Discussion Board
Requirement
One of the closest moments of interaction between technology and business partners is during the development of a project Requirements Document. In this course, you will work in groups to develop mock project Requirements Documents. The assignment will give you an opportunity to experience firsthand the respective challenges business and technology partners encounter when working on a Requirements Document.
The Requirements Document assignment has two parts. In Part I, your Requirements Document group will develop a business case and prepare the business requirements section of a Requirements Document. You will work on Part I over the next several weeks. (More information about Part II will be revealed later in the course. If you would like to learn more about it at this time, please see the Syllabus.)
Details
To complete Part I, please work together with your assigned group to:
Develop a business case. Consider the case studies in Chapters 10 through 19 of Data Divination: Big Data Strategies. Use the cases as a guide to develop your own case. In developing your case, consider your own work experience or stories you may have heard from other colleagues.
Write the business section of the Requirements Document:
Focus on the Business Problem
Context, Purpose, Objectives
Assumptions
Acceptance Criteria
Description of Requirements—including frequency that analytics will be performed (real-time, daily, monthly)
Data Requirements
Anticipated Data Sources
Anticipated Data Volume
Connections, Dependencies between Business Requirements and Data Requirements
Data Timeliness and Reason (refresh periodicity, real time)
Archiving/History Requirements
Other/Optional Elements for Consideration
Performance Requirements (response times)
Security Requirements
Your group will need to make sure that the analytical problem/needs are detailed clearly, and in a way that both the business and the technology sides can understand. The business requirement section should include a clear problem and purpose statement with as much detail about business usage, anticipated data volume, access needs, uptime needs, retention—and any other requirements necessary for the business to do their work. The write-up should be no more than four pages long.
Deliverables
To help your group stay on top of this assignment, there are multiple assignment deliverables:
You will participate in an online discussion with your group at the end of this module to identify a business case and discuss how to move forward.
You will submit Draft 1 of the business requirements section.
You will participate in a second online discussion with your group.
You will submit a final draft.
You will present your work to the class.
Opportunities to Work Together
We have provided discussion forums that your group will use to work on the business requirements section. Every student is required to participate in the forums. (Expectations for participation are spelled out in the individual forums.)
Your group also has a dedicated, private workspace in this course site, which you can access by clicking Groups in the left global navigation. In your group’s space, you can hold meetings with your teammates using a conferencing tool called BigBlueButton. BigBlueButton allows you to see and hear each other via your computer's webcam and microphone and to discuss shared documents, presentations, and other files. You can choose to record and save your conferences for up to 14 days using BigBlueButton. (You can find more information about BigBlueButton on the Technologies and Support page in the Getting Started module.)
Within your group’s space, you have access to Google Docs, which allows multiple users to work together on the same document simultaneously. Collaborative documents are saved in real-time; a change made by any user will be immediately visible to everyone. You can also share files and resources, make announcements to teammates, host your own private team discussions, and even build wiki pages for your team, if you so choose.
Unlike the mandatory discussion forums, participation in these work spaces is suggested only. It’s up to your group if and how it uses its dedicated workspace.
Click the below links for additional online Canvas guides:
Files (Links to an external site.) | Collaborations (Links to an external site.) | Conferences (Links to an external site.)
Group members post
Collapse SubdiscussionJiawei Gu
ThursdayFeb 2 at 11:15pm
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Hi, all, I am pleasant to be with you in a group. I happen to have an idea to apply big data to an online fresh produce company. Since fresh food needs timely transportation and big data could provide best routes then improve efficiency, so we could utilize data analytics to assign tasks and routes. This is an initial plan and suggestions are welcome. Thank you.
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Collapse SubdiscussionDonald Mustard
Donald MustardYesterdayFeb 3 at 9:30pm
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Sounds like a good idea. Do you have it fleshed out?
