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The Discussion Board (DB) is part of the core of online learning. Classroom discussion in an online environment requires the active participation of students and the instructor to create robust interaction and dialogue. Every student is expected to create an original response to the open-ended DB question as well as engage in dialogue by responding to posts created by others throughout the week. At the end of each unit, DB participation will be assessed based on both level of engagement and the quality of the contribution to the discussion.

At a minimum, each student will be expected to post an original and thoughtful response to the DB question and contribute to the weekly dialogue by responding to at least two other posts from students. The first contribution must be posted before midnight (Central Time) on Friday of each week. Two additional responses are required after Friday of each week. Students are highly encouraged to engage on the Discussion Board early and often, as that is the primary way the university tracks class attendance and participation.

The purpose of the Discussion Board is to allow students to learn through sharing ideas and experiences as they relate to course content and the DB question. Because it is not possible to engage in two-way dialogue after a conversation has ended, no posts to the DB will be accepted after the end of each unit.

Assignment Details

The Unit 2 Discussion Board assignment has 2 parts. Part I defines a scenario that will be discussed by the class. Part II is informational and prepares the class for the group project.

Part I: Scenario

You have been asked to be the project manager for the development of an information technology (IT) project. The system to be developed will allow a large company to coordinate and maintain records of the professional development of its employees. The company has over 30,000 employees who are located in four sites: Florida, Colorado, Illinois, and Texas. The system needs to allow employees to locate and schedule professional development activities that are relevant to their positions. Sophisticated search capabilities are required, and the ability to add scheduled events to the employees’ calendars is desired. The system needs to support social networking to allow employees to determine who is attending conferences and events. This will promote fostering relationships and ensure coverage of conferences that are considered of high importance.

Once an activity has been completed, employees will use the system to submit the documentation. The system should support notifications to management personnel whenever their direct reports have submitted documentation. The system should also notify employees if their deadline to complete professional-development requirements is approaching and is not yet satisfied.

Scope creep is a problem with all projects. Using the given scenario, answer the following questions:

• What makes scope creep particularly prevalent in IT projects? What specific IT project management tools can be used to control it?
• What are some possible factors that might cause scope creep in the given scenario?
• How can a project scope management plan help manage the 3 project constraints of time, scope, and cost?
• What is the potential impact of changes to budgets, schedules, and deliverables if changes are allowed to occur after the project is approved?

Part II: ITCO299 Group Project Information

The details and phases of the Group Project are included here. Please review the overview and use the DB thread to pose any questions or comments related to the Group Project requirement for this course.

Teams will be assigned early during Unit 2. You and your team will be creating and following a specific plan and schedule. The final Group Project deliverable will be due in Unit 4. You will need to work with your team to develop and to execute the plan during weeks 2, 3 and 4. Conduct all your team related activities in the Small Group area. Contact your instructor with questions pertaining to this project.

Review the following ITCO299 Group Project Resources:

• ITCO299 Group Project Schedule
• ITCO299 Group Project Overview
• ITCO299 Group Project Grading

In your own words, please post a response to the Discussion Board and comment on other postings. You will be graded on the quality of your postings.

For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.

Grading Rubric