An IS auditor is reviewing a project that is using an agile software development approach. Which of the following should the IS auditor expect to find?
A. Use of a capability maturity model (CMM)
B. Regular monitoring of task-level progress against schedule
C. Extensive use of software development tools to maximize team productivity
D. Postiteration reviews that identify lessons learned for future use in the project
the answer is D.
A. The capability maturity model (CMM) places heavy emphasis on predefined formal processes and formal project management and software development deliverables, while agile software development projects, by contrast, rely on refinement of process as dictated by the particular needs of the project and team dynamics.
B. Task-level tracking is not used because daily meetings identify challenges and impediments to the project.
C. Agile projects make use of suitable development tools; however, tools are not seen as the primary means of achieving productivity. Team harmony, effective communications and collective ability to solve challenges are of greater importance.
D. A key tenet of the agile approach to software project management is ongoing team learning to refine project management and software development processes as the project progresses. One of the best ways to achieve this is that the team considers and documents what worked well and what could have worked better at the end of each iteration and identifies improvements to be implemented in subsequent iterations. Additionally, less importance is placed on formal paper-based deliverables, with the preference being effective informal communication within the team and with key outside contributors. Agile projects produce releasable software in short iterations, typically ranging from four to eight weeks. This, in itself, instills considerable performance discipline within the team. This, combined with short daily meetings to agree on what the team is doing and the identification of any impediments, renders task-level tracking against a schedule redundant.
Question #: 424 CISA Job Practice Task Statement: 3.5
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Which of the following controls would BEST detect intrusion? A. User ids and user privileges are granted through authorized procedures. B. Automatic logoff is used when a workstation is inactive for a particular period of time. C. Automatic logoff of the system after a specified number of unsuccessful attempts. D. Unsuccessful logon attempts are monitored by the security administrator.
Which of the following would be MOST appropriate to ensure the confidentiality of transactions initiated via the Internet? A. Digital signature B. Data encryption standard (DES) C. Virtual private network (VPN) D. Public key encryption
Using test data as part of a comprehensive test of program controls in a continuous online manner is called a/an: A. test data/deck. B. base case system evaluation. C. integrated test facility (ITF). D. parallel simulation.
Which of the following would be included in an IS strategic plan? A. Specifications for planned hardware purchases B. Analysis of future business objectives C. Target dates for development projects D. Annual budgetary targets for the IS department
In the course of performing a risk analysis, an IS auditor has identified threats and potential impacts. Next, an IS auditor should: A. identify and assess the risk assessment process used by management. B. identify information assets and the underlying systems. C. disclose the threats and impacts to management. D. identify and evaluate the existing controls.
Which of the following group/individuals should assume overall direction and responsibility for costs and timetables of system development projects? A. User management B. Project steering committee C. Senior management D. Systems development management
When reviewing a system development project at the project initiation stage, an IS auditor finds that the project team is following the organization's quality manual. To meet critical deadlines the project team proposes to fast track the validation and verification processes, commencing some elements before the previous deliverable is signed off. Under these circumstances, the IS auditor would MOST likely: A. report this as a critical finding to senior management. B. accept that different quality processes can be adopted for each project. C. report to IS management the team's failure to follow quality procedures. D. report the risks associated with fast tracking to the project steering committee.
In a public key infrastructure (PKI), the authority responsible for the identification and authentication of an applicant for a digital certificate (i.e., certificate subjects) is the: A. registration authority (RA). B. issuing certification authority (CA). C. subject CA. D. policy management authority.
A validation which ensures that input data are matched to predetermined reasonable limits or occurrence rates, is known as: A. Reasonableness check. B. Validity check. C. Existence check. D. Limit check.
Corrective action has been taken by an auditee immediately after the identification of a reportable finding. The auditor should: A. include the finding in the final report because the IS auditor is responsible for an accurate report of all findings. B. not include the finding in the final report because the audit report should include only unresolved findings. C. not include the finding in the final report because corrective action can be verified by the IS auditor during the audit. D. include the finding in the closing meeting for discussion purposes only.
Sales orders are automatically numbered sequentially at each of a retailer's multiple outlets. Small orders are processed directly at the outlets, with large orders sent to a central production facility. The MOST appropriate control to ensure that all orders transmitted to production are received and processed would be to: A. send and reconcile transaction counts and totals. B. have data transmitted back to the local site for comparison. C. compare data communications protocols with parity checking. D. track and account for the numerical sequence of sales orders at the production facility.
A tax calculation program maintains several hundred tax rates. The BEST control to ensure that tax rates entered into the program are accurate is: A. an independent review of the transaction listing. B. a programmed edit check to prevent entry of invalid data. C. programmed reasonableness checks with 20 percent data entry range. D. a visual verification of data entered by the processing department.