focusing on business requirements, competitors, and technology

IT 210 Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric

Overview: This assignment is the first milestone that you will complete for your final project. In this milestone, you will address the following:

· You will begin drafting parts of your final project, focusing on your business requirements, competitors, and technology.

· This assignment is an important practice opportunity for you to create a draft, and to get feedback from your instructor to improve your final draft.

· The rubric reflects that this is a practice opportunity. You should focus on getting the necessary information into your draft. No draft is perfect.

· This milestone aligns with sections I, II, and III of your final project. Use the questions in the critical elements as a guide.

· You are free to work in the Final Project Template document or on a separate word document for your drafts.

o It is recommended you use the template to ensure you do not miss any items you need to address. The critical elements are highlighted in yellow in the template.

· The decision matrix is not required for this milestone; however, you will be submitting the decision matrix in Milestone Two. It is recommended that you use the template provided to help narrow your technology recommendation.

Prompt: Imagine that you work for the small brick-and-mortar business described in the final project case scenario. The owner of your business wants to focus on generating new revenue through e-commerce, but she knows that this change in operations requires the company to integrate new technology. To gain an understanding of what the business might need for technology, she has asked you to create a business systems analysis. In this analysis, you will clearly introduce the problem that your business is facing. Then, you will determine the business requirements for solving that problem, including the requirements that any new technology needs to meet.

Your goal in the final project is to establish an e-commerce presence, but you must improve the current technology first. Use the Decision Matrixdocument as you conduct your research for assistance organizing your thoughts. (You will submit the completed decision matrix in Milestone Two.) For additional resources on developing the decision matrix, refer to:

· Decision Matrix: What It Is and How to Use It: This article defines the decision matrix and discusses how leaders evaluate and prioritize all of their options when considering solutions to a difficult task.

· Decision Matrix Analysis: This article explains how to use a decision matrix analysis, a useful technique for making a choice when many factors must be balanced.

· Decision Matrix Example: Use this resource to view an example of a completed decision matrix.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Introduction: In this section, you will briefly introduce the small business from the case scenario, and the problem that it is trying to solve.

A. Clearly state the problem that the business owner is seeking to solve. Be sure to address the question of what your business ultimately wants to do.

B. Identify and briefly describe the two technologies from the list provided that you will research in your business systems analysis.

AI. Business Requirements: In this section, you will determine what the business requirements are to solve the stated problem, and establish the criteria that will help form your technology recommendations. You will also articulate why the business owner should undertake the project of integrating new technology.

A. Explain the objectives of undertaking this project to integrate new technology. In others words, what should the project accomplish, and how does it support the goal of your business?

B. Provide a project description that explains the purpose of the project. Be sure to address the following:

i. What does your business need to do to satisfy the objectives?

ii. What are the desired results at the end of the project?

iii. Why is it important for your business owner to consider implementing new technology?

C. State the key technological requirements that will be required of any new technology in order to effectively solve your business’s problem. In other words, what specifically does the technology need to be capable of doing? (These are the technology requirements in the decision matrix.)

BI. Competitors and Technology: In this section, you will describe two competing companies that operate in the same industry as your business. You will also explain how a company uses the two technologies that you are investigating to determine if the technology may be appropriate for your business to use. Remember that a list of competing companies was provided to you in the final project case scenario.

A. Technology One: Select one company in the same industry as your own that uses this technology. Briefly describe what that company does and how it uses this technology to support its business in general. Include specific examples.

B. Technology Two: Select one company in the same industry as your own that uses this technology. Briefly describe what that company does and how it uses this technology to support its business in general. Include specific examples.

C. Referring to what you learned in your research on the companies above, explain one specific way in which one of the companies is benefittingfrom technology, and describe the potential benefit to your business if you were to adopt the same approach.

Rubric

Guidelines for Submission: Your rough draft should be 3–4 pages in length and should follow APA formatting, including double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins.

Critical Elements

Minimal or No Errors (100%)

Significant Errors (75%)

Missing from Draft (0%)

Value

Introduction: State

States the problem that the

States the problem that the

Does not state the problem

12

the Problem

business owner is seeking to

business owner is seeking to

that the business owner is

solve, with minimal or no

solve, but response is unclear

seeking to solve

errors

or contains inaccuracies

Introduction: Two

Identifies and briefly describes

Identifies the two technologies

Does not identify the two

12

Technologies

the two technologies that the

that the student will research

technologies that the student

student will research in

in business systems analysis,

will research in business

business systems analysis, with

but does not describe them, or

systems analysis

minimal or no errors

description contains

inaccuracies

Business

Explains the objectives of

Explains the objectives of

Does not explain the objectives

12

Requirements:

project to integrate new

project to integrate new

of project

Objectives

technology, with minimal or no

technology, but explanation is

errors

cursory or illogical or contains

inaccuracies

Business

Provides a project description

Provides a project description

Does not provide a project

12

Requirements:

that explains the purpose of

that explains the purpose of

description

Project Description

the project, with minimal or no

the project, but description is

errors

illogical, contains inaccuracies,

or is missing required

components

Business

Describes the key technological

Describes the key technological

Does not describe the key

12

Requirements:

requirements that will be

requirements that will be

technological requirements

Technological

required of any new

required of any new

that will be required of any

Requirements

technology to effectively solve

technology to effectively solve

new technology

the business’s problem, with

the business’s problem, but

minimal or no errors

description is missing key

requirements or contains

inaccuracies

Competitors and

Briefly describes what the

Briefly describes what the

Does not describe what the

12

Technology:

selected competing company

selected competing company

selected competing company

Technology One

does and explains how it uses

does and explains how it uses

does or explain how it uses the

the technology to support its

the technology to support its

technology to support its

business, and includes specific

business, but does not include

business

examples with minimal or no

specific examples, or examples

errors

are inappropriate, or

explanation is cursory or

contains inaccuracies

Competitors and

Briefly describes what the

Briefly describes what the

Does not describe what the

12

Technology:

selected competing company

selected competing company

selected competing company

Technology Two

does and explains how it uses

does and explains how it uses

does or explain how it uses the

the technology to support its

the technology to support its

technology to support its

business, and includes specific

business, but does not include

business

examples with minimal or no

specific examples, or examples

errors

are inappropriate, or

explanation is cursory or

contains inaccuracies

Competitors and

Explains one specific way in

Explains one specific way in

Does not explain one specific

12

Technology:

which one of the competing

which one of the competing

way in which one of the

Benefitting From

companies is benefitting from

companies is benefitting from

competing companies is

Technology

technology, and describes the

technology, but does not

benefitting from technology

potential benefit to the

describe the potential benefit

business from the scenario if

to the business from the

they were to adopt the same

scenario, or description is

approach, with minimal or no

cursory or illogical

errors

Articulation of

Submission has no major

Submission has major errors

Submission has critical errors

4

Response

errors related to citations,

related to citations, grammar,

related to citations, grammar,

grammar, spelling, syntax, or

spelling, syntax, or

spelling, syntax, or

organization

organization that negatively

organization that prevent

impact readability and

understanding of ideas

articulation of main ideas

Total

100%

 

Please follow and like us: