Course Project 1 - Proposal

Potential Problems/Opportunities for the Course Project

The Course Project's focus should be on identifying a business problem or opportunity and proposing a technology solution. You  will need to identify a real-life business that you are familiar with. The business must have a problem or an opportunity that can make use of an information technology solution. The following is a list of potential problems and opportunities around which you may want to focus your project.

· Lack of competitiveness or profitability

· Inefficient processes

· Slow product development

· Obsolete or outdated IT organization and technologies

· Poor corporate communications

· Ongoing personnel issues

· Take advantage of a new technology

· Use technology to support or automate manual processes

· Use technology to improve decision making

Potential Technology Solution Categories

For this Course Project, you will need to select a technology category that will serve as a solution for the problem or opportunity you have identified for the selected business.

For the purposes of this project, it is important to differentiate between a technology solution category (or technology category) and a specific vendor or product. The technology category is a broad area, such as CRM system or web analytics. A vendor/product is a specific company or product, such as Salesforce, Oracle, Google Analytics, Omnture, and so forth.

The technology solution category selected for this project is acceptable if

· that technology is available from more than one vendor/company; or

· There exists at least one other technology that can be used as an alternative solution.

Although the list of technology categories that you can choose for your Course Project is vast, the list below gives some suggestions you may want to consider.

· Application software such as the following

· Accounting/financial management system

· Appointment scheduling system

· Registration system for patients or students

· Software for managing a specific type of business

· Asset tracking system

· Augmented reality

· Business analytics

· Business intelligence

· Cloud-based services (software, hardware, storage, etc)

· Collaboration technologies

· Communication technologies

· CRM system

· Customer records system

· Database system or application

· eBusiness

· eCommerce

· Electronic document management system

· Electronic medical records system

· ERP system

· Global information system

· Group decision support system

· HRM system

· Information systems security solutions

· Internet analytics implementation (web analytics, social media analytics, video analytics, etc.)

· Internet of things

· Inventory management system

· Knowledge management system

· mCommerce

· Network technologies

· Project management system/software

· RFID system

· SCM system

· Social media applications for business

· Speech-to-text system/voice recognition system

· Technologies to facilitate telecommuting

· Text-to-speech system

· Wireless sensor network

· OTHER (with approval of the professor)

Course Project Part 1: The Proposal

Guidelines

The proposal gives a high-level overview of the project. It gives information about the organization we are doing the project for, a description of the problem/opportunity, and an overview of the technology solution category. The proposal must be submitted and feedback received from the professor before doing the rest of the project. The proposal should be two pages (not including cover page, table of contents, bibliography and appendices), double spaced, using Times New Roman font, 12-point, using 1 inch margins, and headings for the paper format requirements.

The proposal should consist of the following:

1. Cover page

2. Table of contents

3. Brief company background

4. Business problems or opportunities overview

1. Briefly describe the problem or opportunity that you will be providing a technology solution for

2. Explain how this problem/opportunity affects the organization

5. Overview of technology solution category

a. Provide a brief overview of the technology solution category, and explain how it fits the needs of the organization.

b. NOTE: Please see the definition of technology solution category in the section titled Potential Technology Solution Categories. It is suggested that you use one of the technologies listed in that section. If you select another technology, please consult with your professor to make sure it meets the requirements of this project (i.e., PROJECT PART 3).

The written document for this assignment should follow the APA style. Ensure correct spelling and grammar (use built-in tool with MS Word).

Proposal Grading Rubric 

Category	Point	Percentage	Description
Formatting, Editing, and Cohesiveness	12	20%	· Include a title page, abstract, proper citations using APA style, and a bibliography. · Include an introduction based on a well-formed thesis statement. The logical order of the content will be derived from the thesis statement. The content will be properly subdivided into sections derived from the outline. In a quality paper, the conclusion will summarize the previously presented content and will complement the thesis statement from the introduction. · Be free of any spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors. Sentences and paragraphs will be clear, concise, and factually correct.
Brief Company Background	12	20%	· Provide company background consisting of a brief history and how it operates
Business Problems or Opportunities Overview	12	20%	· Briefly describe the problem or opportunity that you will be providing a technology solution for. · Explain how this problem/opportunity affects the organization.
Overview of Technology Solution Category	24	40%	· Provide a brief overview of the technology solution category, and explain how it fits the needs of the organization. · NOTE: Please see the definition of technology solution category in the section titled Potential Technology Solution Categories. It is suggested that you use one of the technologies listed in that section. If you select another technology, please consult with your professor to make sure it meets the requirements of this project (i.e., PROJECT PART 3).
Total	60	100%	A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above requirements. All sections in the table of contents must be in the project to earn full credit.