1. IT 499 Bachelor Capstone Week 3

2. Adgenda Administrative Review UNIT two UNIT threeProject UNIT four Preview Project Status Summary

3. Administrative Seminar – Course is project based, 85% for project, 15% for discussion. Seminars are not graded. Project overview: In this Unit, students conduct a technology or design needs analysis within an organization in which a problem or need has been identified. They will develop and implement a solution to this problem or need later in the course. Students submit a PowerPoint Presentation containing a summary of identified needs and a preliminary system specification of their proposed solution to meet the identified needs. All papers submitted should be in proper APA format.

4. Week 3 Overview Needs Analysis and System Specification – In this Unit, students conduct a technology or design needs analysis within an organization in which a problem or need has been identified. They will develop and implement a solution to this problem or need later in the course. Students submit a PowerPoint Presentation containing a summary of identified needs and a preliminary system specification of their proposed solution to meet the identified needs.

5. Time Analysis A critical task at the beginning of project planning is estimating a timelines of critical milestones which must be reached in order for the project to be completed on time. PERT and CPM are tools for estimating and tracking Project timelines. In PERT one develops three completion estimates each task: An optimistic completion time, a pessimistic completion time, and more comfortable expected completion time. An article from Envision Software talks about how these estimates are used to figure actual time needed for the project. A more detailed example is on NetMBA at http://www.netmba.com/operations/project/pert/.An article from Envision Softwarehttp://www.netmba.com/operations/project/pert/ The math is a little simpler than the articles make it appear. You take the total of the optimistic times, add the total of the pessimistic times, and then add four times the total of the middle expected completion times. Divide the grand total by 6 and you have a reasonable estimate of the amount of time the project will take. In reality, the number of resources assigned, how much they are assigned to the project (25%, 50%, 100%, etc) and other projects currently in progress on which this project has dependencies will affect the project timeline negatively if these issues are not taken into account when estimating project timelines.

6. Budgeting and Project Scope As you develop the project you need to work within budget parameters. Even if you are doing all the work yourself, that work has a cost – the number of hours times your hourly rate plus 1/3 to 1/2 of that total is a rough approximation of the labor costs. That means that in order to develop a budget or figure project costs you need to have a good estimate of how-long (how many hours work) the project will require. Costs of purchased hardware, software, and services can vary greatly so you will want to check several vendors or suppliers to arrive at reasonable and realistic estimates of those costs. You are expected to develop and maintain your project budget in Excel. If a set amount of time or money is available to spend on the project then you need to limit the scope of the project to work which can be completed within those time and budget parameters.

7. Budgeting and Project Scope Cost assessment for developing and delivering services is a guide with a checklist and form developed by the State of New York for figuring costs of web-based services projects. You should find it helpful to think about and organize project expenditures. Cost assessment for developing and delivering services Running over budget can have severe consequences for service-oriented firms. Many projects are lump-sum, meaning the client does not pay by time and materials, but simply when the project is complete – regardless if it took you the original time estimate or twice as many hours. Governmental organizations sometimes work in funding timelines due to their source of revenue coming from legislative, federal, and state grants. Often such projects are broken into phases, with each phase being completed within a specific funding window

8. Discussion Topics Among the topics we might consider are the following: People to involve in conducting a needs analysis – Developers? Client management? Employees actually performing the work? All of these? o What are the benefits of a new or upgraded system compared to the costs? o Will you be completing the project by yourself, or will other personnel be working with you in a project team?

9. Week Three Assignment This presentation should follow a structured approach, and you may use the following organizational outline as a guide: Basic cover page with your name, project name, course, and date Name of the organization, type of business (retail, manufacturing, service, non- profit, medical, education, etc.), and location Description of the organization or department for which you will develop a technology or design solution. Include the type of work done at the location, the number of employees, physical description of the location, and any equipment relevant to the project. Detailed listing of the problems or needs that your project intends to solve. Detailed Preliminary Design Specification outlining your description of your proposed solution to meet the organization's needs. Include personnel, equipment, software, and other items needed to develop and implement your proposed solution. This document should be three to five pages in length. NOTE: The assignment must be in MS Word Document, not Powerpoint

10. Week Four Preview Implementation – In this Unit, students begin work on developing the solutions that they have proposed and detailed in their System Specification. As a first step, they will write a brief Implementation Plan explaining how the System Specification, Design Specification, or Software Requirements Document will be translated into a working information technology system and what appropriate training is needed for the client's staff to use the new system. The Implementation Plan will be submitted at the end of this Unit.

11. UNIT Four Assignment Preview Prepare a Microsoft Word document outlining your Implementation Plan. Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Project can be used also if you desire. If you do not use Excel, make sure to put your budget in a Word table format. Below is a generalized template for you to follow. Make sure that all of these items are covered in your paper: – Basic cover page with your name, project name, course, and date. – Title and contact information. – Project background. – Project goals. – Current state, including any potential risks/blocks. – Project timeline (milestones, tasks/deliverables, resources assigned, and dependencies) - This can be done with Microsoft Project if you wish. – Budget. Normally a budget would be done with Excel. If so, in this case, either cut and paste over the budget into your paper or embed the spreadsheet in your document. If you do not use Excel, put your budget in a table format in Word. – Any relevant diagrams/flowcharts (if any at this stage).

12. Project Status Status Issues Concerns

13. Questions Summary