ISQA 8060 - RESEARCH IN MIS

1. Using the management challenge at AnMed Health 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. Would the research be applied or basic? Explain. (10%)
   6. Discuss the research design decisions you would make. Be certain to clearly explain your reasoning. (30%)
   7. Indicate the statistical method(s) you would use to test the hypotheses and explain your choice(s). (10%)
   AnMed Health Clinical Documentation System
   - a Wireless Solution to Improve Productivity *
   Founded in 1908, not-for-profit AnMed Health has been an inseparable part of the Anderson, South Carolina community for nearly a century. Today, anchored by the organization's main hospital, the Anderson Area Medical Center, AnMed and its 3,500 employees deliver health and medical services at more than 30 patient-care sites.

   Recently, AnMed decided to implement a clinical documentation system that would allow caregivers, particularly nurses, to chart patient data in real time at the patient's bedside, using mobile devices such as laptops or rolling carts with wirelessly enabled computers on them. The set-up would also permit physicians to view patient records and order medication in real time.

   AnMed's primary goal was to increase productivity. AnMed thought that increasing the quality of charting and decreasing errors in medication ordering would increase productivity. They also thought that the quality of charting and decreasing of errors in medication ordering would only increase productivity with keyboard-based scripting (rather than hand-written). Instant feedback from a system on patient history was also thought to increase productivity. AnMed wants a study conducted to determine if staff feels these items and productivity are related.

   * Partially adapted from Cisco Solutions, 2005 (http://www.cisco.com).

2. You are asked to develop an appropriate research proposal and design for American Leak Detection. Address the following in your presentation.
   1. What is the management problem. (10%)
   2. Present an outline of a research proposal you would submit to American Leak Detection. Explain each section of the outline. (30%)
   3. Thoroughly discuss the research design decisions you would make. (30%)
   4. Discuss thoroughly the steps you would take to assure the scientific quality of your research. (30%)
   American Leak Detection:
   Selecting the Perfect Data Management System
   American Leak Detection is a worldwide leader in detection of leakage for water and sewer systems. Over the last few years, the company has been facing a lot of problems related to its data management. The fact that it is a franchise company further adds to the complexity of data management. There are mounds of data coming in from different locations, often belonging to heterogeneous systems. Data from all these disparate systems need to be integrated. To add to the problems, the company has recently grown, almost doubling the number of spreadsheets and computer files to deal with. The vice president of corporate operations argues that some of the success factors for a data management project are selecting the right solution, conducting and implementing good beta groups, implementing a good rollout program and, finally selecting the best solution provider. Others in the company feel that in order to solve a data management problem, the solution provider should be well aware of the business that the customer is in and, hence, be able to better understand the client's data needs and requirements. Still others are concerned about budget and timely solution. Before hiring a solution provider, American Leak Detection management want to determine the factors users feel are most related to a successful data management system.

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

2. Define and describe structured programming; be sure to cite Djikstra. Compare and contrast the advantages of structured programming over unstructured programming (that is programming that does not adhere to structured principles) from the design phase throughout the software life cycle until the retirement of the software.

• Software systems are a ubiquitous commodity to the extent that the proper functioning of such systems directly impacts our economy and private life. There are many activities in the systems analysis and design (SAD) process that aim to create systems efficiently, accurately, and reliably so that they meet the intended needs and expectations of the stakeholders. Such activities include but are not limited to requirements definition and specification, prototyping, and usability testing. However, such activities are complex for a number of reasons. Software systems have grown so complex, that their development is an effort that involves many different people, introducing a plethora of coordination and collaboration challenges. Further, the stakeholders involved in software development not only present a challenge in number, but also in variety: Stakeholders may include e.g. business analysts, programmers, architects, end-users, and system owners. Each stakeholder brings different interests to the development project. Accommodating these, often conflicting, interests can be a daunting task. The consequence of the above is that SAD can no longer be considered a value-neutral task: the interests of different stakeholders have to be accommodated throughout the SAD process.

