Management Information System (MIS) Practice Exam

The ability to adapt to increases or decreases in demand for processing or data storage is known as ________.

1. Extensibility

2. Portability

3. Scalability

4. Usability

The correct answer is: Scalability

Scalability refers to the capacity of a system, network, or process to handle a growing amount of work or its ability to accommodate growth. It is a critical feature in the context of management information systems because businesses often experience fluctuations in demand. A scalable system can efficiently manage increased workloads without sacrificing performance, allowing organizations to grow and adapt to market needs effectively. For instance, if a company sees a sudden surge in customer demand, a scalable system can increase its resources for processing and storage seamlessly. Conversely, when demand decreases, it can scale back effectively, optimizing resource use and operational costs. This flexibility is essential for maintaining efficient operations in a dynamic business environment. The other options—extensibility, portability, and usability—while important features in their own rights—do not directly relate to the capacity to adjust resource usage in response to demand changes. Extensibility refers to the capability of a system to incorporate new features or enhancements. Portability indicates how easily a system or application can be transferred from one environment to another. Usability is about how user-friendly and intuitive a system is for its users. Each of these traits serves distinct purposes but does not address the adaptability to fluctuations in processing or storage demand like scalability does.