The ITM700 & 800 Projects

The ITM700 Project

The Group Project: What Is It?

• An in-depth study of a client company and the industry in which it competes

• An analysis of the structural forces in that industry and your client’s strategy for addressing them

• An analysis of how well your client uses information technology to gain a competitive edge

• An identification of a specific problem to be solved in your ITM800 work

• Developed by team with guidance from professor– You will have two formal review meetings scheduled with

your prof

The Group Project: What Is It? (2)

• An assessment of opportunities to improve the use of information technology

• The foundation for the feasibility study to be conducted in ITM800

• An opportunity to integrate and apply what you have learned in the ITM program over the past three years

• An opportunity to experience project management, group processes, interpersonal skills and client management in a real world setting

You Have Several Deliverables

• Interim drafts for review and discussion with prof (not marked but must be on time and as good as you can make them -- critical for success)– Preliminary Project Plan– Preliminary Bibliography and Industry Definition– Status Report 1, including draft of Section 1 (Industry Analysis)– Status Report 2, including draft of Sections 2 (Company Overview)

and 3 (Information Systems)

• The Final Report, along with:– Your Client Contact Log (also shown at each meeting with prof)– Your Peer Assessment

Companies Eligible for Analysis

• Have headquarters located in Canada, or the equivalent of a Canadian corporate staff

• Have at least 30 employees (full-time and/or part-time/volunteer)

• Be willing to commit to working with you for the next eight months

• Be willing to share confidential information with you and give you access to the right people

• Be open to using information technology to improve its operations

• Not studied in the last three years (list available on Blackboard)

ITM700 Key Steps

Initial Research

Company Analysis

Industry Analysis

IT Assessment

DevelopConclusions& Recomm.

FormGroup

Wk 1

Find Client

Wk 1-3

PlanProject

Wk 3

Draft Bibliography

Wk 4

FINALREPORT

Wk 12

Draft Section 3

Wk 9

Draft Section 2

Wk 9

Draft Section 1

Wk 6

Plan ForITM800

Wk 1 Fall

DoPeer

Assess-ment

AgreeApproach

toPeer

Assess-ment

How to Contact Companiesand Obtain Buy-In

• Emphasize the benefits to the company– Have a prepared “speech” ready– Contact by phone or in person, not by e-mail – you need the personal

touch

• Use our New Brochure• Download the “Contacting Potential Clients” tip sheet from

Blackboard– Brief description of the project– Benefits to client, including examples– Cost to client

• Need to sign Confidentiality Agreement– Specimen on Blackboard

• School Director will write to your client – Specimen on Blackboard

Project Teams

• Team Size:– 6 members (no fewer than 5, never 7!)– We will be determining teams today

• Team Composition: – Have a range of skills, e.g. project management;

accounting; technical knowledge; library/Internet research including organizing vast amounts of data; writing; editing; and leadership

– You will draw on courses you took throughout your degree, especially those in marketing, accounting and finance

Choosing Team Members

• You have to work together for 8 months– Once in, we expect you to stay in -- the only way

out is to drop the course!

• Consider your own personal objectives for this course, are these shared by the people you intend to work with? (e.g. time commitment, expectation re grade)– Friendship is not enough!

• Logistics matter: when and where will you meet, how will you communicate?

Peer Evaluation on Team Project

• Your final mark on the project will be determined as a result of a peer evaluation, completed by the group and signed by all members

• Peer-review is used by your prof to determine each individual’s project grade, but your evaluation is “advisory” -- prof has final authority to determine actual allocation.

• Read the Important document on Blackboard that describes: your agreement, the processes, and the impact of this exercise, etc. – Ever student is expected to do this…and be bound by this.

Peer Evaluation Issues

Interpersonal Skills• Quality of

Communication • Inclusion • Collaboration• Involvement

Task Skills• Client Management and/or

Data Gathering• Attendance and Punctuality

at Team Meetings• Work Completed on Time• Quality of Analysis and

Other Contributions• Quality of Writing, Editing

and/or Coordination of Tasks

A brief Look-Ahead to ITM800• Mostly project work

– You take one problem/opportunity area from your ITM700 report– You develop requirements, get vendor proposals, analyse them and

recommend a solution

• Only 5 lectures, rest of course is project work with scheduled meetings with prof– Should mainly be review of what you have learned in previous courses

and need for this project (if you paid attention!)

• No final exam, just midterm test• Most marks come from Final Report and Formal Presentation• The ITM800 project starts in Week 13 of ITM700

– First deliverable is due in Week 1

Academic Misconduct and/ or Plagiarism – Is Bad!!

