INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & STRATIGIC MANAGEMENT

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
CA - IPC
 Telecommunication Network
 A Telecommunication Network is a collection of
 Terminal nodes
Meaning  Links and any intermediate nodes
Which are connected, so as to enable telecommunication between the
terminals
 It allows departments to share hardware devices,
 It allows information to be shared,
Purpose
 It allows electronic transfer of text,
 It facilitates communication between organizations.
Telecommunication networks which can be classified on the basis of different factors
like
 Classification based on Area of Coverage
LAN, WAN, MAN
Types
 Functional Based Classification
Client-Server, Peer-to-Peer
 Ownership-based Classification
Public Network, Private Network, Virtual Private Network

Write short notes on need and scope of computer networks

Or
Describe the ways in which a computer network can help business?
Or
(J 09 - 7M)
List out some features of computerized networking in an organization
(PM)
Or
Discuss the benefits of a computer network in an organization
(PM Exercise)
File sharing  It provides sharing and grouping of data files over the network

 It provides sharing of computer resources such as hard disk,

Resource sharing
printers etc.
 Network allows users to remotely access the data and
Remote access
information from organization‘s network
Need & scope
 Network facilitates simultaneous access to the shared
or
Shared databases databases to multiple users at the same time by ensuring the
Advantages
integrity of the database.
Fault tolerance  Usually, primary and secondary line of defense backups the
data in case of system failure.
 Additional measures can also be taken by attaching a server
with uninterruptible power supply in case of power failure or
blackouts.
 Internet Access  It provides access to the internet for transfer of document &
and Security  Access world wide web by maintaining security through
firewall in the organization‘s network.
 Networks can provide for/include Application Servers for
System and
 Multiuser operating systems,
Application
 Web server software &
Software
 Application software applets.

Write short notes on telecommunication network model

Or
Components of telecommunication network model?
PM
 A communication network is any arrangement
TELECOMMUNICATION
 where a sender transmits a message to a receiver over a communication
NETWORK
channel consisting of some type of medium
Telecommunication model consists of five basic categories
of components
Any input or output device such as
 Video Terminals
 Microcomputers
 Telephones
Terminals
 Office Equipment
 Telephone and Transaction Terminals
that are used to transmit or receive data
 These support data transmission and reception between
terminals and computers by providing a variety of
Telecommunications
control and support functions
Processors
 Examples are NIC, MODEM, Multiplexer,
Internetworked Processors, etc
 These are the part of a network that connects the
message source with the message receiver
Telecommunications  It is a path between the sender and the receiver that
Media/Channels carries the data in the form of signals
 These are divided into two groups: Guided media and
unguided media
COMPONENTS
 In a network, computers of all sizes and types are
Computers connected through media to perform their
communication assignments
 It consists of programs that control and manage the
functions of networks
 It provides features such as
 Performance monitoring
 Activity monitoring
Telecommunications
 Priority assigning
Control Software
 Transmission error correction &
 Network problem mitigation
 Write about Telecommunication processors in a detailed manner?
PM
 These support data transmission and reception between terminals
TELECOMMUNICATION
and computers by providing a variety of control and support
PROCESSORS
functions.
 Network Interface Card (NIC) is a computer hardware component
 That connects a computer to a computer network.
Network Interface  It has additional memory for buffering incoming and outgoing data
Card (NIC) packets, thus improving the network throughput


A MODEM is a device that
 converts a digital computer signal into an analog telephone signal
Modem (i.e. it modulates the signal) &
 converts an analog telephone signal into a digital computer signal
(i.e. it demodulates the signal) in a data communication system
 A multiplexer is a communication processor
 that allows a single communication channel to carry simultaneous data
Multiplexer transmissions from many terminals
 Multiplexer
(N14RTP, N14  merges the transmission of several terminals at one end of a
MTP2 –1M) communication channel
 While a similar unit separates the individual transmissions at the
receiving end.
Internetwork Processors  Telecommunications networks are interconnected by special- purpose
(N14RTP, M15 MTP2 - 5M) communications processors called internetwork processors
 Switch is a communication processor
Switch
 that makes connections between telecommunication circuits in a
(N15 – 1M,
network
M15RTP)
 so that a telecommunication message can reach its intended destination
Router  Router is a communication processor
N15 – 1M, N15  that interconnects networks based on different rules or protocols,
RTP)  so that a telecommunication message can be routed to its destination
 Hub is a port switching communication processor
Hub  This allows for the sharing of the network resources such as servers, LAN
workstations, printers, etc.
 Bridge is a communication processor
 That connects number of Local Area Networks (LAN).
Bridge
 It magnifies the data transmission signal while passing data from one
LAN to another
Repeater  Repeater is a communication processor
(N15 RTP, M15  That boosts or amplifies the signal before passing it to the next section
MTP1 – 1M) of cable in a network.
 Gateway is a communication processor
Gateway
 That connects networks and use different communication architectures.
 Write short notes on network management and functions of network management?
PM ( Exercise )
 Telecommunications software packages provide a variety of
NETWORK
communication support services.
MANAGEMENT
Which helps to manage the network effectively
 Manages network resources and traffic
Traffic
to avoid congestion and optimize telecommunications
management
service levels to users
 Provides
 authentication,
Security
 Encryption, and auditing functions, &
 Enforces security policies
 Troubleshoot and watch over the network
Network
 informing network administrators of potential
monitoring
problems before they occur
MAJOR NETWORK  Surveys network resources and traffic patterns &
Capacity
MANAGEMENT  users‘ needs to determine how best to accommodate
planning
FUNCTIONS the needs of the network as it grows and changes
 This measures and makes network performance data
available
So that performance can be maintained and acceptable
Performance
thresholds
Management
 The network performance addresses the
 Throughput
(M15 MTP2 -
 Network response times
1M)
 Packet loss rates
 link utilization
 percentage utilization

Discuss Transmission Media in detail.

Transmission Media
These are divided into two groups: Guided media and unguided media
Guided Media or Bound
Media
Twisted-Pair Wire
Examples of guided
PM
 These are the part of a network that connects the message source
with the message receiver
 It is a path between the sender and the receiver that carries the data
in the form of signals
 Guided Transmission Media uses a "cabling" system that guides the
data signals along a specific path
 Twisted-pair is ordinary telephone wire, consisting

of copper wire twisted into pairs.

 It is used for both voice and data transmissions
media

 It is the most widely used media for

telecommunications
 It is used extensively in home and office telephone
systems and many LANs and WANs
  This telecommunication media consists of copper or
aluminum wire wrapped with spacers to insulate
Coaxial Cable
and protect it
 Coaxial cables can
 carry a large volume of data &
 allows high-speed data transmission
 It is used in
 high-service metropolitan areas for cable TV
systems,
 for short-distance connection of computers
 Office buildings and other work sites for
local area networks.
 This media consists of one or more hair-thin
Fiber Optics filaments of glass fiber wrapped in a protective
jacket.
 Signals are converted to light form and fired by
laser in bursts
 Optical fibers can
 carry digital as well as analog signals &
 provides increased speed and greater
carrying capacity
 Reduced size and installation efforts
Advantages of Fiber Optics  Greater communication capacity
(M17 – 2M )  Faster transmission speed
 Freedom from electric interference
 Unguided Transmission Media consists of a means for the data signals
Unguided Media/Unbound to travel
Media but nothing to guide them along a specific path
 The data signals are not bound to a cabling media
 This media uses the atmosphere as the medium through which it
transmits signals, in the form of electromagnetic waves
Terrestrial Microwave
 It is used extensively for high-volume as well as long-distance
communication of both data and voice
Radio Waves  These are an invisible form of electromagnetic radiation that
varies in wavelength from around 1 millimeter to 1,00,000 kms
examples of unguided media

 Radio waves are most commonly used transmission media in the

wireless Local Area Networks
(M15 MTP2 – 1M)
Micro Waves  These are radio waves with wavelengths ranging from as long as
1 meter to as short as 1 millimeter and the frequencies between
300MHz and 300 GHz.
 These are used for communication, radar systems, radio
astronomy, navigation and spectroscopy
 This used in industrial, scientific and medical applications
Infrared Waves
 Night-vision devices using infrared illumination allow people or
animals to be observed without the observer being detected
Communication  Communication satellites use atmosphere as the medium through
Satellites which it transmit signals
 A satellite is some solar powered electronic device that receives,
amplifies, and retransmits signals
 the satellite acts as a relay station between satellite transmissions
stations on the ground
 Guided Media and Unguided Media
PM
Difference Guided Media Unguided Media
 Guided Media are those media that  Unguided Transmission Media
Way of provide a conduit from one device consists of a means for the data
communication to another signals to travel but nothing to guide
them along a specific path
 Guided Transmission Media uses a  It passes through a vacuum;
Media for "cabling" system  it is independent of a physical
communication that guides the data signals along a pathway
specific path
 Coaxial Cable, Twisted Pair, Fiber  Infrared Waves, Micro Waves, Radio
Examples
Optic Cable Waves etc

Write about Local Area Network? Explain characteristics

PM ( Exercise )
 Local area networks are telecommunications networks that connect information –
processing devices within a limited physical area
 These networks cover areas such as
Meaning  Offices
 Classrooms
 Buildings
 Manufacturing plant etc.
 It uses variety of telecommunications media, such as
 Ordinary telephone wires
Communication
 Coaxial cable or
media
 Wireless radio systems
To interconnect workstations and peripherals
Network  To communicate over the network,
interface card  a PC usually has a circuit board called a network interface card.
[NIC]
 It is used for
 managing files,
File Server
Characteristics  servicing the network printers,
 handling communications etc.
 It is loaded in the server‘s hard disk along with system
management tools &
Network OS
 it controls telecommunications and the use of network
resources.
 LANs allow users in a workgroup to
 Communicate electronically,
Communication
 share hardware, software, and data resources &
and sharing
 pool their efforts
when working on group projects
Why users prefer Local Area Networks?
Or
Factors contributed to the growth of LANs
(N 03, 07 - 5M)
 Security for programs and data can be achieved using servers that are
Security
locked physically and logically
 Expanded PC usage
through inexpensive
workstation
Organizational Benefits
Data management
benefits
Electronic mail and
Message Broadcasting
Software cost and
upgradation
 Once LAN is set up, it is very easy and economical to accommodate
additional employees.
 With the shared computer
 hardware,
 software &
 peripherals
 we can reduce cost & drastic reduction in time
 Since data is located centrally on the server,
 it becomes much easier to manage it, access it, as well as back it up
 E-mail allows users to communicate easily with other employees and to
communicate a message to everyone
 If the organization is concerned about using licensed software purchasing,
 a network version can save a lot of money
since there would be no need to buy multiple copies of the same software
for every machine in the organization

Write about Metropolitan Area Network?

Location  A Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is somewhere between a LAN and a WAN.
 MAN refers to a network that connects systems or local area networks
What it mean
 Within a metropolitan area (roughly 40 kms in length from one point to another).
What  MANs are based on fiber optic transmission technology &
technology  provide high speed interconnection between sites.
Support  MAN can support both data and voice
 Cable television networks are best examples of MANs that distribute television
Examples
signals

Explain the basic features & usage of Wide Area Networks?

(M 94, 96, N 97)
 Wide Area Networks are telecommunications networks that cover large geographic
areas with various communication facilities
Such as
Meaning
 long distance telephone service,
 satellite transmission, &
 under-sea cables
 These networks cover areas such as
 Large city or metropolitan area
Coverage
 Whole country
 Many countries and continents
Examples  Examples of WANs are interstate banking networks and airline reservation systems.

Write about Mesh form of Network?

Or
Which Network topology can be used in case of military installations with a very small number of nodes
and why it should be used?
List advantages and disadvantages?
(M13, M15 - 4M, N14RTP, N15RTP, M15 MTP1 - 2M)
 In a mesh network structure, the nodes are randomly connected using
How they connect
communication links
  A mesh network may be fully connected or connected with only partial links
Type of connection

 In a fully interconnected topology, each node is connected by a dedicated point

Fully connected
to point link to every node
Partially connected  In partially connected topology, nodes are widely scattered.

Wired & wireless  This concept is applicable to wired and wireless networks.


Only military installations,
Application

which need high degree of redundancy, may have such networks,
 Gives the greatest amount of redundancy. Even if one node fails,
network traffic
ADVANTAGES  Can be redirected to another node.
PM  Network problems are easier to diagnose
 Highly reliable
 More Cabling is needed
 High Cost of installation and maintenance
DISADVANTAGES
 Adding or replacing a node will disturb the entire network
PM

Write short notes on Star Network?

(N 08, 09, - 5M, M 11 - 4M, N 13 – 4M, M15 RTP)
Central switch  A star network consists of one central switch, hub or computer,
Or  Which acts as a medium to transmit messages.
HUB
 The central computer is usually a mainframe (host),
Mainframe (host)
 Which acts as the file server
 If a node wants to transmit information from one node to another,
Mode of
 It can be done by sending the details to the central node,
transmission
 Which in turn sends them to the destination
 The central unit in the star network acts as the traffic controller among all the
Traffic controller
other computers tied to it.

 Several users can use the central unit at the same time
ADVANTAGES  It is easy to add new nodes and remove existing nodes
PM  A node failure does not bring down the entire network
 It is easier to diagnose network problems through a central hub.
  The whole network is affected if the main unit ―goes down,‖ &
All communications stop.
 If it fails, there is no backup processing and communications
DISADVANTAGES
capability &
PM
The local computers will be cut off from the corporate
headquarters and from each other.
 Considered less reliable than a ring network

Write about bus network?

(N14 - 3M, M15 MTP2 - 2M)
 In a bus network, a single length of wire, cable, or optical fiber connects a
Single length of wire
number of computers.
 In this method, all communications travel along this cable, which is called a
Media
bus.
Decentralized  Bus networks have a decentralized approach.

 There is no host computer or file server which makes bus network

reliable as well as easy to use and understand.
ADVANTAGES  If one of the microcomputers fails, it will not affect the entire network
PM  Is easy to extend. Two cables can be easily joined with a connector,
making a longer cable for more computers to join the network.
 A repeater can also be used to extend a bus configuration
 Heavy network traffic can slow a bus considerably since any computer
can transmit at any time
DISADVANTAGES  Each connection between two cables weakens the electrical signal
PM  The bus configuration can be difficult to troubleshoot
 A cable break or malfunctioning computer can be difficult to find and
can cause the whole network to stop functioning

Write about Ring form of Network?

(N 09 - 5M, N 12 – 4M, N15RTP)
 Local computer processors are tied together sequentially in a ring with each
Ring form
device being connected to two other devices.
 When one computer needs data from another computer, the data is passed
How they process
along the ring.
Reliable & less costly  Considered more reliable and less costly than star networks
  It offers high performance for a small number of workstations
 It do not require a central computer to control activity.
ADVANTAGES  It can spread over longer distances than other types of networks
PM  It is also easy to expand ring network
 It is more reliable.
 Performs better than star topology under heavy network load
 Relatively expensive and difficult to install.
DISADVANTAGES  Failure of one computer on the network can affect the whole network.
PM  It is difficult to trouble shoot a ring network
 Adding or removing computers can disturb the network
Similar questions :
1) Star Network Vs. Ring Network (RTP-NOV 14)

Serial Transmission Vs. Parallel Transmission

(SM, PM, MTP-SEP 14, MTP- APR 14, RTP MAY-15)
Difference Serial Transmission Parallel Transmission
How they  The data bits are transmitted  The data bits are transmitted
transfer serially one after another simultaneously
 Data is transmitted over a single  Data is transmitted over eight
Media wire and is thus relatively slower. different wires and is thus relatively
faster.
 It is a cheaper mode of transferring  It is relatively expensive mode of
Cost
data transferring data.
 It is useful for long distance  Not suited for long distance
Distance
communications. communications

Diagram

Synchronous Transmission Vs. Asynchronous Transmission

(SM, PM, MTP-OCT 14, RTP- NOV 14)
Difference Synchronous Transmission Asynchronous Transmission
 Allows characters to be sent down  Each data word is accompanied with
How they sent
the line without Start-Stop bits start and stop bits
 Transmission is faster as in  Extra Start and Stop bits slow
absence of Start and Stop bits, down the transmission process
Speed
many data words can be relatively.
transmitted per second
 The synchronous device is more  It is relatively cheaper
Cost
expensive
 Chances of data loss are relatively  More reliable as the start and stop
higher bits ensure that the sender and
Data loss
the receiver remain in step with
one another.
Efficient  It is more efficient  It is relatively less efficient.
 Diagram

Write about different modes of data communication

Or
Transmission modes
(N 98 - 6M, N 06, M 00, 02 - 5M, M 07 - 4M, M 12 - 4M, N 13 – 3M, M16 - 2M)
There are three different transmission modes characterized according to the direction of exchange of
data.
One direction  In this mode data is transmitted in one direction only
 The sending station cannot receive data
Cannot receive
 This type of connection is useful if the data do not need to flow in
data
both directions.
Send or receive
 A terminal connected to such line may send only or receive only.
only
Simplex Example  Computer to printer.

Figure A
B
Simplex: A to B only

 A half-duplex connection allows data can be transmitted in both

Both direction
the directions but only one side at a time.
Send and  Thus every terminal can send and receive data but only one
receive activity at a time.
Example  Walkie Talkie
Half duplex:

Figure A B
Half Duplex: A to B or B to A

 A full duplex connection can simultaneously transmit and receive

Simultaneous
data between two stations.
transmission
 It is the most commonly used communication mode
Two separate  Full-duplex transmission uses two separate circuits for
circuits communication i.e. one for each direction.
Full duplex Example  mobile phones

A
Figure B
Full-Duplex: A to B and B to A

Similar questions :
1) Half Duplex Mode Vs. Full Duplex Mode. (RTP-NOV 15)
 Discuss various switching techniques used in a computer network?
(PM, M 04 - 5M, N 11 - 4M, M15 RTP)
 Based on the techniques used to transfer data, communication networks can be categorized into
 Broadcast networks
 switched-communication
 In Broadcast networks
 Data transmitted by one node is received by many,
 Sometimes all, of the other nodes
 This refers to a method of transferring a message to all recipients
simultaneously
 For example – a corporation or other voluntary association that
provides
Broadcast networks
Live television or recorded content
Such as
 Movies,
 Newscasts,
 sports,
 Public affairs programming, &
 Other television programs
for broadcast over a group of radio stations or television stations
 In switched communication networks, however, the data transferred
from source to destination is routed through the switch nodes.
 The way in which the nodes switch data from one link to another, as
it is transmitted from source to destination node, is referred to as a
Switched Networks switching technique.
 Three common switching techniques are
 Circuit Switching,
 Packet Switching, &
 Message Switching
Discuss the common Switching techniques used in computer networking
PM
 The common switching techniques used in computer networking are
 Circuit switching,
 Packet Switching &
 Message Switching
Dedicated  When two nodes communicate with each other over a
communication dedicated communication path,
path it is called Circuit Switching
 An important property of circuit switching is the need to
End – to – end set up an end-to-end path
path before any data can be sent which can either be
Circuit Switching
permanent or temporary
 Applications which use circuit switching go through
three phases
 Establish a Circuit
Uses 3 phases
 Transfer of data
 Disconnect the Circuit.
Message No physical path  In message switching,
switching/Store-and- in advance  No physical path is established between sender
Forward and receiver in advance.
 Data is  The whole message is treated as a data unit and is
(M 11 - 2M) transferred in transferred in its entirety
totality  Which contains the entire data being delivered from the
source to destination node
 A switch working on message switching
First receives &
 first receives the whole message &
buffers it until
 Buffers it until there are resources available to
next hop
transfer it to the next hop.
 If the next hop is not having enough resource to
Not having
accommodate large size message,
enough resource
the message is stored and switch waits
 E-mail and voice mail are examples of message
Example
switching systems.
Smaller  The entire message is broken down into smaller
transmission transmission units called packets.
units
Information is  The switching information is added in the header of each
added in the packet and transmitted independently
header or packet
Easier for inter -  It is easier for intermediate networking devices to store
mediate device to smaller size packets &
Packet Switching
sore small  they do not take much resources either on carrier path or
pockets in the switches‘ internal memory
(N 02 - 1M)
 In packet switched network
 first packet of a multi-packet message may
How message is
be forwarded before the second one has fully
transferred
arrived
 Thus reducing delay and improving throughput.
 Since, there is no fixed bath, different packets can follow
Different paths different path &
 thus they may reach to destination out of order
Similar questions :
1) Circuit Switching Vs. Packet Switching. (RTP-NOV 15)
2) Difference between Broadcast Networks and Switched Networks. (RTP - MAY 15)

Write short notes on Network Architecture?

(M 03, 07 - 5M)
 Network architecture refers to the layout of the network,
consisting of
 hardware,
Meaning  software,
 connectivity,
 communication protocols &
 Mode of transmission such as wired or wireless.
 Network architecture includes hardware components used for
 communication,
 cabling and device types,
It includes
 network layout and topologies,
 physical and wireless connections,
 implemented areas and future plans.
 There are two basic network architectures :
Types a) OSI Model
b) TCP/IP model
 What is a Protocol? Explain the aspects defined by protocols?
PM

A protocol is the formal set of rules for communicating,
Including ,
 Rules for timing of message exchanges,
Meaning
 the type of electrical connection used by the communications devices,
 error detection techniques,
 means of gaining access to communications channels, and so on
 The format of data being exchanged
 character set used,
Syntax
 type of error correction used,
 Type of encoding scheme being used.
Three aspects  Type and order of messages used to ensure reliable and error free
Semantics
information transfer
 Defines data rate selection and correct timing for various events during
Timing data
Transfer.

Communication Protocols
(M15 RTP)
Software for data  Protocols are software that performs a variety of actions necessary
transmission for data transmission between computers.
 Protocols are a set of rules for inter-computer communication that
Set of rules have been agreed upon and implemented by many vendors, users
and standard bodies.
Communicate  Protocols allow heterogeneous computers to talk to each other

Write about Open System Interconnection (OSI).

(PM, J 09 - 5M, M15 RTP)
 The International Standards Organization (ISO) developed a seven-layer Open
OSI
Systems Interconnection (OSI) model
Model
to serve as a standard model for network architectures
 It provides user services by file transfer, file sharing, etc.
 At this layer
Layer 7
 communication partners are identified
Or
 quality of service is identified
Application
 user authentication and privacy are considered
Layer
 Database concurrency and deadlock situation controls are undertaken at
Seven layers of OSI model

this layer.
 It also referred as Syntax Layer,
 It is the part of operating system that
Layer 6
 Converts incoming and outgoing data from one presentation
or
format to another.
Presentation
 controls onscreen display of data
Layer
 transforms data to a standard application interface;
 Encryption and data compression are undertaken at this layer
 This layer sets up, coordinates, and terminates conversations;
Layer 5 Exchanges and dialogs between the applications at each end.
Or  It deals with session and connection coordination and provides for full-
Session duplex, half-duplex, or simplex operation
Layer establishes check pointing, adjournment, termination, and restart
procedures
  This layer ensures
Layer 4  ensures reliable and transparent transfer of data between user
Or processes
Transport  assembles and disassembles message packets &
Layer  provides error recovery and flow control.
 Multiplexing and encryption are undertaken at this layer
Layer 3  This layer makes a choice of the physical route of transmission of data.
Or Network  It establishes, maintains, terminates, connections between the nodes and
Layer ensures proper routing of data.
(N09 - 1M)
Layer 2  The Data Link Layer responds to service requests from the Network Layer
Or and issues service requests to the Physical Layer
Data Link  It specifies channel access control method and ensures reliable transfer of
Layer data through the transmission medium
Layer 1  The Physical Layer is a hardware layer which specifies mechanical
Or features as well as electromagnetic features of the connection between the
Physical devices.
Layer  Establishment and termination of a connection to a communications
medium can be undertaken at this layer
(N15 MTP2 –  Modulation or conversion of digital data are major tasks
2M, M16 -
2M)
Similar questions :
1) Transport Layer Vs. Network Layer of OSI Model. (MTP FEB-15, MTP MAR-15)
2) Presentation Layer Vs. Session Layer of OSI Model. (RTP-NOV 15)

Write short notes on TCP/IP.

(N07, 09 - 5M, N10 - 1M, N14 RTP)
 The protocol used on the Internet is called TCP/IP (Transmission Control
What is TCP/IP
Protocol/Internet Protocol) or internet protocol suite
 TCP/IP consists of five levels or layers of protocols that can be related to the
Contains
seven layers of the OSI architecture
Five levels of TCP/IP includes
 Discuss some of the characteristics and issues of Client Server (C/S) architecture
PM
 C/S provides a clean separation of function based on the idea of service
Service  The server process is a provider of services &
 the client is a consumer of services
Shared  A server can service many clients at the same time &
prominent characteristics

Resources regulate their access to the shared resources

Transparency  C/S software usually masks the location of the server from the clients by
of Location redirecting the service calls when needed.
 The ideal C/S software is independent of hardware or Operating System
Mix-and-Match
software platforms.
 In a C/S environment,
Scalability  client workstations can either be added or removed &
 also the server load can be distributed across multiple servers
 The server code and server data is centrally managed,
which results in
Integrity
 cheaper maintenance &
 The safeguarding of shared data integrity.
In case of  When the server goes down or crashes, all the computers connected to it
Client/Server

breakdown of become unavailable to use

Network
Issues in

server
More time for  Simultaneous access to data and services by the user takes little more time
Simultaneous for server to process the task
access

Discuss the Working of Client/Server architecture

PM (exercise ) (N15 MTP1 – 4M)
 Servers are typically powerful computers running advanced network operating
systems
 Servers can
Server  host e-mail
 store common data files and serve powerful network applications,
 validates login to the network
 can deny access to both networking resources as well as client software
 Clients are interconnected by local area networks and share application processing
with network servers,
Clients
which also manage the networks
 Client and Server can operate on separate computer platforms
 Either the client platform or the server platform can be upgraded without having to
Upgrade
upgrade the other platform
Serve multiple  The server is able to service multiple clients concurrently; in some client/server
clients systems, clients can access multiple servers.
Who initiate the  Action is usually initiated at the client end, not the server end
action

 A server is one or more multi-user processors with shared memory

Providing
Server ( Definition )
 computing,
PM
 connectivity and the database services &
 the interfaces relevant to the business need.
 How can Client computers be classified?
(PM)
 Client is a single-user workstation that provides a
Meaning of a
 presentation services and the appropriate computing,
client
 connectivity and the database services relevant the business need
 A fat client or thick client is a client that
 performs the bulk of any data processing operations itself, &
 Does not necessarily rely on the server.
 Thick clients do not rely on a central processing server
Fat / Thick Client Because
 the processing is done locally on the user system, &
 the server is accessed primarily for storage purposes
 For example – Personal Computer.

 A Thin Client use the resources of the host computer

 A thin client generally
Thin Client  only presents processed data provided by an application server, which
performs the bulk of any required data processing
 Example - A device using web application is a thin client.
 A hybrid client is a mixture of the thick and thin client models.
 Similar to a fat client, it processes locally, but relies on the server for storing
Hybrid Client
persistent data.
 Hybrid clients are well suited for video gaming.
Similar question :
1) Difference between Public Data Network and Private Data Network (RTP-MAY 15)

Write about Peer – to – peer network?

