Requirements Report: Cloud-Based Solutions and Agile Methodologies

This report, prepared for a business system analysis, evaluates cloud-based solutions and agile methodologies for a cake franchisor company with stores in Australia and New Zealand. It explores the advantages of cloud solutions, such as cost efficiency and scalability, while also addressing potential downsides like data confidentiality and internet dependency. The report compares the Unified Process and Scrum methodologies, recommending Scrum for its lightweight nature and suitability for complex systems. It highlights Scrum's advantages, including quality system delivery, flexibility, and developer control. The report concludes by emphasizing the effectiveness of cloud-based solutions and the Scrum methodology for the proposed system's development, considering the company's need for efficient resource distribution and future expansion. It also suggests measures for managing cloud-based solutions and ensuring the successful implementation of the system.

ASSESSMENT ITEM 3 - REQUIREMENTS REPORT
Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................2
Cloud-based solution...............................................................................................................................2
Advantages of Cloud-Based Solutions.....................................................................................................2
Agile methodologies................................................................................................................................3
Scrum methodology................................................................................................................................4
Unified process........................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................5

Introduction
The current business market has dictated a shift in the way operations are carried out. The
current old methodologies are not able to meet the requirements of both the enterprise and its
customers'. The increase in the services offered by the company and the number of clients has
increased the data generated thus the need to employ other technologies. Nonetheless,
technological advancements have introduced information system that works effectively and
efficiently if developed correctly (Silva et al.,2015).
This report is focused on elaborating some of the technological advancements that have
revolutionized the business operations are performed. Among the major technologies are the
cloud-based solution and the agile process of development. This report will discuss how the
above technologies make business operations effective and efficient to meet the requirements of
the business and its clients.
Cloud-based solution
A cloud-based solution is a system where several computer resources can be accessed through
the internets (Babu, Lakshmi and Rao, 2015). The cloud-based solution environment will
comprise of computer resources such as applications, storage, memory and network to be shared
among each store in the different states. The company can invest in implementing two separate
server to server as cloud-based solutions for the stores. These resources can be accessed on-
demand from a shared cloud computing infrastructure. The number of resources used in
purchasing computer resources is huge. Also, installation, monitoring and upgrading do consume
a huge budget of an organization.
The use of cloud-based services in the cake franchisor company can replace the need for
purchasing the computer resources which is costly. The company will be able to focus on its
objectives as the cloud-based solution vendors focus on ensuring their systems are working
effectively and efficiently. The stores in New Zealand and Australia can be served by the two
different servers, this will ensure that the cake company meets its requirements.
Advantages of Cloud-Based Solutions
Several benefits come with using the cloud-based solution for the cake franchisor company; this
includes:

i. Cost efficiency- the finance used in activities such as cost of installation, upgrades,
purchasing licenses and energy consumption are evaded. This resources can be focused
on fulfilling other objectives of the company.
ii. Scalability- the use of a cloud-based solution can serve a vast number of clients (Toader,
2015). Using virtualization, the number of clients using the computer system can scale up
or down without having a diming impact on the performance of the computer resources.
iii. Continuity- this aspect ensures that the company is running 24/7 even in the cases where
there are disasters such as power outages and natural disasters.
iv. Updates- cloud-based solutions have an update scheme that ensures that the resources are
up to date. This will prevent security failure and increase efficiency.
Even though the cloud-based solution has advantages, there is a downside to this technology. In
the cases where the cloud-based solution is not managed properly, the following challenges may
arise:
i. Data confidentiality- the use of one repository to store data can compromise on
confidentiality.
ii. Overreliance on internets connection- in the cases where there is an internet failure, the
company’s operations fall to a stand-still
iii. Security breaches- in the case where the system is compromised, all the resources can be
compromised.
iv. In some cases, the provider can fail to comply with their agreement with the clients, this
may include unlawful use of the data.
Agile methodologies
Agile methodology is a term used to cluster development techniques that employ the principle of
iterations (Hoda, Salleh & Grundy, 2018). This comprises of requirements and solution
developed along with the development phase by different organized teams. The principles used
in this type of methodology try to ensure that flexibility, collaboration and transparency are
maintained. These practices are suitable to ensure that high-quality software is delivered in time
to its users. Some of the frameworks in Agile methodology are scrum and unified process.

Scrum methodology
The scrum methodology is a lightweight agile development that focuses on following a set of
predefined practices. The term lightweight suggests that scrum tries to reduce the amount of
resources used while ensuring not to compromise the quality of the system. There are three
packages in the scrum that distinguish it from other agile methodologies, these include Time
boxes, Artifacts and Roles. These categories make it suitable to handle complex systems with the
least amount of resources without compromising their qualities. The following are the
advantages scrum will bring if the scrum is used to develop the proposed system for the cake
franchisor company:
 It ensures that a quality system is delivered to the client
 Its flexibility will ensure any requirement can be implemented at any stage of the
development
 A working system will be delivered to the user within time.
 The developers will have more control over the project's state and activities.
Unified process
The unified process modelling is a subset of the Agile methodology of system development. The
parity that differentiates unified process from other agile methodologies involves that its
principles are architecture-centric, object-oriented, incremental, risk-aggressive, use case driven
and more so iterative approach. Unlike the scrum methodology that is suited for complex
projects, the unified process can handle both large and small projects. Other books refer to this
framework as the unified software development process. Some of the advantages of using the
unified process of modelling include:
 It is adaptable and flexible to changes
 It focuses on meeting the requirements of the system
 Highly promotes integration in its construction phase.

Conclusion
From the above report, it is evident that the use of a cloud-based solution will work for the cake
franchisor company. The numerous branches in Australia and New Zealand can access the same
computer resources. This uniformity will ensure that resources are distributed equally. The
advantages such as scalability will ensure there is room for future expansion. Nonetheless, there
must be measures set for managing cloud-based solutions. This will minimize the risk of
encountering the challenges associated with the technology. One of the solutions is that some
companies install their servers to archive an individual cloud-based system.
The proposed framework for developing the system is scrum methodology, the fact that it is
popular for developing system show that it is effective. Also, the principles are more precise than
unified, which makes it easier to manage and produce quality products. The categories in scrum
are narrowed down to three categories, this is easier to follow compared to the principles
involved in the Unified process framework.

REFERENCES
Babu, S. M., Lakshmi, A. J., & Rao, B. T. (2015, April). A study on cloud based Internet of
Things: CloudIoT. In 2015 global conference on communication technologies (GCCT) (pp.
60-65). IEEE.
Hoda, R., Salleh, N., & Grundy, J. (2018). The rise and evolution of agile software
development. IEEE software, 35(5), 58-63.
Silva, B. M., Rodrigues, J. J., de la Torre Díez, I., López-Coronado, M., & Saleem, K.
(2015). Mobile-health: A review of current state in 2015. Journal of biomedical
informatics, 56, 265-272.
Toader, E. A. (2015). Using Cloud Business Intelligence in competency assessment of IT
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