Test #1 Review Sheet
The first exam will cover the following material:
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The IDEA framework
Chapter 1: Business Driven Technology
Strategic Initiatives for Implementing Competitive Advantages: pages 14-16 &
49-55.
Cloud Computing pages 119-123.
Spreadsheets and Microsoft Excel
Business Intelligence: pages 140-147
Decision Making Systems (Decision Support Systems)
 Pages 27-40
 Pages 1-2 regarding DSS from AOL reading material (more
important than pages 27-40).
Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems
If you would like to see an example of the types of questions that I ask, and my “style of
questions”, then please click on this link right here. Please be aware that these are
items that you will NEVER see on any of your exams so don’t waste any time trying to
memorize the answers to these questions. Use them to get a better idea about the style of
questions that I might ask.
There will be multiple choice and True/False questions. The questions will cover the
following topics:
IDEA Framework: Please review the class syllabus and the FAQ page regarding the IDEA
framework that is being used in this course. Due to its importance, I have placed one or more questions on
the exam related to the IDEA framework and how students should be using it to focus their study efforts.
Chapter 1: Business Driven Technology
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Identify
 Make sure that you review which business function areas (chapter 1 slide) would benefit
most from using information technology.
 Please review the contents of the slide “Information Technology enables business
success)
Describe
 Be able to distinguish between data, information and business intelligence. Know
examples of each.
 What are the 3 most important resources in any organization and what is the relationship
between each of those items? Which is the most valuable and why?
 Know which IT skills are most commonly used in each of the business professions (don’t
just know your area, but know all areas)? Which ones appear to be common to all
business areas? Expect to see several questions related to this topic. In the lecture notes,
you will also see several more detailed slides (that I did not directly mention in class) that
cover this topic. Please make sure you review those detailed slides, as well.
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Describe Business Intelligence and what is included in business intelligence? How is it
used in making strategic business decisions?
 Make sure that you review the information technology goals that an organization might
have (see class notes). Know the rank order of those goals.
 What is business analytics?
 Be able to explain the two major focuses of the class this semester
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Be able to describe the relationship between business (business needs) and technology.
Which should drive which and why?
Evaluate
 What is the difference between data and information and how can one be distinguished
from the other?
Strategic Initiatives for Implementing Competitive Advantages
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Identify
 What is a competitive advantage?
 What is the concept of Business Process Improvement?
Describe
 Describe how a business might use information technology to gain a competitive
advantage? What specific things might a business decide to do?
 What is automation and how is it an example of a operational business process change?
 What is streamlining and how is it an example of a managerial business process change?
 What is business process reengineering and how is it an example of a strategic business
process change?
Cloud Computing
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Identify
 What is cloud computing?
Describe
 What is the platform for cloud computing? Where is data stored in cloud computing?
Where do applications run from?
 Explain the software as a service model.
 Explain the benefits of the software as a service model?
 Who is the recognized leader in cloud computing?
Spreadsheets and Microsoft Excel. Although you won’t have to create anything in
Excel, being able to apply the Excel skills that you learned will be crucial for success on
the exam.
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Describe
 What is the difference between absolute, mixed and relative cell references? How do you
create each type of reference?
Apply
 Be able to apply and use the rules that Excel follows to evaluate formulas.
 Be able to create an absolute and mixed cell reference.
 Know how to create interactive cell references that refer to other locations.
 I would also go back and review what you were required to do in your Excel activities lab
activities since questions will be asked about some of the activities that you did on lab
while working on the Excel assignments.
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In the PMT function, why did you divide something by 12? Why did you multiply
something by 12? Why did you enter the loan amount into the 3 rd function argument box
as a negative number?
In the IF function, what are the three required arguments? What is the purpose of the IF
function and what does it allow you to do?
What are the three required arguments found in the VLOOKUP function? What is the
purpose of the VLOOKUP function and what does it allow you to do?
When creating a table that will be used in a VLOOKUP function, what is the rule that
must be followed when arranging items in the first column of the lookup table (how must
words be arranged and how must numbers be arranged in that first column?)
Make sure that you know the Excel formatting rules that were seen in class.
Make sure that you know and understand the following functions and/or features:
COUNT, MAX, MIN, AVERAGE, TODAY.
How do you create a formula that goes between one sheet and another, or between one
file and another?