(PM, M15- 2M, M16 RTP)
 it is network which is created with two or more PCs connected together &
Meaning
Share resources without going through a separate server computer.
Adhoc  A P2P network can be an adhoc connection
connection  a couple of computer connected via a universal serial bus to transfer files
Permanent  A P2P network also can be permanent infrastructure
infrastructure  that links half dozen computers in a small office over copper wires.
 The primary goal of a P2P file sharing network,
Goal  is that many computers come together and pool their resources to form a
content distribution system.
 Peer-to-Peer Networks are easy and simple to set up
Easy and simple to
 And only require a Hub or a Switch to connect all the
setup
computers together.
Advantages
cost effective  It is very simple and cost effective
 If one computer fails to work, all other computers connected
Failure of computer
to it continue to work.
 There can be a problem in accessing files if computers are
Problem of access
not connected properly
Disadvantages Not support for too  It does not support connections with too many computers
many com.
Data security  The data security is very poor in this architecture
 Difference Client / Server Peer- to- Peer
 A client computer typically  Every computer is equal and can
Communicate communicates with servers, not communicate with any other computer on
with other clients the network
 A central server handles all security  Each machine shares its own resources
Security
and file transactions. and handles its own security.
 It is more expensive  It is relatively less expensive
as it requires as it does not require a
Cost  a central file server,  dedicated machine,
 server software &  server software or
 client licenses  Special client licenses.
 Backup is centralized on the server;  Backup is decentralized; managed by
Backup
managed by network administrator. users.
Performance  The performance is relatively high  The performance is relatively low.
failure of  In case of failure of server, the  No single point failure affects the
server whole network fails network
 It relies on the power and stability  P2P gives each workstation equivalent
of a single computer i.e., Server capabilities and relies heavily on the
Relies
power and bandwidth of each individual
computer
 Email, network printing, and the  Napster, Gnutella, Free net, Bit Torrent
Example
World Wide Web. and Skype

Discuss Multi-Tier Architecture?

(PM)
 A single computer that contains a database and a
Single Tier Systems/ One-Tier architecture
frontend (GUI)
Client2
to access the database is known as Single Tier System.
Client1 Client3  One-tier architecture involves putting all of the
File required components for a software application or
serve
technology on a single server or platform

 It requires one stand-alone computer

One computer

Advantages  It also requires only one installation of proprietary software

One software which makes it the most cost-effective system available

Only one user  It can be used by only one user at a time

Disadvantages  A single tier system is impractical for an organization

Not suit for large
This requires two or more users to interact with the organizational
organization
data stores at the same time.
Client & server  A two-tier system consists of a client and a server.
Two Tier  It is a software architecture in which
Systems software architecture  a presentation layer or interface runs on client, &
 a data layer or data structure gets stored on a server.
Presentation Tire Client 1 Client 2 Client 3

Database Tier Database

Server
2-Tier Architecture

 The system performance is higher

Because
High
 business logic &
performance
 database
are physically close
Advantages Interact  Since processing is shared between the client and server,
more users More users could interact with system.
Easy to set  It is easy to setup and maintain entire system smoothly.
up
Decrease the  Performance deteriorates if number of users increases.
Performance
Disadvantag Restricted 
There is restricted flexibility and choice of DBMS since data language
es flexibility used in server is proprietary to each vendor
 Three-tier architecture is a client-server architecture
In which the
Independent
 functional process logic,
modules
 data access,
on separate
Three-tier  computer data storage &
platforms
architecture  user interface
are developed and maintained as independent modules on separate
(M15 - 2M) platforms.
 This is used when an effective distributed client/server design is
needed
that provide
When it is used  increased performance,
 flexibility,
 maintainability,
 reusability and scalability
Occupies top level  Occupies the top level and displays information
three-tier

& related to services available on a website.

Presentation Displays
Tier information
 This tier communicates with other tiers by sending
in

Communicates results to the browser and other tiers in the network.

tiers

 Also called the Middle tier, Logic tier, Business

Also called
Application Logic or Logic tier;
architecture
The three

Tier Controls application  This tier controls application functionality by

functionality performing detailed processing.
 This tier houses the database servers where
Database Tier Houses the database
information is stored and retrieved
  Data in this tier is kept independent of application
Independent servers or business logic.

Client 1 Client 2 Client 3

App.server1 App.server2

Database
Server

 Clear separation of user-interface-control and data presentation from

application-logic:
Clear separation
Advantages

With this separation more clients are able to have access to a wide
variety of server applications.
Dynamic load  If bottlenecks in terms of performance occur,
balancing the server process can be moved to other servers at runtime.
Change  It is easy and faster to exchange a component on the server than to furnish
management numerous PCs with new program versions
 It creates an increased need for
 Network traffic management,
increased need
 Server load balancing, &
Disadvantages

 Fault tolerance.
Immature  Current tools are relatively immature and are more complex.
&
Complex
Inadequate  Maintenance tools are currently inadequate for maintaining server libraries
Maintenance
tools
 In a client-server architecture
in which
logically  presentation,
separated  application processing, &
 data management functions
n-tier Architecture
are logically separated.
or
 By segregating an application into tiers,
3 tire Architecture Modifying or
developers acquire the option of modifying or adding a specific
adding a
layer,
(M16 MTP2 - 2M) specific layer
instead of reworking on entire application.
 An application that uses middleware to service data requests
Example
between a user and a database employs multi-tier architecture.
Multi tire is a  The most widespread use of multi-tier architecture is the three-
three tire tier architecture.
 Write short notes on public and private networks?
Or
Ownership Based Classification of networks
Share & access  A public data network is a network shared and accessed by all
by all users users across the world.
Public Data
 It is a network established and operated by a
Network
Established & telecommunications administration
operated by  for the specific purpose of providing data transmission
(N14 MTP1 - 1M)
services for the public.
Example  Internet
 Private Network is used by
 Particular organization,
Used by
Private Data  Particular campus or
Network  Particular enterprise only.
not available  This is a network that is not available to the outside world.
Example  Intranet.
Virtual private
See below
networks
Similar questions :
1) Difference between Public Data Network and Private Data Network (RTP-MAY 15)

Define Virtual Private Networks (VPN).

(N14 MTP2-2M, M16 MTP1-2M)
To secure  Many organizations use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
intranets & to establish secure intranets and extranets
extranets
uses a public  A VPN is a private network that uses a public network (usually the Internet) to
network connect remote sites or users together.
Work on both  A key feature of a VPN is its ability to work over both private networks as well as
Public & private public networks like the Internet.
 VPN is a secure network
Uses internet as
 that uses the Internet as its main backbone network,
bock bone
 But relies on the firewalls and other security features.

Write about Centralized systems & Decentralized systems?

PM
Done at central  Centralized computing is computing done at a central location,
Centralized location  Using terminals that are attached to a central computer.
systems Control all the  The computer itself may control all the peripherals directly or
peripherals they may be attached via a terminal server.
Ease of  There are relatively few computers to manage
management
 The physical and logical securing of the computing environment
Enhanced
can be more easily managed
security
Advantages of  Since there is only one location and a few computers.
centralized  The introduction of change can be managed closely since there is
Ease of control
systems only one location
Reduced cost of  Fewer computing elements to manage &
ownership  Therefore few people are needed to manage them

Multiple types  All of the work associated with the business runs at the central
of workload computing location.
 If failure of  The central computer performs the computing function.
central  If the central computer fails to works, then the entire system will
computer go down.
Disadvantages of
 Central computing relies heavily on the quality of administration
centralized
Relies heavily and resources provided to its users
systems
by central  Empowerment of the central computer should be adequate by all
computer means,
Else the usage suffers greatly
 Decentralized computing is the collection of resources, both
hardware and software, to
Collection of
 Each individual workstation, or
resources
 Office location
which are capable of running independently of each other
Decentralized  Decentralized systems enable file sharing &
systems all computers can share peripherals such as
 Printers
File sharing  Scanners &
 Modems
allowing all the computers in the network to connect to
the internet.
Advantages of Utilizes the  A decentralized system utilizes the potential of desktop systems
decentralized potential of to maximize the potential performance of the business
systems desktop systems applications.
Disadvantages of  All computers have to be updated individually with new software,
Update
decentralized  Unlike a centralized computer system.
individually
systems

What is a security program?

( PM Exercise )
Or
Write about network risks, controls and security?
(M16- 2M)
 Network security consists of
NETWORK  Provisions made in an underlying computer network infrastructure,
SECURITY  Policies adopted by the network administrator to protect the network &
 Network accessible resources from unauthorized access.
 The basic objective of providing network security is to
NEED FOR
 To safeguard assets
SECURITY
 To ensure and maintain data integrity
 It is implemented to protect the physical assets of an organization
 Personnel,
Physical
 Hardware
security
TYPES OF  Facilities
SECURITY  Supplies & documentation
 It is intended to control
Logical
 Malicious and non-malicious threats to physical security
security
 Malicious threats to logical security itself
 What is the basic objective for providing network security?
( PM )
 To safeguard assets, &
The basic objective for

security is two-fold


providing network

To ensure and maintain the data integrity

The boundary subsystem is an interface between the potential users of a system and the
system itself.
Controls in the boundary subsystem have the following purposes
 To establish the system, resources that the users desire to employ &
 To restrict the actions undertaken by the users who obtain the system resources to
an authorized set

Explain the threats involved in system security?

(N14 RTP, N14 MTP1– 2M)
Or
What are various threats to a computer network‟s security?
( PM exercise )
 It is a possible danger that can disrupt the
 Operation,
 Functioning,
THREAT
 Integrity, or
 Availability
Of a network or system
Originate from  These originate mostly from inexperienced individual‘s
inexperienced using easily available hacking tools from the Internet
Unstructured
individual
threats
Tools to discover  These include
weakness in  Port-scanning tools,
(M16 MTP1 -
network security  Address-sweeping tools & many other
2M)
 Most of them are done out of interest rather than with a
Out of interest
malicious intention.
 These originate from individuals who are
Network security threats are 4 categories

Originate from  Highly motivated &

Structured  Technically competent.
threats create hacking  They can understand as well as create hacking scripts to
scripts penetrate into network systems
(M16 MTP1 -  These hackers are hired by
2M)  Organized crime,
Hackers hired by
 Industry competitors,
 State sponsored intelligence organizations.
 They originate from individuals or organizations working
outside an organization,
Originate
External  Which does not have authorized access to organization‘s
threats computer systems or network
 They usually work their way into a network from the
How they access
Internet or dialup access servers
 They originate from individuals who have authorized
Originate
access to the network
Internal  These users either have an account on a server or physical
How they access
threats access to the network.
 It may come from a discontented former or current
Come from
employee or contractor.
 Explain the vulnerabilities involved in system security?
(N14 - 4M, M15 RTP, M15 MTP1-1M, N14 MTP2-4M, M16 RTP)
or
What is Vulnerability? What are the facts that are responsible for occurrence of vulnerabilities in
software?
( PM exercise )
 Vulnerability is an inherent weakness in the
 Design,
 Configuration or
VULNERABILITY
 Implementation
of a network or system
 that renders it susceptible to a threat
 Software bugs are so common that users have developed techniques to
work around the consequences
Software Bugs
 A bug that saves the work every half an hour or crash the computer so often
is considered to be a normal part of computing
 This problem may occur when a temporary file is exploited by an intruder
Vulnerabilities in the software

to
Timing Windows  Gain access to the file,
 Overwrite important data &
 use the same file as a gateway for advancing further into the system.
Insecure default  They occur when vendors use known default passwords to make it as easy
configurations as possible for consumers to set up new systems.

 Some protocols or the standards, by which information is exchanged over

Bad Protocols
the Internet, may lack any security at all.
Trusting  This is usually a problem that affects routers or those computers that
Untrustworthy connect one network to another
information
 Generally, users of computer systems are not professionals and are not
End users
always security conscious.

Write short notes on network security?

(M16 - 4M ) ( PM )
 Network Security Protocols are primarily designed to prevent any
 Unauthorized user,
 Application,
 Service or device
From accessing network data
Network Security
By implementing cryptography and encryption techniques.
 Network security protocols generally implement
 Digital Signatures,
 Cryptography &
 Encryption Techniques
  Privacy means that the sender and the receiver expect
Confidentiality
confidentiality
 The transmitted message should make sense to only the
Intended
intended receiver &
purpose
 The message should be unintelligible to unauthorized users
 This is achieved by cryptography and encryption techniques
 ―Crypto" stands for "hidden, secret",
&
 "graphy" denotes "a process or form of
Cryptography drawing, writing, representing,
recording, describing, etc., or an art or
Privacy science concerned with such a
process."
(N15 MTP2 –  In Cryptography, encryption is the
Security involves 4 aspects

4M) process of encoding messages in such a

How it is way that eavesdroppers or hackers
achieved cannot read it,
Encryption but only authorized parties can
 The two basic approaches to
encryption are
 Hardware encryption
 Software encryption
 So that the data is secured and can only be decrypted with a
 Special algorithm,
 Logical key,
 Mathematical formula
And/or a combination of all of them
Authenticatio  This means that the receiver is sure of the sender‘s identity &
n That an imposter has not sent the message
 This means that the data must arrive at the receiver exactly as it was sent
 There must not be any changes during the transmission either
Integrity
 Accidental
 Malicious.
 This means that a receiver must be able to prove that a received message came
Non-
from a specific sender &
Repudiation
 The sender must not be able to deny sending it.

Discuss the concept of cryptography in a computer network.

(PM, N15 – 4M)
Cryptography  Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the
presence of third parties
(M15 RTP,
N14 MTP1 –
1M)
In Cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding messages in such a way that
eavesdroppers or hackers cannot read it,
But only authorized parties can.
Encryption  It is the message that is to be encrypted.
Plaintext
 It is transformed by a function that is parameterized by a key.
 It is the output of the encryption process that is transmitted often by
Cipher Text
a messenger or radio.
Encryption Hear and copy  The intruder may hear and accurately copy down the complete
 model cipher text.
 Sometimes the intruder can not only listen to the communication
channel (passive intruder)
 But can also record messages &
Active and
 Play them back later,
passive intruder
 Inject his own messages, or
 Modify legitimate messages
Before they get to the receiver (active intruder).
 The art of breaking ciphers is known as Cryptanalysis &
Cryptanalysis,
 The art of devising them is known as Cryptography.
Cryptography,
 Both Cryptanalysis and Cryptography are collectively known as
Cryptology
Cryptology.
 In Secret key encryption/decryption method,
encryption/decryption methods:

The same key is used by both sender and the receiver.

There are two categories of

 The sender uses this key and an encryption algorithm to encrypt

Secret key
data;
 The receiver uses the same key and the corresponding decryption
algorithm to decrypt the data.
 In Public key encryption, there are two keys:
 A private key &
Public key  A public key
 The private key is kept by the receiver &
The public key is announced to the public.
 Hardware encryption devices are available at a reasonable cost, and
There are two approaches to

can support high- speed traffic

Hardware  If the Internet is being used to exchange information among branch
Encryption offices or development collaborators, for instance,
Encryption

 Use of such devices can ensure that all traffic between these offices
is secure.
 Software encryption is typically employed in conjunction with
Software specific applications.
Encryption  Certain electronic mail packages provide encryption and decryption
for message security.
Similar question :
1) Hardware Encryption Vs. Software Encryption (RTP-NOV 14)

Explain popular network security protocols?

(PM, N15 RTP)
 Network security protocols are primarily designed to prevent any
 Unauthorized user,
Network security
 Application,
protocols
 Service or device
from accessing network data.
Program  Secure Shell is a program to log into another
Some of the popular

protocols include
network security

SSH computer over a network,

To execute  To execute commands in a remote machine, and to
(Secure Shell ) commands move files from one machine to another.
(M16 MTP2 - Authentication &  It provides strong authentication and secure
1M) Secure communication over insecure channels.
Communication
  SSH protects a network from attacks
Such as
Protects  IP spoofing,
 IP source routing, &
 DNS spoofing.
SFTP  The SSH File Transfer Protocol is a computing
(Secure FTP and Accessing and network protocol
SFTP) managing  For accessing and managing files on remote file
systems.
 SFTP encrypts both commands and data,
Preventing
 Passwords &
Encrypts
 Sensitive information
From being transmitted in telecommunication
network.
HTTPS  Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a
(Hypertext communications protocol
Communications
Transfer  For secure communication over a computer
Protocol
Protocol Secure) network, with especially wide deployment on the
Internet.
 The security of HTTPS uses long term public and
Public and secret secret keys
keys  To exchange a short term session key to encrypt
the data flow between client and server.
 SSL stands for secure socket layer
 It is essentially a protocol that provides a secure
Provides a secure
channel
channel
Between two machines operating over the Internet
SSL or an internal network
(secure socket
 SSL protocol is typically used when a web
layer)
When it is used browser needs to securely connect to a web server
over the inherently insecure Internet.

 SSL is used to secure

 Online credit card transactions,
 System logins &
Where it is used
 Any sensitive information exchanged
online,
To secure webmail and applications.

Explain various Network Security Techniques?

(PM Exercise)
Or
What tools are available to protect the information in network against intrusion or misuse?
(N02 - 5M, N15RTP, N15MTP1 - 4M)
Firewalls  It is a device that forms a barrier (fence) between a
Forms a barrier
(N15 – 2M, N14RTP) secure and an open environment.
 It acts as a system or combination of systems that
Acts as a system
enforces a boundary between more than one networks.

Proved, &  A firewall is a proved, effective means of protecting

effective means the firm‘s internal resources from unwanted intrusion.
  It makes sure that a message is really
Check the
 From whom it is supposed to be &
authentication
 That it has not been tampered.
Message authentication
 Regardless of a company‘s individual needs,
Define policies &
 Internet security policies and procedures should always
producers
be clearly defined.
Site blocking  It is a software-based approach that prohibits access to
Software-based certain web sites
(M16RTP)
approach
 That are deemed to be inappropriate by management.

Objectionable  For example, sites that contain objectionable material

material can be can be blocked
blocked  To prevent employees from accessing these sites.
 Companies can also log activities and determine the
Log activities amount of time spent on the internet and identify the
sites visited.
 Nac products enforce security policy by granting only
Security policy security policy–compliant devices access to network
assets.
Network Access Control  They handle
 Access authentication &
(N15RTP) Functions  Authorization functions &
handled  Can even control the data that specific users‘ access,
based on their ability to recognize users, their devices
and their network roles.
Anti – Malware Help  Anti-malware network tools help administrators to
administrators identify, block and remove malware.
 They enable the IT department to tailor its anti-
Enable the IT malware policies to identify known and unknown
department malware sources

 An intrusion detection system is a device or software

Monitors
Intrusion Detection application
network or
System (IDS)  That monitors network or system activities for
system activities
malicious activities or policy violations.

Write about Intrusion Detection System (IDS)? Explain Primary IDS technologies?
(M15RTP)
 An Intrusion Detection System is a device or software application
That monitors network or system activities for
 Malicious activities
Intrusion Detection
 Policy violations
System (IDS)
 The goal is to
 Monitor the network assets,
 To detect anomalous behavior and misuse.
 NID System is placed on a network to analyze traffic
TECHNOLOGIE
PRIMARY IDS

Network analyze traffic  In search of unwanted or malicious events on the wire

Intrusion between hosts.
S

Detection  Typically referred to as "packet-sniffers‖,

"packet-
(NID)  NID devices intercept packets traveling in different
sniffers”
communication channels.
 monitor,  HID systems are designed to monitor, detect and respond
Host-based detect & to user and system activity and attacks on a given host.
Intrusion respond
Detection  The difference between host-based and network-based
(HID) host-based intrusion detection is that
Vs.  NID deals with data transmitted from host to host while
(M13 - 2M) network-based HID are concerned with what occurs on the hosts
themselves.
 Hybrid intrusion detection systems offer management of
Combination of
and alert notification from
Hybrid both
 Both network and host-based intrusion detection devices.
Intrusion
 Hybrid solutions provide the logical complement to NID
Detection Provides logical
and HID
complement
I.e. Central Intrusion Detection Management.

Differentiate Host Based & Network Intrusion Detection System

(PM)
Host Based Intrusion Detection System Network Based Intrusion DetectionSystem
Deterrence  Strong deterrence for insiders  Strong deterrence for Outsiders
 Strong insider detection, weak  Strong outsider detection, weak insider
Detection
outsider detection detection
Attack  Good at trending and detecting  None
Anticipation suspicious behavior patterns
Damage  Excellent for determining extent of  Very weak damage Assessment
Assessment compromise capabilities
 Weak real-time response, good for  Strong response against outsider attacks
Response
long term attacks
 Narrow in scope, monitors specific  Broad in scope
Scope
activities
Dependency  Host dependent  Host independent.

Discuss FCAPS model of network management?

Or
Discuss the ways of characterizing common functions of Network Management.
(PM, M16 RTP)
 FCAPS is the ISO Telecommunications Management Network
model and frame work for network management.

Acronym for F = Fault,

FCAPS C = Configuration,
A = Accounting,
P = Performance
S = Security
Negative  A fault is an event that has a negative significance
significance
 The goal of fault management is to
Fault
 Recognize,
management Goal of fault
 Isolate,
management
 Correct and log faults
That occur in the network
Configuration  Monitors network and system configuration information
Monitors
management  So that the impact on network operations can be tracked and
 managed.

 Network changes, additions, and deletions need to be coordinated

Coordination
with the network management personnel.
Tracking  It is concerned with tracking network utilization information

 Accounting refers to administration

Accounting Whose primary goal is to administer the set of authorized users by
Goal of
management establishing
accounting
 User ids,
management
 Passwords, and permissions
To administer the operations of the equipment.
 It measures and makes network performance
Such as
 Throughput,
Measures  Response times,
 Packet loss rates,
Performance
 Link utilization, error rates
management
and so forth
 It enables the manager to
Enables the  Prepare the network for the future,
manager As well as
 Determine the efficiency of the current network
 Security management functions include
Functions of
 Managing network authentication,
security
 Authorization,
Security management
 Auditing from both internal and external users.
management
 Most network management systems address security regarding to
Address
network resources
security
As established by organizational security guidelines.

Write short notes on Internet?

Massive global  The Internet is the massive global system that connects computer networks around
system the world together
Share  Millions of private, public, academic, business and government networks
information and worldwide connect with each other over the internet to share massive amounts of
resources information, resources and services
 The Internet uses the standard Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to allow us to
Uses (TCP/IP)
connect to each other.
 It has various information resources and services
Such as the
Various  Web pages of the World Wide Web (WWW),
information  Games,
resources and  Videos,
services  Images,
 E-mail,
 Social networking, etc.
Carries  The Internet carries information from all streams
information from Traditional such as newspaper, book and other print publishing and modern such as
all streams blogging and web feeds
New forms of  It also enables new forms of human interactions through,
human  Instant messaging,
interactions  E-mail,
  Internet forums, &
 Social networking.

Discuss strategic capabilities of internet along with their business application

(PM)
Overcome  Capture information about business transactions from remote locations
geographic barriers
Overcome time  Provide information to remote locations immediately after it is requested.
barriers
Overcome cost  Reduce the cost of more traditional means of communication.
barriers  For example –videoconferencing, E-mailing
Overcome  Support linkages for competitive advantage.
structural barriers  For example – B2B E-commerce websites.
Restructuring  Telecommunications restructure the interactions of people within a firm as well
business as with customers.
relationships

Discuss Internet architecture

(PM Exercise )
Requirement to  To join the Internet, the computer is connected to an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
join Internet From whom the user purchases Internet access or connectivity

 ISP‘s architecture is made up of long-distance transmission lines

ISP‟s That interconnect routers at Point of Presence (POP) in different cities that the isps
architecture serve.
 This equipment is called the backbone of the ISP
Exchange  ISPS connect their networks to exchange traffic at IEPS (Internet exchange Points).
traffic  The connected isps are said to peer with each other.

Path of a packet  The path a packet takes through Internet depends on the peering choices of the ISPS

State some of the business uses of the internet?

(N11 - 4M, M15RTP, M15 MTP1-3M)
What are the possible ways in which Internet can be used in an effective manner?
( PM Exercise )
 Providing customer and vendor support
 Collaboration among business partners
 Strategic business alliances
 Marketing, sales, and customer service applications
 Growth of cross-functional business applications
 Enterprise communications and collaboration
 Attracting new customers with innovative marketing and products
 Retaining present customers with improved customer service and support
 Developing new web-based markets and distribution channels for existing products
 Developing new information-based products accessible on the Web.
 Generating revenue through electronic commerce applications.
 Emergence of applications in engineering, manufacturing, human resources and accounting
 Write short notes on applications of internet?
E-commerce  Electronic commerce transactions between businesses and their suppliers and
customers can also performed with online web applications.
Chat rooms  Using Internet Chat Software, user can log on to certain website and communicate
with other users
Bulletin  The internet provides bulletin board systems formed and managed by thousands of
boards special-interest newsgroups.
E-mail  It is an electronic mail system in Internet
 Each user will be given a unique address
Knowledge  Internet is a library where companies and establishments provide information about
base their products and services.
Downloading  Internet allows us to download software and information files and accessing databases
Software and provided by thousands of businesses, governments, and other organizations.
information
Data  Data publishing is a new opportunity being provided by internet. Information can be
publishing either forwarded to a specified address or stored in a particular place.

Write about Intranets? Explain benefits and role of intranet in organization?

(M15 RTP) , ( PM )
 Intranet is an internal network used by companies to connect their computers on
Internal network
a network.
 Intranet is accessible only by the
 Organization's members,
Who will access
 Employees, or
 Others with authorization.
Firewall  A firewall surrounds an Intranet that fends off unauthorized access
TCP/IP protocol  The Intranet is based on TCP/IP protocol and is inaccessible from the outside.
 An Intranet resides behind a firewall and is accessible only to people who are
Where it is resides
members of the same company or organization.
 Intranet is mainly used by corporations as
Secure and less  It is a secure network &
expensive  Is much less expensive to build and manage than private networks based
on proprietary protocols.
Only members of  Only the members of the corporation with authorized access may log on and
org. Can access access the network and the data on the network.
 Like all networks, the Intranet is mainly used
 Share data,
 Information,
 Resources,
Useful for
 Company programs,
 Software applications, &
 Facilitate communication between people or work groups within the
company.
 
Reduced information searching time

Easier, faster access to information
Advantages 
Sharing and reuse of tools and information
Or 
Latest, up-to-date information,
Benefits 
Collaborative, group working is possible.

Reduced costs - printing, paper, software distribution, mailing, order processing,
Telephone. 
 Intranets can significantly improve communications &
Role of intranet in organization

Business Value of Intranets

Communications collaboration within an enterprise

and Collaboration  Using an Intranet browser and workstation one can send and
receive e-mail, voicemail, etc.
 The advantages of developing and publishing hyperlinked
Or

multimedia documents to hypermedia databases accessible on web

Web publishing
servers has moved to corporate intranets.

Business  Intranets are being used as the platform for developing and
Operations and deploying critical business applications to support business
Management operations and managerial decision making across the enterprise.

Write about Extranet?

(M 03, N 05 - 5M, M13-1M, RTP)
Can access  Extranet is basically an internal network that can be accessed externally
externally
Extension of  The extranet can be thought as an extension of the company‘s intranet.
intranet
Limited access for  People from outside the company can have a limited access to the company‘s
outsiders internal network for business or education related purposes.
 The access may be granted to the
 organization‘s partners,
Who can access  vendors,
 suppliers,
 current and potential customers, etc.
 An Extranet provides various levels of accessibility to outsiders having a
User id & pw  Username &
 Password
 The Extranet requires security and privacy,
 In order to protect the network, the extranets can incorporate
 firewall server management,
Security and  the issuance and use of digital certificates or similar means of user
privacy authentication,
 encryption of messages, &
 the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) that tunnel through the public
network.
 
Share product catalogs exclusively with wholesalers or those ―in the trades‖.