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Collapse SubdiscussionXinghang Lu
Xinghang LuThursdayFeb 2 at 11:15pm
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Hello Everyone,
I'm Xinghang Lu, and it's great to be group members with you. I want to raise up my thought about this project. I do not have any long time working experience, and I only intern at an investment bank. Therefore, I am thinking about applying big data at a startup investment bank to increase the working efficiency. As mentioned in the reading case five (Use cases in small business and farms), some of the big data tools can make business easier. It provides some data tools that are easy for use, such as Google Analytics, Google AdWords, Google Earth, and MicroStrategy ’ s Analytics Desktop (Data Division..Chapter14). The startup investment bank has not applied data into their daily work, since they thought the business size is relatively small. We can make a business case for them to make a change and improve their current situation.
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Collapse SubdiscussionDonald Mustard
Donald MustardYesterdayFeb 3 at 9:32pm
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Let me re-read the business cases. I find the information doesn't sink in as well for me onscreen.
Don
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Collapse SubdiscussionJohn Buchanan
John BuchananYesterdayFeb 3 at 11:37am
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These are both good ideas! If I had to choose, I prefer Jaya's idea (do you have a particular company in mind? eg. Peapod?), but that's mostly because I spent a summer working at an investment bank years ago and that was enough for me :)
I also was thinking about doing an analysis for American Express. In particular, they launched an export advisory service a few years ago that is similar to a start up I co-founded in DC (about a year before Amex). For me, it combines my interests in strategy, international business and marketing, and of course analytics. Here's more info about Amex's program:
American Express Announces Exporting Program to Help Middle Market Companies Grow GloballyGrow Global Program to Provide Firms with Insights and Connections to Expand in Foreign Markets
MIAMI, May 14, 2015 --
American Express (Links to an external site.) (NYSE: AXP) today announced the launch of American Express Grow Global, a new program to help increase exporting among U.S. middle market businesses.
Middle market companies are defined as those generating between $10 million and $1 billion in revenues. According to U.S. Census data, mid-sized firms account for 29% of U.S. business revenues, but only 9% of the value of U.S. exports. And a recently released study by American Express and Dun & Bradstreet (Links to an external site.) showed that middle market companies have been the engine of U.S. job creation since the Great Recession, accounting for 92% of all private sector jobs created since 2008.
"Exporting represents a $928 billion opportunity1 for U.S. mid-sized companies2 over the next 10 years, yet only 17% of middle market firms currently trade internationally3," said Susan Sobbott, president, Global Corporate Payments, American Express. "The Grow Global program is designed to help demystify the complexities of exporting, and help companies seize the opportunities available by tapping into markets outside the U.S."
Who Can Benefit?
The American Express Grow Global series is designed for companies who are considering exporting as a growth opportunity, as well as those who are already expanding their business into markets outside the U.S. The program includes free events, webinars and online resources that will help provide middle market presidents, CEOs, COOs and CFOs access to exporting officials and international buyers. It will also deliver insights from successful exporters and top industry experts who will provide mentoring and one-on-one meeting opportunities. Guides will help:
Find profitable international clients,
Avoid costly mistakes,
Maximize opportunities,
Navigate government and private resources,
Leverage marketing and sales, and much more.
Online content will be available at American Express Business Trends and Insights: Growing Smart (Links to an external site.), which will host how-to guides, resources from governmental and other organizations, and upcoming Grow Global event details.
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Collapse SubdiscussionJohn Buchanan
John BuchananYesterdayFeb 3 at 2:09pm
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sorry, I meant Jiawei's idea but accidentally wrote Jaya ;)
other thoughts?
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Collapse SubdiscussionDonald Mustard
Donald MustardYesterdayFeb 3 at 3pm
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John, I've added my two cents below... you know... obsessed with railway safety.I haven't had a chance to look at the exaples in chapters 10-17.
I think we have one participant who hasn't yet checked in? Yingjun? Anyone in the group have any connection with her outside this class?
I also have a Corporate Finance assignment to pull together (and UX design... but what the hey) I'd like to get this one out of the way before Sunday if that is possible. Jaya's on the left coast so it is difficult to chime in on weekdays before 9 or 10 pm.
