BUS206: Management Information Systems
Study Guides
The following study guide is meant to help you prepare for the final exam. This material is for your practice and review only. You will not be asked to turn in your responses to the questions and activities below. As you work through these study guides, take note of your confidence level with the material. Ask yourself if you feel comfortable with your grasp of these topics, and take the suggestions for resources to re-watch or re-read seriously before proceeding to the final exam.
For your convenience, Microsoft Word and PDF files of this study guide are linked below.
UNIT 5: Information Systems Development
5a: explain the overall process of developing a new software application
5a.1. Developing a new software application involves planning, designing, coding, and several other activities. Software development involves several groups of people throughout an organization in addition to a programmer.
A. Time, cost, and quality are major factors in the software development process.
B. Investors, stakeholders, users, and programmers are all involved in the process of software development.
C. What should a business owner consider at the beginning and end of a software development life cycle?
5b: explain the differences between software development methodologies
5b.1. There are several methodologies available to an organization for developing new software. Organizations choose a methodology based upon variables like size of the company and desired turnaround time.
A. The Systems-Development Life Cycle was developed to manage large software projects in corporate systems to run on mainframes.
B. The Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodology focuses on quickly building a working model of software, getting feedback from users, and using that feedback to update the working model.
C. Agile methodologies are groups of methodologies that incorporate incremental changes with a focus on quality and attention to detail.
D. Lean methodology focuses on taking an initial idea and developing a minimum viable product (MVP). The MVP is a working software application with just enough capability to display the idea behind the project.
Depending on which methodologies you feel more or less comfortable with, you may consider refreshing your knowledge by reading some or all of the following sections from Chapter 10 of Information Systems for Business and Beyond: “Systems-Development Life Cycle,” “Rapid Application Development,” “Agile Methodologies,” and/or “Lean Methodology.”
5c: differentiate among types of programming languages used to develop software
5c.1. Software developers create software using one of several programming languages. Programming languages are artificial languages that provide a way for programmers to create structured codes, which need to be compiled in order to run the newly developed application.
A. Early programming languages were developed specifically for a certain type of hardware that had to be programmed.
B. Each generation of programming languages offered different classes of programming tools.
Read “Generations of Programming Languages” in Chapter 10 to understand the differences between each generation of programming languages and prepare for the final exam.
5d: name and describe the major phases in the development of websites and mobile applications
5d.1. In the early days of the World Wide Web, developers needed to understand hypertext markup language (HTML). Now many websites come with a variety of tools to help simplify the process of building a basic website, and the HTML is performed in the background.
A. HTML is used to define the components of a web page, and cascading style sheets (CSS) are used to define the styles of the components on a page.
B. End-user computing brings the development of applications closer to those who will use them.
C. Mobile applications run on mobile devices and have to be designed to function on a smaller screen, which means development of mobile apps has certain limitations traditional computer applications do not have.
These concepts were covered in the sections labeled “Building a Website,” “Web Services,” “End-User Computing,” and “Sidebar: Building A Mobile App” in Chapter 10. Review any of these concepts for which you are less confident in your understanding. Then, please also refer to the tutorial you completed in the “Hour of Code” assignment.
5e: identify the four primary implementation policies
5e.1. After a new system is developed, an organization must determine the best method to implement it. Four of the most popular implementation methodologies include direct cutover, pilot implementation, parallel operation, and phased implementation.
A. In a direct-cutover implementation, the organization selects a specific date the old system is shut off and the new system is implemented.
B. In a pilot implementation, a “pilot group” begins using the new system before all users are let into the new system.
C. In a parallel operation, both old and new systems are used simultaneously for a period of time before the new system completely replaces the old one.
D. In a phased implementation, different functions of the new system are used as old functions are shut off. This implementation allows an organization to phase into the new system over time.
Re-read “Implementation Methodologies” from Chapter 10 to prepare for the final exam.
Unit 5 Vocabulary List
This vocabulary list includes terms that might help you answer some of the review items above and some terms you should be familiar with to be successful in completing the final exam for the course.
Agile methodology
Direct cutover
End-user computing
Hypertext markup language (HTML)
Lean methodology
Minimum viable product
Parallel operation
Phased implementation
Pilot implementation
Rapid Application Development
Systems Development Life Cycle