Collaborate with other companies on joint development efforts

Jointly develop and use training programs with other companies

Provide or access services provided by one company to a group of other
companies &
USES or  Share news of common interest exclusively with partner companies
APPLICATIONS  Establish direct private network links between themselves, or create private
secure internet
 links between them called virtual private networks
 Use the unsecured internet as the extranet link between its intranet and consumers
and others, but rely on encryption of sensitive data and its own firewall systems
to adequate security
Be as flexible as the  It must be extremely flexible and allow companies to immediately
business deploy extranet services that best fit the business need
 To remain market-driven, enterprises must be able to deploy their
FIVE RULES OF THE

Deploy in "Internet
time" extranet quickly and leverage their existing infrastructure to do so.
EXTRANET

Protect the interest  An extranet must ensure that what is supposed to be private stays
of the data owner private.
 Partners should never be required to change their security policies,
Serve the partner as
networks, applications and firewalls for the "good" of the extranet
a customer
community.
Drive information to  An extranet must provide a central means to measure progress,
the decision-maker performance and popularity.

What do you understand by the term „e-Commerce”? Discuss its benefits and risks involved
( PM )
Doing business  E-Commerce is the process of doing business electronically
electronically
Enhance the  It refers to the use of technology to enhance the processing of commercial
process of transactions between a company, its customers and its business partners.
transactions
Automation of  It involves the automation of a variety of business -to-business and business-to-
transactions consumer transactions through reliable and secure connections
 Reduced advertising costs
 Reduced inventories
 Reduced delivery cost, especially for goods that can also be delivered
electronically
 Reduced time to complete business transactions, from delivery to payment
 Reduced overhead costs
Benefits  Reduced use of ecologically damaging materials
 Equal access to markets
(PM, N 02, 06, M  Buyers can get the required goods at less cost
08 - 5M, M16 )  It is not necessary to re-enter data
 Sellers can participate in on-line bidding. Thus selling costs can be reduced
 Creation of new markets as it is easy and cheap to reach potential customers
 Easy entry into new markets, especially geographically remote markets, for
companies of all sizes and locations
 Better quality and improved variety of goods can be acquired by consumers
 Ability to undertake more global programs
  There is need to identify and authenticate users in the virtual global
Problem of market
anonymity  Where anyone can sell to or buy from anyone, anything from anywhere

Repudiation of  There is possibility that the electronic transaction in the form of contract,
contract sale order or purchase by the trading partner or customer may be denied.

Lack of  The electronic documents that are produced in the course of an e-

Risks involved in e- commerce

authenticity of Commerce transaction may not be authentic and reliable

(PM, N14 MTP1 - 4M )

transactions
Data Loss or theft  The data transmitted over the Internet may be lost, duplicated, tampered
or duplication with or replayed.
Attack from  Web servers used for e-Commerce may be vulnerable to hackers
hackers
 Service to customers may be denied due to non-availability of system as
Denial of Service
it may be affected by viruses, e-mail bombs and floods.
Non-recognition  E-Commerce transactions, as electronic records and digital signatures
of electronic may not be recognized as evidence in courts of law
transactions
Lack of audit  Audit trails in e-Commerce system may be lacking and the logs may be
trails incomplete, too voluminous or easily tampered with
 Intellectual property may not be adequately protected when such
Problem of piracy
property is transacted through e-Commerce.

What are the key aspects to be considered in implementing e-commerce?

( PM )
 Involvement of stakeholders, key trading partners, and external auditors to obtain insight
into the design and deployment of e-commerce solution
 Implementing appropriate policies, standards and guidelines
 Performing cost benefit analysis and risk assessment to ensure value delivery;
 Implementing the right level of security across all layers and processes;
 Establishing and implementing the right level of baseline (best practice) controls
 Integration of e-Commerce with the business process and the physical delivery channels
 Providing adequate user training &
 Performing post implementation review to ensure controls are working as envisaged

Write about different types of E-Commerce (or) Different classes of E-Commerce?

(PM)
 B2B refers to the exchange of services, information
Business to
and/or products from one business to another
another

 B2B electronic commerce typically takes the form of

Business-to-Business Automated automated processes between trading partners &
(B2B) e-Commerce processes  Performed in much higher volumes than Business-to-
Consumer (B2C) applications.
Encompass  B2B can also encompass marketing activities between
marketing businesses and not just the final transactions that result
activities from marketing.
Business-to-Consumer  It is defined as the exchange of services, information
Business to a and/or products from a business to a consumer
(B2C) e-Commerce
consumer  As opposed to between one business and another
 (M16 RTP) Saves time and  This model saves time and money by doing business
money electronically
 This minimizes internal costs created by inefficient and
Minimizes
ineffective supply chains and creates reduces end prices
internal costs
for the customers
Safe and  B2C provides safe and secure as well as easy-to- use
secure options
 In C2B e-Commerce model,
Contact with  Consumers directly contact with business vendors
business by posting their project work online
vendors  So that the needy companies review it and contact
the consumer directly with bid
Consumer-to-Business
(C2B) e-Commerce Review and  The consumer reviews all the bids and selects the
select company for further processing.
 Guru.com,
 Rentacoder.com,
Examples
 Getacoder.com,
 Freelancer.com
 C2C e-Commerce is an Internet-facilitated form of
Consumer-to-
Internet- commerce
Consumer (C2C) e-
facilitated That provides a virtual environment in which consumers
Commerce
can sell to one another through a third-party intermediary
 B2G e-Commerce, also known as e- Government,
Also known as

 It refers to the use of information and communication

technologies
Business-to- Use of To build and strengthen relationships between
Government (B2G) e- information government and
Commerce and  Employees,
communication  Citizens,
technologies  Businesses,
 Nonprofit organizations, &
 Other government agencies
 B2E e-Commerce, from an intra-organizational
Business-to-Employee Intra- perspective provides the means for a business
(B2E) e-Commerce organizational  To offer online products and services to its employees

Similar questions :
1) Difference between C2B and C2C e-Commerce (RTP - MAY 15)

Write about Mobile Commerce

(M11-2M, M13-4M, N14 RTP)
Explosion of  Mobile commerce (m-commerce) is about the explosion of applications and
Applications and services
services  That are becoming accessible from internet-enabled mobile devices.
New ways  It involves new technologies, services and business models
 M-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless
Buying & selling handheld devices
 Such as cellular telephone and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAS)
 M-Commerce enables users to access the Internet without needing to find a place
Access internet
to plug in.
  Some of the industries that are affected by m-commerce
 Financial services
Industries  Telecommunications
 Service/retail
 Information services
 It involves new technologies, services and business models
Features  It is quite different from traditional e-commerce
 This technology is based on wireless application protocol (WAP).

Define the Electronic Funds Transfer. State some examples of EFT systems in operation?
(J 09 - 5M) , ( PM Exercise )
EFT  EFT stands for "Electronic Funds Transfer".
Receive direct  It represents the ways the business can receive direct deposit of all payments
deposit From financial institutions to the company‘s bank account.
Once signs up  Once the user signs up, money come to him directly and sooner than ever before
 EFT is fast and safe. It means the money will come to the user’s bank account
fast and safe
quicker
 Some examples of EFT are
 AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINES (ATMS)
EXAMPLES  POINT – OF – SALE (POS) TRANSACTIONS
 PREAUTHORIZED TRANSFERS
 TELEPHONE TRANSFERS
 Atms are specialized form of Point of Sale Terminals
Point of Sale  That are designed for unattended use by a customer of a
AUTOMATED TELLER

Terminals financial institution.

MACHINES (ATMS)

 Consumers can do their banking without the assistance of a teller

or
without the assistance
 To make deposits, pay bills, or transfer funds from one account
to another electronically
debit or EFT card  These machines are used with a debit or EFT card and a code,
and a code  Which is often called a personal identification number or ―PIN.‖

 Some Debit or EFT cards (sometimes referred to as cheque

POINT – OF – SALE

cards) can be used for shopping

Debit or EFT cards
TRANSACTIONS

 That allow the transfer of funds from the consumer‘s account to

the merchant‘s account
 To pay for a purchase, the consumer presents an EFT card
presents an EFT card
instead of cheque or cash
(POS)

 Money is taken out of the consumer‘s account and put into the
Debit of money
merchant‘s account electronically
 This is a method of automatically depositing to or withdrawing
Automatic deposit or funds from an individual‘s account,
PREAUTHORIZED

withdraw  When the account holder authorizes the bank or a third party
(such as employer) to do so.
TRANSFERS

 Consumers can authorize direct electronic deposit of wages,

social security, or dividend payments to their accounts.
For example  They can also authorize financial institutions to make regular,
ongoing payments of insurance, mortgage, utility or other bills.
  Consumers can transfer funds from one account to another
TELEPHONE
TRANSFERS

telephone instructions through telephone instructions

Rather than traditional written authorization
 The accounts being debited can be checking or savings, for
Example example—you can order payment of specific bills by phone

.
 Define Information System? Write about Information System components
(N14RTP)
 It is a set of interrelated components working together to
 collect,
 retrieve,
 process,
 store, &
Information System  disseminate (distribute) information
for the purpose of achieving objectives such as
 planning,
 coordination,
 analysis &
 decision making
 Information System is generally called as
Also known as  Management Information System (MIS) or
 Computer Based Information System (CBIS).
Hardware  Devices which store software, database of processed data
Software  Programs that process data to generate reports
Components

Database  Data collected is stored in database

Network  Technology for sharing the data and other hardware resources
People  Human resources to make the system operational
 Reports are generated by the software with the help of databases for the use
Reports
by users (people).

Define the term Application Software? Explain types and mention advantages &disadvantages.
(N15- 4M, N14 MTP1&2-2M, M15 MTP2-4M, N15 MTP1-4M, M16 MTP1-2M)
Application  This includes all those computer software that cause a computer to perform useful tasks
software beyond the running of the computer itself.
 Has multiple applications bundled together
Application suite Related functions, features and user interfaces interact with each other.
 E.g. Ms office 2010 which has msword, ms excel, ms access, etc.
 Addresses an enterprise‘s needs and data flow in a huge distributed
Enterprise
Types of application software

environment
Software
 E.g. ERP Applications like SAP
Enterprise  Provides capabilities required to support enterprise software systems
Infrastructure  E.g. Email servers, Security software.
Software
Information  Addresses individual needs required to manage and create information for
Worker individual projects within departments.
Software  E.g. Spreadsheets, CAAT (Computer Assisted Audit Tools) etc
 Used to access contents and addresses a desire for published digital content
Content Access
and entertainment
Software
 E.g. Media Players, Adobe Digital etc.
Educational  Holds contents adopted for use by students
Software  E.g. Examination Test cds.
 Media  Addresses individual needs to generate and print electronic media for others to
Development consume.
Software  E.g. Desktop Publishing, Video Editing etc
 He main advantage of application software is that it meets the exact needs
Addressing
of the user.
( PM Exercise )

User needs
 Since it is designed specifically with one purpose/specific purpose
Advantages

 The threat of virus infection to custom-made applications is very small

Less threat
 Since any business that incorporates it can restrict access and can come up
from virus
with means to protect their network as well.
Regular  Licensed application software gets regular updates from the developer for
updates security reasons.
Development is  As application software designed to meet specific purposes
( PM Exercise )
Disadvantages

costly  Development involve heavy cost

 If application software is used commonly by many people and shared
Infection from online,
Malware  It carries a highly real threat of infection by a computer virus or other
malicious Programs.

Write about System Software in detail. (Or) What is an OS? Explain functions or activities performed by
OS?
(PM, N14RTP, M15RTP, N15RTP)
 System software is computer software that is designed to operate the computer
hardware
System software
 To give and maintain a platform for running application software
 Example - operating system
 OS is a set of computer programs that manages computer hardware
Computer
resources &
programs
 Acts as an interface with computer applications programs
 The operating system is a vital component of the system software in a
computer system.
Convenient
Operating  Application programs usually require an operating system to function
environment
System ( OS ) that provides a convenient environment to users for executing their
programs.
Extended  Computer hardware with operating system can thus be viewed as an
machine extended machine which is more powerful and easy to use.
 Some prominent Operating systems used nowadays are Windows 7,
Examples
Windows 8, Linux, UNIX, etc.
File  OS keeps a track of where each file is stored and
management  Who can access it and it also provides the file retrieval.
Activities are executed by Operating

 OS controls how memory is accessed and maximizes available memory &

Memory
storage
Management
 It also provides Virtual Memory by improving the capacity of RAM
 Operating system helps in allocating resources to make optimum utilization of
Task
systems

resources.
Management
 This facilitates a user to work with more than one application at a time
 Operating systems can provide systems with features & capabilities to help
Networking connect computer networks
Capability  Like Linux & Windows 8 give us an excellent capability to connect to
internet.
Logical access  OS provide logical security by establishing a procedure for identification
security & authentication using a User ID and Password.
  An important function of any operating system is to provide user interface
 DOS has a Command based User Interface (UI) i.e. Text commands
User were given to computer to execute any command,
Interfaces Where as
 Windows has Graphic User Interface (GUI) which uses icons &
menus
 Application programs to perform tasks must obtain input from keyboards,
Performing
retrieve data from disk & display output on monitors
hardware
 Achieving all this is facilitated by operating system that acts as an
functions
intermediary between the application program and the hardware.
Hardware  Every computer could have different specifications and configurations of
Independence hardware
 Operating system provides Application Program Interfaces (API) which can
be used by application developers to create application software
Thus obviating the need to understand the inner workings of OS and hardware
Thus, OS gives us hardware independence.

write short notes on input and output devices

( PM Exercise )
Means to interact  Input devices are devices through which we interact with the systems
with system

Input devices includes
 Keyboard
Input devices

 Mouse
 Pointing devices
Input devices  Scanners & Bar codes
 MICR readers
 Webcams
 Microphone
 Touch Screen
 Computers provide output to decision makers at all levels of an enterprise to solve business
problems
 The desired output may be text, graphics or video information
 Output devices can be used to view the output in
 Hard copy form &
 Soft copy form
Several output devices
 A vacuum tube that uses an electron gun ( cathode ) to emit a beam of
Cathode – Ray Tube electrons
Output Devices

( CRT) That illuminate phosphors on a screen as the beam sweeps across the
screen repeatedly
Liquid Crystal  A low – powered display technology used in laptop computers
Display Where rod-shape crystal molecules change their orientation when an
( LCDs ) electrical current flows through them
 A printer that forms images using an electrostatic process , the same way
Laser printer
a photocopier works
Ink – jet Printer  A printer that makes images by forcing ink droplets through nozzles
 A printer that uses computer – directed pens for creating
 High – quality images,
Plotter
 Blueprints
 Schematics
Speakers  Gives an audio output
What is CPU or microprocessor? What are the three functional units of a Central Processing Unit (CPU)?
(PM)
 The central processing unit (cpu or microprocessor) is the actual hardware that
Actual
 Interprets and executes the program (software) instructions &
hardware
 Coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together
Flake of silicon  The CPU is built on a small flake of silicon and can contain million of transistors
Brain of the  The processor or cpu is like the brain of the computer
computer
Execute  The main function of cpu is to execute programs stored in memory
programs
 Control unit,
Control Unit  Controls the flow of data and instruction to and from memory,
(CU)  Interprets the instruction &
 Controls which tasks to execute and when
CPU consists of three functional units

 Performs arithmetic operations such as

 Addition,
Arithmetic
 Subtraction,
and Logical
 Multiplication, &
Unit (ALU)
 Logical comparison of numbers:
Equal to, Greater than, Less than, etc.
 These are high speed memory units within CPU for storing small amount of data
(mostly 32 or 64 bits).
 Registers could be :
Accumulators  They can keep running totals of arithmetic values
Registers Address  They can store memory addresses which tell the CPU as to
Registers where in the memory an instruction is located
Storage  They can temporarily store data that is being sent to or coming
Registers from the system memory.
Miscellaneous  These are used for several functions for general purpose

Explain various data storage devices

 Data Storage Devices refers to the memory where data and Programs are stored
Internal  Registers are internal memory within CPU
memory  Which are very fast and very small
 These are devices in which any location can be accessed in any order (in contrast with
Various data storage devices

sequential order)
 These are primarily of two types
 This is Read Write memory.
Random Access  Information can be read as well as modified (i.e. Write).
Primary
Memory (RAM)  Volatile in nature means Information is lost as soon as power is
Memory
turned off
 This is non-volatile in nature (content remains even in absence
(M15RTP)
of power).
Read Only  Usually, these are used to store small amount of information for
Memory (ROM) quick reference by CPU.
 Information cannot be modified
 Generally used by manufacturers to store data &Programs
  Primary memory storage capacity is
 Limited,
 Expensive &
 Volatile
Secondary Hence, it is necessary to have secondary or permanent or auxiliary storage to hold
Memory data and Programs permanently.
 Some of the commonly used secondary storage devices are
 Magnetic tape drives,
 Magnetic disk drives (Hard disks, floppy disks, etc.),
 Optical disk drives (cds, dvds, Blue ray disks etc.)
Huge speed  There is a huge speed difference between Registers and
difference Primary Memory
Bridge the speed  Cache memory can be used in order to bridge the speed
Differences differences between Registers and Primary memory

 Cache is a smaller, faster memory, which stores copies of the

Smaller & faster
data from the most frequently used main memory locations.
Cache  The cache acts as temporary memory and boosts processing
memory Temporary memory
power
 It is the property of locality of reference that improves
(N14 RTP, Improves memory
effective memory access time in a
M16 access time
 Computer
MTP2 -
1M)

 Most of the today‘s software‘s require huge amount of RAM

Huge amount of  If a computer lacks the Random Access Memory (RAM) needed
RAM to run a Program,
Virtual Virtual memory to compensate
memory Allocation of  Virtual memory is an allocation of hard disk space to help RAM
hard disk space
 Loading of such large size software into smaller size RAM is
Loding software
(N14RTP, possible by the facility called Virtual Memory.
N14 Division of  As a part of this facility the large size software gets divided into
MTP2- software small parts called modules
1M,)  One by one, the modules are loaded into RAM & perform their
Loaded into task.
RAM  After one module work is over, the next module is loaded on to
RAM overwriting the first module.
 RAM Vs. ROM.
(PM, RTP - NOV 15)
Ram is a volatile memory & Unlike ram, rom is non-volatile.
 When the computer is turned off, ram  The contents of rom remain even
Volatile memory loses its data. after the computer is switched off.
Or  When the computer is turned on
Non-volatile again, operating system and other
files are once again loaded into ram
usually from the hard disk
 This is read write memory wherein  Rom used to be read-only;
Read write information can be read as well as  However, the new versions of rom
Or modified. allow limited rewriting making it
Read only possible to upgrade firmware such as
the bios.

Define the terms Data, Database, Database Management System (DBMS).

 Data can be defined as any fact, observation, assumption or occurrence
Data
 Data can be in the form of numbers or alphabetical characters or special symbols
 A Database is a collection of related data
Database Or
 A database is an integrated collection of logically related records and file
 DBMS is a collection of programs that enables users to
 Create and maintain a database &
 Facilitates the processes of
 Defining,
Database  Constructing, &
management  Manipulating databases
system For various applications
 Briefly the terms can be explained below
(M16RTP)  Characters: These are a collection of Bits
 Field: This is a collection of Characters
 Record: This is a collection of Fields
 File: This is a collection of Records
 Database: This is a collection of Files
 A database model is a type of data model that
 Determines the logical structure of a database &
 Fundamentally determines in which manner data can be stored, organized
And manipulated
Database model  Some important data models are
 Hierarchical Database Model
 Network Database Model
 Relational Database Model
 Object Oriented Database Model

Explain the Hierarchical Database Model in detail

(PM, M16 MTP2 - 4M)
Hierarchy of  In a hierarchical database model,
Relationships Records are logically organized into a hierarchy of relationships.
Inverted tree pattern  A hierarchically structured database is arranged in an inverted tree pattern.
Nodes  All records in hierarchy are called nodes
&  The top parent record in the hierarchy is called the root record.
 Root record
Parent-child  Each node is related to the others in a parent-child relationship
relationship
Child  Each parent record may have one or more child records,
&  But no child record may have more than one parent record.
Parent record
One –to – one  It supports one-to-one and one-to-many relationships
&
One – to- many

Diagram

Explain the Network Database Model in detail.

(PM)
 It is a modified version of hierarchical database
Modified version

Several parents  In network database structure each node may have several parents
Multiple  It is built on the concept of multiple branches (lower -level structures)
branches Emanating from one or more nodes (higher-level structures) &
 That branch may be connected to multiple nodes
 In this model, all types of relationships are allowed, without any restriction
 One-to-one,
All types of  One-to-many,
relationships  Many-to-one &
 Many-to-many.
relationships are permitted
Represent  The network model is able to represent redundancy in data more efficiently than in
redundancy the hierarchical model
Entered and  These structures can be entered and traversed more flexibly
traversed

Diagram

Hierarchical Database Model Vs. Network Database Model.

(PM, MTP - FEB 15)
Hierarchical Database Model Network Database Model
 The hierarchical model permits a  The network model permits a record to be
No.of
record to be a member of only one a member of more than one set at one
membership
set at one time time.
 The hierarchical data structure  The network model allows us to represent
Type of implements  One-to- one relationships
relationships  One-to-one relationships  One-to-many relationships
 One-to-many relationships  Many-to-many relationships
  Each parent record may have one or  Each parent record may have one or more
Parent and more child records, child records, &
child records  But no child record may have more  Even a child record may have more than
than one parent record. one parent record
 The hierarchical model does not  The network model is able to represent
Redundancy represent redundancy in data Redundancy in data more efficiently
efficiently
 The hierarchical data structures  The network data structures can be
Entrance
require specific entrance points to entered and traversed more flexibly
points
find records in a hierarchy

Explain the Relational Database Model (RDBMS) in detail.

(PM, M15 RTP)
 A relational database allows the definition of
 Data and their structures,
Meaning
 Storage and retrieval operations &
 Integrity constraints that can be organized in a table structure.
Table  A table is a collection of records &
(collection of records)  Each record in a table contains the same fields.
 Three key terms are used extensively in relational database models
 Relations,
Three key terms
 Attributes &
 Domains
 A relation is a table with columns and rows.
Relation  The named columns of the relation are called attributes, &
 The domain is the set of values the attributes can take
 A relational database contains multiple tables, with at least similar value
Multiple tables occurring in two different records
That implies a relationship among those two records.
 Tables can also have a designated single attribute or a set of attributes that can
"Key" act as a "key"
 Which can be used to uniquely identify each record in the table
 A key that can be used to uniquely identify a row in a table is called a Primary
Primary key
key.
 Any column can be a key, or multiple columns can be grouped together into
Compound key.
A Compound key.

Explain Object Oriented Database Model (OODBMS) in detail.

(PM)
Objects and their  It is based on the concept of objects and their interactions
interactions
 An object-oriented database provides a mechanism to store complex data such
Store complex data
as images, audio and video, etc.
 An OODBMS helps programmers to create objects in a programming language
Database object
 Behave as a database object
Series of working  Object-oriented programming is based on a series of working objects
objects
Predefined set of  These objects are predefined set of program code that is used to perform a
program code specific task
 IN OODBMS, new objects can be created or old objects can be modified,
Created or modified
reused or copied
Relational database  An OODBMS is a relational database designed to manage all of these
 independent programs
 Using the data produced to quickly respond to requests for information by a
larger application.

List out the Advantages and Disadvantages of a DBMS.

(PM, N15 - 4M, N14RTP)
Minimizing data  Minimizing redundancy can significantly reduce the cost of storing
redundancy information on hard drives and other storage devices
Program and file  Using a DBMS, file formats and Programs are standardized
consistency  This makes the data files easier to maintain because the same rules
Permitting data  It is very easy to share same information between different users
sharing
Integrity can be  Updates and changes to the data only have to be made in one place in DBMS
maintained that ensuring Integrity..
Advantages

 DBMS also reduce the dependence of users on computer experts to meet their
User-friendly
data needs.
Improved  Security constraints can be defined. Through the use of passwords,
security  DBMS can be used to restrict data access to only those who should see it.
 A database system keeps data separate from the application that uses the data.
Data
 Thus, changes can be made to data definitions without making changes to
independence
every application program that uses the data
Faster  The data is already available in databases
application Application developer has to think of only the logic required to retrieve the
development data in the way a user needs.
 Implementing a DBMS system can be
 Expensive,
Disadvantages

Cost  Time-consuming, &

 Training
 Requirements are also quite costly.
 Even with safeguards in place, it may be possible for some unauthorized users
Security To access the database
 If one gets access to database then it could be an all or nothing proposition..

Write about computer networks or network links

 Computer network is a collection of computers and other hardware
Computer network Interconnected by communication channel that allows sharing of resources and
information.
Network  A network is a group of devices connected to each other
 Each component, the computer or a hardware device in a computer network is
'Node'.
called a 'Node'.
Connection is  In connection oriented service,
Communication can be done

first A connection is first established and then data is exchanged

Connection
established Like it happens in case of telephone networks.
(N15 MTP2 - 2M)
through two ways

Oriented
 When connection is established we send the message or the
Networks Share
information &
information
Then we release the connection.
 In connectionless networks,
Connectionl Without
The data is transferred in one direction from source to
ess Checking
destination without checking that destination is still there or
Networks destination
not, or if it is prepared to accept the message.
 Complete  Data which is being exchanged in fact has a complete
contact contact information of recipient and at each intermediate
information destination,
 It refers to the process of deciding on how to communicate the data from
Routing
Issues a computer network

source to destination in a network

 It refers to the amount of data which can be sent across a network in given
Bandwidth
time
addresses

Resilience  It refers to the ability of a network to recover from any kind of error like
(N15 RTP) connection failure, loss of data etc
Contention  It refers to the situation that arises when there is a conflict for some common
(M15 MTP2 resource.
- 1M,  For example, network contention (conflict) could arise when two or more
M16RTP) computer systems try to communicate at the same time.

What is Server? Explain different types of servers.

(PM, M15 - 4M)
From hardware perspective ,
Hardware  A server is a computer (hardware) or device on a network dedicated to run one or more
perspective services (as a host),
To serve the needs of the users or clients
 In client-server architecture,
Client-server
A server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, called
architecture
the ‗clients‘.
Computation  Server performs some computational task on behalf of ‗clients‘.
al task  The clients either run on the same computer, or they connect through the network.
 A dedicated server is completely reserved for the purpose of serving other
Classification of

Dedicated server computers &

servers

 No other activity can be performed.

 A non-dedicated server is not completely reserved for the purpose of
Non-dedicated
serving the other computer
server
 I.e. It can also be used simultaneously for other purposes
 This is a computer and storage device dedicated to storing files.
File server
 Any user on the network can store files on the server.
Types of servers, based on the

Print server  This is a computer that manages one or more printers.


nature of service

Network server This is a computer that manages network traffic

Database server  This is a computer system that processes database queries
Application  This is a program that handles all application operations between users and
server an enterprise's backend applications or databases
 Web servers are computers that deliver web pages.
Web servers
 Every web server has an ip address and possibly a domain name.
 Mail servers move and store mail over corporate networks
Mail server

Describe popular Computing Architectures.

