December 1999
IM218 :INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

QUESTION 1 (Compulsory)

Total Marks: 30 Marks

• Question 2
• Question 3
• Question 4
• Question 5
• Cover Page

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS
Solutions and allocated marks are indicated in green.
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Security management is an important aspect of information management.

(i) Briefly describe the purpose of security management. [1 mark]

Security management ensures the provision of adequate protection of data processing resources and facilities.

(ii) Give an instance of security management, and explain why this instance is an important issue. [2 marks]

security of backups: to ensure backups are available and to keep them private;

physical security: to prevent unauthorized physical access to a facility;

protection from error, fraud and vandalism: to prevent accidental or deliberate corruption of data.

(1 mark for any example, and 1 mark for explanation of its importance.)

Explain the difference between a job description and a job specification. Give one feature that might be mentioned in a job description, and one that might be mentioned in a job specification.

A job description concerns the tasks to be undertaken by an employee in that position, whereas a job specification concerns the qualities of the employee themselves (1 mark). Features of a job description might include: duties to be performed, level of complexity, level of responsibility, physical conditions, equipment used, supervision provided (1 mark for any one). Features of a job specification might include: level of education, types of specialized skills, personality characteristics, work experience, level of intelligence (1 mark for any one).

A certain off-the-shelf application package does not quite address the needs of your organization. Identify two alternative solutions to this software acquisition dilemma, and give one disadvantage of each solution.

buy and customize: but the vendor may not provide the information you need to customize the package;

develop software in-house (or outsource development): but then development has to start from scratch.

(1 mark for each solution, 1 mark for a disadvantage of it.)

Separation of data processing functions aims to limit the role of individuals in computerizing a system, in order to reduce opportunities for breaches of security. Briefly discuss three means of achieving such a separation.

 system developers should not be allowed access to `live' programs or data;

 operations personnel should not have access to information about how programs are designed, or the format in which data is stored;

 operations and development staff should not have access to production areas. (1 mark for each method.)

Suggest two methods for reducing corrective maintenance of software.

 develop the system using rigorous development methods;

 carry out regular preventative maintenance;

 ensure that each stage of the software development lifecycle is carried out effectively;

 review the output of each stage of the sdlc to ensure quality;

 thoroughly test the system.

(1 mark for each method, to a maximum of 2 marks.)

Outline the monopolistic and laissez-faire strategies for managing end-user computing and development. For each strategy, provide a brief description, and indicate its advantages and disadvantages.

Monopolistic: Fully centralized control (1 mark), heavily dependent on a data processing department (1 mark); all activities require central approval (1 mark). Advantage: good at enforcing standards (1 mark); disadvantage: stifles growth (1 mark).

Laissez-faire: No control (1 mark), users free to buy whatever hardware and software they want (1 mark) and to design systems however they see fit (1 mark). Advantage: encourages independence (1 mark); disadvantage: leads to proliferation of incompatible systems (1 mark).

(For each strategy, 1 mark for the description, 1 mark for an advantage, 1 mark for a disadvantage.)

The estimated total cost of a data centre for a month is $180,000, including estimated resource costs for paper ($20,000 for 20,000 pages), disk space ($80,000 for 40 gigabytes), and cpu time ($60,000 for 500 hours).

(i) What are the estimated overhead costs for the month? [1 mark]

The resources total to $160K, so the overheads are $20K.

(ii) Calculate the unit rates for these three resources. [4 marks]

Unit rates for resources:

For example, paper cost $20,000, or 12.5% of the resource costs, so its share of the total cost is 12.5% of $180,000 or $22,500; so the unit rate of a page of paper is $22,500/20,000 or $1.125 per page. (1 mark each for the correct methods for computing the percentage resource costs, the share of the total costs, and the unit costs, plus 1 mark for actually getting the correct results.)

Facilities management (FM) is one variety of outsourcing.

(i) Explain what is involved in FM. [1mark]

FM is the use of an external vendor to operate and manage an organization's computer installation.

(ii) Discuss two benefits that FM might provide to an organization.
[2 marks]

quality of computing staff: computer professionals are attracted by the range of experience to be gained when employed by an FM firm;

economies of scale: an fm firm can purchase in larger quantities, obtaining better discounts. (1 mark for discussion of each advantage; no discussion, no mark.)

(iii) Why might privacy be an issue when using FM? [1mark]

The FM firm may also service a competitor, leading to a conflict of interests.