Computer systems and architecture: Practice Questions

Which of the following best defines a stakeholder in the context of system design and development?

In the context of system testing, what is the primary distinction between Alpha testing and Beta testing?

An international retail corporation implements a new point-of-sale system in only its Tokyo branch for one month to identify bugs before rolling it out to all branches worldwide. Which method of system implementation is being used?

Which method of system implementation involves the old system being completely replaced by the new system at a designated time, with no period of overlap between the two?

An organization is planning to migrate its data to a new system. Which of the following is a common issue encountered during data migration that relates specifically to the internal representation of text and symbols?

Identify one primary advantage of employing parallel running as a changeover method during the installation of a new computer system.

Explain how data incompatibility can lead to issues during the data migration process when moving records between two different database systems.

A company is conducting User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for a newly developed human resources system.
Explain how UAT differs from unit testing in terms of who performs the testing and its primary objective.

When a school decides to update its student information management system, they must consider how to provide help and guidance to the users (teachers, students, and administrative staff) who will interact with the software daily.

a) Identify two different methods of providing user documentation for a new system. (2 points)

b) Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of using online (web-based) documentation compared to printed manuals for these users. (2 points)

A multi-national healthcare provider is planning to replace its legacy on-premise patient management system with a modern, cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution. This transition involves migrating sensitive medical records for millions of patients across various jurisdictions.

(a) Explain two potential ethical issues that may arise from the decision to store patient data in a cloud-based environment rather than on an on-premise server. [2]

(b) The organization is considering using a parallel running implementation strategy. Contrast this with a phased conversion approach, specifically highlighting one advantage and one disadvantage of parallel running within a high-stakes hospital environment. [3]

(c) During the data migration process, data transformation is often required. Describe why this process is necessary and explain how a "data type mismatch" during transformation could compromise the integrity of the medical records. [2]

(d) Identify one reason why User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is essential before the final system cutover. [1]