(PM)
Relations and  Computer architecture is the art that specifies the relations and parts of a computer
parts system.
 In computer engineering,
Computer Computer architecture is the
architecture  Conceptual design &
 Fundamental operational structure
 of a computer system

Fixed hardware  The computer is based on a fixed hardware platform capable of executing a fixed
platform repertoire of instructions
 Cpu, the centre piece of the computer‘s architecture,
Is in charge of executing the instructions of the currently loaded program.
 These instructions tell the cpu to carry out
Cpu
 Various calculations,
 To read and write values from and into the memory, &
 To conditionally jump to execute other instructions in the program.
 Computer architecture includes at least three main subcategories
 Instruction Set Architecture,
Sub categories
 Micro-Architecture &
 System Design

Instruction Set Architecture (ISA):

(M15 RTP, N14 MTP1 – 1M)
 It is the abstract model of a computing system that is seen a
 Machine language Programmer,
 Including the instruction set,
Abstract model
 Memory address modes,
 Processor registers, &
 Address and data formats
 Basically Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) is related to the Programming of a
computer i.e.
Programming
 How the computer understands what each element in its basic language means,
of a Computer
 What instructions are to be carried out and in what order, etc

 The ISA basically deals with what the chip does

What is deals
 It's a sort of 'bridge' between software and hardware
 If the control unit contains a number of micro-electronic circuitry
micro-
to generate a set of control signals &
electronic
each micro- circuitry is activated by a micro-code,
Complex circuitry
this design approach is called CISC design.
Instruction Set
 Examples of CISC processors are:
Computer
 Intel 386, 486
Classification of Instruction Sets

(CISC) Examples
 Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium
 II, Pentium III processors etc
(N15 MTP1 - 2
variable  CISC chips have a large, variable length and complex instructions
length and  But at the same time, they are complex as well as expensive to
complex produce
instructions
Where it is  Now-a-days, most of the personal computers use CISC processors
used
 To execute each instruction, if there is separate electronic
separate
circuitry in the control unit,
Reduced electronic
which produces all the necessary signals,
Instruction Set circuitry
this design approach is called RISC design
Computer
 Examples of RISC processors
(RISC):
Examples  IBM RS6000,
 MC88100 processors etc
 faster, less  RISC processors are faster, less complex and less expensive than
complex CISC
and less  These consume less power and have high performance.
expensive
Where it is  Now-a-days, most of the workstation computers use RISC
used processors

Micro Architecture
(N14 RTP, N14 MTP2-1M, M16 RTP, M16 MTP1-1M)
 It is a lower level detailed description of the system
Describe the
 That is sufficient for completely describing the operation of all parts of the
operation all
computing system, &
parts
 How they are inter-connected and inter-operate in order to implement the ISA
It can be seen as  The micro architecture can be seen as how the ISA does and what it does
Logical  The micro architecture essentially forms a specification for the logical
implementation implementation

System Design
 It includes all of the other hardware components within a computing system such as
System interconnects-  Computer bus is a communication system that
Computer buses and  Transfers data between components inside a computer, or
switches  Between computers that covers all related hardware components (wire,
optical fibre, etc.) & software, including communication protocol
(M15 MTP1-1M)
 The memory controller is a digital circuit which
Memory controllers
 Manages the flow of data going to and from the main memory &
and hierarchies
 Can be a separate chip or integrated into another chip
CPU off-load  DMA is a feature of modern computers
mechanisms-Direct That allows certain hardware subsystems within the computer to access system
Memory Access memory independently of the central processing unit (CPU).
(DMA)
 Multiprocessing is the use of two or more Central
Multiprocessing Processing Units (CPUS) within a single computer system
Issues- to allocate tasks between them.
Multi-processing, Hardware  It refers to the creation of a virtual machine that acts like a
virtualization, Virtualization real computer with an operating system
software features etc. or  Software executed on these virtual machines is separated
Platform from the underlying hardware resources.
Virtualization

What is Mobile Computing? Discuss its components

(PM, N14 – 4M, M15 MTP2 - 4M)
 Mobile computing is the use of portable computing devices (such as laptop and
Use of portable
handheld computers), in combination with mobile communications technologies,
computing
 To enable users to access the internet and data on their home or work computers, from
devices
anywhere in the world
 Mobile computing is enabled by use of mobile devices
Such as
 PDA‘s ( Personal Digital Assistance ) ,
It enabled by  Laptops,
 Mobile phones,
 Smart phones,
 Tablet PC &
  Palmtops on a wireless network
 Mobile computing involves
 Mobile Communication,
It involves
 Mobile Hardware &
 Mobile Software
Seamless and  Mobile communication refers to the infrastructure put in place
reliable To ensure that seamless and reliable communication goes on.
communication
 These would include devices such as
 Protocols,
Mobile  Services,
Devices
communication  Bandwidth and Portals
Necessary to facilitate and support the services
 The data format is also defined at this stage
Capable of  The signals are carried over the air to intended devices
Receiving and That are capable of receiving and sending similar kinds of signals.
sending
Receive or  Mobile hardware includes mobile devices or device components
Mobile Access mobility  That receive or access the service of mobility
hardware  They would range from Portable laptops, Smart phones, Tablet
Range from
PC's to Personal Digital Assistants.
(m15 rtp)  These devices will have receptors that are capable of sensing and
Receptors
receiving signals
 Mobile Software is the actual Program that runs on the mobile
Actual Program
hardware
Characteristics  It deals with the characteristics and requirements of mobile
Mobile
and applications
Software
requirements
Engine  This is the engine of that mobile device

Explain Business Applications of Mobile Computing.

(N15 MTP2 - 4M) ( PM Exercise )
 There is increase in workforce productivity as mobile device enables employees
Increase in workforce
to work from anywhere, anytime by accessing and updating information as
productivity
required
Improved Customer  Customer service can be improved by responding to customer queries on site or
service off site
 Incident management can be improved by resolving problems faster, without
Incident management
limitation of time,
 Business processes can be transformed by using mobile devices
Transformation of
 Enterprises can focus on providing customers and employees with access to
business process
information in different ways and provide the latest information.
 Enterprises can dynamically modify and update their offerings and offer new
Modify and update
products and services altogether
 Mobile computing gives users the freedom to roam, with access to data and
Freedom to roam
services at any time and in any place
Innovative  This technology to create innovative opportunities for improving the quality
opportunities and efficiency of business processes and services
 Write about the concerns of the Mobile Computing.
(PM, N14 – 4M)
Share of security  Mobile computing has its fair share of security concerns as any other technology
concerns
Dangers of  Another problem plaguing mobile computing are credential verification
misrepresentation
 When a power outlet or portable generator is not available,
Power consumption
 Mobile computers must rely entirely on battery power.
Health problems  Potential health hazards

What is Information System Life Cycle? Explain different phases of System development life cycle.
(PM, M15 - 2M, N14RTP, N14 MTP2 - 4M, M16 MTP1 - 4M)
 Information system life cycle is also known as software/system development life cycle
Also known as
(SDLC).
Sequence of  It provides a sequence of activities for system designers and developers to build an
activities information system.
 It consists of a set of phases in which each phase of the sdlc uses the results of the
Set of phases
previous one
 There are various phases for developing an information system are given as follows
 Phase 1: system investigation
Phases for
 Phase 2: system analysis
developing
 Phase 3: system designing
( PM )
 Phase 4: system implementation
 Phase 5: system maintenance and review
Phase 1 System Investigation (M16 MTP2 - 2M)
This phase examines that
What it examines
 ‗What is the problem and is it worth solving‘?
 A feasibility study is done under the dimensions
 Technical feasibility
Feasibility study
 Economic feasibility
 Legal feasibility
( TELOS )
 Operational feasibility
 Schedule feasibility or time feasibility
Phase 2 System Analysis
This phase examines that
What it examines
 ‗What must the Information System do to solve the problem‘?
 System analyst would be gathering details about the current system
 It involves
 Interviewing st
Gathering details
 Examine current business
 Sending out questionnaires
 Observation of current procedures
Phase 3 System Designing (N15RTP)
This phase examines that
What is examine  ‗How will the Information System do what it must do to obtain the
solution to the problem‘?
 This phase specifies the technical aspects of a proposed system in
terms of
 Hardware platform
Technical aspects
 Software
 Outputs
 Inputs
  User interface
 Modular design
 Test plan
 Conversion plan
 Documentation
Phase 4 System Implementation
This phase examines that
What it examines
 ‗How will the solution be put into effect‘?
 This phase involves
 Coding and testing of the system;
What it involves  Acquisition of hardware and software; &
 Either installation of the new system or conversion of the old
system to the new one
Phase 5 System Maintenance and Review
What it evaluate  This phase evaluates results of solution and modifies the system to
meet the changing needs
Post  Post implementation review would be done
implementation  To address Programming amendments;
review  Adjustment of clerical procedures;
 Modification of Reports, &
 Request for new programs.

Write short notes on feasibility study under systems investigation of SDLC?

( PM Exercise )
 Feasibility study refers to a process of evaluating alternative systems through
Evaluating alternative cost/benefit analysis
systems  So that the most feasible/possible and desirable system can be selected for
development.
 Does the technology exist to implement the proposed system or is it a
Technical feasibility
practical proposition
Economic feasibility  Is proposed system cost-effective
Legal feasibility  Is there any conflict between the proposed system and legal Requirements
 Are the current work practices and procedures adequate to support the new
Operational feasibility
system.
Schedule feasibility or  How long will the system take to develop, or can it be done in a desired time-
time feasibility frame.

Write short notes on fact finding techniques of systems analysis?

What it This phase examines the
examines  'What must the Information System do to solve the problem'.
 System analyst would be gathering details about the current system and
It will involve:
 It involves Interviewing staff: at different levels from end-users to
Interviewing staff
senior management
 Systems documents and output including current order documents,
Examine current
Gathering  Computer system procedures and reports used by operations and
business
details senior management;
Sending out  That have to be carefully constructed to elicit unambiguous answers
questionnaires
Observation of  By spending time in various departments.
current A time and motion study can show where procedures could be more
procedures efficient or to detect bottlenecks.
 Write short notes on changeover or conversion methods on systems implementation
Or
What are the major activities involved in the conversion phases of system implementation in SDLC
(PM)
What it examines  This phase examines 'How the Solution will be put into effect'.
 The user stops using the old system one particular day &
following major activities:

Direct
In Conversion, there are

Starts using the new system from thereon,

Changeover
Usually over a weekend or during a slack period
Parallel  The old system continues alongside the new system for a few weeks or
Conversion Months
Phased  Used with larger systems that can be broken down into individual modules
Conversion Which can be implemented separately at different times
Pilot  New system will first be used by only a portion of the enterprise, for example
Conversion at one branch or factory.

Write short notes on types of system maintenance.

Or
Explain the system maintenance objectives in SDLC.
What it  This phase evaluates results of solution and modifies the system to meet the changing
evaluates needs
 Post implementation review would be done to address
 Programming amendments
Why should
 Adjustment of clerical procedures
we review
 Modification of reports
 Request for new programs
Perfective  This implies that while the system runs satisfactorily,
could be with following
System maintenance

different objectives

Maintenance There is still room for improvement.

( PM Exercise )

Adaptive  All systems will need to adapt to changing needs within a company
Maintenance
 Problems frequently surface after a system has been in use for a short
Corrective time,
Maintenance However thoroughly it was tested.
 Any errors must be corrected

What are the technical aspects of system design

Hardware platform  Computer, network capabilities, input, storage and output devices;
Software  Programming language, package and database
Outputs  Report layouts and screen designs
Inputs  Documents, screen layouts and validation procedures
User interface  How users will interact with the computer system
Modular design  Of each program in the application
Test plan  Develop test data
Conversion plan  How the new system is to be implemented
 Including systems and operations documentation. Later, a user manual will be
Documentation
produced

Write about Bluetooth technology.

(PM, N14-2M, N14RTP, M15 MTP1-2M)
Wireless  Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances
technology from 30 to 50 meters (164 feet) from fixed and mobile devices.
Personal area  It creates personal area networks (PAN‘s) with high levels of security
networks
  Using this technology, users can easily exchange files between
 Computers,
Exchange files  Cellular phones,
 Pagers, &
 Personal digital assistants
Bluetooth allows  Mobile phone with Bluetooth allows us to send pictures, videos, exchange business
us to send cards and also transfer files to our PC
Both data and  Both data and voice transmissions can be sent and received through the use of short
voice range networks
Low-power,  Bluetooth is really like a low-power, short-range radio signal
short-range
 Few devices that utilize Bluetooth technology are:
 Keyboards and mouse
Devices using
 Printers
Bluetooth
 Cell phones and headsets
 PDA‘s (Personal Digital Assistants)
(M16- 2M)
 Desktop and laptop computers
 Digital cameras

Write about Wi-Fi technology.

(PM, M15 MTP1-1M)
Stands for  Wi-Fi stands for Wireless – fidelity
 Wi-Fi is a popular wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to
provide
Radio waves
 Wireless high-speed Internet &
 Network connections
Limited range  Wi-Fi networks have limited range
Access point range  A typical wireless access point might have a range from 32 meters to 95 meters
from (120 ft.).
 Wi -Fi can be less secure than wired connections because an intruder does not
Less secure
need a physical connection
 Wi-Fi is based on IEEE 802.11 to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless
Based on IEEE 802.11
connectivity
 A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect electronic de
 To each other,
Used to connect
 To the Internet, &
 To wired networks
 Wi-Fi networks also work well for
 Small businesses,
Well suited for  Providing connectivity between mobile salespeople,
 Floor staff and behind-the-scenes finance &
 Accounting departments

Write about Laptop or Notebook Computer.

(PM)
Small, portable  Laptop is a small, portable computer and small enough that it can sit on a lap.
computer
 Notebook is
Light weight personal  An extremely light weight personal computer,
computer  Typically weighs less than 3 kg
 Is small enough to fit easily in a briefcase
 Notebook computers use flat-panel technologies, to produce a light weight and
Flat-panel technologies
non- bulky display screen.
  Modern notebook computers are almost equivalent to personal computers
having the
Modern notebook  Same CPU‘s
 Memory capacity &
 Disk drives

Write about tablet or Tablet computer.

(PM)
One piece general-  A tablet is a one piece general-purpose computer contained in a single panel.
purpose
Touch screen  It uses touch screen as the input device
Input Method  Tablets rely solely on a touch interface on the screen for all input
 Tablets have the size roughly of a small pad of paper and a weight that is less
Size
than one Kg
Features of Tablets

Battery Life  Tablets can achieve all day usage

Storage  Most tablets come with configurations that allow between 16 and 64 gigabytes
Capacity of storage.
 Since most tablet pcs are based on extremely low powered processors
Performance
 More suited for tasks like email, web browsing, playing video or audio
Software  The two major tablet platforms are Android and iOS
 Because tablets by design are mobile computers,
Wireless
 Most of them have Wi-Fi, blue tooth and mobile connectivity.

Write about Smart phone.

(PM, N14RTP)
Mobile operating  A smart phone is a mobile phone built on a mobile operating system with more
system advanced computing capability connectivity than a feature phone
Integrates the  This handheld device integrates mobile phone capabilities with the more common
futures of other features of a handheld computer or PDA.
devices
It allow the users  Smartphone allows users to store information, e-mail and install programs
Touch screens  Modern smart phones also include high-resolution touch screens and web browsers
and web browsers for internet browsing
Supports  It also supports Wi-Fi and mobile broadband

Write about Touchpad.

(PM, M15RTP, N14 MTP1 - 2M)
 A touchpad is a pointing device featuring a tactile sensor, a specialized surface
Pointing device That can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on
screen.
Feature of laptop  Touchpads has common feature of laptop computers
Substitute for a  These are also used as a substitute for a mouse where desk space is limited
mouse
Personal digital  These are also used on personal digital assistants (pdas) and some portable media
assistants players
Operate several  Touchpads operate in one of several ways, including capacitive sensing and
ways conductance sensing
 Write about iPad.
(PM)
 Ipad is a line of tablet computers designed and marketed by apple inc.,
Line of tablet
which runs apple's ios.
Finger based  iOS is designed for finger based use
Uses less power  iOS uses less power, and gives better battery life.
Multi touch  Apple introduced responsive multi touch gestures, like moving two fingers apart to
gestures zoom in.
Wi-Fi and cellular  The ipad has built-in Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity
connectivity
Uses  An ipad can shoot video, take photos, play music, and perform Internet functions

Write about ipod

(PM, M16- 2M)
Line of portable  The ipod is a line of portable media players designed and marketed by apple inc
media players
 There are four current versions of the ipod
 The ultra-compact ipod shuffle,
Current versions  The compact ipod nano,
 The touch screen ipod touch, &
 The hard drive-based ipod classic
External data  Ipods can serve as external data storage devices
storage devices
Storage capacity  Storage capacity varies by model, ranging from 2 GB to 160 GB

Write about Ultra - mobile PC (UMPC).

(PM)
Pen computer  An ultra-mobile pc is a small form factor version of a pen computer
UMPC are
 Umpcs are smaller than subnotebooks
Smaller than
 Have a tft display about 5 to 7 inch screen
subnotebooks
 Are operated like tablet pcs using a touch screen &
 , can also have a physical keyboard
First-generation  The first-generation umpcs were simple pcs running linux or an adapted version of
UMPC microsoft's tablet pc operating system

Write about Android.

(PM, M15 - 2M, M15 MTP2 - 2M)
 Android is a Linux-based operating system designed primarily for touch screen
mobile devices such as
Linux-based OS
 Smart phones &
 Tablet computers.
Come in all  Android devices come in all shapes and sizes, with vibrant high-resolution displays
shapes and cameras
 The user interface of android is based on direct manipulation,
Using touch such as
 Swiping,
User interface
 Tapping,
 Pinching &
 Reverse pinching
Open source  Android is open source software,
software Which allows the software to be freely modified and
 Distributed by device manufacturers, wireless carriers and developers.

Write about what‟s app messenger

( PM )
Messaging  It is a cross-platform mobile messaging application
application
Exchange  It allows us to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS
messages
 It is available for
 IPhone,
Available on  Blackberry,
devices  Android,
 Windows phone,
 Nokia
Same internet  Because of what Sapp messenger uses the same internet data plan that we use for e-
data plan mail and web browsing, there is no cost to message and stay in touch with friends

Why Most of the organizations use Computers and Information Technology?

Due to the following reasons, today most organizations use computers and technology
How IT  It provides the enterprises with the resources, to communicate
provides quickly and effectively.
Integrate  With these communication capabilities, enterprises can integrate
business their business functions across different geographical areas
Communication
functions
capabilities
 Whatsapp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging
Whatsapp
application
Messenger
Which allows us to exchange messages without having to pay for
(N15 - 2M)
SMS.
Digital  Today, most enterprises store digital versions of documents on
versions of servers, storage devices and on cloud
Data and
documents
Information
Instantly  These documents are instantly available to anyone with access
Management
available to rights,
anyone Regardless of their geographical location
 Business process automation (BPA) is a strategy that is used to
Automated Optimize and optimize and streamline the essential business processes,
processes streamline Using the latest technology to automate the functions involved in
carrying them out.

What are the three critical pillars of Business Process Automation (BPA)?
( PM )
Business Process Automation rests on the following three critical pillars
Not only to read BPA allows applications and operating systems
data But also  Not only to read data that the systems produce,
Integration
Pass & modify  But also to pass data between the component applications of the
data business process and to modify the data as necessary.
 The process of orchestration enables the ability to bring tasks
Ability to bring
that exist across multiple computers and different business
Orchestration tasks under one
departments or branches
umbrella
Under one umbrella that is the business process itself
Rule-based  Orchestration and integration unite with automation to deliver
Automation the capability to provide a rule-based process of automatic
process of
 automatic execution
execution  That can span multiple systems and enable a more effective,
nimble and efficient business process

Explain the Importance of IT in Auditing?

 Impact of IT is extensive for enterprises, professionals and individuals.
For enterprise  IT encompasses all aspects of functioning of enterprises from
&  Strategy to operations,
professional  Conception to completion &
 Ideation to value creation
For  Accountants and Auditors, in their various roles ranging from accounting to auditing
accountants have to use and embrace technology to perform their jobs effectively and efficiently.
& Auditor  They deal with data in myriad forms for analysis and decision-making.
 Auditors will have to provide assurance on the security, effectiveness, security,
Duty of
effectiveness, and reliability of information, applications, and new and effective
Auditor
business practices and processes.
Key enabler  As IT increasingly becomes a key enabler in enterprises of all types and sizes there is
in enterprises Transformation from ‗technology oriented‘ to ‗business and technology oriented‘

What are The Objectives of Audit?

(N15RTP, N15 MTP2 - 4M)
 The objectives of Audit would vary depending on the type, purpose objective and scope of audit.
 However, the general objectives of auditing in a computerized environment
Existence  Verify that the assets, liabilities, ownership, and/or activities are real
Authorization  Verify that events have occurred in accordance with management‘s in
Valuation  Verify that the accounting values fairly present items worth
Cutoff  Verify that the transaction is recorded in the proper accounting period
 Verify that the processing is in compliance with government laws and regulations,
Compliance generally accepted accounting procedures, and the organization`s policies and
procedures.
 Verify that the Program, area, or activity is performed economically efficient, and
Operational
effectively.

Explain the Need for Controls in Information Systems.

(M16 - 4M)
Or
Write some Information Systems Control procedures covering the access safeguards over computer
programs
( PM )
 Technology has increased the ability to capture, store, analyse and process
Increased ability tremendous amounts of data and information by empowering the business decision
maker.
Become a critical  With the advent of affordable hardware, technology has become a critical
component component of business
Need of global  Today‘s dynamic global enterprises need information integrity, reliability and
enterprise validity for timely flow of accurate information throughout the organization
Safeguarding  Safeguarding assets to maintain data integrity to achieve system effectiveness and
assets Efficiency is a significant control process
  Information Systems Control procedures covering the access safeguards over
computer programs are as follows
 Strategy and direction
 General Organization and Management
 Access to IT resources, including data and programs
 System development methodologies and change control
IS control  Operation procedures
procedure  System Programming and technical support functions
 Quality Assurance Procedures
 Physical Access Controls
 Business Continuity Planning(BCP) and Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP)
 Network and Communication
 Database Administration
 Protective and detective mechanisms against internal and external attacks
 3. BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS

What is an Information System? Discuss its components in detail.

(PM, N15 MTP1 - 5M)
Information  Data is a raw fact and can take the form of a number or statement,
Raw fact
(N15RTP, M15 such as a date or a measurement, which has some meaning.
MTP2 - 1M) Information  Processing of data is known as information

The system is a set of mutually related, coordinated elements or components
System That operate together to accomplish objectives by taking inputs and producing outputs
in an organized manner
 An information system (is) is a combination of
 People,
 Hardware,
Combination  Software,
of  Communication devices,
 Network &
Information  Data resources
system [IS] that processes data and produce information for a specific purpose
 The system needs inputs from user ( typing , scanning )
 Which will then be processed using technology devices such as
Input , process, computers &
output  Produce output (printing reports, displaying results)
That will be sent to another user or other system via a network and feedback
method that controls the operation.
Business Information Systems may be defined as
Business  System integrating business functions and information modules for establishing
information effective communication channels
system  Which are useful for making timely and accurate decisions and in turn contribute to
organizational productivity and competitiveness.
 Input is the data flowing into the system. (Key-in instructions or commands,
Input
Five Components of

typing, scanning).
Generic System

 Processing is the action of manipulating the input into a more useful from.
Processing
(calculating, reporting)
Storage  Storage is the means of holding information for later usage
 Output is the information flowing out of a system (printing reports, displaying
Output
results)
Feedback  Feedback is the method that controls the operation
 Define the following
( PM )
 A business process is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks
Business process  That produce a specific service or product (serve a particular goal) for a specific
organization.
 Knowledge management encompasses both the content and the process of
Knowledge
creating the content.
management
 It refers both to what is known and how it came to be known
Extensible Business  XBRL is freely available international standards-based business reporting
Reporting language
Language (XBRL) Developed by accountants for financial reporting
Online analytical  OLAP is a multi-dimensional analytical tool typically used in data mining,
processing (OLAP)  That gathers and process vast amounts of information into useful packets

Data Vs. Information.

(PM)
Data Information
 Data is raw and unorganized fact that needs to  When data is processed, organized, structured or
be processed presented in a given context
 So as to make it useful, it is called Information.
 Data in itself is meaningless and is the lowest  Information is the second level of knowledge.
level of knowledge
 Observations and recordings are done to  Analysis of data is done to obtain information
Obtain data

Information Vs. Knowledge.

(PM, RTP - NOV 14)
S.NO Information Knowledge
 Information is piecemeal, fragmented  Knowledge is structured, coherent, and often
1
and particular universal
 Information is timely, transitory, and  Knowledge is of enduring significance
2
May even be short-lived
 Information is a flow of messages  Knowledge is a stock, largely resulting from the
flow, in the sense that the ―input‖ of information
3
May affect the stock of knowledge by adding to
it, restructuring it, or changing it in any way.
 Information is acquired by being told  Knowledge can be acquired by thinking.
4  Thus, new knowledge can be acquired without
new information being received.

What are the different types or levels of Information Systems

Why it is used  Strategic managers use is to track and deal with
for  Strategic issues,
Track and deal  Assisting long-range planning.
Strategic level
 A principle area is tracking changes in the external conditions
systems
(market sector, employment levels, share prices, etc.) &
Principle area
 Matching these with the internal conditions of the organization
  Used for the
 Monitoring,
Why it is used
Management-  Controlling,
for
level systems  Decision-making, &
 Administrative activities of middle management
Examples  MIS and DSS
 These systems support
Knowledge-
Why it is used  Discovery,
level systems
for  Processing and storage of knowledge &
 Data workers
(M15RTP)
Examples  KWS and OAS
Operational- Why it is used  Support operational managers in tracking elementary activities
level systems for and also includes tracking customer orders, invoice tracking
(M16 MTP2 -  TPS
Examples
1M)
Similar question :
1. Difference between Strategic-Level Systems and Operational-Level Systems
(RTP - MAY 15)

Who uses Information Systems?

(M16 RTP)
 These are senior managers or top-level managers who hold the titles
such as
 Chief executive officers,
 Chief financial officers,
Top-level
 Chief operational officers,
managers
 Chief information officers and chair person of the board,
Strategic level  President, vice president &
 Corporate head managers,
who take decisions that will affect the entirety of the organization.
 Top managers set goals for the organization and direct the company
Set goals
to achieve them
Ultimately  Top managers are ultimately responsible for the performance of the
responsible organization
 These are middle managers who are in the levels below top managers
&
Management Middle
 Hold the job titles like
level managers
 General manager,
 Regional manager etc.
Knowledge  These include knowledge and data workers
Knowledge level and data  Who are selected, recruited and trained in a special manner
workers
 These include operational managers or supervisors
Operational Operational
 Who are responsible for the daily management of the line workers
level managers
who actually produce the product or offer the service
 Explain Transaction Processing System (TPS). Explain typical TPS and attributes of TPS.
(PM, N14 MTP2 - 1M, M16 MTP1 - 1M)
 A transaction processing system is a type of information system
Day-to-day data
That collects, stores, modifies and retrieves the day-to-day data transactions of an
transactions
enterprise.
Also known as  TPS is also known as transaction processing or real time processing
 Tps characteristics include
Characteristics  Consistency,
include  Reliability &
 Performance
 Examples of transaction processing systems
 Airline Reservation Systems,
Examples  Railway reservation on by IRCTC
 Banking Systems,
 Accounting system of a company
 TPS systems are designed to process transactions instantaneously
Instantaneously
To ensure that customer data is available to the processes that require it
 Access controls do not allow people who are not authorized to use the
Access control
system are not permissible to influence or transform the transaction process
 TPS transactions are processed in the same format every time
TPS attributes

Equivalence
To ensure that full effectiveness is achieved.
High Volume  TPS is designed to process large volumes of transactions in an instantaneous
Rapid manner.
Processing
 A TPS is designed to be robust and trustworthy.
Trustworthiness  The system is capable to process transactions very rapidly at the same time it
preserves the integrity of data

Describe Typical Transaction Processing Cycle

Capture of  The first step of the transaction processing cycle is the capture of
data business data.
 For example, transaction data may be collected by point-of-sale
Data entry terminals using
Point-of-sale
 Optical scanning of bar codes &
terminals
 Credit card readers
At a retail store or other business
 Transaction processing systems process data in two basic ways
Transaction
2 basic ways  Batch processing &
processing
 Real-time processing (also called online processing)
 An organization‘s databases must be updated by its transaction
Must update
processing systems
Database the database
 So that they are always correct and up-to-date
maintenance
 Database maintenance ensures that changes are reflected in the data
For example
records stored in the company‘s databases
Variety of  Transaction Processing Systems produce a variety of documents and
documents reports
Document and reports
and  Examples of transaction documents include
Report  Purchase orders,
Generation Examples  Paychecks,
 Sales receipts,
 Invoices, &
  Customer statements

What are Transactions Processing Qualifiers?

