Week 3 remaining

Convincing Technology Decision Makers

In this assignment, you will:

· Identify a business problem and develop an IT solution.

· Analyze the business and customer needs, so that you can advocate for an IT solution.

· Develop a presentation that succinctly describes the business problem and your IT solution. This presentation should be designed to convince a key business stakeholder of the value of your proposal.

You will create only two slides using PowerPoint. More importantly, you will need to prepare the appropriate talking points that will convince the business stakeholder that your IT solution is one they should support. Remember, this business stakeholder will determine whether you get the resources you need to actually develop the solution you are proposing. In this presentation, you need to think about the business stakeholder's goals and needs. What will be most convincing to the stakeholder?

For the first part of this assignment, do the following:

· Identify a business problem and develop an IT solution, while analyzing the business and customer needs to effectively advocate for your proposal.

· Prepare a two-slide PowerPoint presentation.

· Choose a peer to whom you will give the presentation.

· Use any technology that allows you to meet in a synchronous environment (Skype, Google Hangouts, phone call, or others.)

· Present your proposal to your peer. Limit the presentation to 15 minutes. The peer will be in the role of a business manager.

· Switch sides. Now your peer will present and you will be in the role of a business manager.

· As the business analyst, keep notes about what portion of the presentation was convincing and which parts of the proposal needed to be strengthened to meet your business goals.

· After both presentations, supply each other with feedback.

The overarching goal of this assignment will be to come to an agreement that the solution could be a viable one for the company/organization. You will use the feedback received from your peer to improve your proposal.

After the synchronous presentations, complete the final part of the assignment:

· Create a two-slide PowerPoint presentation used to influence/convince technology business decision makers to sign off on the resources needed for your IT solution. Cite any sources used on the third slide of the presentation.

· Provide written and/or audio summaries of at least one meeting discussing each information technology solution and how it can solve the business problem.

· Submit both your presentation and the summary in the assignment area.

Make sure your presentation is professionally written and free of errors, and that APA formatting is applied to the citations.

Week Three Assignment 2 - Due (Thursday) – One page paper

Global and Societal Considerations

Assume the business stakeholder(s) are concerned with global issues. They have decided to make it a requirement that the information technology solution should be able to be used by individuals in their overseas offices both in Greece and Switzerland.

Consider both human resource needs and new information technology requirements. The cultural and societal impacts are as important as the technology impact.

Consider the following in your evaluation:

1. Hardware.

2. Software.

3. Infrastructure/networking.

4. Security safeguards.

5. Human resources.

6. Training.

7. Maintenance.

For this assignment, write a one-page paper that:

· Analyzes the business and customer needs to support advocacy of an IT solution for the global organization.

· Explains the major cultural, social and technology impacts the company may face when it becomes a global enterprise.

Week Three Discussion 1 - Due (Tuesday) - one page only

Business Rules

Think about the company or organization you are using in this course and the information technology solution/project you are proposing. If your proposal is funded, what metrics would you use to demonstrate success? Today's business stakeholders want to know that their investments are paying off in improving the business or organization in some key way. What will you measure to demonstrate that you are being successful?

Is success measured primarily by bringing a project in on time and on budget? Or should you also demonstrate metrics such as meeting key business goals? Or providing benefits to your business or your customers? Or improving satisfaction among your business leaders and your customers? No matter what metrics you decide to use, show how these metrics (these measures of success) align with key business goals.

Week Three Discussion 2 - Due (Tuesday) – one page only

Career Goals in IT

Based on your experience and education to date, what kind of role do you see yourself in and/or moving into as you move forward in your IT career? What IT systems interest you the most? As part of a project team, what role do you see yourself playing? Do you want to lead, or do you want to be the member of the team that actually creates the IT solution?

What skills do you think you already have that will make you a good member of your project team for your proposal? What things do you need to learn more about in order to be an effective member of that team?

Reseources

Use your What's the Future of Business? text to read the following:

Chapter 5, "The Dim Light at the End of the Funnel."

Chapter 6, "The Zero Moment of Truth."

Chapter 7, "The Ultimate Moment of Truth."

Chapter 8, "Opening a Window Into New Consumerism."

Use your Collaborative Enterprise Architecture text to read the following:

Chapter 5, "EA Maturity Models."

Chapter 6, "Foundations of Collaborative EA."

Use the Internet to read the following:

Masing's 2009 article, "Aligning IT With Business Goals," from Information Management.

Columbus's 2015 article, "Roundup of Cloud Computing Forecasts and Market Estimates, 2015," from Forbes.

Optional Skillsoft Resource

Vaulz, C. (n.d.). Communication, changes, and documentation [Tutorial]. Skillsoft.