Aug 1999 IM218 : Information Management (Question 3)

(a)

Briefly explain each of the following six stages of hardware acquisition.

Determine ® Preliminary ® Request for ® Theoretical ® Physical ® Final
needs investigation proposals benchmark benchmark selection

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(b)

For physical benchmarking,

(i) explain the three possible options.

(ii) which is the least desirable option, and why?

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(c)

The following table shows the software performance ratings, on a scale from 0 ( worst) to 10 (best), in evaluating a software package proposed by different vendors, A to D.

Criterion	Vendor
	A	B	C	D
Speed	7	4	3	2
Size	8	6	4	5
Portability	5	9	5	5
Ease of use	9	1	7	9

The weights assigned to the criteria are as follows:

Criterion	Speed	Size	Portability	Ease of use
Weight	0.20	0.30	0.15	0.35

(i) Calculate the weighted score by criteria for each vendor, and also the total weighted score for each vendor.

(ii) Briefly explain how the weighted score is used to select the vendor. Indicate which vendor should be selected.

(iii) Should an acquisition decision be made based on the weight-scoring process only? Justify your answer.

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