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Question 5

Discuss the role of the major SYSTEM DESIGN elementsand how they affect the

quality of information systems

1. The first design step is the overall system design. It is very important to identifycorrectly the boundaries of all the sub-systems that will be included in the finalapplication. The interface between the system modules must be clear.

It is essential to correctly apply the system requirements as defined in the analysis

phase in order to achieve the following:

The system must be user friendly and the navigation between the functionsmust be easy and clear via a well designed user interface.

The user must be able to view the required dataI believe that the integration of software and hardware is also a very important

task.

2. Following the overall design the details of each module must be defined, i.e. thescreens that the user will see, the data to be presented, the navigation between

screens, the input validation etc. A good design guaranties the quality of the final

product.

3. According to my opinion the great care must be given to the database design. Thedata base is the heart of the system and must be well designed to avoid future

conflicts and omissions.

4. If the user interface is not friendly and appealing it will be hard for the users touse the application. All the details of how the user will communicate with the

system must be carefully designed.

5. Last but not least is the security. All the aspects of a secure system must beapplied. Authorization, authentication, data integrity, protection from viruses and

other threats must be well designed to ensure the development of a secure systemespecially if the system is designed to communicate with the internet.

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