Course Project Phase I and Description

The course project will focus on (A) researching a company and the operations & supply chain management techniques they deploy, (B) application and utilization of the tools learned in the course.
Preliminary activities for the course project:
•    Select an organization to analyze (this can be a team member’s employer, local business, a publically traded company, etc.)
•    Begin searching for articles, datasets, etc. for this company
•    Determine which tools from the course you will use for the project by carefully reviewing and considering topics listed in the course syllabus.
o    The expectation is that you will use a minimum of four tools from class
o    E.g., SWOT analysis, QFD House of Quality, SPC Control Charts, Location Strategy tools, Service Blueprint, etc.
•    Develop a schedule in MS Project which you will submit containing a minimum of the following items:
o    List the tasks, predecessor relationships, allocate resources (i.e., your time) by naming who is responsible for each portion, etc.
o    First day should be 4/6 and last day should be 5/5

•    I would recommend making use of the class time if and when made to work with your team and ask questions about the project

•    Phase I / Project Proposal Due by Thursday 8/18:
?    The company you have selected to analyze with a one page write-up of why you selected the company and your plan for the rest of the semester
?    The tools you plan to use this semester for your analysis
•    NOTE THAT YOU CAN CHANGE THE TOOLS PRIOR TO FINAL PROJECT SUBMISSION
?    MS Project file that contains, at a minimum, the items listed above

•    Final project deliverables (due at the end of the course by Monday 9/28) include:
o    One final written report to management which should include:
?    An executive summary
?    An explanation of all the tools used for the project
?    No minimum of maximum length (typical range of 5 to 20 pages).
o    All supporting files used (MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Visio, MS Project, etc.)
?    E.g., SPC Control Chart in MS Excel, QFD House of Quality in MS Excel or MS PowerPoint, Flowchart in MS Visio, etc.

Note the following important details from the syllabus regarding the project:
Presentations: There will be some class time provided for you to develop team presentations. You will develop some presentations during class time and you will do a group presentation on a company and an operations topic of your choice based on your team project detailed below. You can pick any organization and topics related to operations, supply chain, or logistics management at the organization. Try to narrow down the topic so that in-depth analysis is possible.

General guidelines for presentations: You should start with a description of the organization and/or topics explaining their importance to business and operations. Next, present the key findings related to the topic that exists in the literature. Then, discuss the challenges and unanswered questions associated with this topic. Finally, offer your recommendations for dealing with the challenges. I expect your presentations to spend more time on the challenges and recommendations than anything else. You can bring in examples of companies from various industries to present your arguments.

You will have varying time to present depending on the assignment and the presentation will be followed by a brief Q&A session. Professional PowerPoint presentations are expected unless your instructor advises otherwise. You need to provide me with electronic copies of all slides on the day of the presentations via e-mail.

Team Project: All students enrolled in the course will have a course project that will be completed in teams which will be assigned by the instructor early in the semester.  The project is very open-ended and is typically done by completing a project for a local or multinational company using the tools from class in teams of 3 to 4 students.  There will be a peer evaluation as well to ensure individual contributions are adequate for credit.  We will discuss the requirements and project throughout the semester.  The deliverables shall be a final project report, powerpoint presentation, and the individual source files used (e.g., MS Excel, Visio, PowerPoint, etc. files).
Course Project is 20% of final grade
Final Project Course Project Reports are due by Monday, Sep 28th

Course Project Phase I and Description

The course project will focus on (A) researching a company and the operations & supply chain management techniques they deploy, (B) application and utilization of the tools learned in the course.
Preliminary activities for the course project:
•    Select an organization to analyze (this can be a team member’s employer, local business, a publically traded company, etc.)
•    Begin searching for articles, datasets, etc. for this company
•    Determine which tools from the course you will use for the project by carefully reviewing and considering topics listed in the course syllabus.
o    The expectation is that you will use a minimum of four tools from class
o    E.g., SWOT analysis, QFD House of Quality, SPC Control Charts, Location Strategy tools, Service Blueprint, etc.
•    Develop a schedule in MS Project which you will submit containing a minimum of the following items:
o    List the tasks, predecessor relationships, allocate resources (i.e., your time) by naming who is responsible for each portion, etc.
o    First day should be 4/6 and last day should be 5/5

•    I would recommend making use of the class time if and when made to work with your team and ask questions about the project

•    Phase I / Project Proposal Due by Thursday 8/18:
?    The company you have selected to analyze with a one page write-up of why you selected the company and your plan for the rest of the semester
?    The tools you plan to use this semester for your analysis
•    NOTE THAT YOU CAN CHANGE THE TOOLS PRIOR TO FINAL PROJECT SUBMISSION
?    MS Project file that contains, at a minimum, the items listed above

•    Final project deliverables (due at the end of the course by Monday 9/28) include:
o    One final written report to management which should include:
?    An executive summary
?    An explanation of all the tools used for the project
?    No minimum of maximum length (typical range of 5 to 20 pages).
o    All supporting files used (MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Visio, MS Project, etc.)
?    E.g., SPC Control Chart in MS Excel, QFD House of Quality in MS Excel or MS PowerPoint, Flowchart in MS Visio, etc.

Note the following important details from the syllabus regarding the project:
Presentations: There will be some class time provided for you to develop team presentations. You will develop some presentations during class time and you will do a group presentation on a company and an operations topic of your choice based on your team project detailed below. You can pick any organization and topics related to operations, supply chain, or logistics management at the organization. Try to narrow down the topic so that in-depth analysis is possible.

General guidelines for presentations: You should start with a description of the organization and/or topics explaining their importance to business and operations. Next, present the key findings related to the topic that exists in the literature. Then, discuss the challenges and unanswered questions associated with this topic. Finally, offer your recommendations for dealing with the challenges. I expect your presentations to spend more time on the challenges and recommendations than anything else. You can bring in examples of companies from various industries to present your arguments.

You will have varying time to present depending on the assignment and the presentation will be followed by a brief Q&A session. Professional PowerPoint presentations are expected unless your instructor advises otherwise. You need to provide me with electronic copies of all slides on the day of the presentations via e-mail.

Team Project: All students enrolled in the course will have a course project that will be completed in teams which will be assigned by the instructor early in the semester.  The project is very open-ended and is typically done by completing a project for a local or multinational company using the tools from class in teams of 3 to 4 students.  There will be a peer evaluation as well to ensure individual contributions are adequate for credit.  We will discuss the requirements and project throughout the semester.  The deliverables shall be a final project report, powerpoint presentation, and the individual source files used (e.g., MS Excel, Visio, PowerPoint, etc. files).
Course Project is 20% of final grade
Final Project Course Project Reports are due by Monday, Sep 28th