Individual Project: Technology Solution and Business Case Analysis

This individual project requires a detailed technical description of a proposed technology solution, building upon a business case. The assignment encompasses the identification of a business need and the overall functionality of the selected system. The description must include the resources (hardware, software, network), their interactions, and system operations, covering data flow, input, processing, output, storage, and security considerations. A graphical representation of the solution is required, alongside a comprehensive cost analysis using an Excel spreadsheet, detailing implementation and ongoing costs, as well as ROI calculations and payback periods. The project emphasizes the integration of these elements into a cohesive, professionally presented document, demonstrating a strong understanding of the technology solution's components and their alignment with the business objectives outlined in the original business case.

Technology Solution – Individual Assignment
Purpose of this Exercise
This activity allows you to demonstrate your understanding of the components of a
technology solution and demonstrate your grasp of the concepts covered in the IFSM
curriculum (hardware, software, data, networks, etc.). This assignment specifically
addresses the following course outcomes to enable you to:
 Evaluate, select, and apply appropriate analytical and measurement
methods/tools and system development life cycle (SDLC) – methodologies to
meet organizational needs.
 Research, assess, recommend/select, and implement information technology
that aligns with business needs and meets business objectives.
 Effectively communicate with stakeholders orally, visually, and in writing to
determine stakeholders' business requirements, explain how their
requirements will be met, and provide ongoing audience-appropriate
information.
 Responsibly protect organizations' critical information and assets by
integrating cybersecurity best practices and risk management throughout
global enterprises.
It also addresses the business strategy, project management, risk management,
SDLC, and the enterprise themes.
Assignment
Using the Case Study and the technology solution (system) identified by your group
in Section III of your business case, you should independently develop the detailed
technical description of the system your group is proposing and supporting with its
business case. You are to describe the technical components of your proposed
solution, provide a graphical representation of your solution and a spreadsheet of
costs. The three parts of this assignment are more fully described below.
1. Begin your paper with a brief (1 paragraph) description of the business need
identified by your Group in Section II of the Business Case. Then, describe the overall
functionality of the system your group selected. Describe each of the components of
your proposed solution, to include:
 Resources required:
o hardware
o software
o network/communications
o explain how these work together to provide the solution
 How the system will work:
o people – the people who will use the system and how they will use it
o data - A discussion of the data needed for the system, where it will
come from and how will it get into the system, how it will be used, and
how it will, at a high level, flow through the system
o input – when the system is operational, what data will be input to be
processed and/or stored?
o processing – what processing will be done by the system; what will the
system do with the data to create the output?
o output – what output will the system produce?
4/20/2017

o storage – where will the data be stored?
o security – what security devices, software, or policies will be needed?
Your paper should explain how these components work together to support the
business need identified and how the solution as a whole is appropriate to the
business described in the Case Study. The who, what, when, where and how of the
system should all be covered, as you envision it being implemented and used. From
your description, the reader should be able to envision how the IT solution will be
setup and used by the organization in the Case Study. While external resources are
not required, you must correctly cite and reference any resources you use in APA
format.
The following 2 items, the graphical representation/diagram and the spreadsheet,
should be integrated into the narrative description and should be referred to. The
ROI and payback period from the spreadsheet, as well as the one-time
investment costs and the annual on-going costs are to be included in the
narrative.
2. You should include at least one original graphical representation of your
specific technology solution in your paper (not as a separate file). It should include
all major components of the solution. The file “Example Network Diagram” shows
the level of detail needed and provides sample icons for use in constructing your
drawing, if you choose to use them. You should include labels as to what the purpose
of the component is, e.g. email server, database server, system administration PC,
etc. The make/model/capacity/etc. of the devices does not need to be included –
simply their generic device type (router, switch, server, etc.) and their function
(email, database, etc.). For a cloud-based or hosted solution, you are not expected
to identify specific hardware items at the hosting site.
3. Using the Excel spreadsheet provided with the assignment, first review the
"Instructions for Using the ROI Calculator" document also provided with the
assignment. Then, read the
"Instructions" tab, and the "ROI Calculator Example" tab. Then, complete the tab
"Costs and Sources" with a list of all components that need to be acquired (either by
purchase, lease, subscription, etc.), the quantity of each required and a unit cost and
a total cost associated with each item. These general cost estimates may be
obtained from any source, but the sources should be cited – for this you should
complete the "Source of Cost" column in the spreadsheet inserting the URL where
you found the cost. The categories listed are to help you be sure to include
everything; you may add rows as needed in the spreadsheet. Note that one-time
implementation costs are separated from on-going repeated costs. Enter your items
in the appropriate area. For example, software costs that are a one-time startup fee
would go in the Implementation Costs, while monthly or annual subscription costs for
software would go in the On-Going Costs. Every item in your description of resources
and your graphical representation needs to be included on the cost spreadsheet.
Assumptions that affect cost are also recorded on the spreadsheet.
Next, using the "ROI Calculations" tab on the spreadsheet provided with the
assignment, transfer the one-time costs to that tab, in item 2.2. Copy the recurring
annual costs for those items and enter the annual cost in item 2.3; enter the annual
cost in the columns for years 1-5. Then, go to item 2.1 and enter estimates for the
costs of selecting and documenting the proposed solution; use reasonable cost
estimates for each category; note these are entered in the "year 0" column, since
they are incurred prior to the acquisition of the system. Finally, go to section 1 on
the spreadsheet tab and enter several areas where the organization in the Case
4/20/2017

Study will realize savings by implementing the system. You should refer to Section IV
of your group's business case for areas where savings may be realized. You can add
other areas where savings could be expected to come up with a list of four or five
areas.
If you use the spreadsheet as it is and use "Insert Row" to add rows where you need
them, the spreadsheet will calculate the total savings and the total costs by year
for the first 5 years. The totals are displayed in blue in bold font. The last two lines
on this tab of the spreadsheet show the calculated Cash Flow (Savings minus
Expenditure) and the calculated Cumulative Cash Flow (cumulative cash flow from
the previous year plus the current year cash flow).
Scroll to the top of the page on the "ROI Calculations" tab, and you will see 4 charts.
The lower two charts show the categories of costs and the expenditures in pie charts;
this shows at a glance where the largest savings or the highest costs are. The chat in
the top left shows the costs and savings by year. The chart in the upper right is the
most important one. It shows the calculated Return on Investment (ROI) for the
project. The ROI is calculated by computing the Net Savings (Total Savings over the
5 year period minus the costs incurred during the 5 year period) and dividing the Net
Savings by the Total Expenditure. Then the payback period is calculated to
determine in which year the accumulated savings exceed the project costs.
Assignment
You should prepare this as a total package that is tied together in a professionally
presented and logical manner. These are not 3 separate deliverables, but a single
deliverable with multiple parts. For a professional submission, the diagram will be
included in the Word file and the Excel spreadsheet will be embedded in the Word
document (this latter is not required, but is preferred). To embed the spreadsheet, in
your Word document, use the Insert tab, then choose Object>Object>Create from
file>Browse to select your spreadsheet file; choose Display as icon and "OK". The
spreadsheet icon should appear with the filename below it. When you click on the
icon, it should open the spreadsheet.
Submit your document(s) via your Assignment Folder as Microsoft Word (and Excel, if
necessary) document with your last name included in the filename(s).
4/20/2017