  Upon graduating from UNO, you accept a job as a SAD project manager at a large transportation company. Each year, this company coordinates and executes the transportation of thousands of tons of goods over road, rails, water, and air. Some of these goods are hazardous. The area in which you work relates to the design, development, and maintenance of systems that interact with other public and private organizations in times of crisis situations with hazardous goods. The first assignment that your CIO gives you is to lead a new project on the design and development of a crisis management system (CMS). This system will be used by your company together with various agencies in the Omaha area related to transportation crisis situations, such as the fire brigade, the police, the mayor's office, the Metropolitan Traffic Management Center (MTMC), and University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). The goal of the system is to disseminate critical information to each stakeholder and to allow for fast and effective decision making by all stakeholders involved. The information to be used by the CMS is distributed over several databases and exists in different formats. Defining both the data and the collaborative processes needed to achieve an integrated CMS is expected to be a major challenge.

  Your CIO wants your advice on the way in which you propose to approach this challenge, both from a SAD and project management perspective.

  Question: You will start by writing a summary report that details your recommended strategy. Address the report to the CIO of the transportation company, 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:

  • What (combination of) systems development method(s) will you use for this particular project? Why is this (combination of) method(s) the best one for this specific project?
  • What are the potential risks with this (combination of) method(s) and how will you mitigate them? Name at least 4 risks.
  • 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.
  • Taking a broader perspective than this particular CMS project, formulate a recommendation for a portfolio of 5 systems development methods that you think your company's SAD staff should be competent in to efficiently and effectively develop and maintain systems in the area in which you work. Make sure to describe and justify the importance of each specific method that you are recommending.

  Note: Don't forget to use summary tables where appropriate, in order to make your paper more readable. Be as specific as possible in your recommendations and discussion for both questions. That is, use and apply the details of the case and be clear in justifying your choices in relation to the case, rather than just providing generic discussion.

1. One type of network in use today is ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode). Answer the following questions regarding ATM networks:
   1. What basic network topology does ATM use?
   2. What is a virtual path identifier/virtual channel identifier (VPI/VCI)?
   3. What is a switched virtual circuit (SVC)? What is a permanent virtual circuit (PVC)?
   4. Using a switched virtual circuit as an example, how does ATM use a VPI/VCI to send a packet (ATM cell) from a sending host computer to receiving host computer? Assume, in your answer, that the cell is sent across multiple ATM switches (e.g., 3 switches) in its path to the receiving host. Explain the entire process, at each step of the way, from beginning to end.
   5. Explain the criticisms of ATM networks.
   6. Describe the advantages of ATM networks.

2. To achieve a degree of security in transmission of data over networks, encryption is a commonly used technique. Describe the following:
   1. private (symmetrical) key encryption
   2. public key encryption
   3. digital signatures, and
   4. digital certificates.
   Give an example scenario of each type of encryption to illustrate how it works. Describe relevant advantages or disadvantages of each type.

   As part of your answer, explain why each technique is used and how it achieves more secure electronic transmissions.

1. Compare and contrast message oriented middleware and web services. Explain how each of these middleware technologies work. Which one is typically asynchronous and which one is typically synchronous. Assume you are writing for someone who has NOT taken the 8380 class. Explain the common uses of each of these integration technologies and what they are best suited for. Give an example of an appropriate use of message oriented middleware and an example of web services.

2. The city's hospitals have been under increasing cost pressures in the past few years. As a result two hospitals merged and decided to reduce the number of systems they needed to support and integrate. However, they ended up with the following systems that were selected as the strategic systems they would integrate and go forward with to support both hospitals
   • A patient care system running on an IBM mainframe CICS environment with DB2 as the backend database. This system must be integrated with the pharmacy system and the lab system to provide a complete picture of the patient's status. It communicates with a Visual Basic application running on workstations at the nurse's station using MQ Series messaging. It also uses a 3270 dumb terminal access for some casual users.
   • A pharmacy system running on Windows 2003 servers. The system supports "fat" clients for power users such as pharmacists. The client program is written in C++ and connects to the system via web services. The system also has a browser interface for inquiry only users.
   • Finally the lab system runs on an HP minicomputer running HP-UX UNIX and uses the Oracle web application server and the Oracle database. The logic in this system is all built within stored procedures within the database. The system has a browser interface.
   There are several different ways to integrate these systems.
   • 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.

1. The Hello Dolly Zoo maintains a research facility for the study of rainforest animals. The animals include Bengal tigers, Gibbons, Indian Muntjacs, Hornbills, and a great many others. Central to its success are the health and well-being of its animals. Animals must be housed in habitats that are compatible with their native habitats. Their food must be of an appropriate type and quantity. The animals must periodically have checkups to determine their health and detect problems quickly.