(PM, M15 - 4M, RTPN15, N14 MTP1 - 2M)
Or
Explain the pre-requisites of ACID Test for any Transaction Processing System (TPS).
The ACID Test refers to the following prerequisites for any Transaction Processing System (TPS).
 This means that a transaction is either completed in full or not at all.
Atomicity
 TPS systems ensure that transactions take place in their entirety
 TPS systems exist within a set of operating rules or integrity constraints
 For Example - If an integrity constraint states that all transactions in a database must
Consistency
have a positive value,
any transaction with a negative value would be refused
 Transactions must appear to take place in seclusion
Isolation  For example, the funds cannot be credited to an account before they are debited from
another
 Once transactions are completed they cannot be undone
Durability
 To ensure this, a log will be created to document all completed transactions

What is Management Information System (MIS)?

(PM)
 ‗Management information system‘ (MIS) refers to
Managerial use.  The data, equipment and computer programs that are used to develop information
for managerial use
 Management information system is an integrated, user-machine system
Integrated,
For providing information to support operation, management and decision-making
user-machine s
functions in an organization.
 Management Information System is a system which provides accurate, timely and
Meaningful data
Provide for For
management  Management planning,
action  Analysis &
 Control
To optimize the growth of the organization.
Computer -  MIS is generally in the form of computer -generated reports and usually generated
Generated from data obtained from transaction processing systems.
reports 
 Examples of MIS are
 Airline reservations - seat, booking, payment, schedules, boarding list,
special needs, etc
 Bank operations - Deposit, transfer, withdrawal etc. Electronically with a
Examples
distinguish payment gateways
 Integration of department with the help of software‘s like ERP
 Logistics management application to streamline the transportation system
 Train reservation with the help of IRCTC
Integrated Serves all  MIS is an integrated information system that serves all
application departments departments within an enterprise
Packaged  MIS implies the use of packaged software rather than proprietary
(N15 MTP1 - software software
2M) Web browsers  MIS solutions are accessible via web browsers of internet
 DEVELOPING MIS – DO‟S AND DON‟TS

Particular Do‟s Don‟t

 Have simpler and manageable  Be ambitious
Layman
system
 Develop common understanding  Be unrealistic in developing action
Bridging between consultant and the plan
organization
Contribution in  Involve programmer in needs  Delay decisions on hiring
Totality assessment application developer/s
Tailor-made  Customize software  Depend heavily on the Consultant
 Have simple software for users to  Invest heavily in in-house
Interpretation
handle application development
 Extensively involve users in MIS  Let vendors determine hardware
Synchronization
Development needs of LAN
 Adopt modular approach for s/w  Go for large applications
Application
Development

What is meant by Decision Support System? What are the Benefits of DSS.
(PM, N15 - 2M, N14 MTP1 - 1M)
Computer-based  A decision support system (DSS) is a computer-based information system
information system  That supports organizational decision-making activities
 DSS serve the management, operations and planning levels of an organization
(usually mid and higher management) &
Serve & help
 Help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily
specified in advance
Computerized,  DSS can be either fully computerized, human or a combination of both.
Or
Human
 A properly designed DSS may be defined as an interactive software-based
system
 Intended to help decision makers compile useful information from
DSS can be define
 Raw data, documents,
as
 Personal knowledge, and/or
 Business models
To identify and solve problems and make decisions
 DSS are there to facilitate a manager in making operational decisions,
What it facilitate
 But the ultimate burden of responsibility lies with the manger
Types of  Two types of planning languages that are commonly used in DSS are
programming  General-purpose Planning Languages &
language  Special-purpose Planning Languages
 General-purpose planning languages that allow users to
perform many routine tasks,
For example;
Routine tasks
 Retrieving various data from a database or performing
General-purpose statistical analyses
planning languages  The languages in most electronic spreadsheets
 These languages enable user to tackle abroad range of
 Budgeting,
Uses
 Forecasting, &
 Worksheet-oriented problems
 Special-purpose planning languages are more limited in what
Better than
they can do,
the general-
Special-purpose But they usually do certain jobs better than the general-
purpose
planning languages purpose planning languages.
 Some statistical languages, such as SAS and SPSS, are
Examples
examples of special purpose planning languages.
 Improved decision quality
 Cost reduction
 Increased productivity
Benefits of DSS
 Improved communication
 Time saving
 Improved customer satisfaction

What are the components of a Decision Support System?

(PM, N15 - 4M, N14 MTP1 - 4M)
 The user is usually a manager with an unstructured or semi -structured problem
Users To solve &
 May be at management - level of an organization
One or more  Databases contain both routine and non-routine data from both internal and external
databases sources.
 Model base is the brain of the dss
As it performs data manipulations and computations with the data provided to it by the
Model base user and the database
 The planning language in DSS allows the user to maintain a dialogue with the model
base.
 Planning languages can be either
Planning  General-purpose planning languages
languages  Special-purpose planning languages
allowing users to perform routine tasks and specific tasks respectively

Explain characteristics of a Decision Support System.

(N14 MTP1 - 1M)
 Generally these systems are used by top level management for decision making
DSS supports
purposes.
management
 These are also used by operational managers for management planning
decision making
decisions.
Decision support  Decision support systems solve unstructured problems
systems solve  Problems that do not have easy solutions &
unstructured  Problems in which some managerial judgment is necessary
problems Are called unstructured problems
 Generally DSS are operated by managers and other decision makers, who are
Friendly computer
non- programmers
interface
 So these systems must be easy to use

What do you understand by the term “Executive Information System (EIS)”. Discuss its components, in
detail.
(PM, M15RTP, M16 MTP2 - 4M)
 An executive information system (EIS) is the nature of information system
Information
 It is used by executives to access and administer the data they entail ,to make
system
informed business decisions
  The EIS in itself is not an instrument, but rather, an infrastructure within a
Infrastructure
company
 It may be defined as just not as a piece of hardware or software,
 But an infrastructure that supplies to a firm's executives
How it can define
 The up-to-the-minute operational data,
 Gathered and sifted from various databases
Internal and  EIS links data from various sources both internal and external to provide the
external amount and kind of information executives find useful
 These systems are designed
 For top management;
 Easy to use;
How they help
 Present information in condensed view
 Access organization‘s databases &
 Data external to the organization
 The typical information mix presented to the executive may include
 Financial information
 Work in process,
Data given to  Inventory figures,
executives include  Sales figures,
 Market trends,
 Industry statistics, &
 Market price of the firm's shares.
 It Includes
 Input data-entry devices,
Hardware  CPU,
 Data Storage files &
 Output Devices
It include
 Text base software,
 Database, &
 Graphic types
Such as
Software
 Time series charts,
 Scatter diagrams,
Components

 Maps, motion graphics,

 Sequence charts, &
 Comparison-oriented graphs Model base.
 Includes hardware (physical) and software (logical) components by
which people (users) interact with a machine
 Several types of interfaces can be available to the EIS structure,
Such as
User Interface  Scheduled reports,
 Questions/answers,
 Menu driven,
 Command language,
 Natural language,
 Involves transmitting data from one place to another in a reliable
Telecommunication
networked system
What do you meanly by Office Automation Systems (OAS)? Explain benefits and examples of Office
Automation system.
(PM)
 Office Automation System (OAS) is an amalgamation of hardware, software, and
Amalgamation of other resources
 It is used to smooth the progress of communication and augment efficiency
 OAS refers to the use of computer and software
 To digitally
 Generate,
Use of computer  Collect,
and software  Store,
 Manipulates, &
 Relay office information needed
For accomplishing basic tasks and goals.
 In addition to capturing handwritten notes, it comprises the following
 Exchange of information
Comparison  Management of administrative documents
 Handling of numerical data
 Meeting, planning and management of work schedules
 Improves communication within and between organizations
 Accuracy of Communication
Benefits
 Reduces the cost of communication
 Reduces the time
Word  Use of a computer to perform automatically many of the tasks necessary to
Processing prepare typed or printed documents
Examples of Office Automation Systems

Electronic  Use of a computer network that allows users to send, store and retrieve
Mail messages using terminals and storage devices.
 Requires computers with an ability
 To store audio messages digitally &
(M15 MTP2 - 4M)

Voice Mail
 Convert them back upon retrieval
Video  Use of television equipment to link geographically dispersed conference
Conferencing participants
 Uses special equipment that can
FAX  Read a document at one end of a communication channel &
 Make a copy at the other end.
 Uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert data on paper to a
Imaging
digital format for storage in a secondary storage device.
Desktop  Uses a computer to prepare output that is very close in quality to that
Publishing produced by a typesetter.

Explain Knowledge Management System (KMS).

(PM, N14 RTP, M15 MTP1 - 1M, N15 MTP2 - 4M)
 Knowledge Management Systems refers to system that
 Stores and retrieves knowledge,
 Improves collaboration,
What it mean  Locates knowledge sources,
 Mines repositories for hidden knowledge,
 Captures and uses knowledge
 Or in some other way enhances the knowledge management process
How it treat  KMS treats the knowledge component of any organization‘s activities as an explicit
the knowledge Concern reflected in strategy, policy, and practice at all levels of the organization
 Direct  KMS makes a direct connection between an organization‘s intellectual assets
connection Both explicit [recorded] and tacit [personal know-how] — and positive results
 There are two broad types of knowledge—explicit and tacit.
 Explicit knowledge is that which can be formalized easily and
Explicit
as a consequence is easily available across the organization.
knowledge
 For example – Online tutorials, Policy and procedural manuals
Types of
 Tacit knowledge is unarticulated and represented as intuition,
knowledge
perspective, beliefs, and values that individuals form based on
Tacit knowledge their experiences.
 For example – hand-on skills, special know-how, employee
experiences.
 Knowledge base is a special kind of database for knowledge management.
 It is an information repository that provides a means for information to be
 Collected,
Special kind of
 organized,
database
 Shared,
 Searched and utilized
 It can be either machine-readable or intended for human use.

Explicit knowledge Vs. Tacit knowledge.

(PM, MTP-MAR 15, RTP-NOV 14, MAY15 - 4M)
Formalized  Explicit knowledge is that knowledge which can be formalized easily &
 As a consequence is easily available across the organization
Explicit knowledge

&
Make available
Articulated, and  Explicit knowledge is articulated, and represented as spoken words,
represented written material and compiled data
 This type of knowledge is codified, easy to document, transfer and
Codified
reproduce
Examples  Online tutorials, Policy and procedural manuals
Hasn‟t been  Tacit knowledge, is resides in a few often-in just one person &

Tacit knowledge

Captured Hasn‘t been captured by the organization or made available to others

 Tacit knowledge is unarticulated and represented as intuition, perspective,
Unarticulated
beliefs, and values that individuals form based on their experiences
 It is personal, experimental and context specific.
Unmodified
 It is difficult to document and communicate the tacit knowledge.
Examples  Hand – on- skills , known how , experience

Write a short note on Specialized Systems.

(M15 MTP2 - 1M, N14 MTP1 - 1M)
Comprehensive end  Specialized Systems provide comprehensive end to end IT solutions and
to end IT solutions services to various organizations.
 There are various specialized systems. Some of them are:
 ERP
 CRM
Types of specialized
 SCM
systems
 HRMS
 CBS
 AIS
 Explain Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
(PM)
 An enterprise resource planning (erp) system is fully integrate internal and external
Management information across entire organization,
 Covering functional areas of an enterprise like
 Procurement,
Fully integrated
 Inventory,
&
 Production,
Covers the
 Sales,
functions
 Logistics,
 Finance,
 Accounting &
 Human resources
 ―enterprise resource planning has become a powerful tool in the hands of
Powerful tool management
For effective use of resources and to improve efficiency of an enterprise‖
 It organizes and integrates operation processes and information flows to make
Organizes and
optimum use of resources
integrates
Such as men, material, money and machine
 ERP promises
 One database,
One for whole
 One application, &
enterprises
 One user interface
For the entire enterprise.
 The basis of ERP is to make
 Easy flow of information among all business functions in the internal
Need of ERP
boundaries of the organization &
 Control the connections to external stakeholders.
 ERP software provides
What it
 Competent and efficient administration, &
provides
 Mechanized business activities
 It is a complete software solution package for
Complete
 Enhancing the performance in large organizations &
software
 Meeting their requirements with ease and efficiency

What are the various stages involved in ERP implementation?

( PM Exercise )
Stages in ERP are :

1) Inventory control
2) ABC Analysis
3) Economic Order Quantity ( EOQ)
4) Just In Time ( JIT)
5) Material Requirement Planning ( MRP – 1 )
6) Manufacturing Resource Planning ( MRP – II)
7) Distribution Resource Planning
8) Enterprise Resource Planning
9) Money Resource Planning (MRP – III)
10) EIS – Web Enabled
 Just-In-Time (JIT)
(PM )
 JIT is a philosophy of continuous improvement in which non-value-adding activities
(or wastes) are identified and removed for the purposes of
 Reducing cost
Non-value-  Improving quality
adding activities  Improving performance
 Improving delivery
 Adding flexibility
 Increase innovativeness
Competitive  When the jit principles are implemented successfully, significant competitive
advantages advantages are realized.
 JIT principles can be applied to all parts of an organization:
 Order taking,
Applicability of  Purchasing, operations,
JIT  Sales,
 Distribution,
 Accounting, etc.

Nucleus Finn One

(PM)
 The nucleus finnone is a banking suite,
 Made and marketed by india-based company nucleus software &
Banking suite
 Comes with a wide variety of integrated applications that cover different
aspects of global web banking.
 These applications support banks and financial solution companies in dealing with
Supports banks  Assets,
& financial  Liabilities,
institutions  Core financial accounting &
 Customer service.
 The solution is wholly focused on banking and financial services spanning across
solutions in the areas of
 Retail and Corporate Banking,
 Cash Management,
 Relationship Banking,
Focused areas
 Financial CRM,
 Credit Risk & Appraisal,
 Enterprise Application Integration (EAI),
 Internet Banking,
 Data warehousing and Analytics.

Define the term CRM. Explain CRM Architecture.

(PM)
 Customer relationship management (CRM) may be defined as a business process
In which
 Client relationships;
Business process
 Customer loyalty &
 Brand value
are built through marketing strategies and activities.
Long-term  CRM allows businesses to develop long-term relationships with established and
relationships new customers while helping modernize corporate performance.
 
CRM incorporates commercial and client-specific strategies via
Commercial and  Employee training,
client-specific  Marketing planning,
strategies  Relationship building &
 Advertising.
Main objective  The main objective is to retain as much loyal customers as one can.
To accomplish with CRM,
Match products
 Companies need to match products and campaigns to prospect elegantly the
and campaigns
customer life cycle
 CRM establishes the benefits of
 Generating customer loyalty,
Benefits
 Raising a market intelligence enterprise, &
 An integrated relationship
 CRM can expressed as
How can CRM
 Preserving existing customers &
expressed
 Providing enhanced services to accomplish the loyalty
CRM is  CRM can be considered as an amalgamation of people, process and systems rather
amalgamation of than just IT application
 CRM applications smoothen the process to
 capture,
Smoothen the  consolidate,
process  analyze, &
 business enterprise-wide dissemination of data from existing and potential
customers
 CRM helps to form business strategy to handle business challenges like,
Handle business  declining revenue,
challenges  cut-off in the profit margin,
 costs occurred due to lost customers etc.
Old pareto rule  Pareto rule emphasizes that most organizations find that approximately 20% of
“80/20 rule their customer base generates 80% of the profits.
 It is merely based on the philosophy that indicates that old trustworthy customers
(N15 MTP1 - are most lucrative and help in generating profits.
2M)
 Automation is provided to the basic business processes like marketing, sales,
Architecture of

Operational
service, etc.

CRM

Helps to analyze customer behavior, implements business intelligence like

Analytical
technology, etc.
 Ensures contact with customers like phone, email, fax, web, SMS, post, in
Collaborative
person, etc.

Define Supply Chain Management.

(N14 MTP2-1M)
 Supply Chain Management may be defined as the process of
 Planning,
 Implementing and controlling
How it can
The operations of the supply chain with the purpose of satisfying the customer's
define
requirement as efficiently as possible
 Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a chain that starts with customers and ends with
customers.
  Supply Chain Management covers all movements and storage of
 Raw materials,
Cover the
 Work-in-process, &
aspects of
 Finished goods
From point-of-origin to point-of-consumption
 Supply Chain Management integrates supply and demand management, within and
Integrates
across companies
 The first is that practically every product that reaches an end user represents the
cumulative effort of multiple organizations.
Two central
These organizations are referred to collectively as the supply chain.
ideas
 The second thought is that while supply chains have existed for a long time, most
organizations have only paid attention to what was happening within their ―four walls.‖

Explain the components of Supply Chain Management

(M15RTP, N15RTP, N14 MTP2 - 3M)
 It begins with the purchasing of parts, components, or services.
 Procurement must ensure that
The right items are delivered
 In the exact quantities
 At the correct location
 On the specified time schedule
Procurement  At minimal cost
/purchasing  The key issue in procurement is how one goes about selecting and maintaining a
supplier,
Which can be approached from two directions.
 The first concentrates on how a firm might evaluate a potential supplier where
as
 The second is how a firm evaluates those businesses that are already suppliers
to an operation.
 Having received raw materials, parts, components, assemblies, or services from
suppliers,
Operations
 The firm must transform them and produce the products or the services that meet the
needs of its consumers.
 Distribution involves several activities
 Transportation (logistics),
Distribution
 Warehousing, &
 Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
 The last element of Supply Chain Management is the need for integration.
 It is critical that all participants in the service chain recognize the entirety of the service
Integration chain.
 The impact of the failure to adopt a system-wide perspective - that is, examining the
totality of the chain can significantly increase costs and destroy value

Explain Human Resource Management Systems? Explain key integration points and benefits
(N15 MTP1 - 2M, M16 MTP1 - 4M)
 A human resources management system (HRMS) is a software application
 It coalesce many human resources functions, together with benefits of
Software  Administration,
application  Payroll,
 Recruiting and training, &
 Performance analysis and assessment into one parcel
  HRMS or Human Resources Information System (HRIS) refers to the systems and
In other words processes at the intersection between Human Resource Management (HRM) and
Information Technology
 HRMS uniquely provides indigenous integrations from hr management to other
Key integration
core talent management processes in order to support a holistic, end-to-end cloud
points
talent management strategy.
 Bringing industry best practices to the HR functions
 HRMS lets you asses and utilize the human resource potential completely.
 The solution increases the operational efficiency and productivity of the HR
department
Benefits  Reduces HR administrative costs
 Increases employee engagement and satisfaction.
 Improves leadership development and succession
 Enhances data integrity within the enterprise
 Enable to meet compliance and audit requirement

Explain key modules in HRMS

(PM, N15 MTP2 - 4M)
 Integrated across the strategic human capital management (HCM) solution;
 Workforce management provides powerful tools to effectively manage
Workforce
 Labour rules,
management
 Ensure compliance, &
 Control labour costs and expenses.
 The time and attendance module gathers standardized time and work related efforts.
 The most advanced modules provide
Time and
 Broad flexibility in data collection methods,
Attendance
 Labor distribution capabilities,
Management
 Data analysis and Cost analysis
 Efficiency metrics
 This module of the system is designed to
Payroll  Automate manual payroll functions and facilitate salary, deductions,
management calculations etc.;
 Eliminates errors and free up HR staff for more productive tasks.
 The module tracks the
 Training organization;
Training  Costs associated with training schedules,
management  Tracks training locations,
 Required supplies and equipment &
 Registered attendees
Compensation  Compensation management is to attract and retain talented employees
management
 This module helps in hiring the right people with the right target skills.
 This module includes
 Processes for managing open positions/requisitions,
Recruitment  Applicant screening,
management  Assessments,
 Selection and hiring,
 Correspondence,
 Reporting and cost analysis
 The personnel management module comprises of
Personnel
 HR master data,
management
 Personnel administration,
  Recruitment &
 Salary administration
 Organizational management module includes
Organizational  Organizational structure,
management  Staffing schedules &
 Job description
Employee self  The employee self service module allows employees to query hR related data and
service (ESS): perform some human resource transactions over the system
 The Analytics module enables organizations to extend the value of an HRMS
Analytics implementation by extracting HR related data for use with other business
intelligence platforms

Write about CORE Banking System?

(PM, N15 - 2M, M15 MTP1-2M, M16 RTP)
What it stands for  CORE stands for "Centralized Online Real-time Environment".
 Core banking systems are the heart of a bank.
Heart of a bank
 The absolute bank's branches access applications from centralized data centers.
 CORE Banking System (CBS) may be defined as the
 Set of basic software components
How it can define
That manage the services provided by a bank to its customers through its
branches.
The platform where
 Communication technology &
In other words  Information technology
Are merged to suit core needs of banking is known as CORE Banking Solutions
(CBS).
 Normal core banking functions will include
 Deposit accounts,
 Loans,
Core banking
 Mortgages &
functions
 Payments
 Banks make these services available across multiple channels like atms, internet
banking, and branches
 The various elements of core banking include
 Making and servicing loans
 Opening new accounts
 Processing cash deposits and withdrawals
 Processing payments and cheques
Elements
 Calculating interest
 CRM activities
 Managing customer accounts
 Establishing interest rates
 Maintaining records for all the bank‘s transactions
 Examples of major CORE banking products include
 Infosys‘ Finacle,
Examples
 Nucleus finnone &
 Oracle's Flex cube application
 What do you understand by Accounting Information System (AIS)? Also discuss its key elements
(PM, M15-4M)
 Accounting Information System (AIS) is defined as a system of
 Collection,
How it can define  Storage &
 Processing
Financial and accounting data that is used by decision makers
Computer-based  An AIS is generally a computer-based method for tracking accounting activity in
method conjunction with information technology resources.
 The resulting statistical reports can be used
Use of statistical  Internally by management or
reports  Externally by other interested parties including investors, creditors and tax
authorities.
 The different sub components in ais include
 Budgeting and planning,
 Expenses management,
Sub  Revenue management,
Components in  Cash and treasury management,
AIS  Accounting software,
 Electronic banking,
 Activity-based management,
 Payroll etc.
 AIS helps various system users that include
 Accountants,
 Consultants,
Components/elements of Accounting Information System

 Business analysts,
People
 Managers,
 Chief financial officers &
 Auditors etc
From different departments within a company to work together
Procedure  These include both manual and automated methods for collecting, storing,
And retrieving and processing data
Instructions
 It refers to the information relevant to the organization's business practices
That may include
 Sales orders,
 Customer billing statements,
 Sales analysis reports,
Data
 General ledger,
 Inventory data,
 Payroll information,
 Tax information etc.
 This data can be used to prepare accounting statements and reports
 These are the computer programs that provide quality, reliability and security
Software To the company's financial data that may be stored, retrieved, processed and
analyzed.
  This include hardware such as
 Personal computers,
 Servers,
Information  Printers,
Technology  Surge protectors,
Infrastructure  Routers,
 Storage media, &
 Possibly a backup power supply
Used to operate the system
Internal  Internal controls also protect against computer viruses, hackers and other
Controls internal and external threats to network security.

Define the term Artificial Intelligence? Write some commercial applications of AI?
(PM, N14- RTP, M15 MTP2-1M, M16 RTP)
 Artificial intelligence (AI) is the vicinity of computer science focusing on creating
Vicinity of
machines
computer science
That can fit into place on behaviors that humans regard as intelligent
 It is a research field that studies how to comprehend the intelligent human
Research field
behaviors on a computer.
 The decisive objective of ai is to make a computer that can discover, sketch, and
Decisive objective
crack problems in parallel.
 The subject of artificial intelligence spans a wide horizon dealing with various
kinds of
Subject of
 Knowledge representation schemes,
artificial
 Different techniques of intelligent search,
intelligence
 Various methods for resolving uncertainty of data and knowledge,
 Different schemes for automated machine learning and many others
 Some of the purposes on which AI may be applied.
 Expert systems,
Purpose of AI
 Pattern Recognition,
 Natural language processing, and many others
 Intelligent work environment that will help you capture the ―why‖ as well as
the ―what‖ of engineered design and decision making
Decision
 Intelligent human–computer interface (HCI) systems that can understand
Support
spoken language and gestures, and facilitate problem solving by supporting
organization wide collaborations to solve particular problems
 Natural language technology to retrieve any sort of online information
Commercial Applications of AI

 From text to pictures,

 Videos,
(N15MTP1 - 3M)

 Maps, and audio clips,

Information
In response to English questions
Retrieval
 Database mining for
 Marketing trend analysis,
 Financial forecasting, &
 Maintenance cost reduction, and more.
 X-ray–like vision enabled by enhanced-reality visualization
That allows brain surgeons to ―see through‖ intervening tissue to operate,
Virtual Reality monitor, and evaluate disease progression.
 Automated animation interfaces that allow users to interact with virtual
objects via touch
 Machine-vision inspections systems for gauging, guiding, identifying, and
Robotics
inspecting products and providing competitive advantage in manufacturing.
 Write a short note on Expert Systems. Explain various elements of expert systems.
(PM, N14 RTP)
Computerized  An expert system (es) is a computerized information system
information That allows non-experts to make decisions comparable to that of an expert
system
 The aim of the expert system is to have a team of experienced specialists holding
Industry-wide
industry-wide experience
experience
Who further spread across implementations.
 Expert system takes into consideration
 Knowledge base,
 Database of facts,
Aspects it cover
 Inference Engine,
 Explanation mechanism &
 User Interface. Expert
 Expert system utilizes its strength to plan and execute a miscellaneous variety of
projects for
 Defense,
Utilizes its
 Government,
strength
 Finance,
 Telecom, &
Engineering sectors.
 Expert Systems can be
Types  Example-based,
 Rule-based or Frame-based
 This program allows the user to design, create, update, use and communicate
User interface
with the expert system
 This program consists of logic and reasoning mechanism
Inference engine That can simulate the expert‘s logic process and deliver advice.
 It uses data obtained from both knowledge base and the user
(N15RTP) To make associations and inferences, form conclusions and recommend a
course of action
 A knowledge base in a computer is equal to the knowledge of an expert or
group of experts developed through years of experience in their field
 The knowledge base of expert systems encloses both realistic and heuristic
knowledge.
 Realistic knowledge:
Components

Realistic knowledge is that knowledge of the job domain that is

 Extensively shared,
Knowledge base  Characteristically found in textbooks or journals, &
 Frequently agreed upon by those knowledgeable in the
meticulous field
 Heuristic knowledge:
Heuristic knowledge is the
 Fewer rigorous,
 Extra empirical,
 Supplementary judgmental knowledge of performance
Explanation  With the help of this facility a user can know the logic being followed by the
facility expert system to arrive at the conclusion
 Building a knowledge base, known as knowledge engineering, involves both
Knowledge
human expert and a knowledge engineer
acquisition
 The knowledge engineer extracts an individual‘s expertise and uses the
facility
knowledge acquisition facility to enter it into knowledge base.
  This holds the user's input about the current problem.
Database of  The user may begin by entering as much as they know about the problem or
Facts the inference engine may prompt for details or ask whether certain conditions
exist

Write a short note on types of expert system problem domains.

