Stage 1: Preliminary Investigation Report
Before you begin this assignment, be sure you have read the Case Study and all assignments for this class, especially Stage 4: Final System Report.
Purpose of this Assignment
This assignment gives you the opportunity to use industry-standard methodologies for analyzing a business situation, initiating a project, and determining various aspects of feasibility of an IT project. This assignment specifically addresses the following course outcomes to enable you to:
• plan, build, and maintain systems that meet organizational strategic goals by demonstrating the use of enterprise architecture and applying enterprise governance principles and practices
• effectively communicate with stakeholders to determine, manage, and document business requirements throughout the SDLC
Assignment
The results of your systems analysis and design work in this class will be documented in a Final System Report. The purpose of the Report is to inform management of your system proposal and gain approval to proceed with the project. The Report will be developed and submitted in stages, which will be compiled at the end of class into the Final System Report. Review the outline of the Final System Report in the Stage 4 Assignment description. Note that it contains the analysis of the problem(s) and requirements, and proposes what kind of a system solution is needed. It does not propose a specific solution, but it does recommend why and how the organization should acquire the solution.
The first step in the analysis process is to create a Preliminary Investigation Report (PIR). The PIR documents the system planning phase of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC). During the planning phase, the opportunities presented or problem(s) to be solved with an information technology system are identified, investigation into the current situation occurs, and various feasibility aspects of implementing a system are analyzed. This results in a recommendation for further action with estimated costs and schedule, and a list of benefits. Once it is completed and approved, the PIR becomes the major source document for use to begin the systems analysis phase.
To start, read the case study carefully. The case study tells you that the executives at Precision Electronics Parts, Inc., have identified a need to replace the current customer billing and payment system and re-engineer the associated processes. As you review the case study, list the most important relevant business problems and identify the information presented that you will need to complete the sections of the Preliminary Investigation Report shown below. All of the information you need to complete the projects in this class is not provided in the case study. In the discussion area of the classroom, there is a discussion titled “Case Study Interview Questions” where you can pose questions about the case study, as if you were interviewing the people in the case study organization. Any information that you need that is not included in the case study should be asked about in this discussion. Responses from the faculty member on behalf of the case study organization will be available for everyone in the class.
Using the case study and the outline and resources listed below, develop your Preliminary Investigation Report. Approximate lengths for each section are provided as a guideline; be sure to provide all pertinent information. References in brackets are to the two e-textbooks (by authors Jawahar and Conger) used in this class and the page on which the explanatory information begins.
I. Introduction (1 paragraph)
a. Brief statement of the problem or system
b. Name of person or group who initiated the investigation
c. Name of person or group who performed the investigation
