Introduction

Students will work on this cohesion case during the class session to help them tie all of the IT concepts together. The premise is that each student recently has inherited their grandfather’s coffee shop, started in 1962 and operates as if the year is 1962. Students will need to bring theBlackandBrewCaféinto the 21st century. A coffee shop was chosen because coffee shops are instantaneously identifiable for students. This case will give students a true business approach to IT and allow them to work hands-on with many of the intangible concepts taught in the text (such as SCM, ERP, and Wireless Networks). The case also will help students tie all of the IT concepts together to see how the differing parts work together to help a business operate (even with non-IT businesses, such as a coffee shop). The flexibility of the case allows students to cover any number of topics, in any order, at any time during the session.

Purpose

This assignment gives students the opportunity to apply 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; and
  • identify and plan IT solutions that meet business objectives.

Background

TheBlackandBrewCaféhas been in business since 1962 and has never had a single competitor in the downtown area. One of your employees has heard a rumor that a Starbucks might be opening a store a few blocks away. Your staff is worried and is looking to you to provide reassurance that the competition will not affect your business. In addition, you have decided that this is a good time to develop your strategic direction for bringing the Café into the 21st century. The next step is to let Café managers and staff know what is coming. The Café is too small to have a CIO; however, you will fulfill this role. The “process owners” are the managers of the operations at the Café.

For this assignment, students will develop an annotated outline that identifies the next steps to implement the solution described in Stage 2, addressing a number of areas such as, but not limited to, project management, system development life cycle, change management. In the second stage of this case analysis, alternative technology to improve a business process at theBlackandBrewCaféwas proposed. Prior to initiating a strategic plan, there are several areas that need to be considered in regards to this technology.

Assignment

Using the textbook and external resources, (1) complete theTable of IT Considerations, (2) provide a brief explanation of the proposed technology solution, and (3) develop an annotated outline 2-3 pages in length, responding to the bulleted items below. Remember to correctly cite and reference sources with APA format. Save the file with the following format: student name and assignment number “3” (i.e.,wissel-3).

The results of this assignment should be uploaded to the Stage 3 Assignment in the WebTycho classroom as MS-Word file attachments. Analyses submitted in other formats will not be accepted for grading.

To complete theTable of IT Considerations, open the attached table and complete the remaining two columns. For each area of consideration, rank the specific technology proposed ashigh,mediumorlowin importance or relevance for theBlackandBrewCafé. If an area of consideration is Not Applicable to the proposed technology, enter N/A. Afterwards, provide a brief explanation, a minimum of two sentences for each consideration, to justify that ranking. Explanations must provide enough information to convey the reasoning behind the ranking. Save the Table of IT Considerations file with the following format: student name and assignment number “3a” (i.e.,wissel-3a). These considerations are listed in the table provided below.

Table of IT Considerations
Area High/Medium/Low Importance or Relevance or Not Applicable (N/A) Explanation for Ranking
Accessibility
Availability
Maintainability
Portability
Reliability
Scalability
Usability
Disaster Recovery Plan
Authentication & Authorization
Prevention & Resistance (Security)
Detection & Response (Security)
Grid Computing
Cloud Computing
Virtualized Computing
Communications Architecture
Database Architecture
Decision Support
Artificial Intelligence
Business-to-Business eCommerce
Business-to-Consumer eCommerce

Depending on the specific technology proposed, some of these considerations will be more important than others, or may need specific consideration prior to implementation. The responses entered into the table for each consideration must be aligned to the specific technology proposed and appropriate to theBlackandBrewCafé.

For example, if the alternative technology being proposed were to include a kiosk for customers to place their orders at the Café, then for the area of Accessibility, the following might be entered:

Area High/Medium/Low Importance or Relevance or Not Applicable (N/A) Explanation for Ranking
Accessibility Medium Since the customers will use the kiosk to enter their orders, the kiosk must be accessible to everyone, even those with disabilities. Customers may have a variety of issues using the kiosk, so this will not be the only method customers can place an order — the counter personnel still will be available to take the orders. Accessibility is ranked “Medium” because of the importance of access to the kiosk in placing an order for some customers and for public relations. However, accessibility is not “High” since there are other methods of placing orders.

An annotated outline provides the basic information in full sentences, but in outline form rather than in paragraph form. In this case, each aspect of the next steps to be taken to implement your proposed technology must be addressed. Provide all of the important facts, without the expanded discussions used in full-length papers. Each of the topics in the list below should be explained as they apply to the proposed technology and to the Café, using a few sentences for each topic and providing information specific to your proposal.

When providing the brief explanation of the proposed alternative technology, identify the alternative technology, state what the technology is expected to do for the Café, and summarize the information provided in the Stage 2 assignment.

The annotated outline should address the next steps in each of the following areas that theBlackandBrewCaféwill take to implement your proposed alternative technology:

  • VERY brief description of proposed technology (to set the stage for the rest of the outline)
  • Project Management (schedule, resources, deliverables)
  • System Development Life Cycle (all phases)
  • Change Management
  • Employee Training
  • Leadership Expectations
  • Defining Success
  • Reference(s)

The “right” and “wrong” answers have to do with whether or not students incorporated the course concepts from the textbook and addressed all areas of the assignment, correctly ranked each consideration as the consideration relates to the proposed technology, and have provided a well-supported explanation for the ranking assigned. Your “next steps” must be defined specifically for theBlackandBrewCafé, addressing (1) the business, (2) the environment, and (3) your alternative technology proposed. Also, external research on at least one aspect of the assignment, cited in APA format, must be incorporated in this annotated outline. For the Table of IT Considerations, the exact ranking proposed is not as important as (1) whether the technology ranking provided is applicable to the solution, (2) are ranked appropriately considering the explanation provided, and (3) are appropriate to theBlackandBrewCafé.