Introduction and List of Questions
Introduction and List of Questions
IT 201
:
Case Report
One
Guidelines and Grading Guide
Overview
The first case report
for this course is to determine the
hardware requirements
for a
company
.
In this assignment, you are to r
ead the given
scenario
. Then
,
y
ou 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 Two
,
and your case report
is due in
Module Three
.
Scenario
Suppose y
ou have been hired by SNHU
Consulting, a leader in
information t
echnology.
Widget Wonders is a worldwide leader in wid
gets. They
are building a state
-
of
-
the
-
art facility to manufacture and distribute the next generation
of widgets. SNHU
Consulting has been retained
to
implement information 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
depar
tments 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 c
onferences
.
?
Manufacturing
: The
45 employees
in this department
require access to word processing and spread
sheet programs and the internet
.
?
Invent
ory
C
ontrol
: The
30 employees
in this department
require mobility and po
wer to access database 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 tasks
.
As part
of the expansion team
,
you will determine
the
hardware
requirements for each department. Widget Wonders
utilizes new technology in
their operations
while keeping an eye on the budget.
The w
idget industry is very competitive
,
and company assets must be protected from rival
companies.
The computers you recommend to Widget Wonders should execute all
hardware
requirements to be useful in the next three years.
Format and Requirements
1.
Read the
given
s
cenario
in detail. Read it o
ver a few times and pull out key facts about Widget Wonders per
taining to their hardware
needs in each department.
2.
Due in
Module Two:
Create a list of questions for Widget Wonders to determine what hardware you would recommend for their
employee workstations. Your list should
include
at
least
five
questions
.
You should ask questions that could potentially cover all five
departments. Top
ics can include
the following: CPU, m
emory, hard drive, display, portability, security,
and
entertainment.
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
.
Some examples include
the following
:
?
To determine hard drive and memory requirements, how many records are in a database used by Inventory Control?
?
Do all company computers require microphones and speakers?
?
What kind of power would
be
need
ed
for
the computer
?
?
How much memory and storage space is needed
by each department
?
Your questions should focus on what you must learn from Widget Wonders in order to prepare a com
prehensive
recommendation that
will meet
the needs of each departm
ent
. Think about the various components and how they relate to each other.
T
hink in terms of
hardware only.
3.
Due i
n
Module Three
: Write a
one
-
page
case
report
that in
cludes
recommendation
s
of the
computer hardware components
that
you
think
will meet the
needs of
each department in Widget Wonders.
For each component, d
escribe wha
t it does and why you selected it
.
Your presentation should focus on hardware
requirements for the expansion
. Possible recommendations include
desktop, laptop,
netbook, or Mac
, or
items for input and output devices, such as display monitors and printers
, or tablets and smartphones
.
Be sure to
defend why this solution
meets the requirements
.
The recommendations should
meet the
needs of all five departments. Be sure to use
terminology
from your course content.
Use the following
sections for your case report
:
?
Introduction
:
In one to two paragraphs, summarize the requirements for Widget Wonders and the needs of the
department
.
?
Recommendation
s
:
Write up your recommendations
in paragraph form.
Explain why your recommendations are a good fit for
each
department
.
?
Conclusion
: In one paragraph, state why you think the recommendations
would last for three
years.