project proposal summary

Individual Assignment

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If you are not sure about the requirements or how to address the requirements, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me early with any outline or draft. Contacting me about the assignment on the day it is due or later is not going to help.

Please do not ask if you can redo the assignment after I have graded and provided the feedback to you. It does not matter if you misunderstood, assumed incorrectly or “never used APA before” or whatever the case it might be.

Use the template BIS320.W1.FML to fully address all the needed components of the assignment. (don’t forget to change FML of the filename to match your initials)

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1. What should be submitted

  1. A Word document with the name of BIS320.W1.??? containing the business proposal.


Remember to replace ??? with initials of your First, Middle, Last Names. For example, BIS320.W1.SSS


How to rename the assignment file

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/rename-a-file

http://word.tips.net/T001115_Renaming_a_Document.html


Do NOT submit any other files except for the 1 file listed above. Other documents will not be graded.

2. Objective

  1. To review and understand business proposal and how to calculate ROI.

3. Assignment Requirement

Project Proposal Summary Instructions:

Scenario: You are researching a business development idea for your company. The project should apply IT technology to your company processes to improve your business. Suggested IT business development ideas include implementing an eCommerce solution for a commercial or consumer website, a customer relationship sales/support system (CRM), or collaboration technology to improve company and customer communication and information flow.


The first step in creating a high-level Information Technology (IT) project plan is to develop a project proposal summary of your IT project in the context of your business proposal. The project proposal summary is intended to describe high-level elements of the project. The project proposal summary is a working document, which is expected to change over time during the course as new project details emerge. Your audience for this document is your organization's board of directors, and you are seeking their approval.


Send a 2- to 3-sentence private message to the facilitator describing your IT project proposal and proceed with the assignment after you receive instructor approval.

Content requirement

Create a project proposal summary in a maximum of 700 words that includes the following information regarding your chosen enterprise, described in a short paragraph of 2 to 4 sentences per bullet:

• A brief description of your proposed IT project (What are you planning to do?)

• A description of the business reason for the project (Why do you want to do it?)

• How does executing this project make your company better/different/special? (Differentiation)

• What is the competition doing to solve this problem or add this capability?

• Explain the consequences if the project is not performed. (What if we don't do it?)

• What is the approximate budget, return on investment (ROI), and schedule? If possible, include a brief description of potential risks.

• Ask the board for approval for a specific amount by a certain date.


4. Grading Rubric

The following is point allocation breakdown for the major components of the paper. Please follow the exact order outlined here.

Project Proposal

Points

A brief description of your proposed IT project

0.5

A description of the business reason for the project

0.8

How does executing this project make your company better/different/special?

0.8

What is the competition doing to solve this problem or add this capability?

0.8

Explain the consequences if the project is not performed.

0.8

What is the approximate budget, return on investment (ROI), and schedule? If possible, include a brief description of potential risks

0.8

Ask the board for approval for a specific amount by a certain date

0.5

The following deductions are applicable

Mechanics

0.5

The paper is laid out with effective use of headings, font styles, and white space.

Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed.

Sentences are complete, clear and concise.

Spelling is correct.

5. Recommendations/Tips

Resource

http://www.projectmanagementdocs.com/project-planning-templates/project-management-plan.html#axzz4hw1wXqyD

A brief description of your proposed IT project (What are you planning to do?)

Do not just provide acronyms or name of systems. Provide some details about what the system will provide or accomplish.

Normally an information system automates or improves one or more business processes. Describe the business process.

A description of the business reason for the project (Why do you want to do the project?)

What problem will this system solve or improve?

How does executing this project make your company better/different/special? (Differentiation)

Research on competitive advantage and discuss an aspect of it that provides an advantage.

What is the competition doing to solve this problem or add this capability?

Research for a company that uses a similar business process and the information system that is being used. Identifying a company might be challenging. I recommend looking for CRM (or SCM, DSS, etc) success stories in the book or via search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc).

What is the approximate budget, return on investment (ROI), and schedule? If possible, include a brief description of potential risks.

Research on the web about how much a similar IT project will cost. Use a small or medium company project for the estimate.

There are a few techniques used to calculate ROI. Pick one that you understand and able to relate. Assume the project will be completed in 1 to 2 years.

Include cash flow (cost, profit or saving) for the duration used to show ROI. Normally cash flow is calculated on a monthly basis.

Show the numbers using tables (copy and paste from Excel into Word is the best approach).

Line by line breakdown is not necessary. Use generalize category like computer equipment, professional personnel,etc.

When estimating project cost, be reasonable. Make sure the requested amount is sync with the figures used in the ROI calculation.

Ask the board for approval for a specific amount by a certain date.

Provide a time table for the duration money is being requested.


Week 1 Assignment Requirement and Tips Page 5 of 5