Critical Thinking Exercise Embedded System for Smart Oven

You are designing an app and a state-of-the-art "smart" oven that can be controlled remotely via smartphone. The app allows the user to select cooking time, temperature, start, stop, set time of day, and cancel. The oven has a display to show the cooking time left, temperature, and time of day. In addition, the oven has a heating element for cooking the food, a door sensor to sense when the door is open, and a weight sensor to detect if there is an item in the oven. A beeper sounds when the cooking time is expired. It is possible to cook at item for a period of time at one temperature, stop, and then reset the temperature and cook for a while at another temperature. Cooking is only permitted when the door is closed and when there is something in the oven. Cooking can be interrupted at any time by opening the oven door or entering the stop command to the app. Cooking is terminated when the timer elapses. When the door is open a lamp inside the oven is switched on; when the door is closed the lamp is off.

Review Questions

What operating systems could be employed in the smartphone?

What operating systems could be employed in the embedded system to control the oven? Must this be a real-time operating system? Why or why not?

Critical Thinking Questions

What safety features should be designed into the software? Should these features be programmed into the smartphone app or the software that operates the stove or both?

What are some creative additional features that might be designed into the oven?

Critical Thinking Exercise Business Liaison Role

You have been employed as a systems analyst in the information systems organization of a medium-sized consumer goods manufacturer for three years. You are quite surprised when your manager offers you a one-year special assignment as a warehouse manager supervising workers and operations in the large distribution center used to store your company's finished products and prepare them for shipment to retail stores around the country. Your manager explains that the company wishes to groom you to become the business liaison with the supply chain organization and wants you to become familiar with the entire order-fulfillment process. Based on its recent growth, the company is planning to open at least two new distribution centers in different regions of the country over the next two to three years. Management has chosen you to be a key player in developing a strategic plan that is consistent with corporate strategies and meets the needs of the supply chain organization.

Review Questions

What organizational benefits can be gained from the creation of this role and improved strategic planning?

What key drivers should govern the IS strategic plan?

Critical Thinking Questions

How would you like the IS organization to be perceived by the rest of the company? Why?

For you, personally, what are the pros and cons of accepting this position? Would you take this assignment? Why or why not?