Case Report;

The second case report for this course is to determine the
software requirements
for
a company. In this assignment, you are to read the given
scenario. Then
,
you are to analyze the scenario, write a list of questions for the company
,
and provide recommendations in a
case report
. Your
list of questions is due in
Module Six
,
and your case report is due in
Module Seven
.
Scenario
Suppose you have been hired by SN
HUConsulting, a leader in information technology. Widget Wonders is a worldwide leader in widgets. They
are building a state
–
of
–
the
–
art facility to manufacture and distribute the next generation of widgets. SNHUConsulting has been retained to
implement inf
ormation technology on the expansion project.
The new facility for Widget Wonders will be the main manufacturing and distribution center in the United States. The network
in the distribution
center will connect to the main network located at headquarters
. The various departments in the distribution center, the number of employees,
and the department needs are listed below
.
?
Sales
: The
50 employees
in this department
require mobility to access company resources while visiting customers and presenting at
sales meetings and conferences
.
?
Manufacturing
: The
45 employees
in this department
require access to word processing and spreadsheet programs and the internet
.
?
Inventory
C
ontrol
: The
30 employees
in this department
require mobility and power to access data
base systems
.
?
Research and
D
evelopment
: The
20 employees
in this department require
graphics and computer
–
aided design (CAD) programs
.
?
MIS
:
The
5 employees
in this department
require additional processor and memory requirements to support administration ta
sks
.
As part of the expansion team
,
you will determine
soft
ware
requirements for each department.
Widget Wonders requires software for
document processing, spreadsheets
,
and presentation creation
to
be installed on all computers
.
The w
idget industry is
very competitive
,
and
company assets must be protected from rival companies.
Widget Wonders
utilizes new technology in
its
operations
while keeping an eye on the
budget.
Format and Requirements
1.
Read th
e given
s
cenario in detail. Read it over a few times and pull out key facts about Widget Wonders pertaining to
its
software
needs
in each department.
2.
Due in
Module
Six
:
Create a list
of questions for Widget Wonders
to determine what software you would recommend fo
r
its
employee
workstations. Your list
should include
at
least five
questions
.
The questions should be thought provoking and produce in
–
depth
answers that will yield recommendations. Questions that can be answered with one word should be avoided. Questions
should relate
to the hardware recommended in Module Three
.
You can ask about some of the following:
operating systems, office applications,
databases, security applications,
or
management utilities. S
ome examples include
the following
:
?
Do you require
leading
–
edge operating systems?
?
Will open
–
source solutions
be
acceptable suggestions
?
?
Do you require
backup software options
?
Your questions should focus on what you must learn from Widget Wonders in order to prepare a comprehensive
recommendation that
wi
ll meet the needs of each department. Think about the various components and how they relate to each other.
Think in terms of
software
only.
3.
Due i
n
Module
Seven
:
Write a case report that includes recommendations of operating system
software
,
application
software,
and
security
software that you think will meet the needs of each department in Widget Wonders.
A.
For operating system s
oftware
, look
at
desktop operating systems and make a recommendation. There are several popular
choices for desktop computers
,
including Windows, Mac
OS X
,
and Linux. Your research should focus on client operating
systems, not server operating systems. For Windows operating systems,
www.microsoft.com
is an excellent resource. For Linux
ope
rating systems,
www.distrowatch.com
lists the most popular Linux distributions (Linux operating systems are called distros).
Finally
,
www.apple.com
provides information for the latest Mac operating systems.
B.
For a
pplication
s
oftware
,
consider the needs of each department.
A suite of software (for example
,
Word, Excel, PowerPoint
,
and Outlook are part of Microsoft Office) is one application. Possible
applications include word processing, database,
presentation, computer
–
aided design, graphic editing, accounting, and inventory management. Based on the operating system
you selected, recommend applications for Widget Wonders.