(or)
What are the different types of Expert Systems?
( PM Exercise )
Imprecise/  Expert systems are designed to deal with imprecise/indefinite data or
indefinite data Problems that have more than one solution
 Using a technique called fuzzy logic an expert system can deal with imprecise data
Fuzzy logic
by asking for a level of confidence.
 In Example-based system, developers enter the case facts and results.
Example-based  Through induction the ES converts these examples to a decision tree that is
Classification of expert system

system used to match the case at hand with those previously entered in the
knowledge base.
 Rule-based systems are created by storing data and decision rules as if-then
Rule-based rules
systems  The system asks the user questions and applied the if-then rules to the
answers to draw conclusions and make recommendations.
 Frame based systems organize all the information (data, description, rules
Frame based
etc.) About a topic into logical units called frames,
systems
Which are similar to linked records in data files
 Rules are then established about how to assemble or inter-relate the frames to
(M16 - 2M)
meet the user‘s needs

What do you understand by the term “Business Intelligence”? Discuss some of the business intelligence
tools.
( PM Exercise )
 Business Intelligence (BI), in simple words, refers to the process of
 Collecting and refining information from many sources,
Meaning of
 Analyzing and presenting the information in useful ways
Business
So that users can make better business decisions.
Intelligence
 BI enables managers to see things with more clarity, and empowers them to peek into
the possible future.
 Business Intelligence tools are a type of software that is designed to
Software
retrieve, analyze and report data
Business
Software  Business Intelligence tools are software programs and features that are
Intelligence
programs used to complete detailed data analysis
tools
and
features
  This involves using the data warehouse to get response to the query
Simple “Tell me what happened.”
Reporting  The objective of a BI implementation is to turn operational data into
and meaningful knowledge.
Querying  There are used to arrange information into a readable format and
distribute it to the people who need it
 This involves using the data to get response to the query
―Tell me what happened and why.‖
 Business analysis refers to presenting visualizing data in a multidimensional
Business
manner.
Analysis
 ETL (Extract, Transform, and Load) tools
[BA]:
 Bring in data from outside sources,
 Transform it to meet business specified operational needs, &
 Then load the results into the company database.
 This involves using the information gathered from the data warehouse and
making it available to users as snapshots of many different things with the
Dashboards objective of getting response to the query
―Tell me a lot of things, but without too much effort‖.
(N14 MTP1 -  Dashboards are flexible tools that can be bent into as many different shapes
Business Intelligence tools

1M,M16 - as per user requirements.

2M)  It includes a collection of graphs, reports, and kpis (Key Performance
Indicators) that can help monitor such business activities as progress on a
specific initiative.
 This involves providing a visual representation of the enterprise strategy by
taking critical metrics and mapping them to strategic goals throughout the
enterprise
Scorecards
 Scorecards offer a rich, visual gauge to display the performance of specific
initiatives, business units, or the enterprise and the individual goals in the
(M15 MTP2 -
context of larger enterprise strategy.
2M, M16 -
 Scorecards distil information into a small number of metrics and targets and
2M)
provide users with an at‐a‐glance perspective of information.
 A scorecard has a graphical list of specific, attainable strategic milestones,
combined with metrics that serve as benchmarks.
 It is one of the business intelligence tool that involves using statistical,
artificial intelligence, and related techniques to mine through large volumes
of data and providing knowledge without users even having to ask specific
Data Mining questions.
Or  The objective is to provide interesting and useful information to users by
Statistical design even without their querying
Data  Data Mining involves data analysis for discovering useful patterns that are
Analysis hidden in large volume of diverse data.
For Example: Market segmentation - identify common characteristics of
( PM ) customers who buy same products
 OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) is a multi-dimensional analytical tool
typically used in data mining, that gathers and process vast amounts of
information into useful packets
 Explain the importance of access and privilege controls?
(N14 MTP2 - 1M) ( PM Exercise )
 Access controls help us to restrict whom and what accesses our information
resources, &
 They possess four general functions:
Access controls  Identity verification,
 Authentication,
 Authorization, &
 Accountability
 These functions work together to grant access to resources and limit what a subject can do with
them. These are
 Identity management consists of one or more processes to verify the identity of a
Identity
subject attempting to access an object.
management
 Identity management includes assigning and managing a subject‘s identity
 Authentication is the process of verifying a subject‘s identity at the point of object
Authentication
access.
Authorization  Authorization identifies what systems, network resources, etc. A subject can Access
 Each step from identity presentation through authentication and authorization is
logged.
Accountability
 The logs are stored for audits.
 They provide insight into how well the access control process is working or not.

What are various approaches to access control?

Or
Briefly explain the two main approaches to establish access controls in software systems and explain the
concept of principle of least privilege?
(PM, N14 - 4M)
Eliminates  RBAC largely eliminates discretion when providing access to objects
discretion  Instead, administrators or automated systems place subjects into roles.
Role-based Access
Control (RBAC)

Receive only  Subjects receive only the rights and permissions assigned to those roles.
the rights and  When an employee changes jobs, all previous access is removed, &
permissions The rights and permissions of the new role are assigned.
Static  RBAC enforces static constraints based on a user‘s role.
constraints
Well suited for  It is the best system for an organization that has high turnover
Governed by  RAC takes into account the data affected, the identity attempting to perform a
business rules. task, and other triggers governed by business rules
Rules-based Access
Control (RAC)

Uses specific  RAC uses specific rules that indicate what can and cannot happen between a
rules subject and an object.
 A manager, for example, has the ability to approve his/her employees‘ hours
Example
worked
Dynamic  Note that this is dynamic and occurs at the time a transaction is attempted.
RBAC This also sometimes called dynamic RBAC.
 Gives the  This is a fundamental principle of information security,
rights only Which refers to give only those privileges to a user account,
which are which are essential to that user's work
essential to
work
 The principle of least privilege is widely recognized as an
Important
Principle of least important design consideration in enhancing the protection of data
design
privilege and functionality from any kind of compromises towards security.
consideration

 For example, a backup user does not need to install software;

Hence, the backup user has rights only to run backup and backup-
Example related applications.
Any other privileges, such as installing new software, should be
blocked.

Write about credit card. What are the steps involved in credit card transaction?
(PM, N14 MTP1 - 4M, M16 RTP)
 In a credit card transaction, the consumer presents preliminary proof of his
Preliminary proof
ability to pay by presenting his credit card number to the merchant.
Verification of  The merchant can verify this with the bank and create a purchase slip for the
credentials & consumer to endorse
Create a purchase slip
 The merchant then uses this purchase slip to collect funds from the bank, &
On the next
Collect the funds
Billing cycle, the consumer receives a statement from the bank with a record of
the transaction.
 This is the first step in processing a credit card.
Stage 1
 After a merchant swipes the card, the data is submitted to merchant‘s bank,
Authorization
Four stages of processing Credit Card transactions

called an acquirer, to request authorization for the sale.

 The acquirer then routes the request to the card-issuing bank, where it is
(N15 MTP2-2M)
authorized or denied, and the merchant can process the sale.
 This is the second step in processing a credit card.
 At the end of a day, the merchant reviews all the day‘s sales to ensure they were
Stage 2 Batching authorized and signed by the cardholder.
 It then transmits all the sales at once, called a batch, to the acquirer to receive
payment.
 This is the third step in processing a credit card
 After the acquirer receives the batch, it sends it through the card network,
where each sale is routed to the appropriate issuing bank.
Stage 3 Clearing
 The issuing bank then subtracts its interchange fees, which are shared with the
card network, and transfers the remaining amount through the network back to
the acquirer.
 This is the fourth and final step in processing a credit card
 After receiving payment from the issuer, minus interchange fees, the acquirer
Stage 4 Funding
subtracts its discount fee and sends the remainder to the merchant.
 The merchant is now paid for the transaction, and the cardholder is billed.
 Write about electronic cheques.
(PM, N14-2M)
 An electronic cheque has all the features as a paper cheque
Same features of  It acts as a message to the sender‘s bank to transfer funds
paper cheques  Like a paper cheque, the message is first given to the receiver, who, in turn,
endorses the cheque and presents it to the bank to obtain funds
FSTC  Credit card payments are popular for commerce on the internet.
And  However, FSTC and cyber cash are two systems that let consumers use electronic
Cyber cash cheques to pay web merchants directly
 The FSTC is a consortium of banks and clearing houses that has designed an
Financial services electronic cheque.
technology corporation  Designed in the lines of traditional paper cheque, this new cheque is initiated
(FSTC) electronically
 It uses digital signature for signing and endorsing
 This is an extension of wallet for credit cards, and it can be used in the same
way to make payments with participating vendors
Cyber cash
 Cyber cash will not serve as an intermediate party for processing the cheque.
That function will be handled directly by banks

Define smart cards. Write about different types of smart cards available.
(PM, N15 RTP, N14 MTP2 - 1M, M15 MTP1 - 3M, M16 MTP1 - 1M)
 Smart cards have an embedded microchip instead of magnetic strip
 The chip contains all the information a magnetic strip contains
Smart cards
But offers the possibility of manipulating the data and executing applications on the
card.
 Smart cards that need to insert into a reader in order to work,
Such as
Contact Cards
Types of smart cards

 A Smart Card Reader or

 Automatic Teller Machines
 Contact less smart card doesn‘t need to be inserted into a reader
 Just waving them near a reader is just sufficient for the card to exchange
Contactless Cards
data.
 This type of cards is used for opening doors
Combi / Hybrid  Combi cards contain both technologies and allow a wider range of
Cards applications.

Write about Electronic purses.

(PM, M15 - 2M)
 Electronic Purse Card is very similar to a pre-paid card.
 Bank issues a stored value card to its customer, the customer can then transfer value from his/her
Account to the card at
 An ATM,
 A personal computer, or
 A specially equipped telephone
 While making purchases, customers pass their cards through a vendor's Point of Sale terminal
 Validation is done through a Personal Identification Number (PIN Number).
 Once the transaction is complete, funds are deducted directly from the cards and transferred to the
vendor's terminal.
 When the value on a card is spent, consumers can load additional funds from their accounts to the card
You are requested to implement the Online Transaction Processing in an e-commerce environment
Briefly explain step by step Online Transaction Processing in such environment.
( PM )
 A typical On-line transaction can be viewed as follows:
Advertising  The company communicates its products and services (catalogue)
Offering  The company offers specific goods and services
Selling  The company agrees with the customer on the content of a specific order
Billing  The company produces the invoice
Paying  The buyer pays the seller by giving a payment instruction
 The seller matches the payment information (the authorization results and the actual
Matching
crediting of account) with the orders and feeds the result into the back - office
Delivering  The seller delivers to the buyer
Resolving  The seller and buyer try to resolve delivery or payment issues related to the purchase.
 What are Business Applications and its types?
 Business is defined as a person‘s regular occupation or commercial activity, a
Business
person‘s concern
Application  Application is defined as a computer program to fulfill a particular purpose
Business  Business Application is a program used to fulfill a person‘s need for regular work
Application or commercial activity
(M15 MTP1-1M)
Classification of Business Applications
Nature of Source of Nature of Nature of
Types
Processing Application Business Applications
Batch In-house Accounting
Type I Small business
Processing Developed Application
Online Purchased Medium Cash
Type II
Processing Application Business Management
Real-time Manufacturing
Type III Leased Large business
Processing Applications
More types No Yes No Yes

What are the applications based on nature of processing?

Processing of  It is defined as a processing of large set of data in a specific
large set of way, automatically, without any need of any user intervention.
data
Collect  The data is first collected, and then batch-processed,
&  So all the collected data is processed in one step.
Batch processing Processed
Long time  Batched jobs can take a long time to process
 Batch processing is used in
Where it is  Producing bills,
used  Stock control,
 Producing monthly credit card statements, etc
 Data is processed immediately while it is entered, the user
Processed
usually only has to wait a short time for a response.
Online / immediately
(example: games, word processing, booking systems).
interactive
 Interactive or online processing requires a user to supply an
processing
input
Requires a
(N15 - 1M) user
 It enables the user to input data and get the results of the
processing of that data immediately
Real-time  Real time processing is a subset of interactive or online
Processing Subset of processing.
online  Input is continuously, automatically acquired from sensors, ,
(N15 - 1M, N15 processing which is processed immediately in order to respond to the input
MTP1 - 2M) in as little time as possible.
 Goes for next  After the system finishes responding, it reads the next set of
set of input input data immediately to process that
Doesn't need a  This system doesn't need a user to control it, it works
user automatically
 Real time processing is used in
Where it is  Warning systems on aircraft,
used  Alarm systems in hazardous zones,
 Burglar alarms etc.

What are the applications based on Source of Application?

(M16 RTP)
To meet a  These applications can be configured to meet a particular
particular company‘s requirements.
requirement
Custom-built
Additional  Customization involves additional coding/ programming while
Application
coding/ configuration is based on settings which are inputted by the user
programming
Example  Billing, Inventory, Attendance etc.
 These are the standard applications which are not free but are
Not free but are licensed
Packaged licensed  Customization to suit business requirements may or may not be
software allowed.
Less expensive  It is less expensive than customized application
Example  Tally, Oracle 9i, etc.
 A new method for getting applications is being used today, i.e.
Leased applications,
Pays fixed rent
 Where user pays fixed rent for using the application for agreed
Leased
terms
application
 Many specialized vendors provide users with option to get their
Outsourcing job done by paying monthly rent; this is referred to as
outsourcing.

What are Applications based on Size and Complexity of Business

 The best software for small and medium businesses is software designed to help
them to
Small and  Run their operations better,
Medium  Cut costs and replace paper processes
Enterprise (SME)  The most popular software packages include accounts, office productivity, email
business and communications, but now-a-days,
Most business activities can be improved through desktop or web based
applications.
 Business applications that are designed for large business includes
 Crm, for recording customer information and finding out trends in buying
habits
 Sales force automation, which is helpful for organizing and managing
sales teams and leads
Large business
 Use human resources software
 Business intelligence and dashboard tools
 Database management systems
 Enterprise resource planning
 Supply chain management tools
 Explain the Business applications based on nature of application?
Customer  These are specialized applications catering to the need of organizations largely in
relationship FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) categories.
management  These entities need to interact with their customers and respond to them.
software  The response may be in the form of service support or may lead to product
innovation.
(N14 MTP2-1M,
M16 MTP1-1M)
 These are applications catering to decision-making needs of the management.
 They may be further classified based on the level of management using them.
Management
 For example,
support software
 Management information system is generally used by middle level
managers for their decision making needs. On other hand
(M16 MTP2-1M)
 Decision support systems are used by top management for their information
requirements.
 Accounting applications range from application software such as tally and wings to
high-end applications such as sap and oracle financials.
 These are used by business entities for the purpose of day-to-day transactions of
Accounting accounting and generating financial information
applications Such as
 Balance sheet,
 Profit and loss account &
 Cash flow statements
 These applications help entities to manage their office requirements like
 Word processors (ms word),
Office
 Electronic spreadsheets (ms excel),
management
 Presentation software (power point),
software
 File sharing systems, etc.
 The purpose is to automate the day-to-day office work and administration.
 Enterprises need to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
 India has taken a long stride in adopting e-compliance for its citizens with
Compliance government promoting
applications  E-filing of documents,
 E-payments taxes,
 E-storage of data, etc.
 These applications called as enterprise resource planning software
 Which are used by entities to manage resources optimally and to maximize the
ERP software three
E‘s
i.e. Economy, efficiency and effectiveness of business operations
 These are industry specific applications focused on a specific industry sector.
 For example, software designed especially for
 Banking applications,
Industry specific  Insurance applications,
applications  Automobile dealer system,
 Billing systems for malls,
 Cinema ticketing software
 Travel industry related software, etc.
 What is BPA? What are the Objectives of BPA?
(PM, N14-2M, N14 MTP2-2M)
 Business Process Automation (BPA) can be defined as removing the human
Definition of BPA element from existing business processes
 By automating the repetitive or standardized process components
 BPA capabilities range from ,
Automating a simple data-entry- manipulation task to building complex, automated
financial management processes
BPA range
Using existing applications
 BPA can make the business processes faster and more efficient, robust, and
flexible.
 To ensure that data is only available to persons who have right to see the
Objectives of

Confidentiality
Same;
BPA

Integrity  To ensure that no unauthorized amendments can be made in the data

Availability  To ensure that data is available when asked for
Timeliness  To ensure that data is made available in at the right time

Why Business Process Automation?

Reducing the Impact of
Human Error
Transforming Data into
Information
Improving performance
and process effectiveness
Making users more
efficient and effective
Making the business more
responsive
Improving Collaboration
and Information Sharing
Cost saving
To remain competitive
Fast service to customers
Risk to jobs
Risks
(or)
What are the benefits of BPA?
(PM, M15RTP)
 BPA removes human participation in the process, which is the source of
many errors
 BPA can, apart from collecting and storing data also analyze data &
 Make it available in a form that is useful for decision-making
In many cases,
 Tasks that must be done manually are the bottleneck in the process.
 Automating those manual tasks speeds up the effective throughput of the
application
 People can focus their energies on the tasks they do best, allowing the
computers to handle those that machines are best suited for
 Business can easily automate new applications and processes as they are
introduced.
Business processes designed through a collaborative interface mean
 Information Technology can integrate its processes with the business-side
logic that drives day-to-day operations
 Automation leads to saving in time and labor costs through higher
Efficiency and better management of the people involved
 To provide the level of products and services as offered by
Competition
 Automation shortens cycle times in the execution of processes through
improved and refined business workflows &
Help enterprises to serve their customers faster and better
 Jobs that were earlier performed manually by several employees would post-
automation would be mechanized, thereby posing a threat to jobs

False sense  Automating poor processes will not gain better business practices.
of security
 Explain How to go about BPA?
(or)
Discuss the steps involved in implementation of BPA?
(N14RTP, N15 MTP1 - 4M)
Define why we plan to  The answer to this question will provide justification for
Step 1
implement a BPA implementing B.P.A
Understand the rules /  It need to comply with applicable laws and regulations
Step 2 regulation under which for the organization
enterprise needs to comply with
Document the process, we wish  All the documents that are currently being used need to
Step 3
to automate be documented.
Define the objectives/goals to be  This enable the developers & users to understand the
Step 4 achieved by implementing BPA reasons for going B.P.A
 The goal should be precise & clear
Engage the business process  The entity need to appoint an expert who can implement
Step 5
consultant it for the entity
Calculate the ROI for project  The answer to this question can be used for convincing
Step 6
the top management to say ― yes‖ to the B.P.A
Developing the BPA  Once the top management grant their approval , then
Step 7
develop & implement B.P.A
Testing the BPA  Before making the process live B.P.A solutions should
Step 8
be fully tested

What are the Applications that help entity to achieve BPA?

(or)
Discuss some of the applications that help enterprise to achieve Business Process Automation.
(N15 MTP2 - 5M)
Accounting  It is an accounting application that helps entity to automate
application processes relating to accounting of transactions.
Inventory mgt.  It also helps to achieve automation of few processes in
&  Inventory management &
Tax compliance  Tax compliances
 It has features such as
Tally
 Remote access capabilities,
 Tax audit and statutory compliance,
Features  Payroll,
 Excise for manufacturers,
 Vat composition returns,
 TDS etc.
Integrates  Sap R/3 is ERP software, which allows an entity to integrate its
business process business processes
 ERP aims at
Better utilization
 Better utilization of the resources
of resources
 Helps entity achieve better business performance
 It has the features such as
Sap R/3  Time management,
 Reporting and analysis,
 Budget monitoring,
Features
 Workflow approval,
 Sales management,
 Team management,
 Leave management,
  Travel management,
 Recruitment management &
 Demand planning.

 These are various office automation systems made available by

micro soft corporation
Made available Which includes
by micro soft  MS word,
Corporation  MS excel,
 MS power point,
 MS access, etc.
MS office  It has features such as.
applications  Customized ribbon,
 Backstage view,
 Built-in graphics toolset,
Features  Enhanced security,
 Pivot for excel
 Power point broadcast,
 Paste,
 Preview etc.
Attendance  The application helps entity to automate the process of attendance
tracking and tracking and report generation
Report
 It has features such as
 Supervisor login access,
Attendance
 Holiday pay settings,
systems
 Labour distribution,
Features
 Employee scheduling and rounding,
 Employee view time card,
 Overtime settings,
 Battery-backed employee database etc.
Check the  Applications allowing owner of goods to check the temperature of
condition of cold stored goods while in transit
goods in transit
 It has features such as
Vehicle
 GPS based location,
tracking
 GPRS connection based real-time online data-logging and
system
Features reporting,
 Route accuracy on the fly
 Real-time vehicle tracking,
 SMS & e-mail notifications
Which industries  Many business processes specific to this industry have been
using this automated, including ticket booking for airplane, bus, train, hotel,
application etc
Travel  It has features such as
management  Streamlined foreign travel approval process,
systems  Portal for up to date information,
Features
 Online retrieval of e-tickets,
 Reservations,
 Secure profile information
Educational  ICAI, itself is a good example of this automation
Online filing
institute  A student based on his registration number can file many
management documents online including exam forms.
systems
 It has features such as
 Student‘s registration,
 Student‘s admission,
 Fee collection,
Features
 Student‘s attendance,
 Result management,
 Timetable management,
 Result analysis, etc.
Allow users to  Many toll booths allow users to buy pre-paid cards, where user
buy pre-paid need not stop in lane to pay toll charges, but just swipe / wave the
cards card in front of a scanner.
Automated  It has features such as
toll collection  Real-time toll plaza surveillance system,
systems  Automatic vehicle identification system
Features
 Automated vehicle classification,
 License plate recognition,
 Laser based toll audit systems, etc.
Huge  There has been huge development in the retail sector in india,
development in which includes the billing processes and inventory management.
retail sector
 It has features such as
 Point of sale,
Department
 Multi-channel operation,
stores
 Supplier database,
systems
Features  Products database,
 Purchase ordering,
 Management reporting,
 Loyalty schemes,
 Stock control and inventory management.
 With increasing inventory of office files and records, many office
Kept in soft copy automation systems have been developed.
and easy to track  These allow office records to be kept in soft copy and easy tracking
File of the same.
management  It has features such as
system  Web access,
Features  Search,
 Microsoft office integration,
 Records management software ,etc.

Define the term Control? What are the major Control Objectives in Business Process Automation (BPA)?
(PM, N15 - 4M, N14RTP, N14 MTP1 - 4M)
 Control is defined as
 Policies,
 Procedures,
Definition of  Practices &
control  Organization structure
That are designed to provide reasonable assurance that
 Business objectives are achieved &
 Undesired events are prevented or detected and corrected
  Controls can be divided into two types
a) Managerial Controls :
The controls at this level provide a stable infrastructure in which IS can be
built, operated, and maintained on a day-to-day basis
Two types of
controls
b) Application Controls :
Application controls are the controls on the sequence of processing events
These controls cover all phases of data right from data origination to its final
disposal.
 Ensures that all transactions are approved by responsible personnel
Authorization In accordance with their specific or general authority before the transaction is
recorded
 Ensures that no valid transactions have been omitted from the accounting
Completeness
records.
 Ensures that all valid transactions are accurate, consistent with the originating
Accuracy
transaction data, and information is recorded in a timely manner.
Major control objectives

 Ensures that all recorded transactions fairly represent the economic events
that
 Actually occurred,
Validity
 Lawful in nature, &
 Have been executed in accordance with management's general
authorization
Physical  Ensures that access to physical assets and information systems are controlled
Safeguards and and properly restricted to authorized personnel
Security
 Ensures that errors detected at any stage of processing receive prompts
Error Handling
corrective actions and are reported to the appropriate level of management
 Ensures that duties are assigned to individuals in a manner that ensures that
Segregation of
no one individual can control both the recording function and processing a
Duties
transaction

Various Managerial Controls

1) Top Management and Information Systems Management Controls
2) Systems Development Management Controls
3) Programming Management Controls
4) Data Resource Management Controls
5) Quality Assurance Management Controls
6) Security Management Controls
7) Operations Management Controls

Top Management and Information Systems Management Controls

(M16 - 4M)
 Determining
Planning  The goals of the information systems function &
The major  The means of achieving these goals
functions that  Gathering, allocating, and coordinating the resources needed to
Organizing
top mtg. Must accomplish the goals
perform Leading  Motivating, guiding, and communicating with personnel
 Comparing actual performance with planned performance as a basis
Controlling
for taking any corrective actions that are needed.
  Top management must prepare two types of information systems plans for the
Prepare 2 types information systems function:
of IS plans  A Strategic plan &
 An Operational plan
Long term &  The strategic Plan is the long-run plan covering &
short term  Operational Plan is the short-plan covering.
Reviewed &  Both the plans need to be reviewed regularly and updated as the need arises
updated

Systems development management controls

(PM Exercise )
 Systems Development Management has responsibility for the functions concerned
Has a
with
responsibility of
 Analyzing, designing, building, implementing, and maintaining information systems
 Three different types of audits may be conducted during system development process
 Auditors are members of the system development team.
Concurrent  They assist the team in improving the quality of systems
Audit development for the specific system they are building and
implementing
 Auditors seek to help an organization, learn from its experiences
Post
3 Different of in the development of a specific application system
Implementation
types audits  In addition, they might be evaluating whether the system needs to
Audit
be scrapped, continued, or modified in some way
 Auditors evaluate systems development controls overall.
 They seek to determine whether they can reduce the extent of
General Audit substantive testing needed to form an audit opinion about
management‘s assertions relating to the financial statements for
systems effectiveness and efficiency.

Programming Management Controls

(N15 MTP2 - 3M)
Primary  The primary objectives of program development and implementation phase are to
objectives acquire and to implement high-quality programs.
 The program development life cycle comprises six major phases
1) Planning
2) Design
It comprises six 3) Control
major phases 4) Coding
5) Testing
6) Operation and Maintenance
With Control phase running in parallel for all other phases
 The purpose of the control phase during software development or acquisition is to
Purpose of the
monitor progress against plan and to ensure software released for production use is
control phase
authentic, accurate, and complete.

