JWI599

599 – Assignment 1 (1206) Page 1 of 3

JWI 599: Business Analytics and Capstone

Assignment 1

© 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 1: Board Brief Part A – Framing the Problem/Opportunity Due: Sunday, midnight of Week 3 (Weight: 15%)

Overview

Effective leaders understand that actions must be based on facts. Which facts are most important, however,

depends on how the problem is framed. Failure to adequately define the problem can set in motion a series of

misguided undertakings in which irrelevant data are gathered, unnecessary analyses are completed, and

unsupported decisions are made. The first step in developing your Board Brief is to craft a clear statement of

the problem/opportunity, and then determine which data are most critical to solving that problem. This is your

opportunity to begin using the business analytics tools that will guide you throughout your Capstone Project.

Instructions

For all assignments in your Capstone Project, your work will be based on the organization you identified in

your Week 2 Discussion Question post. In this assignment, you will submit a 2-3 page paper in which you will

include a brief overview of market conditions and develop a clear and well-focused problem/opportunity

statement. This requires you to provide sufficient background on the competitive environment and the

organization to accurately frame the problem for your Board. Your deliverables are:

1. Present a brief overview of market conditions, the competitive environment, and the strengths

and weaknesses of your organization relative to your competitors. You should draw on one of

the methodologies you have studied in the program (such as Jack’s 5 Step Strategy Framework,

SWOT, PESTEL, or Porter’s Five Forces) to guide you, but DO NOT present a full-blown market

analysis to the Board. Your Board members will already possess significant knowledge of the market

and the company, so use this overview to set the stage for the rest of your brief. Distill your overview

down to 2 components.

a. First, provide a general overview of market conditions, trends, and big issues. For example,

you may begin with a line such as “As you know, we have experienced considerable

challenges in this space over the last two years…”

b. Then, summarize the competitive environment. Open with a sentence such as “Our biggest

competitor ABC has made bold steps to develop X and has made significant gains in market

share in Y. This has presented us with a number of challenges…”

2. Problem/Opportunity Statement

Following your overview, identify the specific problem or opportunity that, if properly addressed, will

have a significant positive impact on the success of the organization. This will include your “testable

hypothesis” for which you will gather and analyze data to validate in your next assignment. To

accomplish this:

599 – Assignment 1 (1206) Page 2 of 3

JWI 599: Business Analytics and Capstone

Assignment 1

© 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. Define a clear problem or opportunity that addresses what is important to the organization in

order to meaningfully improve its competitive strength. Note: It is expected that you will refine

the problem/opportunity statement you drafted for your Week 2 Discussion Question,

leveraging the feedback you received from your classmates and professor.

b. Identify key data and metrics you will study that are relevant to addressing the

problem/opportunity.

c. Identify stakeholders who will be involved in addressing the problem/opportunity. At this

stage, you do not need to name specific people, but you must identify functions, departments,

geographical areas, etc., that will be impacted. You must also explain the nature of the

potential impact.

d. Include relevant information on previous experiences or findings related to this

problem/opportunity. This information may be noted in an appendix if that is more appropriate

for context and flow.

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

 Use headings to identify main topics and subtopics

 Separate paragraphs by a single space

599 – Assignment 1 (1206) Page 3 of 3

JWI 599: Business Analytics and Capstone

Assignment 1

© 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 1

Criteria Unsatisfactory Low Pass Pass High Pass Honors

1. Demonstrate correct application of selected framework for market analysis Weight: 15%

Did not an use an approved framework or did not demonstrate understanding of the proper application of the selected framework

Demonstrated minimal understanding of the selected framework; included several incorrect applications of key elements

Demonstrated basic understanding of the selected framework; only minor incorrect or insufficient applications of key elements

Demonstrated very good understanding of the selected framework; no incorrect applications of key elements

Demonstrated deep understanding and thorough application of the selected framework; focused clearly on the most critical market forces

2. Include appropriate data and real-world examples to populate the selected framework Weight: 25%

Did not include appropriate and verifiable real-world data and examples and/or included vague or unsubstantiated or irrelevant data and examples

Included 4 or fewer verifiable real-world examples and data; several data and examples were off- topic or poorly connected to key framework elements

Included 5 or more verifiable real-world examples and data; minimal examples were off-topic or poorly connected to key framework elements

Included 5 or more verifiable real-world examples and data; all examples were on-topic and connected to key framework elements

Included 5 or more verifiable real-world examples and data; all examples were extremely well- chosen and provided excellent support for key framework elements

3. Clearly define the problem and/or opportunity, leveraging feedback from DQs Weight: 20%

Did not submit or incompletely defined a problem or opportunity of importance to the organization; problem or opportunity not supported by market analysis

Problem or opportunity statement was overly vague and/or was not supported by market analysis; scope may have been too broad or too narrow

Problem or opportunity statement was supported by market analysis; scope may be been too broad or too narrow and needed to be more tightly defined

Problem or opportunity statement was clear and was supported by market analysis; scope was appropriate and well- defined

Meets all HP requirements and includes a compelling call to action

4. Identify key data and metrics to study that are relevant to addressing the problem and/or opportunity Weight: 15%

Did not identify key data and metrics relevant to the problem/opportunity or identified irrelevant data and metrics

Identified 2 or fewer key metrics and data relevant to the problem/opportunity; connection to the problem/opportunity may be unclear

Identified 3 or more key metrics and data relevant to the problem/opportunity; connection to the problem/opportunity is included, but is vague or overgeneralized

Identified 4 or more key metrics and data relevant to the problem/opportunity; connection to the problem/opportunity is clear and specific

Identified 5 or more key metrics and data relevant to the problem/opportunity; connection to the problem/opportunity is clear and specific and demonstrates excellent insight into potential causes and correlations

5. Identify stakeholders who will be involved in addressing the problem/opportunity Weight: 10%

Did not identify stakeholders and/or did not explain the rationale for inclusion and anticipated impact

Identified some stakeholders, but omitted additional key stakeholders; provided minimal rationale for inclusion and/or missing or unclear anticipated impact

Identified all key stakeholders and rationale for inclusion; provided basic explanation of anticipated impact

Identified all key stakeholders and rationale for inclusion and addressed the nature of anticipated impact

Identified all stakeholders, provided rationale for their inclusion, and made a clear connection between stakeholders and anticipated impact based on proposed actions

6. Describe previous findings or experiences related to the problem/opportunity Weight: 15%

Did not describe previous findings or experiences related to the problem/opportunity

Partially described previous findings or experiences related to the problem/opportunity; key findings were omitted or relevance was unclear

Satisfactorily described previous findings or experiences related to the problem/opportunity; key findings were included, but some explanations of relevance were vague

Thoroughly described previous findings and experiences related to the problem/opportunity; findings and experiences are reflected in all elements of the assignment

Exemplarily described previous findings or experiences related to the problem/opportunity; findings and experiences are evident in all elements of the assignment and are integrated in a meaningful way