project draft
jeevanraj
it_675_gr.rtf
IT 675: Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
The final project for this course is a two-part project: an executive presentation and a technical proposal. The final project presents a detailed scenario regarding the merger of two insurance companies. For the project, the student is positioned as the chief information officer (CIO) and is asked to lead an initiative to merge the data infrastructures of both insurance companies into a single consolidated data warehouse. For the first part of the project, the student prepares an executive presentation to outline the project, its importance, and its scope. For the second part, the student prepares a technical proposal that outlines in greater detail how the data from both organizations will be unified into a data warehouse.
The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Four, and Six. The Final Project will be submitted in two parts: Part I in Module Eight and
Part II in Module Nine.
In this assignment you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
- Assess the effectiveness of data warehouses and database management systems in supporting specific business goals and decision making
- Design architectures for data warehouses that address business problems and increase business opportunity
- Construct plans for implementing a data warehouse that meet stakeholder needs and business specifications
- Analyze constraints and opportunities associated with integrating data from various systems into a data warehouse
- Develop strategies for ensuring data integrity, accuracy, and quality by employing appropriate data scrubbing and integration techniques
Prompts
Scenario
Refer to the following scenario for the background and basis for your data warehouse design:
Imagine you are the chief information officer (CIO) for Virtual World Insurance Company, an organization located in San Diego, California. It provides auto insurance coverage to more than 100,000 customers across the United States and currently has 100 employees. Virtual World Insurance Company has recently acquired Maxon Insurance Company, located in Ontario, Canada. Maxon Insurance Company has 10 employees and provides auto insurance to 10,000 customers in Canada.
As a result of this merger, the chief executive officer (CEO) has asked you to look at a data warehouse as a viable solution for merging both information technology (IT) infrastructures. After doing research, you decide to create a data warehouse that will combine the customer information from both companies into one centralized location.
Maxon Insurance Company does not have a relational database. In fact, the company currently stores its data in multiple data sources. As a result, Maxon
Insurance Company’s data does not have any unique identifiers. Also, customers with multiple insurance policies have duplicate records. Each spreadsheet repeats the customer’s demographic information.
Each insurance company utilizes a distinct customer relationship management (CRM) system. The CRM systems are used to keep a record of all customers and any communications that are sent to customers. The CRM systems tie into an in-house billing system that is used to bill for insurance premiums, insurance deductibles, and any other billable items.
To manage organizational operations, each company uses a different enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The ERP systems are used to manage human resources (hires, terminations, etc.), payroll, budgeting, accounting, and fixed assets.
To streamline operations and reduce maintenance costs, all data systems (ERP, CRM, billing, etc.) will need to be consolidated into a data warehouse. This will avoid duplicated information and data redundancy.
Prompt I: Executive Presentation
Prior to creating the technical proposal for the data warehouse, the CEO would like you to present to the C-level executives the concepts of a data warehouse. The purpose of the presentation is to discuss the viability of creating a data warehouse and providing justification to allocate resources to complete this project. Given your research, how viable an option is creating a data warehouse? What evidence exists to support the decision to merge the existing IT infrastructures into a data warehouse? What are the key potential issues and the key goals that the data warehouse needs to meet? What are some potential issues you might face in merging the two infrastructures? Prepare a presentation that discusses:
Concepts of a Data Warehouse : Assess the value of using a data warehouse. Specifically, discuss the types of information that a data warehouse should include and how the information is organized. Why is a data warehouse the preferred solution? What value would a data warehouse add to a business?
Integration of Data Sources : Discuss in detail the sources of information that can be integrated from the various operational areas of the organization. For example, while some information is housed in Excel spreadsheets, sales and marketing data may be in a CRM (customer resource management).
Pros and Cons :
Cost and Return on Investment: How is the cost of a data warehouse worth the investment? What type of information can a data warehouse provide that would make the cost more acceptable? How will the organization benefit from a data warehouse? Are there any negative consequences of having a data warehouse? Which specific operational areas will feel the benefits?
Required Resources: What are the costs associated with a data warehouse? Will any additional staff be required to maintain and support the data warehouse? Be sure to explain the importance of each resource you identify.
