ISQA 8060 - RESEARCH IN MIS

1. Using the management challenge at Reynolds Metal Company described below, answer all parts of this question. You are to develop a research proposal to study the management challenge. For this proposal, you are to present the following:
   1. State or define the problem under investigation. (10%)
   2. Specify all concepts and explain why you consider them to be a dependent variable, independent variable(s), intervening variable(s), and moderating variable(s). (15%)
   3. Based on the answers above, develop a complete theoretical framework, including a schematic diagram. (15%)
   4. Develop three testable hypotheses and state each in the null and in the alternate form. (10%)
   5. How would you establish the scientific quality of this research? (20%)
   6. Would the research be applied or basic? Explain. (10%)
   7. Which research design would you use? Be certain to clearly explain your reasoning. (20%)

   DSS at Reynolds Metal Company

   (partially adapted from Laudon & Laudon, Management Information Systems, 2000, page 466)

   For the Reynolds Metal Company, aluminum sitting on the warehouse shelf is lost revenue. The company's foodservice division needs to find a way to keep aluminum foil moving more efficiently from the production line to restaurants and schools worldwide. Reynolds has to base its production on the demand it forecasts rather than the orders it receives. About 99 percent of the foodservice division's manufacturing plan is based on these forecasts, so accuracy is paramount. Reynolds had been using demand-forecasting software to help its production planning, but the software was more than 20 years old. Error rates hovered in the mid-teens. Reynolds wants to install a new demand-forecasting system that would provide a higher degree of precision when predicting customer needs. Reynolds management want to determine what information should be entered into the system. Examples of information are sales history, inventory, and customer orders, production capacity. Management also wants the new system to fit with existing systems.

2. Answer all parts thoroughly.
   1. Describe a problem facing an IT manager that could be addressed by a research project. (5%)
   2. Present a research proposal for developing recommendations to resolve the problem. Use the outline for research proposals you used for the ISQA 8060 course project. Make certain you include the theoretical framework and proposed hypotheses. (80%)
   3. Indicate the statistics you would use to test the hypotheses and defend your choices. (15%)

1. Compare and contrast "code and fix" development, as often used in web-based e-commerce applications, with structured analysis and design (SDLC).

2. Describe the Jacobson interaction diagram (called a message-trace diagram by Price). Describe its use in CRC Analysis and Design, coding, testing, and maintenance.

• Medical establishments everywhere are being challenged to use the latest information and communication technologies to provide integrated systems for immediate access to patient information. The potential benefits of online medical records and integrated systems are enormous, as are the risks. New systems have to communicate with old ones, different stakeholders have differing goals and desires, work practices are entrenched and might be difficult to change, and a wide variety of data formats and work processes are involved. These are only a few of the challenges associated with developing and implementing an integrated online information system.

  Assume that you have just been appointed the chief technologist of a medium-size hospital in a relatively large city. Your goal is to create a competitive advantage for the hospital via information and communication technology. Currently, the hospital can be characterized as being in the "islands of automation" era, that is, there are separate systems for medical records (in different departments), transaction processing, and email communication. Your goal is to implement the concept of a patient-centered, integrated medical record, which is available online from anywhere at any time, by whomever is authorized to participate in that individual's care. You even want the patient to be able to view different aspects of the record from a secure Web interface. What this means is that a large variety of issues need to considered in the development process, e.g., access security, roles, views, and so on.

  Up to this point, your IS department has relied primarily on packaged systems that have been modified as needed for user requests. Clearly, this strategy will not work for your aggressive goal. You have decided to develop this integrated system in-house. You have to develop a plan for this effort, both from a systems development perspective and a project management perspective.

  1. You will start by writing a summary report that details your recommended strategy. Address the report to the CIO of the hospital, but recognize that other key stakeholders will read it as well. This means you need to use understandable language while communicating technical concerns and solutions. The report should provide a recommendation for each of the following issues:
     1. What (combination of) systems development method(s) will you use for this project? Why is this (combination of) method(s) the best one for this specific project?
     2. What are the potential risks with this method and how will you mitigate them? Name at least 4 risks.
     3. What are the key project management issues for this project and what must be done to ensure the success of the project? Name at least 4 project management issues.

  2. Assume that your CEO has accepted your recommendation and you are authorized to proceed with the project as you have described it. Now, write a second report for your systems development staff. The report should address each of the following issues:
     1. What are the systems development techniques that your analysts and designers will have to use for the project? Why are these techniques the best choice for this specific project?
     2. What change strategies are you going use to transition your systems development staff to the new situation? Name at least 3 strategies.

1. TCP/IP includes a subsidiary protocol called Address Resolution Protocol (ARP). Explain what ARP is and how it works. For what types of networks is ARP typically used? Explain why. Use an example if this helps clarify your answer. As part of your answer, explain the context in which ARP is used.

   Are there other methods for accomplishing the same function that ARP does? If so, explain what these are and in what types of networks they are used.

2. Ethernet has evolved through several generations over the years. Describe the following types of Ethernet:
   • Thicknet
   • Thinnet
   • Twisted-pair Ethernet
   • Gigabit Ethernet

   Your answer should describe both physical structures and logical structures of each type. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of each. How does Ethernet manage data traffic among several connected hosts?

ISQA 8380 - MANAGING THE DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT

1. A regional insurance company is growing by acquisitions. As a result, the company finds itself with multiple duplicate technologies along with duplicate systems to administrator the same blocks of business. For the next few years, the company must retain many of these systems that run on:
   • A mainframe CICS environment with VSAM files,
   • A Sun UNIX system running on Bea Weblogic with Oracle databases.
   • Finally a system that is a two tier client server system using Microsoft VB clients with communicating over ODBC to SQL Server which has many stored procedures.

