General

It was a good question paper to judge the concepts of candidates. All questions were clear in their context, specification and requirements. Candidates attempted almost all questions but their performance was not up to the mark.

Question-wise comments are as follows:

Q.1

The question essentially required examinees to describe various stages of System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process, which is one of the most important concepts in system development. However, many students confused one stage of SDLC with the other, and could not explain the distinct stages, which include feasibility study, systems investigation, systems analysis, systems design, systems implementation, review and maintenance.

Q.2

The second question was about differences between file server model and peer to peer model, with a view to highlight advantages of file server model. It was the most poorly attempted question of the paper. Most of the students either described differences between the two models or only advantages of file server model. Very few could describe both in accordance with the requirement of the question. Students should know that differences and advantages of file server model include system continuity in case of a client failure, system/data security, user privilege management, availability of audit trail and ease in data back-up management.

Q.3

The third question was about advantages and drawbacks of using off-the-shelf software packages and was generally well-attempted. The advantages of such packages include high quality, continuous updation by developers, bug-free software, better documentation, ready availability, proven track record and availability of after sales service. The drawbacks of such packages include inability to meet unique user requirements, cost increases with the increase in number of users, absence of source code, lack of competitive advantage and greater vulnerability  against hacking attempts.

Q.4

The fourth question was about the software development technique of prototyping and its benefits for users and developers as well as its disadvantages. Most of the students found it difficult to describe the prototyping technique along with an example. Similarly some confusion was observed in identifying its advantages. These advantages include ability of users to view ‘mock-up’ version of program prior to committing substantial resources,   cost-effectiveness and efficient use of programmer’s time etc. Disadvantages of prototyping include lack of portability, lack of imaginative users and production of shoddy programs due to relaxed environment.

Q.5

The examinees were required to explain the merits of DBMS and key differences between a DBMS and a spreadsheet in terms of data security and integrity. Mostly, the question was poorly attempted. Many students described spreadsheet as better than DBMS in terms of data security and integrity, which reflects their lack of knowledge. In fact  DBMS is better than spreadsheets in terms of data security and integrity due to better access controls, availability of audit trail and data input validation tools.

Q.6

The question about components of world wide web (WWW) was poorly attempted by majority of candidates. The components of WWW include web client which means a computer using web browser, common language which is HTML, common communication protocol which is TCP/IP and web server.

Q.7

The question about benefits of high level languages was reasonably well attempted as most of the candidates correctly stated benefits of high level languages which include improvement in programmer’s productivity, program’s portability, quick testing and error correction, and ease of understanding of applications.

While replying to part (b) of this questions, some candidates mentioned general application software programs like Excel and Access as high level languages which is incorrect.  COBOL, PL/I, BASIC, FORTRAN and PASCAL are some of the commonly used high level languages.

Q.8

This question was about various tools used in system designing and documentation. It was relatively well attempted. Most candidates correctly described the various features of dataflow diagrams, decision tables and decision trees. Similarly, benefits of using flow charts were also well-described by the candidates. These benefits include ease of understanding, aid to problem definition and program writing, simplification of program logic and use as program specification for reference purposes etc.

Q.9

The question about disaster recovery planning was relatively easy, however it was poorly attempted by most of the students. Most of them accurately defined the term ‘disaster’, however, the three broad categories of activities that are addressed by Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) were not specified correctly by most of the students. The broad categories include planning for activities in advance of disaster, planning for management of event as it unfolds and planning for the restoration of normal performance after the event.

In part (c) of the question many students listed contents of a DRP instead of mentioning the general rules as required in the question.

Q.10

The question about the risks and controls was also very poorly attempted. Most of the students could not explain the key characteristics which should be considered while assessing the appropriateness of a control. These characteristics include cost/benefit, risk/appropriateness, automation, flexibility, timing and measurement. Further, risks to be addressed while moving to a real time and distributed environment include availability of system, users’ access, data integrity and audit trails.

Q.11

The first part of the question pertaining to calculation of various parameters and their formulae in MS Excel was well attempted. Most of the students accurately calculated the required values. However, many candidates could not correctly specify the various formulas needed to arrive at these values.