Informational Value: How can the information in a data warehouse add value to the organization? What specific business opportunities could be illuminated and how would the use of a DBMS help solve business problems?
Limitations: What are some functions that a data warehouse cannot perform? How scalable is a data warehouse? How can the organization overcome these obstacles to ensure data quality? Support your conclusions.
IV. Key Business Considerations : Address some of the business-related considerations. Some considerations include: Prior to investing in a specific data warehouse, what type of hardware and/or software will you consider? Will you hire a consultant to help with the implementation process? What is required prior to moving data to a data warehouse? Will there be necessary training? Support your conclusions.
Closing statement : Summarize the overall presentation with care. This is your closing statement, the last message to your audiences and your last chance to convince them of the value of a data warehouse for solving their business problems.
Prompt II: Technical Proposal
Having successfully explained the value of designing a warehouse to facilitate the merger between Virtual World Insurance Company and Maxon Insurance, you are now responsible for creating the full-fledged proposal. Your proposal must include your architecture and a technical plan for implementation that highlights potential difficulties. It is important that you communicate in a manner that can be understood by executives, but can also be understood by members of your IT group to plan for future implementation. The challenge will be balancing audience-appropriate communication with adhering to the technical nature of your task. Remember to include all of the necessary aspects of a data warehouse and to attend to potential issues, both common aspects and those unique to your organization.
Your technical proposal must attend to the following critical elements:
Introduction: Provide an introduction that lays the groundwork for your proposal and tells the audience both what the point of the proposal is and how it will benefit the organizations.
Data Warehouse Architecture :
Architecture Design: Provide a clear visualization of the architecture, showing the important aspects that will allow for integration of organizational information.
Architecture Defense: Explain the architecture that you have designed and the reasoning behind the choices you have made. What approach did you take in designing your architecture (for example, did you follow a top-down or bottom-up approach or did you incorporate strategies from multiple approaches)? How will your architecture address business problems? Be sure to provide support from relevant sources or examples.
Database Management System (DBMS): Provide your justification and rationale for the DBMS that you select. Discuss the DBMS tools that you considered. Why was the DBMS you selected the best choice for the organization in terms of supporting decision making and aligning to the business goals?
Implementation Plan :
Timeline: Include a reasonable timeline for implementation. Considerations include: Is there sufficient time between milestones? What milestones and key deliverables will be required to complete the data warehouse from start to finish?
Resources: What resources will be required for implementing the warehouse? Will you use your local IT department or an external vendor? What are the approximate costs for this project? Why are the resources you have identified necessary? Provide examples to support your claims.
Training: Propose a logical training plan for employees. Be sure to specify the level of training needs for various positions and explain your reasoning.
Security Policy: Craft a policy for maintaining security that meets organization needs. Considerations include, but are not limited to: Who will have access to the data warehouse? Who will you work with to determine access rights for users? Will employees have access to the records from both companies?
IV. Data Integration and Scrubbing :
Data Integrity: How will you combine date fields with various formats (i.e., MMDDYYYY vs. DDMMYYYY)? What other data issues will need to be addressed?
Primary Key(s): What will you use as a unique identifier to combine the records? What primary keys, foreign keys, and indexes will you need to create?
Customer Data: Once the data is merged into the data warehouse, how will you be able to differentiate customers from Virtual World Insurance Company and customers from Maxon Insurance Company?
Duplicate Data: How will you eliminate duplicate records in the database to ensure data quality?
Milestones
Milestone One: Data Warehouse Pros and Cons Analysis
In Module Two, you will submit your data warehouse pros and cons analysis. Review the scenario for the final assessment. Using the scenario, develop a pros and cons analysis of implementing a data warehouse. Include the following elements: 1) cost and return on investment (ROI), 2) required resources, 3) informational value, and 4) limitations. This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Implementation Plan
In Module Four, you will submit your implementation plan. Review the scenario for the final assessment. Using the scenario, develop this portion of the project plan. To meet requirements you should include four aspects in the implementation plan: 1) timeline, 2) resources, 3) training, and 4) security policy. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.
Milestone Three: Data Integrity and Scrubbing Portion
In Module Six, you will submit your data integrity and scrubbing portion of the plan. Review the scenario for the final assessment. Using the scenario, develop this portion of the project plan. To meet requirements you will need to address the four aspects of this subsection of the proposal, which are as follows: 1) data integrity, 2) primary key(s), 3) customer data, and 4) duplicate data. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.
