Question
A business’s computer system needs to be updated.
The new system is now ready for implementation.
a.i.)Identify one stakeholder to be considered when planning the new system. [1]
a.ii.)Outline one consequence of not including all stakeholders in the design of the new system. [2]
b.)Describe two appropriate techniques to gather the information needed to find a suitable solution for the updated system. [4]
c.)Outline one reason testing should take place at every stage of the development process. [2]
d.)Evaluate two methods the business could use to implement the new system. Include the benefits and drawbacks of each. [6]
▶️Answer/Explanation
Ans:
a.i.)
End users/ employees/ customers/ community members/ media/ suppliers;
Business owners/ managers/ shareholders/ investors;
a.ii.)
User dissatisfaction;
because the system does not meet user requirements;
Developers not being paid for the final product;
as the business owner requests are not evident in the final product/ or outside of the project’s scope;
Unsuccessful final product;
the developed system may either solve a different problem/ is not user friendly as compared to the existing system;
Note to examiners: Reward other reasonable responses.
b.)
Examining current systems (using interviews/ surveys/direct observation);
To compare the existing system against possible requirements to identify missing features;
Examining competing products;
To compare own system with competitors to enable decisions on features to add;
Review of organizational capabilities;
To determine how well the organization manages resources to gain an advantage over competitors;
Literature searches;
To research current methods and to help inform development choices;
c.)
Testing is important (at every stage) to make sure the system operates in line with user requirements/as intended;
To prevent the end user being dissatisfied with the final system;
Testing is important to enable early discovery of errors;
to reduce time delay/ using more resources / avoid higher cost;
d.)
Parallel running;
The old and new systems run together, so if a problem is found with the new system, it can be repaired/the old system can take over;
This is expensive as duplicate systems and staff are needed;
Pilot running;
The new system is only implemented in one branch of the organization so disruption is kept to a minimum;
It can take a long time for the new system to be fully implemented / two systems are still in operation within the organization, leading to duplication and possible errors;
Direct changeover;
The new system is implemented overnight so the changes happen very quickly;
If the new system fails, the company has no working system to fall back on;
Phased conversion;
Only one area/department/part of the system is updated at a time, so the disruption is kept to a minimum;
Multiple systems which may not be compatible with each other will be running at the same time;
Question
A large mail order company is concerned about the security of its stored data.
The company decides to improve its service by introducing a new user interface for its customers and has developed this interface to the point that it needs to be tested by users who are outside of the company.
a.)Describe two possible causes of data loss. [4]
b.)Outline two backup strategies that may be used to limit data loss. [4]
c.)Explain why beta testing is used to gather feedback for the new user interface. [3]
d.)Outline one consequence of not involving end-users in the design and testing stages. [2]
e.)Identify two features that could be used to improve the accessibility of the new user interface. [2]
▶️Answer/Explanation
Ans:
a.)
Malicious activities;
An unauthorized user gaining access to data and deleting/altering it;
Natural disasters / earthquake / storm / power loss;
Causing the system to crash and destroy data;
Malware/viruses/spyware/worms;
Which infiltrate and damage the data;
Human error;
Accidental deletion/overwriting of files;
b.)
Copies of backup could be kept off-site/cloud backup;
Unlikely that the other site would be affected by the natural disaster/can be reloaded/reinstalled if needed;
Incremental backup only backs up data that has changed;
Therefore, requiring less storage capacity / can be completed more quickly than a complete backup;
Failover system/mirrored system/disk mirroring;
A duplicate copy to be used in the event the main system fails;
c.)
Testers outside the organization use the operating system in a “real world” setting;
Enables feedback to be given to the developers;
So that the software can be improved/corrected/debugged;
Before it is finally released;
“Real world” testers may find more bugs as the system is used in ways not originally intended / tested;
d.)
The software may not work as expected / may not be better than the existing software / may not meet user requirements / expectations;
The software may be missing some key features;
The software may not be user friendly;
e.)
Touch screens;
Voice recognition;
Text-to-speech;
Braille keyboard
A colour-blind option
Large font option;