Assignment: Identifying Business Gaps

Introduction

In this assignment, you will be using the tools and skills from the previous activities $($models and frameworks, domains, risks, maturity$)$ to interview one or more prospective clients to identify business gaps. Each client has a different level of maturity, different challenges and different specific gaps.

When you identify a gap, consider whether the gap is likely to be considered resultant or sourceful.

$$ A resultant gap is one which is cause by another gap. For example, that backups are not being checked for integrity may be a gap caused by not having enough IT staff or having IT staff that are not knowledgeable regarding backups.

$$ A sourceful gap is a gap that in effect, causes itself. For instance, that staff are not properly onboarded with technology, may simply be because no one has considered that would be a valuable$/$useful thing to do$.$

This distinction is often arbitrary and is open to interpretation, however, you should be able to defend why you interpreted a gap as sourceful or resultant.

Your job is to ask useful questions to identify sourceful gaps.

Instructions Addendum $($Winter $2024)$

$1.$ Working individually, interview at least two prospective clients to identify business gaps, as directed by your instructor.

Note: Interviews will be conducted during class time.

$2.$ Once you have completed the interviews, select one business to focus on$.$

$3.$ Alternatively, you may substitute step $1$ and step $2$ above by researching corporate web sites, technical journals, white papers, etc...

$4.$ Using a combination of two models$/$frameworks$,$ identify a domain and a specific gap within that domain that the business needs to mitigate.

$5.$ Outside of class time, write a short report of three or four paragraphs that address the following topics:

a$.$ Identify the domain and the specific gap within that domain.

b$.$ Identify the impact to the business because of that gap.

c$.$ Identify the models, frameworks and tools you used to identify the gap.

$6.$ Submit your report to Brightspace by the due date listed on Brightspace.

$7.$ See the Marking Criteria on the following page for details on how you will be assessed.

Note: In the next assignment, you$$ll work in a group and share your experiences identifying gaps. Be prepared to defend why you selected the gap you have chosen.