Final Submission: Executive Presentation and Technical Proposal
In Module Eight, you will submit the first part of your Final Project, the Executive Presentation, which should outline the project, its importance, and its scope. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded using Final Project Rubric I.
In Module Nine, you will submit the second part of your Final Project, the Technical Proposal, which should outline in greater detail how the data from both organizations will be unified into a data warehouse. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded using Final Project Rubric II.
Deliverables
Milestone
Deliverables
Module Due
Grading
1
Data Warehouse Pros and Cons
Two
Graded separately; Milestone One Rubric
Analysis
2
Implementation Plan
Four
Graded separately; Milestone Two Rubric
3
Data Integrity and Scrubbing
Six
Graded separately; Milestone Three Rubric
Portion
Final Project Submission: Executive
Eight
Graded separately; Final Project Rubric I
Presentation
Final Project Submission: Technical
Nine
Graded separately; Final Project Rubric II
Proposal
Final Project Rubric I
Guidelines for Submission: Your presentation does not have to be in the form of a PowerPoint; however, if you use another tool (such as Prezi), you must prepare a notes page with your intended speech or you must record yourself presenting your visual presentation. Remember that an effective presentation contains main points and visuals, but the meat of the presentation is in your verbal communication. The presentation should be approximately 8–12 slides with notes indicating intended speech or a recording of yourself giving your presentation. Remember, this is a professional presentation to high-level executives, so spelling errors or unprofessional elements could result in a less-than-favorable outcome for your proposal.
Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions.
Critical Elements
Exemplary (100%)
Proficient (90%)
Needs Improvement (70%)
Not Evident (0%)
Value
Concepts of a Data
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Provides a logical assessment of
Provides an assessment of the
Does not provide an overview
15
Warehouse
assessment of value includes
the use and purpose of a data
use and purpose of a data
of the use and purpose of a
support from relevant sources
warehouse with particular
warehouse, but lacks detail on
data warehouse
and comparable examples
focus on the information
the information housed in a
housed in a warehouse and
warehouse and potential for
potential for business solutions
business solution and decision
and decision making
making
Integration of Data
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Discusses the sources of
Discusses the sources of
Does not discuss the sources
15
Sources
information that must be
information that must be
of information that must be
integrated from the various
integrated from the various
integrated from the various
operational areas of the
operational areas of the
operational areas of the
that are the sources of
organization with accurate
organization, but lacks accuracy
organization
information
detail and specificity regarding
or lacks detail and specificity
the place each holds in the
regarding the place each holds
organizational structure
in the organizational structure
Cost and Return on
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Provides a detailed and logical
Discusses the cost of
Does not discuss the cost of
10
Investment
analysis of cost versus value is
analysis of the cost of
integrating systems versus
integrating systems versus the
centered on the particular
integrating systems versus the
value of a data warehouse, but
value of a data warehouse
business environment of the
value of a data warehouse
lacks necessary detail for a
scenario
comprehensive analysis
Required Resources
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Accurately analyzes the
Analyzes the particular costs,
Does not analyze the
10
takes the analysis a step further
particular costs, labor,
labor, equipment, and other
particular costs, labor,
by expounding on the
equipment, and other
resources that may be required,
equipment, and other
resources that may be required
but not accurately, or the
resources that may be
presented by attaining such
and explains the importance of
importance of each is not
required
resources
each
explained accurately
Informational Value
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Accurately analyzes the
Analyzes the business
Does not analyze the business
15
business opportunities and
opportunities and problem-
opportunities and problem-
problem-solving capabilities of
solving capabilities of the
solving capabilities of the
the information that can be
information that can be housed
information that can be
housed in a data warehouse
in a data warehouse, but not
housed in a data warehouse
specific to the scenario
accurately or specifically to the
scenario
Data Limitations
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Describes common methods for
Describes methods for
Does not describe methods for
10
support includes relevant
overcoming possible limitations
overcoming possible limitations
overcoming possible
examples and quality sources
of integrating, scaling, and
of integrating, scaling, and
limitations of integrating,
ensuring data quality with
ensuring data quality, but
scaling, and ensuring data
support
description is not
quality
comprehensive or lacks
relevant examples
Key Considerations
