CS – Project Analysis

 
Assessment Instructions
If you have not yet done so, read the Integrated Action Learning Project description linked in the Resources under the Required Resources heading.
For this assessment, write a report for your selected organization’s integrated action learning project containing a solutions analysis, a needs and risk analysis, and a legal and ethical analysis. Compile these three analyses into a report.
Solutions Analysis
This analysis addresses key questions related to your proposed solutions to your IT problem. The result should be a one- to two-page summary that answers the following questions:

What solutions do you propose?
How do your solutions address the specific organizational problems that you have identified, and how do they address the key stakeholder concerns?
How are the solutions connected to global or domestic (or both) IT trends and solutions?
How does what you are proposing keep the organization in line with what is happening in the industry?
What model or architecture do you propose for your solution (or solutions)?
What technology or technologies do you recommend as part of the solution?
What are the specific IT principles that support your proposed solution?
What are key issues that the organization needs to consider from a legal, ethical, and policy standpoint?
What are risks associated with the solution (or solutions) proposed, and how might they be minimized?

Needs and Risk Analysis
This analysis specifies how the proposal’s solutions meet the needs of the organization and key stakeholders, and it identifies the potential risks involved as well as strategies for addressing those risks.
When considering a possible course of action, an organization will ask two key questions:

Does the solution meet the organization’s and key stakeholders’ needs?
What are the potential risks to the organization, and how might they be minimized?

A needs analysis helps answer the first question, determining whether a solution measures up against key areas of concern to an organization. A risk analysis addresses the second question. It explores the potential risks of adopting the solution and helps decision makers strategize ways of minimizing, or even avoiding, potential damages to the organization.
Write a two- to three-page needs and risk analysis for the solution or solutions you have proposed. The analysis should answer the two questions above, addressing critical issues in the organizational context and stakeholder needs. A risk matrix would be a good addition to the risk analysis portion of this document.
In addition, address the following questions:

What are some barriers to the project you have encountered in your analysis? How might you adjust your proposal to address them?
What insights or advice would you give to someone who is working on a similar area for the first time? How can he or she be better at identifying risks and more effective in managing or avoiding potential risks?

Legal, Ethical, and Policy Analysis
Conduct a thorough analysis of the legal, ethical, and policy issues that could affect your IT project. The result should be a one- to two-page summary that answers the following questions:

Are there any legal issues specific to the action learning environment that you should consider?
What areas of your project proposal could have an ethical implication? What are you doing to address these ethical issues, both in reality and in the perception of those involved?
What are the policies in the environment that relate to your project proposal? Are there any areas of your proposal that could be a potential conflict with existing policy in the environment?