BUAD 3050: FINAL PROJECT Project –An important part of the course is a term-project where students will work individually or in small groups to research how MIS/IT is used in a specific functional area of business or a specific MIS/IT related issue, technology or application. Since there is no in class session to present the material live -- the final project will require the creation of a digitally captured version of the presentation in a file that includes both the presentation slide deck and an audio or video component (min/max 9-11 minutes in length). Also required for this assignment is a bibliography and/or list of references upon which the information presented was based. If the project is completed as a group, each group member will also need to submit a project report (one submission per group member) that discusses the how the project efforts were distributed among group members, identifies the role played by that group member and makes comment about the group experience. You may choose your term project's topic from any one of the following alternatives:  Alternative A: Functional Area Review Your task in Alternative A is to study the role of a functional area within a corporate environment – as it relates to MIS and summarize it within the dimensions described below. You will need to interview (a minimum of 3) professionals working in the field and conduct literature research to obtain the necessary information. If completed as a group, each group member must be involved in at least one interview. The scope of your project and presentation must address these 5 dimensions:      Role: Describe the basic purpose(s) and function(s) of the area. Don't oversimplify your explanations. For example, a typical HR department does not just hire and fire. Try to discover the different facets of the role. Consider various levels of management when discussing the purpose and function. Answer the question of what is the scope of each managerial level (operational, middle, executive). Data: What data is collected by this functional area? Where does the data come from? What are the typical transactions (business events) generated/captured by this area? Is there any source data automation applied? Identify both internal and external sources of data. (If you don’t understand any of the terms in this paragraph – look them up!) Information Disseminated: What types of information are produced by this area? For what purpose is the information used and by whom? How is the information published? What are some typical reports or publications produced by this department? What types of decisions does this functional area make? Again, this should be addressed within the management levels. Information Systems: What information systems (applications) support this functional area? Identify them by title: (A/R, MRP, Benefits Administration, etc.) Discuss the purpose of the applications, describe what they do, how they work, who uses them. Identify various TPS, MIS, DSS, ES systems used by this area – research systems that serve the functional area under review and introduce/describe the basic modules available. Sample screen shots might add some clarity and would be an added bonus, but are not required. Emerging Technology: Is there emerging technology within this area that is projected to change how the unit functions? Identify it and explain it. Is there emerging technology that provides greater efficiencies for the department? Is there emerging technology that allows the functional area to serve the organization in a new/better way? As you study these dimensions of the project, where applicable, study them within the context of management levels (operational, middle vs. upper). This is not to be a theoretical research project, but rather should focus on real businesses with real systems. You will need to achieve a balance between providing enough details to successfully explain the subject – yet, not so much detail as to overshadow the big picture. DO NOT PRESENT THE INFORMATION FROM THE VANTAGE POINT OF THE INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED! Generalize the information enough to represent the functional area within the context of most organizations.  Alternative B: Select a specific IS/IT issue or topic and do further readings. For example, you may do further readings on any of the following topics. The following list is not exhaustive: o Security and Ethical Issues of MIS o How Big Data is used in Marketing o Data Mining o Business Intelligence and Data Visualization Tools o Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems in Financial Applications o Business Process Reengineering o Managing MIS projects o Customer Relationship Management Systems o Supply Chain Management Systems o Intranets & Extranets and how they are used by businesses o Mobile Communications & the Sales Force o Cloud Computing o Digital Convergence o Social Media – its use and place in business. o Financial Planning in the Digital Economy o Wireless communications and commerce o New Business Models in the Digital Economy o Any new technology that has impacts on business Regardless of the topic, the focus of this alternative is on how businesses are applying the technology or system to their operations. Provide specific examples of business cases. This is not to be a theoretical research project only, rather focus on real businesses with real issues and real success/failures. Provide detailed examples and stories to illustrate and bring life to the information. The scope of your project and presentation must include these dimensions:      Description: Describe the technology or system. What is it? Who developed it? Why was it developed? What does it cost to implement? Historical Perspective: How was the function/process performed previously? What were the limitations or weaknesses of the previous technology? Application: How is the technology being applied? What are the benefits/limitations? If looking at a specific type of software – compare and contrast different vendors’ product offerings in that space. Case Studies: Who has used/implemented the technology? Use concrete examples. Describe in detail the successes/failures of those examples. Future Outlook: What is the future outlook for the technology/system? Is there emerging technology within this area that is projected to change how the existing technology functions? Identify it and explain it. Defining the Group/Individual: Decide if you will