   There are several different ways to integrate the administrative systems and call center technologies.

   • Identify two different viable methods to integrate these systems.
   • Describe the strength and weaknesses of both approaches.
   • Describe the relative costs in each of the above approaches and why one approach might be substantially more expensive than the other.

2. In the last few years web services and a service oriented architecture based on web services has captured the attention of software vendors, corporate developers and system integrators. Describe the basic elements of a web service and diagram how these components work together. Describe how web services are being used by contemporary software vendors such SAP to ease the burden of system integrators as they seek to integrate other systems with SAP transactions. Also describe how a companies current price quote web application that uses Java and JSP pages today might be modified to work with a partner web site by exposing this price quote transaction as a web service to an aggregator web site. Use a simple diagram to illustrate this and explain the parts of the diagram and the flow of the transaction.

1. FastFlight Airlines is a small, start-up airline that has begun servicing the West Coast of the United States. It specializes in shuttles up and down the coast between large and small cities. Each airport has a unique three-letter airport code that is given to it by the FAA, as well as its common name, city, and state, and location, expressed in latitude and longitude. Passengers make flight reservations that can consist of multiple flight segments. Each flight segment is identified by the combination of a particular three- or four-digit flight number, a flight date, and a departure city. Naturally, each flight segment also must have a flight destination, a scheduled departure time, an anticipated arrival time, and the number of miles. When a passenger makes a reservation, the reservation indicates each flight segment, the date the reservation was made, and the cost of the reservation. Each reservation must include at least one flight segment. A particular flight segment does not need to be associated with any reservations. Eventually, the passenger will be assigned a seat for each segment. Different segments may have different seats. In making a reservation, the reservation system will record the passenger name, address, and (optionally) FlyerClub award membership number. If a travel agency made the reservation on behalf of the passenger, its name, address, and phone number are also stored in the database. For this exercise, you may assume that each reservation is associated with a single passenger. Multi-passenger reservations are not supported. Each flight segment is associated with at most one aircraft. Since a segment can be scheduled well before a particular aircraft has been assigned to it, not all segments are associate with aircraft. The database records the make and model of each aircraft, a unique aircraft identifier, the number of seats, and the maximum distance. Aircraft requirement maintenance. Each maintenance event has a date, a type, and a completion status. Each maintenance event consists of one or more maintenance tasks, which are small, individually scheduled tasks assigned to individuals. These tasks have a specific start and end time as well as their own completion status. A task on a particular maintenance event consists of the combination of a task identifier plus the identifier of the maintenance event.
   1. Create a conceptual or logical data model for this scenario. Please feel free to make (and write down) any assumptions that do not contradict the text above.
   2. Design a set of appropriately normalized relations (tables) that is consistent with your data model.
   3. Which columns should have indexes? Feel free to make assumptions about sizes of tables and justify your answer in light of these assumptions.
   4. Based on your tables, formulate SQL queries that will do the following:
      1. Create the FLIGHT SEGMENT table, with appropriate constraints. Make common-sense assumptions regarding the data types.
      2. Insert a row of data (make up the data) into this table.
      3. List each aircraft that has flown more than 100,000 miles since 1-jan-2004 and the number of miles flown.
      4. Show the flight segments that constitute Peter Wolcott's reservation for a trip between Seattle, OR and San Diego, CA (dep. 12:25 on 15-nov-2004 and return on 20-nov-2004).
      5. Show all flight segments with fewer than 25 passengers.

2. The relational model of database management was introduced by Dr. E.F. Codd in 1970. Over thirty years after its introduction, the relational model remains the foundation for the vast majority of databases in use today. Why has the relational model been able to show this kind of longevity in an era when technologies are changing daily? In your answer, be sure to provide a description of the essential characteristics of the relational model, why it was such an improvement over earlier technologies, and why you think it continues to be remain the dominant database paradigm. Finally, suggest areas of data management that are not very well served by relational database systems.

1. When you were interviewed for the position of CIO of a medium-sized construction firm, several of the company executives asked you to express your views of strategic planning as it relates to information systems.

   Recently, you were hired and have been tasked to develop a strategic information systems plan for this company. The company officers have extended an invitation for you to meet with them to discuss the direction of the company. Before this meeting, they have asked that you provide a list of questions with some explanation about the "why" of the question so they can be prepared, thus maximizing the output from this meeting.

   Develop a list of questions you would ask the officers of the company and give an explanation and justification for each question.

2. Your company has fallen on hard time, financially. As the Information Systems Director, you feel the need to get the most productivity for each dollar allocated you your organization. Much of your software is aged, and while it does the job, it is inefficient.

   You have been considering upgrading some software systems by using open source software. Before you finalize your decision, you feel the need to do an in-depth comparison of the pros and cons of open source systems.

   Develop the pros and cons of open source software and explain each of the points you list. Then take a position to go or not go open source and justify your decision.

1. Corrective action is an important PM process. Under what project management processes does it occur and what is its purpose? Be sure to use PMBOK vocabulary in your answer.

2. Describe the interrelationships among the eight PMBOK knowledge areas by describing how a change in one area effects the other areas, e.g., if a change occurs in project scope, how will this change effect the other seven project management knowledge areas (primary effects only, not ripple effects)? Cover one example of an exogenous change in each of the eight knowledge areas (eight total examples). Describe the effects in detail.