Assignment
For your course project, you will be working on a case study. The details are below.
The Client
Inisope, Inc. is the market leader in disposable dog rain coats. They come on a roll like baggies and use tabs (like diapers) to attach to the bottom of a dog's legs. They come in a variety of sizes. When you get back from the walk, you can simply throw it away with no smelly mess.
The Project
Inisope was founded by Austin Fichtner as a single person business run out of an apartment but has grown to over 2000 employees. However, their I.T. and internal processes have not kept pace with this growth and as a result are a patchwork of different systems and workflows. There are several opportunities for improvement but you'll need to talk to the client to find out just what they need.
The Team
Each team will consist of two members, the architect and the developer. The architect is the project lead and is responsible for project planning, budgeting, high-level design and direct contact with the client. The developer works with the architect on design details, converts functional requirements into a workable design and builds the system. As project lead you will be hiring a developer in Week 1.
Your goal is to produce a pilot system for the client so they can decide whether to go to production. In addition to producing the desired functionality, you will need to estimate time and costs for a production system as well as hardware and software budgets.
NOTE: The architect bills at $150/hr. and the developer bills at $100/hr. You need to track the time each spends on project work so you can present the client with an itemized invoice upon completion.
Further Notes
Your instructor will be taking on the role of the client. With that in mind, when you email them any messages that are for the client should have a subject line that starts with #INISOPE to distinguish them from course-related emails. In addition, a portion of each week's Live Classroom will take the form of a weekly client meeting.
You will need to meet with your team at least once per week. This can be by phone, text messaging, video chat or whatever method works for you both as long as it takes place in real-time (i.e., not email).
Module 01 Course Project - Architect - Project Planning
An I.T. architect is often responsible for creating a plan to deliver the client solution. Work with your team developer to determine what tasks need to completed for your project.
You don't have to use project management software. A table or spreadsheet will be fine. You will be updating this document throughout the course. There are several cloud-based online alternatives especially designed for team projects which may work better for you.
Your plan should include, at minimum:
• Scope - Clearly define the goals of the project, including any and all tasks needed to reach those goals. Should also define what is not included in the scope of the project.
• Resource Allocation - Who is assigned to the project and to individual tasks and what resources (funding, equipment) will be required to complete it.
• Timeline - Sets the final deadline for the project as well as smaller milestones within the project.
• Definition of Deliverables - Define which tasks must happen in succession and which can be performed concurrently.
• Task Assignments - Who is responsible for what tasks?
• Risk Planning - Identify potential obstacles and contingency plans to deal with them
• Monitoring - Keep track of ongoing activities, resources required and used and project status (where it should be versus where it actually is)
• Quality Control - Each deliverable should be assessed to see if it meets the stated requirements. New deliverables may need to be defined to complete the project.
• Closing - This is where we wrap things up
For your course project, you will be working on a case study. The details are below.
The Client
Inisope, Inc. is the market leader in disposable dog rain coats. They come on a roll like baggies and use tabs (like diapers) to attach to the bottom of a dog's legs. They come in a variety of sizes. When you get back from the walk, you can simply throw it away with no smelly mess.
The Project
Inisope was founded by Austin Fichtner as a single person business run out of an apartment but has grown to over 2000 employees. However, their I.T. and internal processes have not kept pace with this growth and as a result are a patchwork of different systems and workflows. There are several opportunities for improvement but you'll need to talk to the client to find out just what they need.
The Team
Each team will consist of two members, the architect and the developer. The architect is the project lead and is responsible for project planning, budgeting, high-level design and direct contact with the client. The developer works with the architect on design details, converts functional requirements into a workable design and builds the system. As project lead you will be hiring a developer in Week 1.
Your goal is to produce a pilot system for the client so they can decide whether to go to production. In addition to producing the desired functionality, you will need to estimate time and costs for a production system as well as hardware and software budgets.
NOTE: The architect bills at $150/hr. and the developer bills at $100/hr. You need to track the time each spends on project work so you can present the client with an itemized invoice upon completion.
Further Notes
Your instructor will be taking on the role of the client. With that in mind, when you email them any messages that are for the client should have a subject line that starts with #INISOPE to distinguish them from course-related emails. In addition, a portion of each week's Live Classroom will take the form of a weekly client meeting.
You will need to meet with your team at least once per week. This can be by phone, text messaging, video chat or whatever method works for you both as long as it takes place in real-time (i.e., not email).
Module 01 Course Project - Developer - Gather Functional Requirements
Before you build a solution for a client, you need to determine how that system should behave. In other words, how should it function? You will need to interview the client and, if necessary other stakeholders at the site.
For this case study course project, your instructor will be acting as the client, and the weekly live classroom will be your client meeting. For the first session you will be listening to their story and asking them appropriate questions to lock down what they will need from you. For this reason, it's very important to attend the live classroom or, at the very least, review the recording of the meeting, before beginning this assignment.
For this assignment, you will produce a 1 - 2 page functional requirements document that will detail the operations and activities that your solution should perform. Please note that you will NOT be including specific hardware or software in this document. Just write out what you perceive to be your client's needs.