Make sure that you UNDERSTAND HOW YOU USED each of the Excel functions in
your assignments and why you used that one, and not a different one.
In the PMT function, know what each argument represents.
PMT function, how do you set it up when doing the monthly PMT?
Business Intelligence
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Identify
 What is business intelligence?
 What is the center of any business intelligence effort?
Describe
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What does Sun Tzu say in The Art of War and how does that apply to the concept of
business intelligence?
 Know examples of different forms of business intelligence.
 What role does data mining play in business intelligence?
 There are four goals of data mining. What are those four goals and how is one different
from another?
 What is the business intelligence tool used by most organizations (software program and
specific functionality within that program)
 How is classification different from clustering and how do both of them fit under the
category of cluster analysis?
 What is market basket analysis?
 NEW: What is are each of the following different from each other: Estimation, Market
Basket Analysis, Cross-selling, Association Detection, Clustering and Classification
 Pivot tables help you see what?
Evaluate
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How does business intelligence compare to data and information?
 Compare and contrast the most common forms of data mining. Know what each one is
and applied examples of each.
You will need to know the systems listed below in quite a bit of depth. You should be
able to compare/contrast the systems, knowing the characteristics of each system
and how it is typically used. On the exam, you will see LOTS of situational
questions, where I will describe something that is happening, and then you will need
to select the system from the 5 choices on the exam that will BEST meet the needs of
that situation. KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE EXAMPLES GIVEN FOR
EACH ONE.
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Decision Support Systems
Geospatial Information System
Transaction Processing System
Artificial Intelligence (general information)
You must THOROUGHLY UNDERSTAND the systems listed above. A significant
number of exam questions will cover the systems listed above.
While it is ok to read pages 27-40 in the text, it is ESSENTIAL that you read and
review the pdf file that forms that basis of the classroom presentations for Decision
Making Systems and Artificial Intelligence. You can access the pdf file by clicking
on this highlighted link.
Decision Making Systems
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Describe
 What types of problems can best be solved with a decision making system (also known as
a decision support system)?
 What is the basic difference between programmed/structured decisions and
nonprogrammed/unstructured decisions? Know examples of each type of
decision/situation.
 What are the characteristics of a geospatial information system? Know several examples
of how it is used, or how it can be used. Please review the Geospatial Information
Systems (Geographical Information Systems) pages in your text and in the pdf file.
 Command Post of the Future (CPOF) is an example of what?
 What is the basic purpose of an executive information system and what are its
features/characteristics? What is a digital dashboard?
 What is the purpose and role of a transaction processing system? What are its
characteristics and what type of data or information does it interact with?
 What is the difference between optimization and satisficing?
 What is the basic difference between a decision making system (DSS) and artificial
intelligence systems?
 What is the difference between something that is subjective vs objective?
 What is the difference between something that is qualitative vs quantitative?
 NEW: What is the Excel Solver? What does it do? What are constraints and what are
the role of constraints? When using the Solver, are you using a satisficing technique or
an optimization technique?
Evaluate
 What is the difference between what-if analysis, goal seek, sensitivity analysis,
optimization, and satisficing? When would you use each method?
 What is the difference between analytical information and transactional information?
What are the characteristics of each? As you move through the organizational pyramid,
how to information needs and types of information change?
 Know the difference between the following systems: TPS, DSS, Executive Support
Systems, Geospatial Information Systems
 You will see scenario questions where I will ask that you indicate which system would
BEST solve the problem. Expect 4-5 of these types of questions for each system
mentioned above.
Artificial Intelligence
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Describe
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What is the basic difference between a decision support system and artificial intelligence
systems?
Evaluate
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Know the difference between a DSS vs vs robotics vs the broad category of artificial
intelligence. Know the characteristics of each and applications of where each could be
used.
Know the difference between the following systems: TPS, DSS, Executive Support
Systems, Geospatial Information Systems, artificial intelligence, robotics and expert
systems.
You will see scenario questions where I will ask that you indicate which system would
BEST solve the problem. Expect 4-5 of these types of questions for each system
mentioned above.
Make sure that you review the PowerPoint presentations. You may also see
exam questions that cover material covered in class that may not be in
your actual texts. At the same time, please make sure that you have read
the material in the text for the topics that will appear on the exam.