4 pages due by 24 hours

599 – Assignment 2 (1206) Page 1 of 3

JWI 599: Business Analytics and Capstone Assignment 2

© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.

Assignment 2: Board Brief Part B – Data Analysis Due: Sunday, midnight of Week 5 (Weight: 20%) Overview The second part of your Board Brief picks up where the last one left off. Having accurately framed the core problem/opportunity in Assignment 1, you will now turn your attention to collecting, organizing, and analyzing the data you are using to test your hypothesis. You are not yet ready to propose a specific action plan for your business. You will focus on evaluating what data you have and don’t have, and on identifying patterns, trends, and anomalies. Because you can never have complete data, your analysis must acknowledge what you know and what you don’t know. But, even with incomplete data, your actions must be reasonable given the time frame and resources you have. Those actions – your strategic plan – will be developed in Assignment 3. Instructions

For this assignment, you will write a paper of 3 to 4 pages to present your analysis of the data. Your paper must continue from the work you did in Assignment 1 and must include relevant quantifiable data, models, calculations, and analysis. Use the topics below to organize your paper:

1. Data Sources and Reliability

a. What data were the most critical to the analysis of the problem/opportunity you identified in Assignment 1? Explain.

b. What sources did you use to gather the data?

c. How reliable and complete are the data you are using? What steps did you take to validate this?

d. What data are unknown (or unknowable) at this stage? How does this impact your analysis?

2. Data Tools and Analysis

a. Drawing from the “Types of Analysis” guide and other resources from the course, what tools and techniques have you used in your analysis? Why did you select these?

b. Applying the analysis tools to your selected data, what patterns, trends, and anomalies did you uncover?

c. How do these patterns, trends, and anomalies shed light on the problem/opportunity you identified?

d. Leveraging your work in the Discussion Questions and the guidance from our course materials, include charts, tables, and/or other visual supports to ensure that your data tells a clear story that your reader can easily understand.

3. Conclusion and Action Items

599 – Assignment 2 (1206) Page 2 of 3

JWI 599: Business Analytics and Capstone Assignment 2

© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.

a. What does your analysis tell you about where you should focus your efforts to drive meaningful improvement?

Formatting and Submission Requirements NOTE: Use the Board Brief Checklist in the course shell to help guide your work. As you complete each of the three assignments, you will add it to the previous assignment(s), so that by the end of Assignment 3, you will have created a single document for your entire Board Brief

• Submit your work in Word

• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, your name, your professor’s name, and the course title and date

• Include a references page with your sources

• The cover page and the references page are not included in the required page length

• Use professional font (Times New Roman or Arial), 10-12 font size, and double-space

• Headings are used to identify main topics and subtopics

• Paragraphs are separated by a single space

599 – Assignment 2 (1206) Page 3 of 3

JWI 599: Business Analytics and Capstone Assignment 2

© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.

Rubric: Assignment 2

Criteria Unsatisfactory Low Pass Pass High Pass Honors

1. Data Sources and Reliability Weight:25%

Response was missing, inaccurate, or off- topic, and/or addressed 2 or fewer of the questions

Provided a basic response to 2 or more of the questions; contained minimal detail or insight into the value of the data

Provided a good response to 3 or more of the questions; demonstrated good attention to detail and insight into the value of the data

Response provided a complete and well- reasoned treatment of all 4 questions and provided very good additional detail and insight into the value of the data

Met HP criteria plus added significant and relevant commentary on data identification and collection and application processes

2. Data Tools and Analysis Weight: 25%

Did not submit an adequate response for any of the data analysis questions

Submitted a complete and accurate response for 2 or fewer questions

Submitted a complete and accurate response for 3 questions, but lacked sufficient exploration of main themes

Submitted a complete and well- reasoned treatment of all 3 questions supported by specific examples

Met HP criteria plus added significant relevant insight from additional sources

3. Data Presentation Weight: 30%

Data presentation was missing or poorly displayed; did not make use of appropriate charts, tables, graphs, or other tools covered in the course

Data presentation used 2 or fewer tools covered in the course and/or selection of tools was arbitrary and did not direct the reader to critical patterns, trends, and anomalies

Data presentation used 3 or more tools covered in the course, but selection of tools seemed arbitrary; critical patterns, trends, and anomalies were not clearly displayed

Data presentation used 3 or more tools covered in the course; selection of tools was appropriate for each data set and enabled the reader to clearly identify critical patterns, trends, and anomalies

Met all HP criteria plus made excellent use of color, page layout, and other design elements that made the paper engaging and visually compelling

4. Conclusions and Action Items Weight: 20%

Conclusions and action items were missing, unclear, or did not connect the data and analysis

Conclusions and action items were basic and lacked sufficient detail or did not connect the data and analysis

Conclusions and action items were sound and supported by the data and analysis

Conclusions and action items demonstrated excellent insight and were well- grounded in the data and analysis, demonstrating a solid grasp of real- world obstacles and opportunities

Met all HP criteria plus included additional insights and references, demonstrating a thorough understanding of Jack’s guidance on ‘eating and dreaming’