• Familiarize yourself with the Student Code of Academic Conduct (now!): http://www.ryerson.ca/acadcouncil/current/pol60.pdf

• Academic dishonesty includes:– plagiarism– cheating– misrepresentation of personal performance– submission of false information

Misconduct Detection & Penalties

• Students agree, by taking this course, that all required papers are subject to submission to turnitin.com.

• All participants in these activities will, at minimum, receive zero for such plagiarized work. This includes the group project.

• Where group work has been assigned, all members of the group are responsible for the academic integrity of all parts of the assignment. If any part of the group assignment contains plagiarism, all members of the group will be penalized – Note difference from Ryerson Policy -- you don’t write bits of

this separately -- you do it together!

What if…? Special Arrangements

• Ryerson has clear policies on:– observation of religious holidays

www.ryerson.ca/rr/– documentation of medical problems

www.ryerson.ca/rr/– accommodation of disabilities

www.ryerson.ca/accesscentre/

• It is your responsibility to notify your instructor within 3 days of this lecture of any problem that may affect your performance in ITM700

Week 2 Preparation

For Next Week

• Read all the documents on Blackboard, especially the Course of Study and the Project Guide

• Have held at least one project team meeting• Have identifed some likely clients• Topics and preparation for lecture:

– Introduction to Corporate Strategy & Industry Analysis– Data Collection Techniques: Library-based and

Internet-based Research Readings– Read

• Thompson & Strickland, Chapter 3 in package

Team Formation

Do you have a team right now?

YES • Find your teammates in this classroom• Fill in one team form

• Provide ALL data for members (Full name, student number)• Only give names if students have prerequisites• Include client information if known• Include current section #, if known• Note if already submitted to Prof Grant by email

NO• Find some team members in this classroom• Fill in Form

If you don’t find a team, speak to a professor before you leave

Course Objectives &The ITM800 Project

Getting Started with ITM800• Preliminary ITM800 info is in Blackboard for ITM700

– Final versions will be in your Blackboard for ITM800 by beginning of January

• You are responsible for downloading the DRAFT from ITM700:– Course of Study – Project Information– Project Planning Report– User Requirements Report– Text Appendices, if needed

• It is assumed that you will read these documents this week and get started on the project– Note: There may be slight changes to these for Week 1

• Take full advantage of this new approach– This project is less intellectually challenging but more hard work than

the ITM700 report– It is a battle of time vs quality– Getting moving quickly is vital

Today’s Agenda• Introduction to ITM800

– Overall approach and format– Topics covered– Assessment– The ITM800 Project

• Methodologies to be used• Project Planning

Course Objectives• Builds on work done in ITM700• Integrate key concepts from management and

information technology in an applied project - this is your chance to use the tools you’ve been learning in the past 4 years. e.g. – systems development methodologies– process design– financial analysis– Statistics– project management– And More……..

Course Objectives (2)• Conduct a feasibility study to resolve a real

business problem:– identify business opportunities and/or problems, – determine information requirements to address these

opportunities/problems,– define user needs, – assess workflow and process improvements, – evaluate alternatives, and – recommend the most appropriate solution– outline implementation plan

Class Format• Mini-Lectures plus in-class group exercises

– Focus is on applying systems analysis and development concepts to your feasibility study

• You will be registered in the right class from the beginning of term

• Classes will likely be at the same day and time as you had for ITM700, but check your schedule, don’t assume!

Text• Satzinger, J. W., Jackson, R. B., Burd, S. D. (2002, 2nd Edition or

2004, 3rd edition OR EVEN 4TH?). Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World. Thomson Learning.– This is part text/part reference guide– Additional reference material will be provided during the course

• We will be using about half of the Chapters and Appendices A-D in the 2nd edition of the text. This is the same text as used in ITM305. (see the course of study for differences in the two editions.)

• Note that the 3rd edition has just been replaced, but we have not yet examined the 4th edition to see if it still fits for ITM800, so if you are buying one, look for a 2nd or 3rd edition– For those of you with the 3rd edition, downloads of the missing

Appendices are available from the publisher’s website

– http://www.course.com/downloads/mis/satzinger/appendices.cfm

Note: You may need to refer to other textbooks to assist -- depending on your chosen application (e.g. BPR, Network Design, etc)

Class Schedule• 6 weeks of classes• First week (Week 0) today• Weeks 1-5 Next term of lectures• Week 6 is (only) Test

– Fail it and you’re gone!

