Project reason: reducing costs
Name:
Date:
Class:
A
Quick Questions
Shade in the A or B circle for each question.
1. A bakery builds an online ordering system so staff no longer type phone orders by hand. Which cost is mainly being reduced?
2. Which statement best describes 'reducing costs' as a reason for a software project?
3. A school replaces printed permission forms with an online form. Which type of saving is this?
4. A company spends $40,000 on new software that saves $15,000 a year. What is true about this project?
5. Which is an example of reducing errors to save money?
B
Match the Pairs
Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.
| Left column | Right column | |
|---|---|---|
| 1Automated payroll replaces 6 hours of manual entry each week | AThis ignores that the development cost must be repaid first. Savings build up over time, so costs only fall once the total saving passes the build cost. | |
| 2Online forms replace printed enrolment packs | BDevelopment cost $20,000 < Saving $8,000 x 3 years | |
| 3A project is worth building when the long-term saving is greater than the development cost | CValidation rule: stock quantity must be 0 or more | |
| 4Software can reduce the cost of errors by checking data automatically | DA labour saving: software does repetitive work, so the organisation pays for fewer staff hours | |
| 5The software costs $15,000 to build, so it reduces costs straight away. | EReduced waste: less paper, printing and postage is bought each year | |
| 6Reducing costs means the new software makes the business earn more sales. | FThis confuses cost reduction with increasing income. Reducing costs means lowering spending on staff time, paper, errors or equipment. |
C
Definitions
reducing costs
D
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.
1.
weeklySaving ← hoursSaved _ hourlyRate
2.
paperSaved ← pagesBefore _ pagesAfter
3.
IF totalSaving _ devCost THEN
OUTPUT "Worth building"
END IF
4.
paybackYears ← devCost _ yearlySaving
5.
total ← 0
FOR month ← 1 __ 12
total ← total + monthlySaving
E
Spot the Error
Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.
Question 1
A
devCost ← 12000
B
hoursSaved ← 20
C
wage ← 30
D
weekSaving ← hoursSaved + wage
Question 2
A
oldPaper ← 800
B
newPaper ← 100
C
saving ← newPaper - oldPaper
D
OUTPUT saving
Question 3
A
payback ← devCost / yearSaving
B
IF payback > 3 THEN
C
OUTPUT "Worth building"
D
END IF
Question 4
A
total ← 0
B
FOR week ← 1 TO 52
C
total ← weekSaving
D
END FOR
Question 5
A
totalSaving ← yearSaving + 3
B
net ← totalSaving - devCost
C
OUTPUT net
Answer Key
Project reason: reducing costs
Section A: Quick Questions
Q1
A — Labour cost (staff time)
Q2
B — The software lowers the organisation's running costs over time
Q3
B — Reduced waste (paper and printing)
Q4
A — The development cost is repaid in under 3 years
Q5
A — Validation that stops wrong prices being entered, avoiding refunds
Section B: Match the Pairs
Q1
Automated payroll replaces 6 hours of manual entry each week → A labour saving: software does repetitive work, so the organisation pays for fewer staff hours
Q2
Online forms replace printed enrolment packs → Reduced waste: less paper, printing and postage is bought each year
Q3
A project is worth building when the long-term saving is greater than the development cost → Development cost $20,000 < Saving $8,000 x 3 years
Q4
Software can reduce the cost of errors by checking data automatically → Validation rule: stock quantity must be 0 or more
Q5
The software costs $15,000 to build, so it reduces costs straight away. → This ignores that the development cost must be repaid first. Savings build up over time, so costs only fall once the total saving passes the build cost.
Q6
Reducing costs means the new software makes the business earn more sales. → This confuses cost reduction with increasing income. Reducing costs means lowering spending on staff time, paper, errors or equipment.
Section C: Definitions
Q1
reducing costs — A reason to build software: it lowers an organisation's running costs by saving staff time, paper, errors and equipment, so the development cost is repaid over time.Section D: Fill in the Blanks
Q1
weeklySaving ← hoursSaved * hourlyRateQ2
paperSaved ← pagesBefore - pagesAfterQ3
IF totalSaving > devCost THEN
OUTPUT "Worth building"
END IFQ4
paybackYears ← devCost / yearlySavingQ5
total ← 0
FOR month ← 1 TO 12
total ← total + monthlySavingSection E: Spot the Error
Q1
D — Labour saving is hours saved multiplied by the hourly wage, not added to it. It should be weekSaving ← hoursSaved * wage.
Q2
C — The saving is the old paper cost minus the new paper cost. Subtracting the other way gives a negative number. It should be saving ← oldPaper - newPaper.
Q3
B — A short payback period means the development cost is repaid quickly, so the project is worth building. The test should be payback < 3, not payback > 3.
Q4
C — The loop must add each week's saving to the running total. Assigning weekSaving overwrites the total every time. It should be total ← total + weekSaving.
Q5
A — Savings over three years are the yearly saving multiplied by 3, not increased by 3 dollars. It should be totalSaving ← yearSaving * 3.