   When an animal is acquired by the zoo it is given a unique identifier and a name. The zoo records the gender of the animal, the date it was acquired, the birth date if it is known, and the animal's height and weight. Each animal is of a particular species, which has a scientific name (e.g. Panthera Tigris) and popular name (Bengal Tiger). Each species is native to one or more continents. The zoo stores text descriptions of the species' habitat, social habits, description, and general diet.

   The zoo cannot feed the animals exactly the food they eat in the wild, but it has developed a nutritional system for each species. The nutritional system consists of a specification of the daily requirement of each food item for each species. For example, Pantera Tigris may require 10 pounds of fortified beef per day. The daily requirement is specified in terms of the food item, the units (e.g. pounds, ounces, units) and the amount (e.g. 10, 15, 3.5). Each food item has a unique identifier code, a common name (e.g. beef), and a description. In addition, food items are classified into categories, each with a category code and a description. A food item is classified under a single food category. The daily requirement for a species may consist of several food items, each with its own amount. Not all species have a nutritional system, although most do. In addition, the zoo has specific dietary requirements for each individual animal. Like the daily requirements for the species, the daily requirement for the animal indicates the amount of individual food items to be given to a specific animal. These amounts are modified regularly to best meet the needs of an individual animal. For example, an adult male Bengal tiger will need more beef than a juvenile. Each animal must have one or more specific dietary requirements.

   Finally, the zoo tracks the health checkups for each animal. The checkup includes measuring the height, weight, length, and general health of the animal. The database should have a means of storing text-based comments associated with each checkup. At most one checkup per animal per day is recorded. If the zoo happens to examine the same animal twice in one day it is recorded in the database as one examination.

   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. Based on your tables, formulate SQL queries that will do the following:
      1. Create the table used for capturing information about individual animals. Be sure to include any integrity constraints.
      2. List the food items and amounts needed daily by a specific animal, Lotti, the female Bengal Tiger.
      3. List the total amount of food needed daily by all animals at the zoo, broken down by food item.
      4. List the species of which the zoo has more than 10 animals.
      5. Create a view that shows the animals that had some sort of illness in 2004. By 'some sort of illness' we mean had a general health that was something other than 'good'.

2. Data integrity is a principle that is foundational to the management and use of data. Define the term 'data integrity' and discuss its many facets in the world of data management. In doing so, elaborate on the ways in which data integrity can be compromised and the ways in which mechanisms in the DBMS and database models, and techniques in database design and data management can serve to ensure and preserve data integrity. The best answer will demonstrate a broad and holistic understanding of data integrity.

1. You are the Information Systems Director for a medium manufacturing company. There are 100 persons in your IS organization and recently you have returned to centralized processing for the dispersed locations of the company.

   In order to grow, your company is considering purchasing another manufacturing firm that is in your same industry segment and is about the same size as your firm. There IS staff is smaller than yours and they have outsourced some of there IS functions. You have been selected to be a member of the due diligence team charged with assessing the utility of acquiring the other company and in determining a fair price to pay for the company.

   The due diligence team leader has requested that you and each member of the team develop questions you would ask the company you are considering acquiring. He has also asked that you justify or explain why you need answers to the questions you propose.

2. Your company is a world-wide supplier of software for medical equipment used in hospitals and medical clinics. Growth over the past several years has been unusually good and has stretched the entire company to maintain the quality and responsiveness the customers have come to expect.

   As the CIO, your organization has implemented an ERP system, has a help desk service, and supports the "back-room" administrative functions of the firm. Recently, it has been hard to recruit qualified IS professionals to your firm.

   You have decided that it may be necessary to outsource all or part of the IS function. The decision has been made to prepare a request for proposal (RFP) and send it to three vendors that you feel could provide the support you need. You have also decided to have your deputy respond to the RFP in an "in-sourcing" approach.

   To ensure that you do an "apples-to-apples" comparison between the three vendors and your in-house response, you are tasked to develop a list of questions to be included in the RFP. These questions will also indicate whether you feel it appropriate to outsource all or part of the IS functions. Since the corporate lawyers, who are not computer literate, will have to review the questions, you need to provide justification for each question.

1. A task on the critical path is late. What does this mean for your project and what corrective actions should you take? Discuss the possible consequences of any corrective actions.

2. You have reviewed your project budget and see that a negative cost variance is inevitable. What must you do? (be sure to include stakeholders in your discussion).