• Regular team meetings/consultation with instructors, especially after study break

• All classes start week of January 8th

Getting Started with ITM800

• You won’t see ITM800 on Blackboard yet, you can get preliminary course information from the ITM700 Site

• You are responsible for downloading the Course of Study and Project Information, it is assumed that you will read these documents this week and get going

Course Requirements and Marks Breakdown

Mid-Term Test 30%Project Planning Report 5%User Requirements Report 5% Group Feasibility Study 60%

Report 55%CEO Presentation 5% ____

100%

New Feature: Professor can grant bonus marks (from a very limited allocation)to students who make an extra contribution to the class.

Exam• For Absolute Clarity…….

• You MUST pass the ITM800 exam, likely multiple choice (AND the Project), in order to pass the course.

• Note/Warning: The exam is based on the very detailed material that is in the text readings….a text that you have already read/used/learned in another ITM course….although the material may not be discussed at great length in class. (SO READ IT!!!!)

Peer Assessment

• Same process as last semester• Based on your experience last semester, how

will you handle this?– Through Peer Assessment?– Sharing mark equally?

• Each group is encouraged to discuss grade allocation in the first project management meeting with the instructor

Course Topics

See course of study on Blackboard for dates for this section.

Topic 1 Project Planning

Topic 2 Systems Analysis: Defining Requirements

Topic 3 Generating and Evaluating AlternativesPreparing RFIs

Topic 4 Evaluating RFI ResponsesFinancial Analysis

Topic 5 Designing the System

Topic 6 Implementation Planning - Issues and Tactics

Team Meeting Schedule

Weeks 1-6 &Study Week

Team meetings, by appointment

Weeks 7 - 11 Scheduled Team Meetings

Weeks 12 & 13 Team Presentations

Team Meetings with Instructor• Minimum of three formal meetings with your

instructor– Attendance at these meetings is mandatory– If you miss a meeting, your final class grade will be

reduced by 1% per missed meeting

• Additional meetings can be scheduled by appointment– Instructor is available after each lecture, in addition to

normal office hours

Important Dates• Team Project Planning Report is due at first

class in September• Draft User Requirements Report is due Friday

Sept 28th at 4:00 p.m.• A draft version of your RFI must be submitted

in class in Week 5• The exam is Week 6 • Team Project/Report is due at the end of

Week 12 (Friday November 24th, 4:00 p.m.)– We will provide specific instructions re submission

closer to the due dates

• Team Presentations Week 13 (November 28th)

Report Details• DRAFT details of the requirements for all three reports

are posted on Blackboard• Project Planning Report:

– 4-5 pages (single-spaced) plus charts– Contains project charter and system scope statement, project

schedule and your plan for gathering systems requirements

• User Requirements Report– Contains Final Project Charter, Statement of User Requirements

and updated Schedule

• Feasibility Study:– 30-40 pages (single-spaced)– Systems design, feasibility analysis, recommendations,

implementation plan

Project Planning Report• Three main objectives:

– Clear project definition:• Preliminary Project Charter• Scope Statement

– Detailed work plan for semester:• Project Schedule

– Plan for understanding systems requirements

• Full requirements for this report are on Blackboard, in the Week 13 area

Processes/Apps Eligible for Study• NOTE: The system that you are recommending

can not currently • be in use, • in the process of being implemented, or • under study, at your client company

• The systems study must be student original work.

• Work prepared by the company for internal use must be clearly referenced.

System Must Not be In Use Already

• If during the course of your study the company goes ahead and implements the system you are recommending, you must chose another business process and system to analyse and start again.

• Failure to comply with these requirements may result in a failing grade on this project.

Examples of Recent Projects• On-line counselling service for a voluntary aid

society• Client relationship system for a major bank• Wireless network for a large law firm• Improved systems and network performance for a

manufacturer’s computer system (using Citrix)• Improved business processes for a large systems

vendor and computer services firm• Internet Broadcast of services for funeral director • Knowledge management system for user help

desk

Presentation After Report is Submitted

• 20 minutes per team, plus Q&A period

• Presenting to instructor only• All team members must be

present and participate in presentation

• Presentation dates/order selected by Week 12

The Key Activities in ITM800 (This is a Guide, not a Gantt Chart)

Select Problem

Area

Select Methodology

InitialData

Collection

Week 0 Week 1 Weeks 1-4 Week 4 Week 5

PrepareProject

Planning Report

DetailedAnalysis

IdentifyVendors

& Plan RFI

PrepareUser

Reqts. Report

PrepareDraftRFI

The Key Activities (cont.) (This is a Guide, not a Gantt Chart)

Week 6/7 Weeks 6-9 Weeks 9-11 Week 11+ Weeks 12-13

FinalizeAnd Issue

RFI

RunRFI

Process

AnalyzeRFI

Responses

PreparePres-

entation

Finalize Requirements & Design

PrepareFeasibility

Report

Biggest Time Challenge!!!