Please note that the exam is an individual effort (NOT a group effort). Please be sure that all the submitted work is your own. You cannot discuss the test with your classmates or anyone else. I can only answer questions involving clarifications. Please sign and submit the Compliance Form, which is given on the next page. Any two answers found to closely resemble each other would be subject to code of academic integrity and dealt with accordingly.
The exam is due on Wednesday, October 20, 2010 by 6:00 PM in the class. No late exams will be accepted. You are required to submit a HARD COPY of your examination with answers by the date and time noted above. Please note that you should prepare all your diagrams except conceptual ERD using MS-Visio. Conceptual ERD can be drawn by hand.
Please note that your grade for the exam will be determined by both logical and technical accuracy of your answers. You can make assumptions, as long as they are realistic and reasonable. However, remember to mention any assumptions that you make, if any.
Compliance
By my signature below, I affirm that I have neither given nor received any assistance whatsoever pertaining to either the substance or the preparation of this examination, either directly or indirectly, and that the examination I have submitted here is my own work and fully represents in no part anyone else's preparation or input. I acknowledge that receiving or providing assistance in any form for this examination constitutes a violation of the UT Code of Academic Integrity, and will be prosecuted under the provisions of that Code.
Exam I
Q1. Draw a PERT chart for the following tasks. The most likely durations have already been calculated for you.
a. Identify the critical path for the project. Show all possible paths from beginning to end.
b. Compute when the project will be completed (in weeks).
c. Compute Early Start and Late Start for each activity.
d. If we increase the duration of activity E to 8 weeks from the current 5 weeks and increase the duration of activity D to 6 weeks instead of 4 weeks, compute how much the project will be delayed?
Task Task Name Most Likely Duration (weeks) Predecessors
A Preliminary investigation 10 None
B Problem analysis 5 None
C Data requirements analysis 3 B
D Process requirements analysis 4 A, B
E Database design 5 C
F Interface design 6 B, D
G Process and program design 5 D, E
H Programming and unit testing 5 F,G
Q2. Develop the economic feasibility for the following project which was started in Year 0, and which provides benefits until Year 6. You have been provided costs for each year including initial costs for Year 0 and also, the benefits for each year. Assume a discount rate of 12%. Use the values from the discount rate table provided to you earlier.
Compute Net Present Value, Accounting Return on Investment, and Break Even Point for this project. Based on the values of these three financial indicators, justify whether this project is economically feasible.
Y0 Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6
COSTS
-Capital
Expense
$180,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Miscellaneous
$240,000.00 $75,000.00 $30,000.00 $20,000.00 $20,000.00 $20,000.00 $20,000.00
BENEFITS
-Additional
Revenue
$60,000.00 $240,000.00 $430,000.00 $200,000.00 $175,000.00 $175,000.00 $175,000.00
-Cost Savings $20,000.00 $40,000.00 $40,000.00 $40,000.00 $40,000.00 $40,000.00 $40,000.00
Q3. Prepare a three page (single space) write-up comparing different techniques for collecting requirements from the customers for developing software. You need to start with a brief description of the method for collecting requirements and then discuss its strengths and weaknesses. Include as many methods as you can, provided you do not exceed three
Format/structure your answer in a way that makes your answer look better and easy to comprehend.
Your textbook or my lecture slides may not be sufficient to prepare such a report. Feel free to search on Internet for details on various methods to collect requirements. However, if you use Internet sources, please make sure you properly cite them or provide a reference in your report. Also, ensure that information that you use from these sources is reliable or the sources are credible. You cannot verbatim copy from any Internet website. You will have to rephrase the ideas in your own language and reference the source.
Q4. Movie Magic is a video rental chain. They have 50 stores scattered strategically around the metropolitan area. The company has adopted a policy of giving free rentals and videos to their high-volume customers in an attempt to gain a large market share. The following is a summary of Movie Magic's business activities.
Customers apply for a video rental card. They fill out a form and provide a means of verifying their identity. They are then issued a video rental card. Customers rent videos by giving the assistant their video rental card and the video cassettes or video games. The assistant totals the amount of the rental, which is received from the customers. The customer is given a receipt with the due date on it. A record is created for each item rented.
Customers return video cassettes or games. If the video is returned late a note and the amount of the late fee is made on their record. If a customer has a late fee they are required to pay the amount the next time they rent an item.
The company has several special policies designed to provide a competitive edge in the video rental market. Once a month the customer rental records are reviewed for customers that have rented more than the bonus level, currently set at $100. Bonus customers are sent a letter thanking them for their business as well as issuing them several free rental coupons (depending on the amount of rental for the month). Once a year the customer records are examined for persons that have rented more than a yearly bonus level (currently set at $500).
A letter, free rental coupons, and a certificate for a free video (if they have rented over two times the bonus level) are sent to the customer.
Draw a context level and level 0 DFD for the processes at Movie Magic. Remember to label your processes, data flows, and data stores appropriately in level 0 DFD. Use MS-Visio for drawing the diagrams.
Q5. Movie Magic Video Rental Company, described above, has hired you to analyze its requirements for a new software system using data modelling technique, entity relationship model. Based on the following additional details, develop a conceptual and logical ERD for the new system. Include the primary key and some attributes for each entity that you identify. You should draw the logical ERD using MS-Visio.
The video rental company has several branches throughout the country. The data held on each branch is the branch address made up of street, city, state, and zip code, and the telephone number. Each branch is given a branch number, which is unique throughout the company. Each branch is allocated a number of staff members, including a Manager.
Manager is responsible for the day-to-day running of a given branch. The data held on a member of staff is his or her name, position, and salary. Each member of staff is given a staff number, which is unique throughout the company. Each branch has a stock of videos. The data held on a video is the catalogue number, video number, title, category, daily rental, cost, status, the names of the main actors, and the director. The catalogue number uniquely identifies each video. However, in most cases, there are several copies of each video at a branch, and the individual copies are identified using the video number. A video is given a category such as Action, Children, Drama, Horror, or Sci-Fi. The status indicates whether a specific copy of a video is available for rent. Before hiring a video from the company, a customer must first register as a member of a local branch. The data held on a member is the first and last name, address, and the date that the member registered at a branch. Each member is given a member number, which is unique throughout all branches of the company. Once registered, a member is free to rent videos, up to a maximum of ten at any one time. The data held on each video rented is the rental number, the full name and number of the member, the video number, title, and daily rental, and the dates the video is rented out and date returned. The rental number is unique throughout the company.