Assignment 2

Assignment 2 --
Overall IT Organizational Analysis and Requirements Analysis (Pre-RFP)

IS 483 Autumn 2000/2001 Sutcliffe

Due	Week7 (Paper and Presentation)
Team -- Oral Presentation	Each team (5 people) prepares a two part analysis. The first is an overall analysis of the IT resources in a specific organization, and the second part is a requirements analysis (a.k.a. a pre-RFP) of a problem found in that organization. This two part analysis is presented to the class in a 10 minute presentation using no more that 9 slides. A copy of the slides at 3 to a page is submitted with the paper. See Presentation Guidelines for guidelines on presentations.
Team -- Written Paper	Each team prepares an analysis of the IT resources in a specific organization in a paper that is no longer than 15 pages, double line-spaced in a 12-point font with normal margins excluding appendices such as references, tables and graphics. For guidelines please review paper writing.
Penalties	Any paper that is not written using the same 'Order' detailed below is automatically reduced by 4 points. A paper with a score of 24 (A) thus becomes 20 (b-). Any paper not written using for format is penalized 1.5 point (out of 25). Any paper exceeding 15 pages excluding appendices is penalized 1 point. Incomplete References are penalized at 1 point per reference Fewer than 6 references are penalized 1 point
topics	See Building References below. A. Organizational Analysis The paper analyzes the following aspects of IS in a complex organization, either for-profit or non-profit: _The organizational mission, goals and strategy _The mission, goals and strategy of IS _The IS organizational structure and its rationale including org chart _The organization of IT operations and rationale: centralized, decentralized, distributed or outsourced _The velocity of change in IS for past 3 years _The IS governance for determining strategies and tactics _The IS evaluation and procurement process Finally the team evaluates how well the IS function fits with the organizational mission, goals and strategy. Namely, do they reinforce one another or do they seem at cross purposes. Does the organization make decisions consciously considering its stated mission, goals and strategy. B. Requirements Analysis (Pre-RFP) Problem Statement -- what is unsatisfactory in the current IS situation that needs to be solved? Current Risks -- what are the risks in the current situation that need to be managed? E.g., currently the system server crashes twice /week on average because of traffic overloads. The risks are the actual business lost during the down-time as well as potential business lost because frustrated customers turn to competitors (opportunity costs). Alternative Solution Summary -- E.g., We looked at getting a new server, outsourcing our e-commerce activities, upgrading our web software and server, and getting out of e-commerce entirely. For Each Alternative, the analysis rates them using "ballpark" estimates and rankings. E.g., the cost of a new server to handle the existing traffic and projected traffic is 100,000 to 140,000 with a ranking of 4 (more expensive than others). (1= best, 5=worst) -- The potential costs -------- up-front costs -------- on-going costs -- The potential benefits -- The potential risks with their probability The Selected Alternative which will mandate an RFP with rationale for its selection.
References	Building a Complete Set Start a preliminary reference section in a word processing file. Here is where the complete reference information is stored. Later when the paper is completed, this section is appended to the end of the paper in the order of author, date. Capture for ALL WEB SITES: author name or names ("anonymous" if not known) of site material, article name, web address, date accessed, sponsoring organization. Capture for all interviews you had: name of the person interviewed, date of interview, place or telephone, subject of the interview. Capture for all print articles: author name or names ("anonymous" if not known), publication date, article (or book name), name of periodical (if relevant), volume and issue numbers, page numbers, if book, then the publisher name and city.
order	A. Organizational Analysis Analyze the organization and its IS area by advising the reader of the following in the paper: _1. The organizational mission, goals and strategy briefly state the organization's mission then its related goals and the overall strategy the organization is using realize its goals. Also mention how well known the mission, goals, and strategy were to employees before this assignment was done. Mention is none were found, and how the search was made to find them out. _2. The mission, goals and strategy of IS briefly state the IS area's mission goals and then its related goalsand the overall strategy the IS organization is using realize its goals. Also mention how well known the mission, goals, and strategy were to IS employees before this assignment was done. Mention if none were found, and how the search was made to find them out. _3. The IS organizational structure and its rationale including org chart - down to manager level. In other words, development is organized around products because timely upgrades of various product lines was very important _4. The organization of IT operations and rationale: centralized, decentralized, distributed or outsourced. In other words how does IT meet the computing needs of the organization. Where is the hardware? Is it close to users? Does it make sense given the mission, goals and strategy? _5. The velocity of change in IS for past 3 years. Were there numerous upgrades and changes in hardware/software/telecom- then the velocity is high. Conversely few upgrades equates to low velocity. _6. The IS governance for determining strategies and tactics. Who makes the important strategic and tactical decisions? Does the manager make them without counsel for others? With the advice of others? Do the employees make the relevant decisions? _7. The IS evaluation and procurement process. Briefly describe how IS evaluates and procures services and products. How formal is the process? Who gets involved? Who decides? Who signs off? _ 8. Overall Fit. End the section with a brief opinion on the effectiveness of the IS area and the fit (see topic above). B. Requirements Analysis (Pre-RFP) _1. Problem Statement -- What is unsatisfactory in the current IS situation that needs to be solved? What kind of excess costs, lost opportunities, competitive risks are in the situation for the company. BE SPECIFIC!! Vague platitudes are not appropriate. For example, Company X estimates that in each of the last 3 months they have lost 5000 customers because response time on the system averaged 15 seconds per screen download for typical 56kb modems versus the 3 seconds it took last year. _2. Current Risks -- What are the risks in the current situation that need to be managed? E.g., currently the system server crashes twice /week on average because of traffic overloads. The risks are the actual business lost during the down-time as well as potential business lost because frustrated customers turn to competitors (opportunity costs). Because the average customer spends over $200 per visit and they visit once a month, in the last 3 months the opportunity loss comes to an estimated 50002003 or $3,000,000. _3. Alternative Solution Summary -- Start with the generic solutions to most problems: do nothing, fix it in house, fix it using outside help, replace it with something built in house, replace it with something customized by outsiders, replace it with a purchased/leased/rented package. E.g., We looked at getting a new server, outsourcing our e-commerce activities, upgrading our web software and server, and getting out of e-commerce entirely. For Each Alternative, the analysis rates them using "ballpark" estimates and rankings. E.g., the cost of a new server to handle the existing traffic and projected traffic is 100,000 to 140,000 with a ranking of 4 (more expensive than others). (1= best, 5=worst) -- The potential costs -------- up-front costs -------- on-going costs -- The potential benefits ---------- short-term ---------- long-term -- The potential risks (benefits) with their estimated probability of occurrence. The product of risk cost and the probability is the estimated probable cost (benefit). A Alternative Summary Table is included in the appendix with the alternatives in the columns and the potentialities in the rows. _4. The Selected Alternative which will mandate the development of an RFP with a detailed rationale for its selection.

grading criteria	Assignment 2 Grading Criteria is the grading sheet.

Last updated by Norma Sutcliffe on October 18, 2000 .