complete the project as an individual or within a group. Enroll yourself on Blackboard into a group. (Even those of you completing the project alone – must do this step. Find and click on the Final Project button on Blackboard. Final Project Signup Link inside that content area. and select the Peruse the list and select one (and only one) group to enroll in. The first 8 groups listed – are for groups and will allow up to 4 students to Sign up for that group. The last 10 groups listed are for individuals and will allow only 1 student to sign up for that group. You must sign up as either a member of a group – or as an individual. Note – I cannot control how many other students enroll in your group – so there is a chance that you may want to be part of a group – but find no other students in the course who want to work in that group. If you sign up for a group and change your mind – message me via Blackboard to reset your enrollment. You must self-enroll in a group (to be part of a group or to identify yourself as one completing the project individually) by Sunday, July 19th. Selecting a Project Alternative: Review the project alternatives and, by consensus, select a suitable alternative. If selecting Alternative A, begin brainstorming contacts within the group to identify potential interviews that the group can secure. Coordinate the interview process, where possible, to cover a variety of managerial levels, industries and company sizes. If selecting Alternative B, select a topic for research and presentation. Determine how the task will be completed and make job assignments (if completing as a group). Groups need to consider schedules and how to apply collaborative technology tools available on Blackboard or Google to accomplish the group’s work to allow you to be productive when full-group meetings are difficult to schedule. Final Project Deliverables to be posted to Blackboard:  Presentation: Create the presentation using the standard presentation software (ie: PowerPoint, Keynote, etc). Then, select the best alternative for recording the presentation. If the presentation materials are limited to a PowerPoint slide deck, then you will find that PowerPoint 2013 has the ability to record an audio narrative and save it with the .pptx document. However, if there are other elements that you want to bring into your presentation – you may find it helpful to explore some other, fuller featured capture tools. Here is a short list of tools to consider: o Mac/iPad iMovie o Mac Keynote with Audio or embedded Video o WebEx Recorder with screen capture and audio available as a free download at http://webex-recorder-and-player.updatestar.com/ o Video and Screen capture software that can create a variety of file formats called Debut also free and available at http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/ You have a lot of latitude here. Just make sure that I can see the presentation slides and can hear what you have to say at the same time. If I can see you as you say it… that’s even better! The posted presentation must be a .pptx, .mp4, .mov, .wrf, or some other media file format that can be viewed independently of the software that created it. If you are unsure – check with me first! The presentation must be between 9 and 11 minutes in length. The presentation must cover the 5 dimensions defined with each alternative (A or B) chosen by the group/individual. Compress (.zip) the presentation file before posting it to Blackboard. Groups of 2 or more only need to make 1 submission for the group.  Documentation: a digital copy of the presentation file slide deck (PowerPoint, Keynote, etc), a digital copy of the bibliography and list of references that identifies the sources of information presented, and (for projects created by a group of 2 or more) digital copies of each group member’s personal report (see below).  Personal Reports (for groups of 2 or more): Each member of the group must prepare and submit a single page report summarizing the project. These reports should by typed, professionally written and provide the following information: identify the group (by functional or topical area), the group member reporting, and include 3 sections that cover the following: 1) what was your personal contribution to the group project, 2) what did you learn from participating in the project, and 3) how can you use the information gained in this experience to help you, professionally? Project Grading: The project will be graded based upon the quality of the presentation and the submission of the required project deliverables. Think about the value added by your presentation. Don’t just go through the motions of this group project but rather make it your objective to learn about something, organize the information about that topic and present it in a clear, concise and engaging way to share (and demonstrate) what you have learned. Better presentations will use organizational charts, graphics, screen shots and/or other relevant graphical representations of the material. To receive a high score on this project – your presentation must stand out as informative, interesting, and organized and have something that separates it from the other presentations. Grading is competitive. Projects are compared and better projects receive better grades. I will use the following rubric to grade the projects. It is in your best interest to review this rubric prior to completing on your project. Presentation Grading Points Category ______(5) Introduction (Clear and professional introduction of topic & group members) ______(30) Presentation - Content (is there adequate coverage of 5 dimensions: Alternative A: role, data, info., systems & ET OR Alternative B: description, history, application, cases, & future; adequate depth of coverage, generalized information about functional or topical area) ______(20) Presentation - Technology (what is quality of captured presentation – audio easy to hear/understand – captured screen-presentation info, quality of video.. does the file play properly?) ______(20) Slides ______(10) (appearance, format, spelling) Time (9 –11 minutes) ______(5) Creative Effort (Graphics, screen shots, demos, use of media, etc.) ______(5) Overall Impression (Interesting, engaging and informative ) _____ (5) Documentation / Member Reports (Bibliography, completion of reports, submission by all group members) ______(100) Total Points Earned Comments
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