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Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination (FE) | Subject A Applied Systems Strategy, Procurement, and Business Strategy Problems 01

1 / 100.0s

Problem 1

Sales, maintenance, and billing systems use different customer-code schemes and address formats for the same customers. As part of an enterprise architecture initiative, the company wants to standardize the system of record, shared attributes, code schemes, and exchanged data definitions.

Which EA domain is primarily responsible for organizing this issue?

View explanation

Data architecture is the primary domain for organizing the structure and meaning of information, systems of record, code schemes, and exchange definitions. Application architecture mainly covers the placement and interaction of system functions, while technology architecture covers the underlying technical platforms. The domains interact in practice, but the central issue here is inconsistent data definitions.

Problem 2

A company is planning an enterprise-wide transformation of order processing. Instead of selecting a product first, it wants to understand current rework and duplicate data, define future operations aligned with business goals, and then decide phased transition initiatives.

Which sequence is most appropriate when using As-is and To-be models?

View explanation

First, the current operations and systems are captured as the As-is state. A To-be state aligned with business goals is then defined. The differences reveal required initiatives, which can be prioritized according to dependencies and benefits. A gap cannot be established before the target state exists, and product-first selection risks fitting the transformation to a product rather than to the business purpose.

Problem 3

An application process performs a two-hour format check, a three-hour credit check, and one hour of manual result entry sequentially, with no waiting time. After BPR, the two checks start at the same time, and their results are automatically combined in 0.5 hours after both finish.

Which combination gives the new lead time per application and the reduction from before BPR?

View explanation

Before redesign, the lead time is 2 + 3 + 1 = 6 hours. The parallel section after redesign completes when the slower three-hour check finishes, and the 0.5-hour automated merge makes the total 3.5 hours. The reduction is 6 - 3.5 = 2.5 hours. Parallel task durations are governed by the maximum duration, not their sum.

Problem 4

A subscription business sets a strategic goal of reducing annual customer churn from 12% to no more than 8% by year-end. Analysis indicates that resolving inquiries at the first point of contact is critical to customer retention.

Which mapping of KGI, CSF, and KPI is most appropriate?

View explanation

Churn of 8% or less is the ultimate strategic result and therefore the KGI. The capability to resolve issues at first contact is the critical success factor, and first-contact resolution rate measures its execution as a KPI. Inquiry volume indicates workload but does not directly measure achievement of first-contact resolution under the stated conditions.

Problem 5

Early in a warehouse-system replacement, the buyer wants broad information about available technologies, standard delivery models, approximate costs, and suppliers' experience. It will then refine requirements and procurement conditions before requesting proposals covering architecture and execution methods.

In which order should documents be issued to candidate suppliers?

View explanation

An RFI requests information about the market, technologies, and potential suppliers before requirements are fully refined. An RFP then states the procurement target, requested proposal items, and conditions to solicit concrete solutions. An RFQ primarily requests prices and is not a substitute for broad market research or a proposal that includes execution methods.

Problem 6

Two proposals are evaluated with weights of 50% for technology, 30% for cost, and 20% for delivery. Each score is out of 100, and both suppliers satisfy all mandatory requirements. Supplier A: technology 80, cost 90, delivery 70 Supplier B: technology 90, cost 70, delivery 80

Which combination correctly gives the weighted totals and selection?

View explanation

A scores 80 × 0.5 + 90 × 0.3 + 70 × 0.2 = 81. B scores 90 × 0.5 + 70 × 0.3 + 80 × 0.2 = 82. B is therefore selected under the predefined criteria. A simple unweighted sum produces a tie but fails to reflect the decision to give technology a 50% weight.

Problem 7

A SWOT analysis of an industrial-sensor company identifies a proprietary, more accurate analytics technology as an internal strength and a small sales footprint as a weakness. An energy-efficiency subsidy is expanding demand, while low-price foreign entrants are a threat.

Which action is the most appropriate SO strategy combining the strength and opportunity?

View explanation

An SO strategy uses an internal strength to capture an external opportunity. Applying the proprietary high-accuracy analytics to a service for a growing energy-efficiency market does exactly that. Expanding sales offices addresses a weakness, while responding to low-price entrants addresses a threat; neither combines the stated strength and opportunity.

Problem 8

In a PPM analysis, business B has low market growth and high relative market share. Business C has high market growth but low relative market share and needs additional investment to expand its share. Assume other investment conditions are equal.

Which description of PPM classification and funding is appropriate?

View explanation

Low-growth, high-share B is a cash cow, while high-growth, low-share C is a question mark. PPM can direct cash generated by a cash cow toward selected question marks whose share may be developed. High market growth alone does not make C a star; a star also has high relative market share.

Problem 9

A maintenance-service business is creating a BSC strategy map. Its hypothesis is that better diagnostic skills reduce repeat repairs, which improves customer satisfaction and increases profit through contract renewals. It wants to order metrics from leading drivers to resulting outcomes.

Which sequence correctly maps metrics to the four BSC perspectives?

View explanation

Diagnostic-training completion belongs to learning and growth, repeat-repair rate to internal processes, customer satisfaction to the customer perspective, and operating margin to the financial perspective. Under the stated causal hypothesis, capability development leads to process quality, then customer outcomes, and finally financial outcomes. Putting margin first reverses the direction from the result toward its drivers.

Problem 10

Two options with identical functionality and benefits are compared solely by three-year TCO. The on-premises option costs 12 million yen initially plus 2 million yen per year to operate. The SaaS option costs 2 million yen to set up plus 0.5 million yen per month. Ignore taxes, discounting, exit costs, and all other expenses.

Which combination correctly gives three-year TCO and the resulting choice?

View explanation

On-premises TCO is 12 + 2 × 3 = 18 million yen. SaaS TCO is 2 + 0.5 × 36 = 20 million yen. With equal benefits and TCO as the only criterion, the on-premises option is lower by 2 million yen. Adding the monthly SaaS charge only three times would use the wrong time unit. A real decision would also evaluate scalability, migration, and exit risks.