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(a)The process of hardware acquisition
can be divided into five distinct stages,leading up to the final selection
of a hardware product:
(i)determining needs
(ii)preliminary investigation
(iii)request for proposal
(iv)theoretical benchmark
(v)physical benchmark
Describe each of these five stages in some detail,explaining what
information you
would expect to find as output or results at the end of each stage.[10
mark]
(i)determine needs
:talk to users,or to those who have identified the needs; identify
mandatory and desirable attributes (1 mark)output: list of mandatory
and desirable attributes (1 mark)
(ii)conduct preliminary investigation :investigate available vendors,consult
trade publications, talk to other knowledgeable sources; conduct rough
analysis of costs and potential benefits (1 mark) output: report for
anagement (1 mark)
(iii)compose and issue request for proposal, or approach vendors directly
:either contact one vendor and analyse the products of that vendor
or develop an RFP — this is a request to interested parties to
submit formal bids (1 mark )output: RFP (1 mark)
(iv)theoretical benchmark :examination of each proposal based entirely
upon claims of vendor; evaluate mandatory and desirable attributes,and
rank the proposals (1 mark) output:unverified list of vendors (1 mark)
(v)physical benchmark : test actual hardware, on-site or elsewhere
evaluate all attributes once again, rank the proposals again (1 mark)
output: verified list of vendors (1 mark)
in each case, a good explanation is expected, and candidates attempt
to identify an output; alternative, correct answers for outputs should
be considered; up to 2 marks for each stage [10 marks ]
(b)The following is a list of attributes
that could be used in software acquisition:
(i)speed
(ii)size
(iii)ease of use
(iv)robustness
(v)portability
In each case,give an example to show how the attribute might be evaluated,and
state whether this evaluation could reasonably be carried out at the
theoretical benchmark stage.Explain your answers.[5 marks ]
Evaluating attributes:
(i)speed: record the time taken for the each software package to perform
a
particular task; could not be carried out at the theoretical benchmark
stage
(ii)size: consult the technical documentation provided by the manufacturer:
could be carried out at the theoretical benchmark stage
(iii)ease of use: invite sa ple group of users to try out the package,or
a prototype, and then collate the results; could not be carried out
at the theoretical benchmark stage
(iv)robustness:install prototype or sample version of software in
realistic
environment, and then either invite sample group of users to try out
the package or run package under a number of different environmental
conditions; could not be carried out at the theoretical benchmark
stage
(v)portability:consult the technical documentation provided by the
manufacturer: could be carried out at the theoretical benchmark stage
in each case, the candidate must supply both the example—or specific
instance/explanation—and the answer to the theoretical benchmarking
question (yes/no) to be awarded the mark; there is not all that much
work here, and candidates answers should be good if they are to score
highly! [5 marks ]
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