Unit 5: Systems Development Activities

Question 1

What are the three broad groups of participants in systems development?

Answer 1

1) Systems Professionals - individuals that actually build the system ex. systems analysts, systems engineers, database designers, programmers

2) End Users - individuals for whom the system is built ex. managers, accountants

3) Stakeholders - individuals who have an interest in the system but are not formal end users ex. internal steering committee, internal auditors, consultants

Question 2

What are the three basic groups of commercial software packages?

Answer 2

1) Turnkey Systems - completely finished and tested systems that are ready for implementations; customized to a specific industry

2) Backbone Systems - provide a basic system structure on which to build; come with all the primary processing modules programmed; by selecting the appropriate modules, the customer can create a highly customized system; can be expensive and time consuming

3) Vendor-Supported Systems - systems that the vendor develops and maintains for the client organizations; includes Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS); cloud-based service providers

Question 3

What are six In House vs. Commerical Software issues?

Answer 3

Implementation Time

Cost

Reliability

Independence - purchasing a vendor-supported system creates a dependency on the vendor for maintenance. The client firm runs the risk that the vendor will cease to support the system or even go out of business

The Need for Customized Systems

Maintenance - Business information systems undergo numerous and frequent changes. When user needs change, modifying commercial software to accommodate the changes may be difficult or even impossible. In-house development, however; provides users with proprietary applications that can be effectively maintained.

Question 4

What does SDLC stand for?

Answer 4

Systems Development Life Cycle

Question 5

What does the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 109 require?

Answer 5

Statement on Auditing Standards No. 109 requires the accountant’s involvement at both the detailed design and implementation phases. Controls may be programmed or manual procedures. Some controls are part of the daily operation of the system, while others are special actions that precede, follow, or oversee routine processing.

Question 6

What does the Systems Steering Committee do?

Answer 6

The systems steering committee oversees systems development and assigns priorities. Most organizations have a C-level Steering Committee chaired by the Chief Information Officer that sets overall systems development priorities and strategies. They will also have a project level steering committee that will oversee the project and set priorities.