I. Problem or Opportunity Analysis This section describes the fundamental business problem or opportunity which the resulting proposed solution will address. Depending on whether the team has selected a problem or an opportunity, provide the following information in Section II: Business Problem - Provide a summary of the core business problem, including: o A description of the core issue o The reasons why the problem exists o How the problem aligns to the business strategy or vision o The elements which create it (e.g., human, process, technology) o The impact it is having on the business (e.g., financial, cultural, operational) o The timeframes within which it must be resolved o The reason the problem was chosen from among those identified in Section I. OR Business Opportunity - Describe the business opportunity which has been identified, including: o A summary of the business opportunity (not a solution) o How the opportunity was identified o How the opportunity aligns to the business strategy or vision o Any supporting evidence to prove that the opportunity is real o A timeframe within which the opportunity will likely exist o The positive impact that realization of the opportunity will have on the business. o The reason the opportunity was chosen from among those identified in Section I. Approach to Developing this Section As the team examines the problems and opportunities identified in Section I, it should focus on which problems/opportunities are most important to the business and should be addressed first. Select one problem/opportunity area (or, two or three closely related problem/opportunity areas that lend themselves to a single solution). Since the business case is being developed to support an IT solution, the problem or opportunity must be appropriate to an IT solution. Describe the business problem or opportunity which the resulting project will directly address. Note: this is a discussion of the problem or opportunity, and no solutions should be identified or discussed yet (that will come in the next section of the business case). II. Proposed Solution This section provides a one-paragraph high level description of the solution. The solution must include a commercial software product. The product name, a brief description, and essential information to support the expected improvements in Section IV should be included. Approach to Developing this Section Research solutions appropriate to the business problem or opportunity identified and the type of business in the case study. Team members should research, identify and select an appropriate commercial software product. There are a wide variety of industry-specific software solutions available. The team should also decide on the type of implementation - will the software be installed and maintained on site or will a hosted solution be used? Each member of the team will use this software solution to develop his or her individual in-depth technical description, to be submitted separately according to the class schedule. III. Expected Improvements The purpose of this section is to explain why the project is needed. It should address the following: How will the proposed solution address the stated problem or take advantage of the business opportunity identified in Section II? How does the proposed solution align with the business strategy and/or objectives? What benefits can the organization achieve from this solution? Use the following categorizations and identify some benefits in each area: o Tangible benefits/Intangible benefits o Financial/Non-financial benefits What other value might the organization gain from this solution? Approach to Developing this Section Develop a clear and concise explanation of how the proposed solution (from Section III) directly addresses the problem or opportunity identified in Section II. Then, review the case study to explain how the proposed solution aligns with the business strategy and/or objectives. The team may need to infer business strategies and objectives from the information presented about the direction in which the business is headed. There are several ways to categorize benefits (as shown in the three subbullets above). Read an explanation of the categories of benefits at: https://www.business-case-analysis.com/business-benefit.html Create a list of benefits that the business can expect to achieve from implementing the proposed solution. Determine which categorization is most appropriate to the benefits listed. Then, categorize and explain in a sentence or two each of the benefits that have been identified. If there are other ways that the organization would obtain value from implementing the system, those should also be discussed. IV. Alternatives Analysis The purpose of this section is to list and describe several alternative ways of solving the problem or taking advantage of the opportunity identified. An organization has the option of doing nothing - or maintaining the status quo. The system solution the team is proposing is one of several ways to address the problem/opportunity. It will be included as one of the "alternatives" considered. Then, the team should come up with two other ways to address the problem/opportunity - one will involve a different IT solution, and the other will be a change to the business processes without using any additional IT capability. The team will then have four possible ways of dealing with the problem/opportunity. These will be described, compared and contrasted as described below. First, for each of the four possible solutions: o Describe the solution o Describe the major benefits and the extent to which it solves the problems identified in Section II o Identify the major cost elements and provide an estimated cost for the solution o Discuss the general feasibility of the solution - whether or not it is feasible and the reasoning behind the statements o Identify the top three risks (organizational, financial, IT, etc.) o Describe the major defining issues - things that would make it a less desirable solution than the proposed solution, or, in the case of the proposed solution, why it is the best alternative in general. Next, compare the four alternatives using the following table and drawing the positive and negative aspects from the descriptions above. Provide a label for the table. Name of Alternative Positive Aspects Negative Aspects The final step is to justify the selection of the system being proposed. Summarize the primary reasons to justify why this option was chosen over each of the other three options and how it is the best choice to address the business needs identified in Section II. Approach to Developing this Section Read the HHS Feasibility Study and Alternatives Analysis, located in Content>Course Resources, beginning with section 2.8, to learn about one way that alternatives are analyzed. The first two alternatives, the status quo and the proposed system solution, have already been determined. The description of these two will draw upon information previously presented in the business case. Do some research to identify another possible IT system solution that would meet the needs identified and use it for the third alternative. Finally, for the processes that the proposed system will perform, describe how those processes could be improved without additional IT capability. Describe each alternative following the list of areas provided above. Then, summarize the four alternatives for comparison in the table provided above. Review the description of each alterative and select the positive and negative aspects and include them in the table. Finally explain and justify why the system being proposed is better than each one of the other three alternatives presented. Keep in mind that the use of the term "alternative" means an "option" for meeting the defined need. Alternatives are not presented so that, in case the proposed solution is not approved or does not work, the stakeholders can just choose another of the listed alternatives. Section I - Background