Running Head WOBBLY WHEELS DISTRIBUTION COMPANY1WOBBLY WHEELS .docx

Running Head: WOBBLY WHEELS DISTRIBUTION
COMPANY 1
WOBBLY WHEELS DISTRIBUTION COMPANY 7
Wobbly Wheels Distribution Company
Richard Kennedy
Case Study
Institution
6/1/2014
Part 1
Business environment
Business environment refers to both internal and external
factors which affect the operations of a given business or
organizational entity (Fernando, 2011). Wobbly Wheels
Distribution Company is a distribution and transportation
company that serves major cities in the mid-Atlantic region. It
is located in Wilmington, Delaware and boosts of more than 400
employees. The company has 6 distribution channels for
consolidating freight and 100 delivery vehicles. The business
environment is highly competitive and there has been stagnant
growth due to a slow economy. The president of the company
wishes to reduce the expenses by 5% and set growth at 5% in

order to fund new initiatives.
According to Wobbly Wheels (WW) Distribution Company,
their environment of operation is affected by several other
business environment factors. In developing an efficient IT
strategic plan, the company has to evaluate various results such
a development may bring to the firm.
In developing a new IT strategic plan, Wobbly Wheels
Distribution Company will have to consider the effects on its
personnel. The new plan must be a morale booster rather than a
demoralizing tool to the customers. The drivers are the most
outspoken and good ambassadors to the company and the new
system should provide them with an extra motivation.
The company also considers the legal factors in their
operations. This involves ensuring compliance with the set
federal and state laws whereby the ones given foremost
attention are: the Sarbanes Oxley financial audit, a federal
requiring that vehicles go through a safety check every 10,000
miles and finally an FCC reporting requirement which requires
statements on the number of hours each driver is involved in the
company’s operations.
In developing a new IT strategic plan, the company should
consider the technological implications of the system. The two-
way radio that is used as a mode of communication between the
dispatchers at the terminals and the drivers usually has low
power which may result in relatively short range compared to
other high power radios. Also the further apart the users are the
higher the possibility of harmful interferences e.g. a nearby
PMR446 walkie-talkie may unknowingly block the lines thus
interfering with communication.
Business strategic objective
A business strategic objective refers to the goals set by an
organization or a business entity whose fulfillment is deemed as
appropriate by the business. (Kelly, 2006)
Wobbly Wheels Distribution Company has set various strategic
objectives. One of their main objectives is providing their
customers with warehousing services as this will go a long way

in reducing their customers’ delivery time since their products
will be available locally. Another objective is improving the
percent of loaded miles in their fleet. This will lead to reduction
in costs as the delivery of freight and pickup will be
coordinated at the same time in the same geographic area. The
third objective is tracking the whereabouts of freight both in the
terminals and on the trucks in order to provide customers with
accurate delivery dates and times. This will increase their
reliability. The management also wants to comply with all
applicable federal and state regulations especially (1) the
Sarbanes Oxley financial audit and reporting requirements; (2) a
new federal requirement to conduct a vehicle safety check every
10,000; and (3) an FCC reporting requirement on the number
hours per day for each driver (or max per week, etc.).
IT mission and vision
Mission
Wobbly Wheels Distribution Company is a leading provider of
transportation and distribution services in the Mid-Atlantic
region. When it comes to providing reliable shipment services
with accurate delivery dates and times, we do not compromise.
Our customers are able to access real-time market information
on the fleet and track their goods being transported. We aim to
provide affordable shipment and warehouse services to our
clients who can access up to date information on their mobile
phones.
Vision
Wobbly Wheels (WW) Distribution Company aims to become
the main transportation and distribution services provider in the
Mid-Atlantic region. We will like to make efficient transport
and distribution services affordable to every person. We seek to
provide our customers with the best experience ever enabling
them be able to know the location of their products at whatever
time they would like to know. Appropriate governance process
This involves setting up standards and priorities that define the
roles of each individual to ensure efficiency in service delivery.
All relevant stakeholders must take part in the governance