Data Resource Management Controls

 Data is a critical resource that must be managed properly
Managed properly
 Accordingly, centralized planning and control must be implemented.
For better  For data to be managed better,
management of  Users must be able to share data,
data
  Data must be available to users when it is needed,
 In the location where it is needed, &
 In the form in which it is needed.
Preservation of  It allows easy modification of data and the integrity of the data must be preserved
modification
 If data repository system is used properly, it can enhance data and application
Proper use of data
system reliability.
 Careful control should be exercised over the roles by
 Appointing senior, trustworthy persons, separating duties to the extent
Careful control possible &
 Maintaining and monitoring logs of the data administrator‘s and database
administrator‘s activities

Quality Assurance Management Controls

(N15RTP)
 Organizations are increasingly producing safety-critical systems &
 Users are becoming more demanding in terms of the quality of the software they employ to undertake
their work.
 Organizations are undertaking more ambitious (determined) information systems projects that require
more stringent quality requirements &
Are becoming more concerned about their liabilities if they produce and sell defective software
Security Management Controls
(N15MTP1-2M)
Information  Information security administrators are responsible for ensuring that information
security Systems assets are secure
administrators
 Assets are secure when the expected losses that will occur over some time are at
When assets said to
an
be secure
Acceptable level.
Major threats and their control measures
Threat Control
Fire  Well-designed, reliable fire-protection systems must be implemented.
Water  Facilities must be designed and sited to mitigate losses from water damage
 Voltage regulators, circuit breakers, and uninterruptible power supplies
Energy variations
can be used.
Pollution  Regular cleaning of facilities and equipment should occur
Unauthorized  Physical access controls can be used
intrusion
 Strong, logical access controls to mitigate losses from the activities of
Hackers
hackers.
Structural damage  Facilities must be designed to withstand structural damage

Operations management controls

Daily running of  Operations management is responsible for the daily running of hardware and
H/W & S/W software facilities
 Operations management typically performs controls over the functions like
 Computer Operations,
 Communications Network Control,
Functions
 Data Preparation and Entry,
 Production control,
 File Library;
  Documentation and Program Library
 Help Desk/Technical support;
 Capacity Planning and Performance Monitoring &
 Outsourced Operations
 Operations management control must continuously monitor the performance of the
hardware/software platform to ensure that systems are :
Monitor the
 Executing efficiently,
performance
 An acceptable response time or turnaround time is being achieved, &
 An acceptable level of uptime is occurring.

Discuss Boundary controls in detail?

( PM Exercise )
 Controls in the boundary subsystem have three purposes
 To establish the identity and authenticity of would-be-users.
Purpose of  To establish the identity and authenticity of computer-system resources that
boundary controls users wish to employ
 To restrict the actions undertaken by users who obtain computer resources
to an authorized set
Cryptography  There are programs that transform data into codes
That appear meaningless to anyone who does not have authentication to
(N14 MTP1 - 1M ) access the system resource or file.
 User identification by an authentication mechanism with personal
characteristics
Passwords Like name, birth date, employee code, function, designation, etc. Or a
combination of two or more of these can be used as a password boundary
access control.
Personal  The personal identification number is similar to a password assigned to a user
Identification & encrypted using a cryptographic algorithm
Numbers (PIN)  PIN is used in net banking , ATM transactions
Boundary control techniques

 Plastic / Identification cards store information required in an authentication

process
 These cards are used to identify a user need to go through procedural controls
like
Plastic Cards  Application for a card,
 Preparation of the card,
 Issue of the card,
 Use of the card &
 Return of the card
 Digital Signatures establish the
 Authenticity of persons &
Digital Signatures
 Prevent the denial of messages or contracts
When data is exchanged electronically.
 Access controls help us to restrict whom and what accesses our information
resources, &
 They possess four general functions:
Access controls  Identity verification,
 Authentication,
 Authorization, &
 Accountability
 Discuss Input Controls in detail?
(M15- RTP)
 Input Controls are responsible for
Responsible  Ensuring the accuracy and completeness of data &
 Instruction input into an application system
These are  Input controls are important since substantial time is spent on inputting data which
important for IS involves human intervention and are therefore prone to errors and fraud.
 The type of data input method used in an information system affects
 Asset safeguarding,
Input method  Data integrity,
 System effectiveness, &
 System efficiency objectives
 A well designed source document
 Reduces the data recording errors,
Source Document
 Increases the speed the speed of recording &
Control
 Controls the work flow
Input control techniques

 Example : using pre – printed source document having a serial number

Data Coding  These controls are put in place to reduce user error during data feeding.
Controls
 These controls are put in a place where batch processing is being used
 Batch processing is where there is a time gap between occurrence and
Batch Controls
recording of transactions,
(N14 MTP1 - 2M)
 I.e. Transactions are not recorded at the time of occurrence but are
accumulated and a set is processed.
 These validate the accuracy/correctness of input data
Validation
 Input Validation Controls are intended to detect errors in transaction data
Controls
before the data are processed.

Discuss Process Controls in brief.

(M15 - 4M, M15 MTP2 - 1M)
 Data processing controls perform validation checks to identify errors during
validation checks
processing of data.
completeness  They are required to ensure both the completeness and the accuracy of data
& being processed
accuracy
 These help in verifying data that is subject to process data through different
Run-to-run Totals stages.
 A specific record can be used to maintain the control total
Reasonableness  Two or more fields can be compared and cross verified to ensure their
Verification correctness
Process Controls

 Edit checks similar to the data validation controls can also be used at the
Edit Checks
processing stage to verify accuracy and completeness of data
 It will ensure that data of previous transaction should not be mixed up with
Field Initialization next transaction
 setting all values to zero before inserting the field or record.
 Exception reports are generated to identify errors in data processed.
Exception Reports

Existence/Recovery  It is a facility is a short-term backup and recovery control that enables a

Controls system to be recovered if failure is temporary and localized
 Discuss Output Controls in detail?
 Output controls ensure that the data delivered to users will be presented, formatted
Responsible for
and delivered in a consistent and secured manner.
 Output can be in any form,
It can either be a
Form of output  Printed data report or
 A database file in a removable media or
 It can be a Word document on the computer‘s hard disk
Storage and Logging of  Pre-printed stationery should be stored securely to prevent
Sensitive and Critical unauthorized destruction or removal and usage.
Forms
Logging of Output  When programs, used for output of data, are executed, they should be
Program Executions logged and monitored.
 It should be ensured that unauthorized disclosure of information
Output Controls

Controls over Printing

Report Distribution and
Collection Controls
Retention Controls
Existence/Recovery
Controls
printed is prevented.
 Distribution of reports should be made in a secure way to avoid
unauthorized disclosure of data
 A log should be maintained as to what reports were printed and which
of them where collected.
 Uncollected reports should be stored securely
 Retention controls consider the duration for which outputs should be
retained before being destroyed.
 These controls are needed to recover output in the event that it is lost or
destroyed.

What do you understand by Database Controls? Discuss in brief?

(M15 MTP2 - 2M)
Integrity of a  Database controls protect the integrity of a database when application software
database acts as an interface to interact between the user and the database.
 Synchronization and the correct sequence of processing between
Sequence check transaction the master file and transaction file is critical to maintain the
&  Integrity of updation,
Master files  Insertion or deletion of records
Database controls

in the master file with respect to the transaction records

 While processing the transaction file records mapped to the
Ensure all records on files
respective master file the end-of-file of the transaction file with
are processed
respect to the end-of-file of the master file is to be ensured.
 Multiple transactions can occur based on a single master record.
Process multiple
 For example, dispatch of a product to different distribution centers.
transactions for a single
 The order in which transactions are processed against the product
record in the correct order
master record must be done based on a sorted transaction codes.

Discuss Communication Controls in detail?

(PM, M16 MTP1 - 4M)
 Components in the communication subsystem are responsible for
Responsible for  Transporting data among all the other subsystems within a system &
 Transporting data to or receiving data from another system
  These controls involve Transmission Media
 Bounded (Guided) Media or Unbounded (Unguided) Media;
Physical Component  Communication Lines – Private (Leased) or Public;
Controls  Modems;
 Port Protection Devices ;
 Multiplexors and Concentrators
 Error Detection
Using :
 Parity Checking,
 Cyclic Redundancy Checks (CRC) &
 Loop Check
Line Error Controls
 Error Correction
Using :
 Forward Error Correcting Codes &
 Backward Error Correction
Are the two major approaches under Line Error Controls
 The simplest form of flow control is ―Stop-and-Wait Flow Control‖
Communication Controls

Flow Controls  In which the sender transmits a frame of data only when the receiver is
ready to accept the frame.
 This involves two common protocols
Link Controls  HDLC (Higher Level Data Control) &
 SDLC (Synchronous Data Link Control)
 A communication network topology specifies
 The location of nodes within a network,
Topological  The ways in which these nodes will be linked, &
Controls  The data transmission capabilities of the links between the nodes.
 Some of the four basic topologies include Bus, Ring, Star and Tree
Topology.
 These techniques fall into two classes
 Polling methods &
 Contention methods
Polling methods :
Channel Access
Polling techniques establish an order in which a node can gain
Controls
access to channel capacity;
Contention methods :
Nodes in a network must compete with each other to gain access
to a channel.
 Internetworking is the process of connecting two or more communication
Internetworking
networks together to allow the users of one network to communicate with
Controls
the users of other networks.

What do you mean by the term Virtualization? Explain Major applications of Virtualization?
(M15 – 2M, N15RTP, M15 MTP1 - 5M)
Creating logical  It is the process of creating logical computing resources from available physical
computing resources resources
In computing,
 Virtualization means to create a virtual version of a device or resource,
Such as
Virtual version  A server,
 Storage device,
 Network or even an operating system
where the framework divides the resource into one or more execution
 environments.
Technology to provide  Virtualization refers to technologies designed to provide a layer of abstraction
a layer of abstraction between computer hardware systems and the software running on them.
 The core concept of virtualization lies in partitioning,
Which divides a single physical server into multiple logical servers.
Core concept
 Once the physical server is divided, each logical server can run an operating
system and applications independently.
 Virtual machines are used to consolidate many physical servers into fewer
servers,
Which in turn host virtual machines
Server Consolidation
 Each physical server is reflected as a virtual machine "guest" residing on a
virtual machine host system.
 This is also known as ―Physical-to-Virtual‖ or 'P2V' transformation
 Virtual machines can be used as "hot standby" environments for physical
Major applications

production servers,
Disaster Recovery  i.e. Changes "backup-and-restore" philosophy, by providing backup
images that can "boot" into live virtual machines, capable of taking over
workload for a production server experiencing an outage.
 Hardware virtualization can give root access to a virtual machine
Testing and Training  This can be very useful such as in kernel development or operating system
environment.
Portable  Portable applications are needed when running an application from a
Applications removable drive, without installing it on the system's main disk drive.
 Recent technologies have used virtualization to create portable workspaces
Portable Workspaces
on devices like ipods and USB memory sticks

Explain some common types of Virtualization?

(OR)
Differentiate Hardware virtualization and Storage virtualization
(PM, M16 MTP2 - 4M)
Hardware virtualization or platform virtualization refers to
Creation of a
 The creation of a virtual machine that acts like a real computer
virtual machine
with an operating system
The basic idea of Hardware virtualization is
Consolidation of  To consolidate many small physical servers into one large
many servers physical server
Hardware So that the processor can be used more effectively
virtualization Hypervisor  The software that creates a virtual machine on the host hardware
Or is called a hypervisor or Virtual Machine Manager
Virtual Machine
Manager
 The hypervisor controls the processor, memory and other
Controls components by allowing several different operating systems to
run on the same machine without the need for a source code
 Network virtualization is a method of combining the available
resources in a network by splitting up the available bandwidth
Network Combining
into channels,
virtualization resources
 Each of which is independent from the others, and each of which
can be assigned to a particular server or device in real time.
  This allows a large physical network to be provisioned into
Large network multiple smaller logical networks
into small and vice And
versa  Conversely allows multiple physical LANs to be combined into
a larger logical network.
 This behavior allows administrators to improve
Network traffic
 Network traffic control,
control & security
 Enterprise and security.
 Storage virtualization is the apparent pooling of data from
Apparent pooling multiple storage devices, even different types of storage devices,
of data Into what appears to be a single device that is managed from a
central console.
 It helps the storage administrator perform the tasks of backup,
It helps Archiving, and recovery more easily -- and in less time
Storage
administrators By disguising the actual complexity of a Storage Area Network
virtualization
(SAN)
 Administrators can implement virtualization with
How it can
 Software applications or
implement
 By using hardware and software hybrid appliances
 Storage virtualization is sometimes described as ―abstracting‖
“abstracting”
the logical storage from the physical storage.

What is Grid Computing? Explain various application areas of Grid Computing?

(N14 – 4M, N14RTP, M15 MTP1 - 3M, N14 MTP1 - 4M)
Grid computing is a computer network
Computer network  In which each computer's resources are shared with every other computer in a
communication system.
Allocated to  Processing power, memory and data storage are allocated to authorized users
authorized person Then resources are accessed by users to perform specific tasks.
and shared by
users
 A grid computing system can be
 As simple as a collection of similar computers running on the same
Simple or complex operating system or
 As complex as inter- networked systems comprised of every computer
platform
Grid computing is a form of distributed computing
Distributed
 Where a virtual computing system is created by using many loosely connected
computing
computing devices to perform a large computing task
Ideal grid  In the ideal grid computing system, every resource is shared,
computing system  Turning a computer network into a powerful supercomputer performance.
 Civil engineers work together to design, execute, & analyze shake table
Civil engineers
Application areas of

experiments
grid computing

Insurance  An insurance company mines data from partner hospitals for fraud
company detection
Application  An application service provider offloads excess load to a compute
service provider cycle provider
 An enterprise configures internal & external resources to support e-
In an enterprise
business
  Large-scale science and engineering are done through the
 Interaction of people,
Science and  Heterogeneous computing resources,
engineering  Information systems and instruments,
 All of which are geographically and organizationally
distributed.

What are the reasons of using Grid Computing? (or) Briefly explain grid computing benefits?
(M15 MTP1 - 3M, M16 MTP2 - 4M)
 Grid computing provides a framework for exploiting these underutilized
Making use of
resources &
Underutilized
 Thus has the possibility of substantially increasing the efficiency of resource
Resources
usage
 This feature of grid computing handles occasional peak loads of activity in
Resource balancing
parts of a larger organization
 A cpu-intensive grid application can be thought of as many smaller subjobs,
Parallel cpu capacity
each executing on a different machine in the grid
 The users of the grid can be organized dynamically into a number of virtual
Virtual resources and
organizations, each with different policy requirements.
virtual organizations
 These virtual organizations can share their resources, collectively as a larger
for collaboration
grid
In addition to CPU and storage resources,
Access to additional
 A grid can provide access to other resources such as bandwidth to perform a
resources
complex task
 The machines also use duplicate processors in such a way that when they fail,
Reliability
one can be replaced without turning the other off.
 The goal to virtualize the resources on the grid and more uniformly handle
Management heterogeneous systems create new opportunities to better manage a larger, more
distributed IT infrastructure.

Discuss the constraints that need to be taken into consideration while developing a secured Grid
Architecture?
(PM, M16 - 4M, M16 MTP1 - 2M)
 A user should authenticate once and they should be able to acquire resources,
Single Sign-on use them, and release them and to communicate internally without any further
authentication.
Protection of  User passwords, private keys, etc. should be protected
Credentials
Interoperability with  Access to local resources should have local security policy at a local level
local security solutions
 The code should be exportable
Exportability i.e. they cannot use a large amount of encryption at a time.
 There should be a minimum communication at a time
 In a communication there are number of processes which coordinate their
Support for secure
activities.
group communication
 This coordination must be secure and for this there is no such security policy
Support for multiple  There should be a security policy which should provide security to multiple
implementations sources based on public and private key cryptography.
 What is meant by Cloud Computing?
(N14 – 4M, M14RTP, N15RTP)
 A cloud is a collection of
 Servers,
 Applications,
 Databases,
Collection  Documents,
 Agreements,
 Spreadsheets,
 Storage capacity etc
Which allows organizations to share these resources from anywhere.
 Cloud Computing is the use of various services, such as
 Software development platforms,
 Servers,
Use of services
 Storage, &
 Software,
Over the Internet, often referred to as the "cloud."
 The best example of cloud computing is Google Apps
Examples  Where any application can be accessed using a browser and it can be deployed on
thousands of computer through the Internet.
 The common cloud computing service models are
Cloud computing  Software as a service (saas),
service models  Platform as a service (paas) &
 Infrastructure as a service (iaas).

Explain different service models of cloud computing?

(PM, N14 MTP1 - 4M)
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Complete software  It includes a complete software offering on the cloud
&  Users can access a software application hosted by the cloud vendor on pay- per-use
Pay- per-use basis basis.
 This is a well-established sector.
Provided across
 SaaS is a model of software deployment where an application is hosted as a service
the internet
provided to customers across the Internet.
Not required to  User need not to install and run an application on a own computer
install app.
 It is seen as a way for businesses to get the same benefits as commercial software
Same benefits with
with smaller cost outlay
less cost
 SaaS can reduce the burden of software maintenance

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

 It is the foundation of cloud services.
 It provides clients with access to
Foundation of  Server hardware,
cloud services  Storage,
 Bandwidth &
 Other fundamental computing resources
Paid for on a  The service is typically paid for on a usage basis
usage basis
  The service may also include dynamic scaling
 So that if the customer needs more resources than expected, they can get them on
Dynamic scaling the fly
 It provides access to shared resources on need basis, without revealing details like
Location and hardware to clients.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

(M15 - 2M, N15 MTP2 - 2M)
 It provides clients with access to the basic operating software and optional services
Basic OS & to develop
optional service  Use software applications without the need to buy and manage the underlying
computing infrastructure
 It has evolved from
It has evolved
 Software as a Service (saas) &
from
 Infrastructure as a service (iaas).
 Google App Engine allows clients to run their web applications on Google‘s
Example
infrastructure
The major drawback of Platform as a Service is
Drawback  That it may lock us into the use of a particular development environment and stack
of software components

Network as a Service (NaaS)

(M15-2M)
It is a category of cloud services
Enable to use
 Where the capability provided to the cloud service user is to use network
network services
connecting services.
Optimum allocation  Naas involves optimization of resource allocation by considering network and
of resources Computing resources as a whole.
 Some of the examples are:
Examples  Virtual Private Network,
 Mobile Network Virtualization etc.

Communication as a Service (CaaS)

Evolved form  CaaS has evolved in the same lines as saaS.
 CaaS is an outsourced enterprise communication solution that can be leased
Outsourced package
from a single vendor
 The CaaS vendor is responsible for
Vendor is responsible
 All hardware and software management &
for
 Offers guaranteed Quality of Service (QOS)
 It allows businesses to
Benefits to business  Selectively deploy communication devices &
 Modes on a pay-as-you-go, as- needed basis.
 This approach eliminates the large capital investments
Reduce capital  Examples are:
Investment  Voice over IP (VOIP),
 Instant Messaging (IM).
 Explain the parts of cloud computing architecture?
(or)
Discuss Cloud Computing architecture?
(PM, N15RTP, M15 MTP1 - 5M, M16 - 2M, M16 MTP2 - 4M)
 A cloud computing architecture consists of two parts - Front End and Back End
Two parts
 That connects to each other through a network, usually Internet.
Components  Cloud computing architecture refers to the components and subcomponents.
&
Sub-components
The front end of the cloud computing system comprises of the client's
Devices (or it may be a computer network) &
Front end
Some applications are needed for accessing the cloud computing system.
 All the cloud computing systems do not give the same interface to users.
 Back end refers to some physical peripherals.
Components

In cloud computing,
 The back end is cloud itself which may encompass
Back end
 Various computer machines,
 Data storage systems and servers.
 Groups of these clouds make a whole cloud computing system.
 There are some set of rules, generally called as Protocols which are followed
Protocols
by this server.
 Middleware that allow computers that are connected on networks to
Middleware
communicate with each other.

What are the Characteristics of Cloud Computing?

(PM, M15 - 4M)
Elasticity and  Cloud computing gives us the ability to expand and reduce resources according to
Scalability the specific service requirement
 We pay for cloud services only when we use them, either for the short term
Pay-per-Use
Or for a longer duration
 Because we invoke cloud services only when we need them, they are not permanent
On-demand
parts of the IT infrastructure,
 The resiliency of a cloud service offering can completely isolate the failure of
Resiliency
Server and storage resources from cloud users.
 Public cloud service providers often can host the cloud services for multiple users
within the same infrastructure
Multi tenancy
 Server and storage isolation may be physical or virtual depending upon the specific
user requirements.
 This characteristic is related to resiliency and cost considerations
 Cloud-computing provider migrates workload across servers
Workload
Both
movement
 Inside the data center &
 Across data centers
 Discuss the Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing?
(PM, M15RTP, N15 MTP2 - 2M)
Cost Efficient  Cloud computing is a cost efficient method to use, maintain and upgrade.
Easy Access to  It provides easy to access information from anywhere through an Internet
Information connection.
Almost Unlimited  Storing information in the cloud provides almost unlimited storage capacity.
Advantages

Storage
Backup and  Since all the data is stored in the cloud, backing up and restoring is
Recovery relatively much easier than storing the same on a physical device.
Automatic  In the cloud, software integration is usually something that occurs
Software automatically
Integration
Quick  The entire system can be fully functional in a matter of a few minutes.
Deployment
Technical Issues  This technology is always prone to outages and other technical issues
Disadvantages

Security in the  Surrendering all the company‘s sensitive information to a thirdparty

Cloud Cloud service provider could potentially put the company to great risk.
 Storing information in the cloud could make the company vulnerable to
Prone to Attack
external hack attacks and threats

Explain various deployment models?

(or)
Describe different types of clouds in cloud computing environment.
(PM, N14 – 4M, N14RTP, N14 MTP2 - 4M, M16 MTP1 - 4M)
Made available  The public cloud is made available to the general public or a large
to general industry group.
public
 They are administrated by third parties or vendors over the
Administration Internet, &
Services are offered on pay-per-use basis.
Public clouds External clouds  Public clouds are also known as external clouds
 The key benefits are:
 It is widely used in the development, deployment and
management of enterprise applications, at affordable
Benefits
costs;
 It allows organizations to deliver highly scalable and
reliable applications rapidly and at more affordable costs
 This cloud computing environment resides within the boundaries
Resides within
of an organization &
the boundaries
Is used exclusively for the organization's benefits
Internal clouds  These are also called internal clouds
Private clouds
 The benefits are :
 It enables an enterprise to manage the infrastructure and
Benefits
have more control &
 It provides high security and scalability but is expensive.
Share of  This is the sharing of computing infrastructure in between
resources organizations of the same community.
Community
 All Government organizations within India may share computing
clouds Example
Infrastructure on the cloud to manage data.
Risk  The risk is that data may be stored with the data of competitors
Hybrid clouds Internal and  It is maintained by both internal and external providers
 external

 It is a composition of two or more clouds

Composition
(Private, Community or Public).
 They have to maintain their unique identity, but are bound
Characteristics
together by standardized data and application portability

Differentiate between manual information processing cycle and computerized information processing
cycle?
(PM, M16 MTP1 - 4M)
Manual Information Processing Cycle Computerized Information Processing Cycle
 Systems where the level of manual  Systems where computers are used at every
intervention is very high. stage of transaction processing &
 For example  human intervention is minimal.
 Evaluation of exam papers,
 Teaching &
 operations in operation theatres
 Include following components:  Include following components:

Input: Put details in register. Input: Entering data into the computer;

Process: Summarize the information; Process: Performing operations on the data;

Output: Present information to mtg. Storage: Saving data, programs, or output

in the form reports. for future use;

Output: Presenting the results.

Input Process Output

Write short notes on Delivery Channels? Explain its importance?

(Or)
List out the types of delivery channels through which information is delivered to the user.
[N14- 4M]
 Delivery channels refer to the mode through which information or products
Delivery channels
are delivered to users.
 Intranet: Network within the company/enterprise
 E-mail: The most widely used delivery channel for information today
 Internal newsletters and magazines
 Staff briefings, meetings and other face-to-face communications
Delivery channels for
methods
information
 Notice boards in communal areas;
 Manuals, guides and other printed resources
 Hand-held devices (PDAs, etc)
 Social networking sites, like Facebook, Whatsapp, etc.
  Traditional models, brick and mortar type
 Buying from a shop
Delivery channels for  Home delivery of products
products  Buying from a departmental store
 Buying online, getting home delivery and making cash payment on
delivery
 Define the terms (1) Process (2) Business Process Management?
 Process is defined as a sequence of events that uses inputs to produce outputs

Process
 From a business perspective, a process is a
 Coordinated and standardized flow of activities
(N14 RTP,
 Performed by people or machines,
M15 MTP1 -
 Which can traverse functional or departmental boundaries
1M )
 To achieve a business objective &
 Creates value for internal or external customers.
BPM is defined as
 ―The achievement of an organization‘s objectives through the improvement,
Business management and control of essential business processes‖.
Process
Management
BPM = process and organization (including people) as well as Technology

What is a business Process? Explain how to manage a process.

(N14 MTP2-2M)
 A business process consists of a set of activities that are performed in coordination
in an organizational and technical environment.
Business process  These activities jointly realize a business goal
 Each business process is enacted by a single organization, but it may interact with
business processes performed by other organizations.
 The first task is to define
 This involves defining the steps in the process and mapping
Define task
the
Tasks to the roles involved in the process.
 Once the process is mapped and implemented, performance
Performance measures can be established
How manage a
measures  Establishing measurements creates a basis to improve the
process:
process.
 The last piece describes the organizational setup
 That enables the,
Organizational
 Standardization of &
setup
 Adherence to the process
Throughout the organization
 Explain typical life cycle of an accounting transaction?
(Or)
Explain Book keeping life cycle in Business Process?
(N14 MTP1 - 4M)
 Accounting or Book keeping cycle covers the business processes
Accounting
Involved in recording and processing accounting events of a company.
Or
 It begins when a transaction or financial event occurs and ends with its inclusion
Book keeping cycle
in the financial statements
Source Document  Document the capture data from transactions
Journal  Transactions are recorded into journals from the source document
Life cycle of an accounting

Ledger  Entries are posted to the ledger from the journal

 Unadjusted trial balance containing totals from all account heads is
transaction

Trial Balance
prepared
Adjustments  Appropriate adjustment entries are passed
Adjusted Trial  The trial balance is finalized post adjustments
balance
Closing entries  Appropriate entries are passed to transfer accounts to financial statements
Financial  The accounts are organized into the financial statements
statement

Write about the lifecycle of a sales transaction

(or)
Explain the life cycle of Order to Cash (OTC or O2C)?
(N15 MTP2-5M)
 Order to Cash (OTC or O2C) covers all the business processes
Relating to fulfilling customer requests for goods or services.
Order to Cash
 It involves transactional flow of data from the initial point of documenting a
customer order to the final point of collecting the cash.
 A purchase order received from a customer specifying the type quantity and
Customer Order
Life cycle of a sales

Agreed prices for products

Recording  Availability of the items is checked and customer order is booked
transaction

Pick release  The items are moved from the warehouse to the staging area
Shipping  The items are loaded onto the carrier for transport to the customer
Invoice  Invoice of the transaction is generated and sent to the customer
Receipt  Money is received from the customer against the invoices
Reconciliation  The bank reconciliation of all the receipts is performed

Explain Processing Cycles of Accounts BPM?

(N14RTP)
 Provides a clear view of firms processing framework &
Involves activities of
Financing
 Obtaining necessary funds to run the organization,
cycles
 Repay creditors, &
 Distribute profits to investors.
  It includes transactions surrounding the recognition of revenue
Involving accounts like
 Sales,
 Accounts receivable,
 Inventory &
 General ledger.

