The requirement of this assignment is to build on earlier stages of the project (proposal and presentation) to develop a computer-based DSS/BIS prototype for analysing data from a Department of Social Services (DSS) dataset at
https://data.gov.au/dataset?groups=community called "DSS Payments by Commonwealth Electoral Division" and other related datasets to find evidence or otherwise of biased spending by government parties in marginal electorates.
The prototype must be functioning and of realistic size, not too trivial, but not large and complex, with a user-friendly interface suitable for data visualisation. It will be your responsibility to ensure that your tutor has the appropriate software and hardware to run the prototype for marking purposes. You will find plenty of articles giving advice on data analytics for decision making. For a couple of articles, click on these links -
https://www.bigskyassociates.com/blog/bid/372186/The-Data-Analysis-Process-5-Steps-To-Better-Decision-Making and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_analysis .
Tim's week 9 lecture on Statistics for Business Analytics is most useful. Note: you can view it now using the Echo360.
Your prototype will be accompanied by a business report with a research component. This means that you have substantial scholarly work to do and are expected to investigate beyond just the lectures and reading material provided. The research component in this assessment builds on your project proposal research. You should demonstrate an ability to analyse critically, think reflectively, argue persuasively, and to synthesise the argument with source material.
The business report is expected to contain the development process and user guide.
The research component is expected to contain a brief discussion of relevant issues related to the search for alleged disproportionate spending for political advantage -
a. for UGs 7156 - around 3-6 relevant articles particularly from industry sources
b. for PGs 6680 - around 5-8 relevant articles from industry and academic sources.
Executive Summary
Introduction
Development and Implementation
Restate the problem briefly and the need for decision support. Explain the approach you used to build the prototype.
User Manual
Provide documentation and screen images on how to run the DSS/BIS prototype.
Concluding
Provide a high-level summary. What are your findings and/or recommendations ? Explain how the prototype supports decision making. What are your suggestions for possible improvements of the prototype at a later date ?