Analyze user needs to develop a requirements document including a feasibility study. GEL-1.02:?Demonstrate college-level communication through the composition of original material

IT460-2: Analyze user needs to develop a requirements document including a feasibility study.

GEL-1.02: Demonstrate college-level communication through the composition of original materials in Standard English.

Purpose

You as the Systems Analyst have practiced analyzing business cases and will now produce documentation that may lead to a viable project. You will also be asked to start the process of transforming those business requirements into more detailed system requirements, describe what the new system must do to provide the needed value to the business.

This assignment is considered a “Business Case.” An outline is provided to help get you started. You can search online and refer to Chapter 1 for additional details and appropriate ROI formulas or costs. You may create additional details or constraints to define your work.

Process

Review the scenario presented. You will be as asked to analyze the situation, develop a proposed system solution, perform an analysis based on the information presented, and develop a method to gather more information to validate your requirements.

Assignment Instructions and Requirements

Scenario: 

Mystic Brewery is a local start-up company formed by two brothers and partners, Jake and Pete. Each has their own brewing equipment and they have recently purchased a small building that was once a car sales/body shop to combine their previous disparate businesses into one microbrewery. They have converted part of the back-mechanic area into a brewing station and the front sales and reception desk into a small taproom. There is no food service. There is ample space inside that can be used for expanded capacity or growth. The space includes access to a fenced back car lot accessible by garage doors that they hope to convert into an outdoor entertainment area.

Each brother has previously worked inventory, sales, and costs on his own. They have different styles and personalities. Jake likes experimental and higher ABV beers and has invested in a small capacity canning line hoping to expand their capacity to distribute to local restaurants.

Pete is more practical and down to earth, preferring a classic American lager; he’s recently invested in a meat smoker and hopes to expand the back-car lot to include family friendly entertainment…potentially with food service. Pete thinks that the company would benefit from growlers and refills of their beers.

They currently have no Internet connection. There are two computers with Windows 7 and Microsoft Office. Emails have been accessed via cell phone. Inventory and sales receipts are hand-written on old-fashioned paper forms with carbon copy, and the data is entered later into an Excel file on one of the computers in each store every night. At the end of every night, the Excel file is copied onto a flash drive and transferred to the second store computer as backup.

They need a real database, updated operating systems, inventory and supply tracking, and potentially a Point of Sale/credit card processing system. There is currently no web or social media presence. All business has been generated through word of mouth and previous clients.

What they do have is a high-quality beer and a passion for growth.

Keep in mind that your clients are not particularly technically minded; avoid highly technical jargon and be direct with all statements and questions.

Documentation and Paper Process

You are writing a descriptive paper. Use the outline provided to get you started. The process steps are described in the paragraphs below; make sure you address each element. You are free to add additional appendices or information as needed. Remember this is a preliminary proposal! You will be developing a method to further gather additional requirements to determine the feasibility study. Your content must be organized as explained below and all parts of the assignment must be written in your own words. Please refer to the assignment requirements, which includes a title and reference page as well as formatting specifications in APA style.

Problem Definition

Paragraph 1: Give more detail to articulate the problem.

Paragraph 2: Propose at least two potential types of information system solutions to solve the problem.

They may be similar but must have at least one component that is different – and you must identify what kind of Information System or Systems you are proposing:

• Executive Information Systems (ESS)
• Decision Support Systems (DSS)
• Management Information Systems (MIS)
• Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)
• Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems

Cost-Benefit Analysis/ROI (for BOTH alternatives)

Table(s):

• Provide one-time purchase costs (hardware and/or software), including quantity, brands, and dollar amounts.
• Provide ongoing costs (services), including vendor and dollar amount per month or year.
• Include the direct URL for any cost listed.

Paragraph: Explain your ROI findings in paragraph form.

HINT: It is important to explore alternatives to help in decision making. You will want to provide cost benefit analysis for BOTH possible alternatives.

Recommendation

Paragraph: Choose a solution! Write a paragraph that is meant to convince the client that your solution is in his/her best interests.

Project Benefits:

• Explain how project success will be measured (this must be more than simply stating the project is complete). How will be validated?
• Write a statement explaining of both the tangible and intangible benefits of the project.
• Provide an approximate timeline for the project, including and at least three discreet milestones that measure progress.

Requirements Determination:

Paragraph 1: More information is clearly needed to confirm your assumptions, validate your hypotheses and begin to flesh out the next steps and details of your proposal. Write a one paragraph method to gather more information to transform your proposal into more specific requirements. Think about ways to gather the information necessary to complete your feasibility study.

Table(s):

Feasibility:

Operational/Organizational Feasibility

Describe at least two factors that would show the project is operationally feasible.

Economic Feasibility

Describe at least two factors that show the project is economically feasible.

Gathering Requirements: Database

Write at least four questions in your quest to gather ideas for organizing data into a database.

Gathering Requirements: Security

Write at least two questions in your quest to gather ideas for ensuring data security.

Conclusion:

Short Paragraph: Briefly summarize the problem, your solution, project goals, and how it aligns to the company's mission. Connect your feasibility requirements back to your original solution.

Assignment Requirements

1. Include a title page and reference page.
2. Written work is provided in Standard English.
3. At least 3 pages in length, not counting the title page and reference page.
4. Includes a highly developed viewpoint, purpose and exceptional written content.
5. Writing demonstrates superior organization, is well ordered, logical, and unified.
6. Free of written grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
7. No evidence of plagiarism.
8. Make sure that the reference page is in the latest APA edition style.

For more information on APA style formatting, go to Academic Writer, formerly APA Style Central, under the Academic Tools area of this course.

Also review the university policy on plagiarism. If you have any questions, please contact your professor.