 It involves activities of selling goods or services and collecting payment for sales
Revenue cycle
Source document Function
Sales order Record customer order
Delivery ticket Record delivery to customer
Remittance advice Receive cash
Deposit slip Record amounts deposited
Support adjustments to customer
Credit memo
accounts
 It includes transactions surrounding the recognition of expenditures
Involving accounts like
 Purchases,
 Accounts payable,
 Cash disbursements,
 Inventory &
 General ledger.
Expenditure
cycle
 It involves activities of buying and paying for goods or services used by the
organization.
(M16RTP)
Source document Function
Purchase requisition Request that purchasing department order
goods
Purchase order Request goods from vendors
Receiving report Record receipt of merchandise.
Check Pay for items.
 It involves activities of hiring and paying employees

Source document Function

W4forms Collect employee with holding
Human
data
resource cycle
Timecards Record time worked by
employees
Job time tickets Record time spent on specific
jobs.
 It involves the recurring set of business activities and related data processing
Production
operations associated with the manufacturers of products
cycle
 It includes the activities like converting raw materials and labor into finished goods.
 This involves the information processing operations
 It includes the activities of
General
 Updating the general ledger &
ledger &
 Preparing reports
reporting
That summarize the results of an organization‘s activities
system

General ledger and reporting

 Journal voucher Record entry posted to general ledger

 This consists of following basic steps with alerts, controls and feedback at each step:
 Involves the activities like
 Capturing the data,
 Implementing control procedures,
Data input
 Recording in journals,
Data
 Posting to ledgers &
processing
 Preparation of reports.
cycle
 Involves organizing the data in master file or reference file of an
Data storage
automated system for easy and efficient access.
(N15RTP,
Data  Involves addition, deletion and updating of the data in the
M16 RTP)
processing transaction file, master file or reference file
 Involves generation of documents and managerial reports in
Information printable or electronic form for addressing queries,
output To control operational activities and help the management in
decision making.

Functional Organization Vs. Process Organization.

(SM)
Functional Organization Process Organization
Work Unit  Department  Team
Key Figure  Functional Executive  Process Owner
 Focus on functional excellence  Responsive to market requirements
 Easier to implement  Improved communication and
Benefit  Clear management direction collaboration
 Performance measurements associated
with process goals
 Barrier to communication between  Duplication of functional expertise
different functions.  Inconsistency of functional
 Poor hand over between functions performance between processes.
Weaknesses
that affect customer service.  Increased operational complexity
 Lack of end-to-end focus to
optimize organizational performance
Strategic  Supports cost leadership strategy.  Supports differentiation strategy
Value

What is meant by Accounting Information System? Explain the Basic Functions of AIS?
(M15 MTP2 - 1M)
Accounting  An accounting information system is defined as a system of collection, storage
information and processing of financial and accounting data that is used by decision makers.
system
  Collect and store data about organization‘s business activities and
Basic Functions of an Accounting Information System

Collect and store Transactions

data  By capturing transaction data from source documents and posting data
from journals to ledgers
 Record transactions data into journals
Record
 These journals present a chronological record of what occurred and
transaction
provide management with information useful for decision making.
 Provide adequate controls to ensure that data are recorded and processed
accurately by safeguarding organizational assets
 The two important methods for accomplishing this objective are
 By providing adequate documentation of all business activities
&
Safeguarding
 An effective segregation of duties.
organizational
Documentation:
assets
Documentation allows management to verify that assigned
responsibilities were completed correctly.
Segregation of duties:
Segregation of duties refers to dividing responsibility for
different portions of a transaction among several people.

Explain Classification of Business Processes and mention different levels in business process
management.
(M15 MTP2 - 3M, N15 MTP1 - 4M)
 Business processes are pervasive in any organization and represent all
Business processes
activities that an organization undertakes.
 Business processes are broadly classified into two categories
2 categories  Organizational Business Processes
 Operational‘ Business Processes
 Here, the strategy of the company is specified,
Business strategy Which describes its long term concepts to develop a sustainable
competitive advantage in the market.
 Here, the business strategy is broken down to operational goals.
Goals
 These goals can be organized, and can be divided into a set of sub-goals.
Levels of business process

 These are high-level processes

Organizational  That are typically specified in textual form by their inputs, their outputs,
business processes their expected results and their dependencies on other organizational
Business processes.
 Here, the activities and their relationships are specified, but
implementation aspects of the business process are disregarded.
Operational
 Operational business processes are specified by business process
Business Processes
models. These are the basis for developing implemented business
processes.
 This contain information on the execution of the process activities and
Implemented
the technical and organizational environment in which they will be
business processes
executed.
 Write about Six sigma model.
(PM, N14RTP, N14 MTP2 - 1M, N15 MTP1 - 2M, M16 MTP1 - 1M, M16 - 2M)
Quality  Six sigma employs quality management and statistical analysis of process outputs
management by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) &
And minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes.
Statistical
analysis
 Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organization follows
Six Sigma project  a defined sequence of steps &
 has quantified value targets.
 reduce process cycle time,
 reduce pollution,
Examples  reduce costs,
 increase customer satisfaction, &
 increase profits.
 Customers are identified and their requirements are gathered.
Define  Measurements that are critical to customer satisfaction are identified for
further project improvement.
 Process output measures that are attributes of CTQs are determined and variables
Measure
that affect these output measures are identified.
Life cycle of six sigma (DMAIC )

 Using statistical methods and graphical displays, possible causes of process output
variations are identified.
Analyze
 These possible causes are analyzed statistically to determine root cause of
variation.
 Solution alternatives are generated to fix the root cause.
 The most appropriate solution is identified using solution prioritization matrix and
validated using pilot testing.
Improve
 Cost and benefit analysis is performed to validate the financial benefit of the
solution.
 Implementation plan is drafted and executed.
 Process is standardized and documented.
 Before and after analysis is performed on the new process to validate expected
Control
results, monitoring system is implemented to ensure process is performing as
designed.

Write about Total Quality Management? (or) Write about PDCA cycle?
(M15 - RTP, N14 MTP1-1M, M15 MTP2 - 2M, M16 MTP2 - 2M)
High-quality  It is the organization-wide effort to install and make permanent a climate
products and In which it continuously improves its ability to deliver high-quality products
services and services to customers.
 Total quality management (TQM) is a comprehensive and structured approach
to
Comprehensive and
Organizational management
structured approach
That seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing
refinements in response to continuous feedback
 TQM can be applied to any type of organization;
Including
Apply to any type of  Schools,
org.  Highway maintenance,
 Hotel management, &
 Churches.
 In the planning phase,
Plan  People define the problem to be addressed, collect relevant data, and ascertain
TQM processes are divided into four sequential

the problem's root cause;

In the doing phase,
Do  People develop and implement a solution, and decide upon a measurement to
gauge its effectiveness;
In the checking phase,
(PDCA cycle)

Check
 People confirm the results through before-and-after data comparison;
categories

In the acting phase,

Act  People document their results; inform others about process changes, and make
recommendations for the problem.

Define Business Process Reengineering (BPR)? Explain with suitable example.

(PM, N15RTP, M15 MTP1-2M)
Business process reengineering is defined as
Fundamental
 The fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of processes to achieve dramatic
rethinking and
improvement,
radical redesign
In the terms of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed.
Major  Bpr aims at major transformation of the business processes to achieve dramatic
transformation Improvement.
 It involves changes in organizational structures and in processes within the
business
Change in org. &
Environment
process
 The entire technological, human, and organizational dimensions may be changed
in BPR
 Information Technology plays a major role in BPR
IT plays major
As it provides office automation which allows the business to be conducted in
role
different locations
 It also provides flexibility in manufacturing, permits quicker delivery to
Provides flexibility
customers and supports rapid and paperless transactions.
 Business Process Re-engineering is also known as
Also know as  Business Process Redesign,
 Business Transformation, or Business Process Change Management
 If a bank customer enters into the bank determined to apply for a loan, apply for an ATM card and
Example of BPR application

open a savings account, most probably he must visit three different desks in order to be serviced.
 When BPR is applied to an organization, the customer communicates with only one person, called
"case manager", for all three inquiries.
 Under BPR, while the loan application team processes the loan application, the case manager
"triggers" the account team to open a savings account and the ATM team to supply the customer
with an ATM card.
 The customer leaves the bank having a response for his loan application, a new savings account
and an ATM card, and all these without having to move around the desks for signatures and
documents
 All the customer's requests were satisfied at the same time in parallel motion
  It means to achieve 80% or 90% reduction (in say, delivery time, work in
Dramatic progress or rejection rate) & and not just 5%, 10% reduction
achievement  This is possible only by making major improvements and breakthroughs, and
important key words in BPR

not small incremental changes like in Total Quality Management (TQM).

 Radical redesign means BPR is reinventing and not enhancing or improving.
 In a nutshell,
Radical redesign ―clean slate approach‖ of BPR says that ―Whatever you were doing in the
past is all wrong‖, do not get biased by it or reassemble, the new system is to
be redesigned afresh.
 It means asking the question ―why do you do what you do‖,
Thereby eliminating business processes altogether if it does not add any value
Fundamental
to the customer.
rethinking
 There is no point in simplifying or automating a business process which does
not add any value to the customer.

Discuss the Success factors of BPR?

(N14 MTP2 - 4M)
Organization wide  This requires strong leadership, support and sponsorship from the top
commitment management.
 A BPR team is formed which would be responsible to take the BPR project
BPR team composition
forward and make key decisions and recommendations.
 It is important to identify exactly what current processes need reengineering.
Business needs analysis
 This would help to determine the strategy and goals for BPR
 Adequate investment in it infrastructure in line is of vital importance to
Adequate it successful bpr implementation.
infrastructure  Effective alignment of it infrastructure to bpr strategy would determine the
success of bpr efforts.
Effective change  The success of BPR depends on how effectively management conveys the
management need for change to the people.
Ongoing continuous  BPR is an ongoing process; hence innovation and continuous improvement
improvement are key to the successful implementation of BPR.

Describe the Key factors to consider in implementing BPM? (N14-4M, N15 MTP2-5M)

Factors Key Considerations

 Process understanding,
 improvement, automation,
Goals
 reengineering,
 optimization
 Six Sigma,
Methods to be used  BPM Life Cycle Method,
 TQM, Informal methods
 Consultants,
 Train Employees,
Skills Required  Formal Certification,
 Basic Education,
 Existing Skill sets.
 White-Boards,
 Sticky Notes,
Tools to be used
 Software For Mapping.
 Documenting,

Investments to Make
Sponsorship/Buy-in Needed
 Software for Simulation,
 Comprehensive BPMS.
 Training, Tools, Time
 Executive Level,
 Department Level,
 Process Owner Level,
 Employee Level.

Write about Principles and Practices of BPM?

(or)
What are the key goals of Business Process Management?
Organizational  Business processes are organizational assets that are central to
assets creating value for customers
Value to  By measuring, monitoring, controlling, and analyzing business
customers processes, a company can deliver consistent value to customers
Principles
Continuously  Business processes should be continuously improved
improved
Essential for  Information technology is an essential enabler for BPM
BPM
Process-oriented  Attempt for process-oriented organizational structure
Process owners  Appoint process owners
Senior  Senior management needs to commit and handle BPM
management
Bottom-up  Process improvements should take a bottom-up approach
approach
 Use information technology systems to monitor, control, analyze,
Use IT
and improve processes
Practices
Work  Work collaboratively with business partners
collaboratively
Train the  Continuously train the personnel
personnel
Bonuses and  Align employee bonuses and rewards to business process
rewards performance
Incremental &  Utilize both incremental (e.g., Six Sigma) and more radical (e.g.,
radical BPR) models to process improvement.

Write about BPM Life (BPM - L) Cycle?

(or)
Explain the phases of BPM in detail?
(PM, M15RTP)
To improve  Business process management (BPM) is the methodology used by enterprises to
End-to-end business improve end-to-end business processes in various stages.
processes
Incorporates  It incorporates both
It & human  Human resources &
resource  Information technology infrastructure.
 Business process management-life [BPM – l] cycle establishes a sustainable
Sustainable process
process management capability that empowers organizations to embrace and
management
manage process changes successfully.
 An enterprise resource planning (ERP) application divides bpm into the following phases
  This involves analysis of the
Analysis phase  Current environment and current processes,
 Identification of needs and definition of requirements
 This involves evaluation of potential solutions to meet the
Design phase  Identified needs,
 Business process designing or business process modeling
 This involves
 Project preparation,
 Blue printing,
Implementation phase
 Realization,
 Final preparation,
 Go live and support.
 This involves
Run and monitor
 Business process execution or deployment &
phase
 Business process monitoring
Optimize  Iterate for continuous improvement

What is Value Chain Automation? List out Six business functions of the value chain?
(N14 RTP, N14 MTP2 - 4M, M15 MTP1 - 1M, M16 MTP1 - 3M)
 Value chain refers to separate activities which are necessary to strengthen an
Separate activities organization's strategies and are linked together both inside and outside the
organization.
 It is defined as a chain of activities that a firm operating in a specific industry
It define as
performs in order to deliver a valuable product or service for the market.
Process view of  The idea of the value chain is based on the process view of organizations
organizations
Primary and  Value chain of a manufacturing organization comprises of Primary and
Supportive ac Supportive activities
 The primary ones are inclusive of
 Inbound logistics,
Primary activities  Operations,
includes  Outbound logistics,
 Marketing and sales, &
 Services.
 The supportive activities relate to
Supportive  Procurement,
activities related  Human resource management,
to  Technology development
 Infrastructure
 Six business functions of the value chain are as follows
 Research and development
 Design of products, services, or processes
Six business
 Production
functions
 Marketing and sales
 Distribution
 Customer service
 Value Chain Analysis is a useful tool for working out how we can create the
Value to customer
greatest possible value for our customers
 Explain the Impact of IT on BPM?
(or)
Explain about BPM Systems or suites (BPMS)?
process centric IT  BPM Systems or suites (BPMS) are a new class of software that allows
solutions enterprises to set up process centric IT solutions
Process-centric‟  ‗Process-centric‘ means BPM solutions are able to integrate people, systems
means and data
Organizations that utilize BPM systems to accomplish IT enabled business process change, gain
from the following capabilities
 Closer business involvement in designing IT enabled business
Benefits from using BPM

Closer business
involvement processes,
integrate people  Ability to integrate people and systems that participate in business
and systems processes,
simulate business  Ability to simulate business processes to design the most optimal
processes processes for implementation
monitor, control,  Ability to monitor, control, and improve business processes in real time
and improve
Change in business  Ability to effect change on existing business processes in real time
process without an elaborate process conversion effort.

List out the Benefits of BPM System (or) Benefits of IT on BPM?

(N15RTP)
 Processes such as report creation and distribution or the monitoring of
Automating repetitive or reporting on company‘s Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
business processes Reduces the manual operational costs and helps employees to
concentrate on activities that are important to the success of business.
BPMS works by 'loosely  This enables it to monitor, extract, format and distribute information to
coupling' with a company's systems and people;
existing applications In line with business events or rules.
 BPM focuses on optimization of processes.
Operational saving  The processes that are repetitive are optimized and lead to reduced
expenses which translate to immediate cost savings
Reduction in the  The BPM is ideally suited to help support companies in order to
administration involved in provide solutions for process improvement and compliance/governance
Compliance and ISO certification.
Activities
 In business, for each additional hour it takes to complete a manual
Freeing‐up of employee business process, there is a hard cost associated with employee time as
time well as soft costs associated with losing business or lowered
productivity.
Write short notes on Business Risks of failure of IT.
(Or)
What are the major reasons for failure or BPMS.
(PM, N14 - 4M)
 Inadequate investment in ongoing training for involved personnel;
 Lack of corporate policy protecting the integrity of the data in the BPM
Systems;
 Superficial or deficient executive involvement
 Deficient project management
 Failure to identify future business needs
Reasons for failure of
 Inadequate assessment of the need for change management
BPMS
 Resources not available when desirable
 Software fails to meet business needs
 Breakdown in gap analysis
 Limited options for customization of the BPM software
 System may be over-engineered when compared to the actual requirements
 Technological problems

Explain different Approaches to Mapping Systems?

(or)
What are the techniques for mapping business processes?
(N15 MTP1 - 4M, M15 MTP2 - 5M, M16 - 4M, M16 RTP)
 Accountant do not need to have the ability to program complex systems, but is it
Need to understand
important for them to understand the documentation that describes how
the documentation
processing takes place
 Documentation includes the
Documentation
 Flowcharts,
includes
 Narratives and other written communications that describe the inputs,
 Processing and outputs of an Information System
 Documentation also describes the logical flow of data within a computer system
Logical flow of data
and the procedures that employees must follow to accomplish application tasks.
Depicting how the  Documentation is required to help employees understand how a system
system works works.
 Documentation includes user guides, manuals, and similar operating
Reasons why documentation is important

Training users
instructions that help to train users better.
Designing new  Documentation helps to system designers to develop new systems. Well-
systems written documentation plays key roles in reducing errors.
Controlling system  Good documentation helps system designers to develop modular,
development and reusable code that further avoids writing duplicate programs.
maintenance costs
 Standardized tools such as
Standardizing  E-R Diagrams,
communications with  System Flowcharts, &
others  DFDS
Are useful to communicate with one another about systems.
Auditing Information  Documentation helps auditors determine the strengths and weaknesses of
Systems a system‘s controls.
Documenting business  Documentation helps managers better understand how their businesses
processes controls are involved or missing, and how to improve them.
  Some of the popular pictorial representation or techniques which may be
adopted for mapping business processes used are.
Popular pictorial  Entity Relationship Diagrams
representation or  Data Flow Diagrams
techniques  Flowcharts
 Decision Tables
 Decision Trees

Explain about Entity Relationship Diagrams?

(N15 - 2M, N15RTP)
 An entity-relationship (er) diagram is a data modeling technique that
Data modeling  Creates a graphical representation of the entities, &
technique  The relationships between entities,
within an information system.
 An entity may be a ‗physical object‘ such as
 A house or car ,
„Physical object
 An ‗event‘ such as a house sale or a car service, or
 A ‗concept‘ such as a customer transaction or order.
Rectangle  The entity is represented by a rectangle and labeled with a singular noun.
representation
Diamonds  Diamonds are normally used to represent relationships
 A relationship is an association that exists between two entities.
Association
 For example, Instructor teaches Class or Student attends Class.
Representation of  The relationships on an ER Diagram are represented by lines drawn between
relationship the entities involved in the association.
 Ovals are used to represent attributes.
Ovals & attributes
 An attribute is a data element that describes an entity.
Er diagram for car insurance company

Explain different types of relationships in Entity Relationship model?

(PM, M15RTP, N14 MTP1- 4M, M16 RTP, M16 MTP2 - 4M)
 Relationship: It is defined as an association between two or more entities
 As in a single parent record to a single child record.
 Ex: Each class must be in-charge of by one teacher.
One-to-One relationship
(1:1)
  As in a single parent record to two or more child records
 For example, A student may borrow some books from the
One-to-Many relationships library.
(1:N)

(RTP-N15)

 As in two or more parent records to a single child record

 For example, when three administrators in a small town share
one minister
Many-to-One relationships
(M:1)

 As in two or more parent records to two or more child records

 For example, when two or more students are enrolled in two or
more courses.
Many-to-Many relationships (M:N)

Explain advantages and limitations of E-R Diagrams?

 Simple and easily understandable
It is represented in business users‘ language and it can be understood by non-
Advantages
technical specialist
 It helps in Physical Database creation
(M16- 2M)
 Can be generalized and specialized based on needs
 Gives a higher level description of the system
 Physical design derived from E-R Model may have some amount of
Limitations ambiguities or inconsistency
 Sometime diagrams may lead to misinterpretations.

Write about Data Flow Diagrams and Describe the components of DFD?
(M15 RTP, N15 MTP2-2M, M16 RTP, M16- 4M)
Graphical  Data flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical representation of the flow of data
representation through an information system
 It shows the technical or business processes with the help of
Technical or business  The external data stored,
processes  The data flowing from a process to another, &
 Produce results.
 These are partitioned into levels that represent
Partitioned into levels  Increasing information flow &
 Functional detail.
 It provides a mechanism for functional modeling as well as information flow
Mechanism
modeling.
  A logical DFD focuses on the business and how the
Logical data business operates.
flow  It describes the business events that take place and the
Diagram data required and produced by each event.
Two types of DFDS
 The logical model reflects the business.
Physical data  A physical dfd shows how the system will be
flow implemented.
Diagram  The physical model depicts the system.
 An entity is the source or destination of data
 The source in a DFD represents these entities that are outside the context of
Entity
the system.
 Entities either provide
(N14 MTP1 -
 Data to the system (referred to as a source) or
1M, M16 MTP2 -
 Receive data from it (referred to as a sink).
1M)
 Entities are often represented as rectangles
 Entities are also referred to as agents, terminators, or source/sink.
 The process is the manipulation or work that
 Transforms data,
 Performing computations,
 Making decisions (logic flow), or
 Directing data flows based on business rules.
Process
 In other words, a process receives input and generates some output.
 Processes can be drawn as circles or a segmented rectangle on a DFD, &
Major components of DFD

Includes a
 Process name &
 Process number
 A data store is where a process stores data between processes for later
retrieval by that same process or another one.
Data store
Files and tables are considered data stores
 Data stores are usually drawn as a rectangle with the right hand side missing
(N14 RTP)
and labeled by the name of the data storage area it represents, though different
notations do exist.
 Data flow is the movement of data between
 The entity,
Data flow
 The process &
 The data store
(N14 RTP, N15
 Data flow represents the interface between the components of the DFD.
MTP2-2M)
 Data flow is represented by an arrow, where the arrow is annotated with the
data name.

Symbols used in
DFD
 What are the advantages and limitations of Data flow diagrams?
(M15RTP)
 It aids in describing the boundaries of the system
 It is beneficial for communicating existing system knowledge to the users.
 Easy to recognize
Advantages  Provide a detailed representation of system components
 It is used as the part of system documentation file.
 Easier to understand by technical and nontechnical audiences
 It supports the logic behind the data flow within the system.
 It make the programmers little confusing concerning the system.
 Takes long time to create, so the analyst may not receive support from management
Limitations
to complete it.
 Physical considerations are left out.

Define the term Flowchart. What are the types of Flowcharts?

(M15RTP)
Diagram with  A Flowchart is a diagram prepared by the programmer of the sequence of steps
sequence of steps involved in solving a problem.
 It is an essential tool for programming and it illustrates the strategy and thread of
Essential tool
logic followed in the program.
Avoid fuzzy  A flowchart helps the programmer avoid fuzzy thinking and accidental omissions
thinking of intermediate steps
 Flowcharts are used in
 Analyzing,
Where it is used  Designing,
 Documenting or
 Managing process or program in various fields
5. Flow Lines
1. Start/End

2. Input / Output

6. Decision Box
FLOWCHART
SYMBOLS
3. Process

7. Print

4. Connectors

8. Display
  This flowchart traces the physical flow of documents through an
Document organization
Flowchart  I.e. The flow of documents from the departments, groups, or individuals
who first created them to their final destinations.
Types of flow charts

 This typically depicts the electronic flow of data and processing steps in an
Information System.
System  Where
Flowchart  While Document Flowcharts focus on tangible documents,
 System flowchart concentrates on the computerized data flows of
Information systems.
 It is most detailed and is concerned with the logical/arithmetic operations on
Program
data within the CPU and the flow of data betwee the CPU on the one hand
Flowchart
and the input/output peripherals on the other.

Explain the advantages and limitations of Flowcharting.

(PM, N15RTP)
Quicker grasp of  The relationship between various elements of the application, lengthy
relationships descriptions was depicted diagrammatically.
 Acts as blue print, problems may be identified and new approaches may
Effective analysis
be suggested.
Communication  Aid in communicating the facts of a business problem

Benefits

Serve as a good documentation which aid greatly in future program

Documentation
conversions.
 Act as a guide during the system analysis and be checked to ensure that
Efficient coding
no steps are omitted while coding.
Orderly check out  They help in detecting, locating and removing mistakes.
of problem
Efficient program  They help the programmer to concentrate attention on that part of the
maintenance information flow which is to be modified.
Complex logic  Becomes complex and clumsy where the problem logic is complex
Modification  If modifications are required, it may require complete re-drawing
 Reproduction is often a problem because the symbols used in flowcharts
Limitations

Reproduction
cannot be typed.
Link between  Sometimes it becomes difficult to establish the linkage between various
conditions and conditions and the actions.
actions
No  One single problem can be solved in multiple ways. Hence no
standardization standardization

Explain about Decision Trees?

(N14 MTP2 - 1M, M16 MTP1 - 1M)
 It is also known as inference or logical tree is a collection of
Inference or logical tree  A basis (condition) &
 A conclusion (action).
 It is a decision support tool that uses a tree-like model of decisions and their
possible consequences, including chance event outcomes, resource costs,
Decision support tool
and
Utility .
Display an algorithm  It is a one way to display an algorithm.
  In its tree-like representation,
Tree-like
The premises and conclusions are shown as nodes, and the branches of the
representation
tree connect the premises and the conclusions.
Used in operations  Decision trees are commonly used in operations research, to help identify a
research strategy most likely to reach a goal.
 Decision trees are measured to be one of the most accepted approaches for
Accepted approaches
representing classifier.
Simple & powerful  Decision trees are a simple, but powerful form of multiple variable analyses
 Researchers from a variety of disciplines such as statistics, machine
Variety of disciplines
learning, pattern identification and data mining

Diagram

Explain the advantages and limitations of Decision trees.

(PM)
Advantages  Simple to understand and interpret
 Possible scenarios can be added.
(M15 MTP1 - 3M)  Worst, best and expected values can be determined for different scenarios.
 For data including categorical variables with different number of levels,
information gain in decision trees are biased in favor of those attributes with
Limitations more levels.
 Calculations can get very complex particularly if many values are uncertain
and/or if many outcomes are linked.

Explain about Decision Tables?

(N14 - RTP, M15 - RTP, M15 MTP1 - 1M)
Tabular  It is a tabular representation of program logic.
representation
All conditions &  Displays all conditions and the appropriate actions to be taken for set of
possible actions conditions.
 In other words, it defines the
How it can define  Possible contingencies that may be considered within the program &
 The appropriate course of action for each contingency.
 It is divided into four parts:

Four parts
Condition stub Condition entries
Action stub Action entries
Condition stub  Lists the comparisons or conditions
 Lists in its various columns the possible permutations of answer to the questions
Condition entries
in the conditions stub.
Action stub  Lists the actions to be taken along the various program branches
 Lists in its columns corresponding to the condition entries the actions contingent
Action entries
upon the set of answers to questions of that column.
 Explain the advantages and limitations of Decision tables?
( PM Exercise )
Easy to Draw  Decision Tables are easy to draw and modify as compared to flowcharts.
Compact  The documentation in the form of decision tables is compact since one
Documentation decision table may replace few pages of a flowchart
 It is easier to follow a particular path in one column of a decision table than it
Simplicity
Is to go through several pages of the flowcharts
Advantages

Direct  The decision tables can be directly coded into a program

Codification
 A decision table shows various alternatives and their respective outcomes side
Better Analysis
by side for better analysis of the problem.
 The complex problems would require complex decision tables which can be
Modularity
easily broken down to micro-decision tables.
 No knowledge of computer language or CPU working is necessary for
Non-technical
drawing decision tables
Not be familiar  All programmers may not be familiar with Decision Tables

Limitations

Not so better as Flowcharts can better represent a simple logic of the system rather than a
flowcharts decision table.
Do not express  The decision tables do not express the total sequence of the events needed to
the total solve the problem
sequence

Flowchart Vs. Data Flow Diagram?

(PM, N14 - 2M)

 Flow chart presents steps to complete a
process
 Flow charts do not have any input from
or output to an external source.
 The timing and sequence of the process is
aptly shown by a flow chart.
 Flow chart shows how to make a system
function.
 Flow chart is used in designing a process
 Types of Flow charts - System, Data,
Document and Program.
 DFD presents the flow of data
 DFD describes the path of data from an external
source to internal source or vice versa.
 Whether processing of data is taking place in a
particular order or several processes are taking
place simultaneously is described by a DFD.
 DFD define the functionality of a system.
 DFD are used to describe the path of data that will
complete that process
 Types of DFD–physical data flow and logical
dataflow.