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Determines key business
Provides key business
Does not provide key business
15
defense of claims is particularly
considerations from the
considerations but lacks
considerations
well qualified with logic driven
scenario and research and
supportive sources and
from business context, real-
supports claims with examples
examples that highlight
world examples, and
and sources that highlight
relevance of considerations to
scholarly/professional sources
relevance to increasing
increasing business opportunity
business opportunity
Closing Statements
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Summarizes the overall
Summarizes the overall
Does not summarize the
5
summary of presentation
presentation with attention to
presentation, but does not
overall presentation
highlights the value of a data
audience and emphasis on the
emphasize the value of a data
warehouse in a manner that
value of a data warehouse
warehouse or does not cater to
would lend to an acceptance (in
the audience
other words, it is persuasive)
Articulation of
Submission is free of errors
Submission has no major errors
Submission has major errors
Submission has critical errors
5
Response
related to citations, grammar,
related to citations, grammar,
related to citations, grammar,
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
spelling, syntax, or organization
spelling, syntax, or organization
spelling, syntax, or
organization, and is presented
that negatively impact
organization that prevent
in a professional and easy-to-
readability and articulation of
understanding of ideas
read format
main ideas
Earned Total
100%
Rubric Annotations
Term
Context for Instructor/Definition
Digs deep into the specifics of the operational/functional
Should dig really deep into the different functions in the organization, such as accounting,
areas
financial, HR, and so on
Fringe benefits/unintended benefits
Provides specific details and examples that highlight the
Well-detailed discussion regarding “business opportunities and value”—specifically, this needs
value of data warehouses for business contexts
to point to the specific operations in the organization, such as accounting, finance, marketing,
sales, HR, and so on.
Final Project Rubric II
Guidelines for Submission: Your technical proposal should be logically organized with all of the key elements of a professional proposal. There are several types of proposals (click here for general guidelines for writing professional proposals), so you must work to cater yours to your specific content and audience. Your proposal must include a visual representation of your data warehouse architecture design, as well as properly cited sources where appropriate. Submission lengths will vary.
Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions.
Critical Elements
Exemplary (100%)
Proficient (90%)
Needs Improvement (70%)
Not Evident (0%)
Value
Introduction
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Submission includes an
Submission includes an
Submission does not include an
5
introduction is particularly well
introduction that lays the
introduction that lays the
introduction that lays the
articulated with specific
groundwork for the proposal
groundwork for the proposal,
groundwork for the proposal
examples and logical
by articulating the business
but lacks detail around the
identification of key business
context and problems at hand
business context and problems
factors
at hand
Data Warehouse
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Warehouse design is organized
Warehouse design is not clear,
Does not include a warehouse
11.25
Architecture: Design
is creatively represented or
and clear, and comprehensively
is not organized, or does not
design
unique in comparison with
indicates aspects of the
comprehensively indicate all
other designs
organizational information that
necessary aspects of the
will be integrated
organizational information that
will be integrated
Data Warehouse
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Logically defends architecture
Provides reasoning behind
Does not provide reasoning
11.25
Architecture:
supports defense with real-
architecture design choices and
behind architecture design
Architecture Defense
world examples and scholarly
with examples and relevant
approach, but does not defend
choices and approach
sources
sources
with examples and relevant
sources or defense overlooks
relevant factors
Data Warehouse
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Defends the selection of DBMS
Defends the selection of DBMS
Does not defend the selection
22.5
Architecture:
defense includes relevant
tools in terms of effectively
tools, but not in terms of
of DBMS tools
Database
examples and sources that
meeting organizational needs
organizational needs or
Management System
provide particularly strong
with logical arguments and
without logical argument or
(DBMS)
support
sources of support
sources for support
Implementation Plan:
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Crafts a reasonable timeline for
Crafts a timeline, but the
Does not craft a timeline
5.62
Timeline
timeline detail is focused
implementation
timeline is not reasonable
around the key deliverables
required to complete the
warehouse or is exceptionally
well defined in terms of
milestone needs
Implementation Plan:
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Identification of necessary
Identification of necessary
Does not defend identification