and Environmental Analysis Background Jerry Montgomery, the owner of Trusty Carpets has been selling carpets for 20 years and he is well versed with the operation of the industry. His company, situated in a small town outside a larger city, has been profitable and sells approximately 250,000 square feet of carpets annually. This translates to about $1.2 million in revenue and $100,000 in profits. Despite these marginal profits, the level of information technology in his initial business is basic, involving a computer connected to a multipurpose printer. Additionally, there is a router within the office that serves to provide Internet connectivity. Further, the company's two salesmen have two tablets on which they rely to determine the availability of carpets and their prices. Finally, the company relies on Google documents, which are used for order forms and are stored in the Google cloud - these documents are shared with the installers and the company's accountant. It would be important to note that the company does not offer installation services. Recently, Trusty's owner acquired a new company at the other end of the same town, Metro Carpets. This company's revenue generation is estimated at $3 million in revenue and $360,000 in profits, 12% worth of profits. In essence, Metro Carpets generates more profits than Trusty Carpets with the total costs being in alignment with the industry's averages. Additionally, he plans to merge business with the installation company to ensure that they can provide their customers with an all-round complete service under the same roof. Hence, he needs to run both businesses, which are located in different areas in town. With such expansion, and being joined by the installation company, Trusty's owner needs an appropriate form of information technology to coordinate and run both businesses. Environmental Analysis The carpet industry runs on three dimensions - carpet manufacturing, installation and recycling. Additionally, there is an expansion of the town through the building of new homes by the town council. This will in effect facilitate the growth of the town's population and increase demand for business. There are 6 identified opportunities below that can be captured to grow business and revenue for Trusty Carpets. Opportunity or change to Business Vision, Strategy, or Objectives. Currently, Trusty focuses on carpet sales only but the new business venture, which involves the newly acquired Metro Carpets, will involve installation and recycling. Both businesses are performing well above average in the industry going by the size of the town and the profits they generate. With regards to the location of both companies, there is a great potential of further market reach if the right systems are in place. The town's close proximity with a large city presents a market that can easily be tapped with the right expansion strategies, which will rely on information technology as their bedrock. Business Process or Technology to improve efficiencies. Recent activities in the town, current performance of the businesses, the impending merger, and the close proximity to the city present Mr. Montgomery with a great business opportunity. There is an absolute necessity for the development and increased use of information technology to handle these expansion strategies and facilitate efficient running of the businesses. Thunder Bolt has identified some internal and external factors that we can capitalize on with software systems across the organization. Internal Factors - Store Merger (Inventory, storage) Software Database - Store Merger (Employee Management / Pay) Resource Management System - Employees Same interface across all teams. Calendars, ordering, customer info, pricing. External Factors - Customer Accounts Software Database - Business Accounts Software Database The new computer system will provide easy management to all aspects of the company. Sales staff will be able to manage installs, customer information, and ordering. The warehouse employees will be able to manage inventory and the coordination of material going out each day to the multiple install teams. The install teams will be able to see their upcoming work to better manage their time and increase efficiencies by planning install locations among the multiple install teams. Creating a technology system that will bring all the pieces of the company together into one system will provide the most flexibility for growth and expansion of the company and employees. This system will also allow employees to easily move between locations, if needed, without any additional training because the systems will be the same across all locations. New or Competitor Products or Processes identified. As growth of industries occurs, there are many different flooring products used in addition to carpet. While carpet is the most popular, Thunder Bolt sees potential in the market to include linoleum, tile, hardwood, and laminate flooring. According to the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) \"Carpet only accounts for 51% of the total U.S. flooring market.\" (The Carpet and Rug Institute) This is leaves a wide margin of other types of flooring that Trusty Carpets should consider. In a report by USA Today, they stated, \"Some 25% of buyers under the age of 35, and 28% of those between 35 and 54, considered hardwood floors "very important" when looking for a home.\" (Weigley, 2013) New Technology trend or opportunity. New technologies are rare in the carpet business, and generally come in forms of new stain resistant materials. Currently there is a new technology that businesses can use to put signage in the carpets itself to direct people towards certain areas. This technology can be controlled and changed to meet the requirements of a conference room changing meetings, used for emergency lighting and directions to get out of the building, colored lights for a party. These luminous carpets use LED lights to create custom displays. See figures 1 and 2 for examples. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figures 1 and 2 by Philips. (Philips, 2017). Philips claims, \"Smart technology that brings your brightest ideas to life\" (Philips, 2017). Commercial or operational trend that is changing industry. Trusty Carpets has just acquired Metro Carpets from across town and has brought its warehouse, customers, location and selection to the portfolio. The merging of these two companies will provide a blanket of opportunities to the company just as the change in taste of flooring from carpets to hardwood. While Metro is successful in its own right the company was ran with little to no information technology and will have considerable upgrades needed to migrate paper to digital. Changes to statutory, legislative or environmental requirements. The expansion of the town through the building of new homes by the town council will facilitate the growth of the town's population and this implies increased demand. Therefore, the recent activities in the town, the current performance of the businesses, the impending merger and the close proximity to the city present Trusty Carpets owner with a great business opportunity. Hence there is an absolute necessity for the development and increased use of information technology to handle these expansion strategies and facilitate efficient running of the businesses. In addition to the above, the town council desired for environmentally friendly businesses and recycling. This will be beneficial for Trusty Carpets to expand the business and clientele. References: Philips. (2017). A unique technology... Retrieved October 25, 2017, from https://www.luminous-carpets.com/how-it-works The Carpet and Rug Institute. (n.d.). Carpet Statistics. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from http://www.carpet-rug.org/carpet-statistics.html Weigley, S. (2013, April 28). 11 home features buyers will pay extra for. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/04/28/24-7home-features/2106203/