Chapter 6

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6-17 Stevenson Apparel is a manufacturer of fashion apparel that has just opened its first large retail store for selling in-season clothes at regular prices. The company's competitive strategy depends on a comprehensive point-of-sale (POS) system supporting online, up-to-the-minute sales totals, day-to-day tracking of stock information, and quick checkout of customer purchases. Because cashiers were already familiar with electronic cash registers, management decided that only minimal training was required. Cashiers enter four-digit stock tracking numbers (STNs) into one of the POS terminals that retrieves price and description data, compute the tax and total amount due, accept the type of payment, and controls the cash drawer. A unique STN identifies each of the 9,500 pieces of merchandise. The central micro-computer server maintains stock information.

In the first month of operation, new cashiers were awkward using the new system. They eventually became proficient users but were frustrated with the slow printing of sales tickets and the unpredictable action of their cash drawers. Each checkout stand has a telephone that cashiers use to call for approval of credit-card transactions. Customers became impatient when credit approvals delayed the checkout process or when the microcomputer was down, thus stopping all sales, including cash sales. Identify four problems with the system and describe how you would remedy each of them.

6-18 Jay Beck works for the AAZ Consulting Firm. His friend, Hank Henley, is the general manager and majority stockholder of the Pacific World- winds, a professional football team. Hank asked Jay to design an online, real-time computer system for "the efficient operation of the football franchise." Jay was quite confused because he could not think of any possible uses for an online, real-time system within the operational activities of a football team (or any other type of athletic team). Assume that you are also employed at the AAZ Consulting Firm. Provide several suggestions to Jay concerning specific areas of athletic teams' (football teams, base-ball teams, etc.) information systems where an online, real-time system might be useful for managerial decision-making.

6-19 GuessRight Consultants is a New Zealand business that helps clients with financial planning, especially preparing wills, creating trusts, and allocating funds among competing investment categories. It's not an unusual business, but the company has not been able to find the billing software it needs. Accordingly, the company has hired Superior Software Solutions, your company, to help it develop a custom system. The owner, David Cutler, is thoughtful and visionary, but not particularly well-versed in systems development methodology. To help him imagine what a new billing system might look like, you believe that a prototype might help. Develop a set of presentation slides that address the following items:

a. Explain the purpose(s) of prototyping, and why it is useful.

b. Explain why a prototype might never become a real system.

c. Identify the different advantages and disadvantages of prototyping from the perspectives of (1) end-users, (2) managers, and (3) system, developers.