Section A – All seven questions in [A] are
compulsory and must be attempted (60%)
Two case
studies are provided for analysis:
Case 1 –
ABC Ltd.
ABC Ltd is
a large pharmaceutical company. It has a proactive attitude toward new
technologies. It began exploring the potential of the Internet in 1993.
Managers soon realized that, by using intranets, they could reduce many of the
problems associated with developing applications on a wide variety of hardware
platforms and network configurations. Because the benefits were so obvious, the
regular financial justification process was waived for intranet application
development projects. The Information Systems group that helps user departments
develop and maintain intranet applications increased its staff from 3 to 10
employees in 15 months
Case 2 –
XYZ Ltd.
XYZ Ltd.,
an advertising agency, has offices in various parts of the country. The company
discovered that, in developing presentations for bids on new accounts, employees
found it helpful to use materials from other employees’ presentations on
similar projects. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to locate and then transfer
relevant material in different locations and different formats. After doing
research on alternatives, the company identified intranet technology as the
best potential solution.
XYZ Ltd.
hired ACAS Consulting Firm to help develop the system. It started with one
office in 2006 as a pilot site. Now the company has a sophisticated
corporate-wide intranet and extranet in place. XYZ Ltd. did not do a detailed
financial analysis before starting the project. David Li, the Chief Information Officer, explained, “The
system will start paying for itself the first time an employee wins a new
account because he had easy access to a co-worker’s information.”
[Question
A]
Required:
Based on
the cases of ABC Ltd. and XYZ Ltd, answer the following questions:
1)
Briefly
describe the following terms:
a.
Intranet
b.
Extranet
(6 marks)
2)
Briefly
describe one method of financial analysis for IT project evaluation
(4 marks)
3)
Briefly
explain the main advantage(s) of implementing an IT project with a pilot site
(6 marks)
4)
Briefly
describe the following components in the benefits-dependency
network of Peppard, Ward and Daniel, using examples from the ABC Ltd and
XYZ Ltd cases:
a.
IT
Enablers (4
marks)
b.
Enabling
changes (4 marks)
c.
Business
Changes (4 marks)
d.
Benefits (4 marks)
e.
Investment
objectives (4 marks)
5)
Under
what circumstances is the “invest first, analyze later” approach appropriate? And
under what circumstances is the approach inappropriate?
(8 marks)
6)
How
long do you think the “invest first, analyze later” approach will be
appropriate for intranet projects in the cases of ABC Ltd and XZ Ltd.? When
(and why) should the emphasis shift to traditional project justification approaches
for ABC Ltd. and XYZ Ltd.?
(8 marks)
7)
What
are the risks of going into projects that have not received a thorough
financial analysis in the cases of ABC Ltd. and XYZ Ltd.? How can ABC Ltd and
XYZ Ltd. reduce these risks?
(8 marks)
Section B – Answer any two of the following three questions (40%)
[Question B1]
The increased popularity of
‘lightweight’ project methods, for example Agile, has led to some people
questioning the need for well established structured methods. There is no
method that is always best: each is more appropriate in certain circumstances.
1)
To
what kind of project is an Agile approach most suited?
(4 marks)
2)
List
3 benefits of prototyping
(6 marks)
3)
What
3 essential things do you need to run a Joint Application Development (JAD) workshop?
(6 marks)
4)
What
is meant by the expression ‘time-boxing’?
(4 marks)
[Question
B2]
Your
company has decided that it needs a new stock control system and that an
off-the shelf package is the best solution. The main tasks have been identified
and duration assessed as follows:
|
A
|
Draw up a functional
requirements specification
|
4 weeks
|
|
B
|
Consider various
relevant software packages and select one
|
3 weeks
|
|
C
|
Identify and specify
the necessary hardware and communications equipment
|
2 weeks
|
|
D
|
Order the hardware
and equipment
|
1 week
|
|
E
|
Identify the key
package modifications needed to meet the functionality required
|
2 weeks
|
|
F
|
Modify the software
package as necessary
|
8 weeks
|
|
G
|
Accept delivery and
install all hardware and equipment needed for the package
|
10 weeks
|
|
H
|
Design a training
plan
|
2 weeks
|
|
I
|
Set up a testing
plan
|
3 weeks
|
|
J
|
Unit test all the
amended package modules
|
3 weeks
|
|
K
|
Train the users
|
2 weeks
|
|
L
|
Full integration and acceptance testing
|
3 weeks
|
|
M
|
Implement the new
system
|
1 week
|
B cannot start until A is completed
C, E, H and I cannot
start until B is completed
D cannot start until C
is completed
F cannot start until E
is completed
G cannot start until D
is completed
J cannot start until F,
G and I are completed
K cannot start until H
is completed
L cannot start until J
and K are completed
M cannot start until L
is completed
1)
Draw
an activity-on-node diagram for these 13 project tasks (A to M). Calculate and
display on the diagram, with a node layout key, the earliest and latest start
and finish times and float of each task.
(10 marks)
2)
Describe
how each of the following changes to task duration (on their own) would affect
the critical path and project duration:
a.
Task
A – reduced to 3 weeks
b.
Task
E – increased to 5 weeks
(4 marks)
3)
List
and explain briefly 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages of using an
activity-on-node diagram for a project plan in comparison with using a Gantt
chart.
(6 marks)
[Question B3]
You are an IT manager within a
software house. You have been asked to draw up a plan to provide security
within the system you are developing. Describe what measures you can take to
ensure:
1)
The
reliability and integrity of your data
2)
Physical
security
(8 marks)
Write brief notes on the following:
3)
IT
Outsourcing
4)
Business process re-engineering
5)
IT
governance
6)
Usability
in software design
(12 marks)
-
End
-
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