Week 2 Assignment – Project Plan Inception Overview This is the first of a series of five sequential assignments

Week 2 Assignment – Project Plan Inception

Overview

This is the first of a series of five sequential assignments (the course project) in which you will act as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of a hypothetical, e-commerce start-up company of your design. A venture capital group has funded this innovative start-up.

The CEO has given you 60 days to deliver an information technology project plan in anticipation of the company relocating to a new facility. Since this is a start-up company, currently no building or technology infrastructure exists to support the business. All information technology (hardware and software) must be implemented in a hosted solution, an on-site solution, or a hybrid model. The CEO expects you to integrate different technologies from a variety of partners and incorporate industry best practices to develop the company’s technological systems.

Additional background on the hypothetical companyCompany InformationCurrent StatusGrowth Projections (over next two years)Facility TypeNew facility is a two-story standalone building–Number of Employees1030Revenue$5 million$30 million

This assignment consists of two parts:

Part 1: Project Plan Inception

You will write a 5–7-page document outlining the project specifics, such as company background information, company business, and an overview of the company’s information systems infrastructure.

Part 2: Supporting Gantt Chart

You will use Microsoft Project to create a Gantt chart for your e-commerce company project.

Note:

• You are to create or assume all necessary assumptions to successfully complete this assignment.
• You must submit both parts as separate files to the assignment area. Label each file name according to the appropriate part.

Instructions

Part 1: Project Plan Inception

In a 5–7-page project plan inception document, you are to:

1. Develop your hypothetical e-commerce company's background information.
   • Refer to this article: Top 10 Largest Ecommerce Companies in the US in 2020, when developing your company’s background information.
     • This article outlines the major types of e-commerce companies in existence. Use this as a guide when deciding what background information to include about your hypothetical e-commerce company in your project plan inception document.
2. Document your chosen e-commerce company's business type, customers, and demographic information.
3. Describe the key elements of your e-commerce company's information systems infrastructure.
4. Develop a high-level block diagram of your e-commerce company's information systems infrastructure.
5. Use three sources to support your writing.
   • Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate.
   • Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment.
   • Access the library or review library guides for help with research, writing, and citation.

Part 2: Supporting Gantt Chart

Use Microsoft Project to create a Gantt chart identifying the major and minor tasks, illustrating dependency relationships between activities.