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Collapse SubdiscussionDonald Mustard
Donald MustardYesterdayFeb 3 at 2:43pm
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I believe Jaiwei and I were exchanging some thoughts on Tuesday night. I, of course, tend to lean towards my more operational side, which means projects dealing with railway safety management. This is what I was thinking... I'll check out the other info... In the end, as long as we have a clear idea well presented I'm open to the collective.
Don
Focus on the Business Problem
Context, Purpose, Objectives
To implement in Canada an automated accident reporting system for the railway industry similar in scope and function to the Ideagen RSSB system in order to:
Capture safety event data more effectively to improve learning from potential or actual incidents;
Introduce a common process for tracking, managing and investigating safety events as well as for tracking and managing local actions and recommendations;
Define industry-wide key performance indicators (KPIs) while allowing rail operating companies to customise their own.
Establish international standards for the capture and analysis of safety critical railway safety management data. Link (Links to an external site.)
Current Canadian reporting structures require a physical phone call and human intervention to report and record event. Delays of hours, days or sometimes weeks means data critical for the identification of safety trends, or essential to accident investigation triage activities is not available before an accident site is disturbed beyond recognition. Critical evidence is lost. Agency currently lacks sufficient data or data processing and analysis capacity to conduct regular Safety Issues Investigations (investigations that consider data patterns that suggest a developing safety issues before major consequence. Only 2 SII's conducted in 15 years at the TSB.
Assumptions
Industry cooperation in exchange for reduced reporting costs (staffing of reporting centers, and shared financing of rail network control costs bringing rail industry infrastructure overhead in line with trucking industry.
Government financed and operated by independent investigation agency.
Regulator framework reconciled with data tracking and reporting requirements.
Acceptance Criteria
100 % reliability/redundancy
Proof of concept demonstrates system more reliable and lest costly to operate that current system
Full ROI in 5 years.
Once baseline established, 25% reduction in reported accidents and incidents over 5 years.
Efficiency?
Description of Requirements—including frequency that analytics will be performed (real-time, daily, monthly)
Real time analytics monitoring structured (IoT, wayside networked detectors and signaling system) and unstructured (video, audio, photo, select contrator hotline reporting phone number) to capture data anomalies consistent with train derailment, collision events or risk of collision events.
Data Requirements
Anticipated Data Sources
GE Train optimizer/smart locomotive telemetry systems
IONX/BSM IoT on car monitoring systems - ~40,000 source
Shipping container IoT streams
Existing wayside car health monitoring systems including hot bearing, hot wheel, wheel impact, beam scan, and acoustic senstors
Company RTC alarm and alerts signals
Yard and mainline video camera feeds.
Railfan photography, radio communications.
Anticipated Data Volume
Pentabytes scanned, collection of only anomalous triggers.
Connections, Dependencies between Business Requirements and Data Requirements
??
Data Timeliness and Reason (refresh periodicity, real time)
System requires 24/7 redundancy. Anomalous events need to be captured and stored for trending.
Archiving/History Requirements
Under RSSB model (UK) approximately 75,000 events are captured annually. In Canada, currently ~2000 events captured through phone-in reporting. Data storage capacity would have to increase by roughly 3000%, eventually growing to incorporate cloud-based function.
Other/Optional Elements for Consideration
Performance Requirements (response times)
System requires 24/7 redundancy
Security Requirements
System would tap into company proprietary data streams. Data has business value, and reporting has privacy requirements, so data must be gated from sources (suppliers cannot know what the other is supplying), and must be secured from inadvertent or directed efforts to hack into database. Link (Links to an external site.),
Link (Links to an external site.)
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Collapse SubdiscussionJohn Buchanan
John BuchananYesterdayFeb 3 at 6:02pm
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Looks good to me, Don! Nice work. I'll spend some more time tomorrow reviewing and giving input. Thx
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Collapse SubdiscussionJaya Bajpai
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