Professional Consulting in Information System (IS) – Project plan and report Project Idea: development, adoption and implem

Project Implementation In this phase, you will put your plan to work. Once you have completed your project, developed your deliverables, and reached your conclusions, you must prepare a written report. The final report and accompanying deliverables must be approved by your course professor before you can submit to the MSIS faculty for the final defense. Be sure to give the MSIS faculty at least one week before your desired presentation date to effectively review the project. Follow the formatting guidelines as documented in the formatting guideline document. You can download a copy from the Graduate School website or the course shell. The Project Report (see also Part II, Report Format and Layout document) While the plan described what you were going to do, the report tells what you have completed. You will build upon the written plan. All reports should include the following sections:

1. Executive Summary a. A concise summary or the important points of the report (one page maximum).

Write this last. 2. Introduction

a. Brief overview of the report 3. Statement of problem or question you identified

a. Restatement of the problem you identified and addressed in the project proposal. b. Is it the same problem described in your plan? If not, why not? How and why did it

change? Did your committee approve the change? i. Repeat what you discovered in your literature search describing how the problem

is typically addressed and add any new material you discovered about this problem.

ii. What solutions or techniques are being used? iii. What technology is current and is it effective?

4. Objectives (Goals, purpose) a. Present the project objectives. Very specifically discuss the outcomes expected. b. What are the deliverables?

5. Results and Conclusions a. Describe what you did to achieve your objectives. In your plan, you indicated what

activities you planned, what actions you intended to undertake to complete the project, and your project plan. Now in this section you describe how this worked. What you did and how you did it.

b. Cite any references you used to help with the project solution. c. Did you achieve your objective? d. Do you create all the anticipated deliverables, if not why? e. What did you learn? Document any lessons learned. f. What do you see for future or additional work?

6. Submit the final version of your written report to your professor at least one week prior to the date on which you wish to make your formal presentation. You will not be given a presentation date until you and the course professor agree that the written report is complete.

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MSIS PROJECT

Introduction The Professional Consulting in IS, BIT 595, will serve as a final research activity conducted by students under the direction of the faculty. The MSIS project is a scholarly, integrative experience. Students are expected to apply the theoretical and practical concepts learned in their coursework to an actual information technology problem.

Project Requirements In the Professional Consulting in IS course you must:

1. design, plan and/or implement an IS project demonstrating the skills and knowledge learned in the MSIS coursework,

2. prepare a structured written report describing that project and deliverables, 3. make a formal presentation to the MSIS faculty, and 4. submit the approved report to the course professor.

Project Idea and Approval 1. Discuss your preliminary ideas with course professor.

Your project idea is your responsibility. Ideas may come from coursework; class or team discussions; your workplace; past experiences; needs identified; or prototypes developed to solve remembered problems.

2. Submit your project idea by end of second week of the semester. This must include a brief description of your idea and project timeline. The project timeline includes the processes involved in meeting the course objectives. Project approval will come from your professor.

Project Plan and Proposal Development The Project Plan describes what you plan to do; what your project is all about. The plan is a detailed document that answers the questions why, what, and how. It includes the following sections and information:

• Introduction o This should be a very brief overview of the business and the problem you are

attempting to solve. • Statement of problem or question [This section answers the question WHY?]

o Why are you doing this?  To solve a problem or meet a need. Identify the problem you have identified and

are addressing in this project. o Include a review of the current situation (or literature review) to describe what is

going on in this area or discipline now.  How is the problem being addressed now?  What solutions or techniques are being used?  What technology is current and is it effective?

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• Objectives (Goals, purpose) [This section answers the question WHAT?] o What do you plan to achieve? o What is the desired outcome of this project? o Deliverables  Describe what you will actually have once you have completed your project. For

example, this could be a feasibility study, an information system, a website, a program, theoretical review, etc.

 Be specific here – e.g., (1) A website that allows visitors to enter their name, e- mail address, and question; (2) a database that stores all visitor information (name, e-mail address, question, etc.); (3) a program that automatically determines the nature of the questions and returns an automated answer

• Scope of the Project. (Scope of work, Plan of action, Activities) [This section answers the question HOW?] o Describe how you plan to achieve the objectives. o Discuss the activities you have identified that will help reach your desired result.

These are the specific activities you will undertake to solve the problem or meet your objectives.

o Here you describe how your project or idea will differ or improve on what is being done and how you intend to accomplish this.

o Include a detailed project plan.

When your project idea has been approved and the plan written, you must receive formal approval from your course professor before you move into the implementation phase.

• Submit the plan to your course professor. Allow at least 10 days for feedback. • Make any required changes in scope or edits to the report. • Approval is signaled by your course professor’s approval following the final submission

of the plan after any edits.

Important note: You cannot move into the implementation phase until your plan has been approved.

Presentation (see Presentation Guide document) You are expected to make a formal presentation of your project at its completion. Students and faculty will be invited to all presentations. If the project presentation contains proprietary information and you intend to require your committee and any audience present to sign a non-disclosure agreement you must inform the committee in advance so they can determine the best course of action.

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Continuation If you cannot complete the project in the semester in which you are completing the implementation phase, you must register for BIT 589 Continuing Education. Registering for BIT 589 costs $200 per semester. You should register for BIT 589 only in the semesters that you will work on your project. If you need to take a semester off let the MSIS Program Director know and a Leave of Absence will be filed. The Program Director will stay in touch with you to encourage your completion of the project.

Evaluation Your project will be evaluated on several factors (see Project Evaluation), including how well the project integrates what you are expected to have learned in your core courses, how well the completed project meets the objectives identified for the project, and how well it meets the course objectives. Both the written report and the presentation are evaluated.

Archiving Masters’ projects have value as records of scholarship at Minot State University. Therefore, the University preserves and makes available the project reports to scholars and the public by maintaining an archival collection. Each student will submit a PDF of the final version of the project. The PDF will be stored in a secure location. If you do not want your final project archived, please contact the MSIS Program Director.