5.62
Resources
specific examples pertain to
resources is defended with
resources is defended, but
of necessary resources
the individual organization
specific examples and relevant
lacks detail or explanations and
explanations
examples are not relevant
Implementation Plan:
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Proposes a logical training plan
Proposes a training plan, but
Does not propose a training
5.62
Training
training plan is catered to both
for implementation that
lacks detail around level of
plan
organizations or is
includes the reasoning behind
training needed or plan is not
exceptionally well planned
the level of training needs for
entirely logical for
various positions
implementation
Implementation Plan:
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Submission includes a security
Submission includes a security
Submission does not include a
5.62
Security Policy
policy meets organizational
policy that considers
policy that considers
security policy that considers
needs to the point of being
permission levels and access
permission levels and access
permission levels and access
rights, and meets
rights, but the policy does not
organizational needs
meet organizational needs
Data Integration and
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Articulates the correct methods
Articulates methods for
Does not articulate methods
5.63
Scrubbing: Data
methods described are the best
for combining data fields with
combining data fields with
for combining data fields with
Integrity
various formats to ensure data
various formats, but methods
various formats
integrity for the given scenario
is not lost or compromised
are not correct for ensuring
and specific issue
data is not lost or compromised
Data Integration and
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Articulates appropriate primary
Articulates primary keys,
Does not articulate primary
5.63
Scrubbing: Primary
identified keys and indexes are
keys, foreign keys, and indexes
foreign keys, and indexes
keys, foreign keys, and indexes
Keys
the most appropriate for each
for creation that will ensure a
necessary, but not all will
necessary
clear and accurate warehouse
ensure a clear and accurate
within the data warehouse
warehouse
Data Integration and
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Articulates plausible methods
Articulates methods for
Does not articulate methods
5.63
Scrubbing: Customer
articulated methods are the
for differentiating customer
differentiating customer data
for differentiating between
Data
data from each company after
from each company after data
customer data from each
accompanying explanation,
data is merged
is merged, but not all methods
company after data is merged
accompanying scenario, and
are plausible, or necessary
integration issues that have
detail is left out of explanation
been identified in the proposal
Data Integration and
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
Articulates valid, plausible
Articulates strategies for
Does not articulate strategies
5.63
Scrubbing: Duplicate
identified strategies are the
strategies for eliminating
eliminating duplicate records
for eliminating duplicate
Data
duplicate records and ensuring
and ensuring data quality and
records to ensure data quality
accompanying explanation,
data quality and accuracy
accuracy, but not all strategies
and accuracy
accompanying scenario, and
are valid or plausible
integration issues that have
been identified in the proposal
Articulation of
Submission is free of errors
Submission has no major errors
Submission has major errors
Submission has critical errors
5
Response
related to citations, grammar,
related to citations, grammar,
related to citations, grammar,
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
spelling, syntax, or organization
spelling, syntax, or organization
spelling, syntax, or organization
organization, and is presented
that negatively impact
that prevent understanding of
in a professional and easy-to-
readability and articulation of
ideas
read format
main ideas
Earned Total
100%
Rubric Annotations
Term
Context for Instructor/Definition
Additional context for consideration (in terms of the approach aspect of this critical element):
Will this be a comparison of the different approaches? Top down vs. bottom up? Student chooses one and follows it
through?
The timeline points of interest are spaced in a realistic manner without unnecessary lapse time.
Includes sufficient detail and covers necessary considerations for immediate implementation in the organizations listed.
There are no obvious barriers to immediate implementation of the policy for security (once the warehouse is
constructed, of course).
Most appropriate for each given integration problem. For example, the proposed method for solving the issue of
MMDDYYYY versus DDMMYYYY is not only a method that will work, but also is the most straightforward and appropriate
method for that specific issue.
At minimum, each primary key (for example) accurately and succinctly acts as the unique identifier for whatever it is
representing.
Not only are all of the methods realistic and possible for differentiating customer data, but the methods discussed fit
within the scenario provided, are fully explained and defended as the most appropriate given any restraints or issues
that have been identified, or are the most appropriate given the expertise of the subject matter expert who is evaluating
the submission (the instructor).
