Before you begin work on this assignment, be sure you have read the Case Study, and reviewed the feedback received on your Stage 1, 2 and 3 assignments.
Overview
As the business analyst in the CIO’s department of Maryland Technology Consulting (MTC), your next task in working towards an IT solution to improve the hiring process at MTC is to write a justification and implementation plan for a system that the CIO has decided will meet MTC’s needs. The system, EZ-ATS, is described in the vendor brochure provided with this assignment. EZ-ATS is a fictitious company/product created for use with this case study but based on real-world SaaS application information. In this Stage 4 assignment, you will explain how the selected system meets MTC’s requirements, and what needs to be done to implement the system within MTC. You will combine Stages 1-4 to provide a complete final BA&SR Report incorporating feedback from all earlier stages.
Assignment – BA&SR Section IV. System Recommendation and Summary & Conclusion
The first step is to incorporate the all previous feedback you received on your Stage 1, 2 and 3 assignments (if you haven’t already), making any needed corrections or adjustments. Part of the grading criteria for this final stage includes addressing previous feedback to improve the final report. For this assignment, you will add Section IV as outlined below to Sections I, II and III.
Section IV of the Business Analysis and System Recommendation Report will explain how the selected system helps MTC achieve its strategy, improve its hiring process, and meet its system requirements, and you will explain how each implementation area might be addressed to help ensure a successful implementation of the technology solution.
Using the case study, assignment instructions, vendor brochure, Course readings (in particular, Implementing a SaaS Solution and Developing a System Proposal) and external research, develop your Section IV. System Recommendation. Approximate lengths for each section are provided as a guideline; be sure to provide all pertinent information.
As you review the case study, use the assignment instructions to take notes to assist in your analysis; in addition, review information provided in earlier stages of this report to identify where the proposed solution can address the needs and requirements.
Use the outline format and headings provided and follow all formatting instructions below. Review final report for incorporation of previous grading content feedback and any format changes needed.
IV. System Recommendation
A. System Justification
Provided with the Stage 4 Assignment Instructions is a brochure that describes an IT solution that the CIO has selected, with the HR Director’s’ endorsement, to meet the needs of improving MTC’s hiring process. In Stage 1, you analyzed the strategy and objectives for MTC and how a technology solution to improve the hiring process would contribute. In Stage 2, you analyzed how to improve the hiring process with a technology solution, and in Stage 3 you identified specific requirements. After reviewing the EZ-ATS Vendor Brochure, briefly describe the selected solution. Then, describe how that selected solution aligns with achieving the strategy, improves the process, and meets the requirements. Write two to three clear, concise, well-organized paragraphs to summarize this assessment. Don’t just repeat information from previous stages but synthesize this information and provide strong information and justification to explain why this proposed solution is a good fit for MTC. Remember you are writing a report to your boss, the CIO of MTC, that he can use to convince the leadership team why this is the best solution based on your analysis.
B. Implementation Areas
To successfully implement this technology solution, MTC will need to develop an Implementation Plan and below is a list of key implementation areas that should be included. First, provide a brief introduction to this section – what it contains and why an Implementation Plan is so important for MTC. Then address each of the seven (7) areas below to explain what MTC needs to do (with support by the vendor). Below the numbered heading, write one to two paragraphs to address the area. The sub-areas (a,b,c, etc.) contain questions and areas to help guide your thinking about what should be covered and should be incorporated within your response to the major category. For an explanation of the implementation areas, refer to the Week 7 Reading “Implementing a SaaS Solution”. The vendor brochure provides information for some of these areas, but you need to include what MTC must do as well. Remember you are writing this section to help MTC plan for a successful implementation. It is not sufficient to just indicate “Vendor provides” or “employees need to be trained.” In addition to incorporating course content, external research on implementation areas will strengthen your understanding and explanation. The goal for this section is to help MTC know what needs to happen in each area to help support a successful implementation of EZ-ATS.
(MTC must enter into a contractual agreement with the vendor before full implementation. This identifies responsibilities as well as costs.) Incorporate answers to the following questions in your paragraph – do not include the questions themselves.
a. What does the vendor require from MTC to be able to start using the system?
b. How much will it cost to get access to and configure the system for MTC’s use?
c. How much will it cost per month to support 60 system users?
d. What option is offered for MTC to just try out the system to see how it works?