IFSM- Stage 3 & 4

Before you begin this assignment, be sure you have read the “UMUC Fitness Center Case Study” and “UMUC Fitness Center Stage One Project,” and “UMUC Fitness Center Stage Two Project” and the feedback from previous assignments.

IT Considerations for Proposed Technology Solution

For your Stage 2 Project, you proposed a technology solution to improve a business process at your UMUC Fitness Center. In evaluating an IT proposal, there are several areas that need to be considered. These considerations are listed in the table provided with this assignment. Depending on the specific technology solution you proposed, some of the considerations will be more important than others, or may need specific consideration prior to implementation. The responses that you enter into the table for each consideration must be aligned to the specific solution you proposed and appropriate to the UMUC Fitness Center.

Purpose of this Assignment

This assignment gives you the opportunity to apply your knowledge of the areas to be considered in planning and implementing a technology solution. This assignment specifically addresses the following course outcomes to enable you to:

· analyze internal and external business processes to identify information systems requirements

· identify and plan IT solutions that meet business objectives.

Assignment

Using the technology solution you proposed in Stage 2, you should briefly explain it and then copy the table below and complete the remaining two columns. For each area of consideration, you should rank it as high, medium or low in importance or relevance for the specific technology solution you proposed for the UMUC Fitness Center. If that area of consideration is Not Applicable to your proposed solution, enter N/A. Then, provide a brief explanation, a minimum of two sentences for each, to justify that ranking or the N/A. Explanations must provide enough information to convey the reasoning behind the ranking. DO NOT copy the definitions from the textbook or other sources but put into your own words to demonstrate your understanding of the concept as you provide your explanation for the ranking. Use the Grading Rubric to be sure you have covered everything. Submit your paper with answers to parts 1 and 2 below via your Assignment Folder as a Microsoft Word document with your last name included in the filename.

Part 1: Brief explanation of proposed technology solution. Identify what the solution is, what it is expected to do for the UMUC Fitness Center, summarizing the information you provided for Stage 2.

Part 2: Table of IT Considerations

The "right" and "wrong" answers have to do with whether or not you correctly ranked each consideration as it relates to your proposed technology solution and have provided a well-supported explanation for the ranking you assigned. Your responses will be evaluated on whether they are applicable to the solution, correctly ranked, adequately explained, and are appropriate to the UMUC Fitness Center. Use the Rubric below to be sure you have covered all aspects.

GRADING RUBRIC:

Concepts:

Accessibility: Baltzan textbook, page 175, “refers to the varying levels that define what a user can access, view, or perform when operating a system”

Availability: Baltzan textbook, page 175, 176, “refers to the time frames when the system is operational”

Maintainability: Baltzan textbook, page 176 – 177, “refers to how quickly a system can transform to support environmental changes”. Examples are multi-currency acceptance, acceptance of credit cards, multiple languages, etc.

Portability: Baltzan textbook, page 177, “the ability of an application to operate on different devices or software platforms such as different operating systems”

Reliability: Baltzan textbook, page 177, “ensures a system is functioning correctly and providing accurate information”

Scalability: Baltzan textbook, page 177, “how well a system can scale up, or adapt to the increased demands of growth”

Usability: Baltzan textbook, page 178, “the degree to which a system is easy to learn and efficient and satisfying to use”

Disaster Recovery Plan: Baltzan textbook, pages 172 – 173, “detailed process for recovering information or a system in the event of a catastrophic disaster”

Authentication & Authorization (Security): Baltzan textbook, pages 149 – 151, examples include user id/password, smart card/token, biometric technology

Prevention & Resistance (Security): Baltzan textbook, pages 151 – 153, examples include content filtering, encryption, firewall, antivirus software

Detection & Response (Security): Baltzan textbook, pages 153 – 154, example includes intrusion detection software

Grid Computing: Baltzan textbook, pages 181 – 183, “a collection of computers, often geographically dispersed, that are coordinated to solve a common problem”

Cloud Computing: Baltzan textbook, pages 182 – 187, “the use of resources and applications hosted remotely on the Internet”

Virtualized Computing: Baltzan textbook, pages 187 – 190, “creates multiple ‘virtual’ machines on a single computing device”

Communications Architecture: Baltzan textbook, Appendix B

Database Architecture: Baltzan textbook, Appendix C

Decision Support: Baltzan textbook, pages 52 – 57, “model information using online analytical processing, which provides assistance in evaluating the choosing among different courses of action”

Artificial Intelligence: Baltzan textbook, pages 57 – 61, “simulates human thinking and behavior, such as the ability to reason and learn”

Business-to-Business eCommerce: Baltzan textbook, page 98, “applies to businesses buying from and selling to each other over the Internet”

Business-to-Consumer eCommerce: Baltzan textbook, pages 98 - 99, “applies to any business that sells its products or services directly to consumers online”

Resources:

Walmart Case Example, in Course Content