process starting from the senior most to the juniors. The
president must ensure that his managers are doing their work
efficiently and the vice president should be in a position to
stand in for the president in case of his absence. Each and every
leader has a role to play in the committee. The CFO keeps
records on the use of funds and projects whether a project will
be profitable or not. On the other hand, the CIO should present
the board with project ideas to focus on after doing extensive
research. The role of the Sales Manager in the board is to
present the committee with the various sales in different areas
to see the areas that they are performing well or bad. The fleet
manager gives an up to date statement on the state and
performance of the fleet. The President’s role is to look at the
available proposals and rubberstamp the promising ones. The IT
projects that should be prioritized are those that align to
corporate strategies and operations of the company and they
should be ranked based on potential of achieving immediate
success. The projects, if selected carefully, will be able to meet
objectives and strategies of the business and this will have a
positive impact on the business as there will be increased
profitability. The committee should also come up with a mission
and vision and work hard to ensure they are met.
Current IT projects
The company has some the following projects still being
developed: Accurate financial project, management reporting
project and a mobile application for the sales and marketing
staff.
Current System
Function/
Description
Strategic Goal aligned to
Business unit/
department
Business Benefits
IT Resources (people, equipment)
Route optimization and freight tracking

Allows input of freight origin and destination information.
Increase efficiency
Operations
It is efficient hence increases speed of doing business.
Tracking devices, telecommunications equipment
Fleet maintenance
Contains information on each vehicle in the fleet.
Maintain proper records
Logistics
It enables the business choose appropriate transport method.
Databases
Finance and accounting
It records financial information of the company.
Keep check on financials
Finance
It makes it possible to know financial position.
Accounting software.
Management
To provide financial information on a daily basis.
Assist in identifying strengths and weaknesses
Management
It helps the business keep track of its financials.
Management software
Mobile marketing app
Used to show potential customers information
Make the business serviceseasily accessible
IT
It markets the business, attracts more customers leading to
higher profits.
Telecommunication equipment, internet
PART 2
Information Technology (IT) Strategies
Information technology strategy of a company refers to the
tactics and objectives which relate to the use of technology in
an organization. When carol joined the company she came up

with three business strategies that would enable growth of the
firm and increase the profits while at the same time increase
service delivery quality to the customers.
ICT strategy for the first business strategy (desire to provide
warehousing services) would involve the development of a
proper freight management system i.e. a freight management
tool that would control effectively the inbound and the
outbound freight. Another strategy in warehouse management
would involve the receiving practice and cross docking- this
reduces handling costs while improving customer service and
shipping costs.
In tracking of freight should develop an internet based software
such as strategy Live Trucking Software. This software provides
trucking dispatch, fuel tax, billing, payroll, driver logs and
other fleet related records and as such makes freight
management easy and more efficient. This also reduces cost and
working hours wasted in the manual tracking.
IT project proposal
In line with the day-to-day activities of the company the new IT
project to be proposed would be Industrial packaging. This
would be important as the company would be able to package
their goods according to their own discretion before storing
them in their fully developed and well organized warehouses.
Through industrial packaging the company would also be able
to customize their packaging materials such that they would fit
correctly into the trucks for transportation. This would also lead
to proper utilization of the available spaces.
Industrial packaging would also increase the network and
customer base of the company. This would lead to an increase.
Materials can also be recycled and then used in packaging
sector of the company. This leads to a reduction in expenses
incurred in the business operations of the company.
Risks facing IT projects
Information Technology (IT) projects are usually faced with a
lot of problems and require a lot of effort and dynamism for

them to succeed. Discussed below are some of the risks that
face IT projects:
Obsolescence is a major issue in the technological world. Due
to the dynamic nature of the business environment, a lot of
projects are time barred and considered outdated before they are
given fully implemented . This leads to huge losses on the part
of such companies since they cannot recoup the capital invested
in the project implementation.
In most cases there have been budget constraint issues. This is
whereby a company’s budget cannot fund IT projects because of
the initial investment requirement. Similarly IT projects require
expertise management. Therefore information is key to this
sector. When not properly managed with the experts the system
may fail to produce results and will thereby add no value.
Hiring of such experts I most cases usually increases the wage
budget of the responsible company.
IT projects require team work. This is because of the
complexity of the IT projects developed whereby it becomes
even difficult for the developer to remember all the concepts
involved in the functionality of such a system. This calls for
team among those involved to ensure the success of such IT
projects.
Steps to develop business continuity plan
The first step involves identifying threats or risks that may face
a potential IT system. Such threats may be historical,
geographical or organizational based factors.
The next step involves conducting business impact analysis.
This refers to evaluation of people, places or programs that are
critical to the survival of the IT system. Also consider what is
absolutely necessary to restore critical problems.
The third step involves adopting controls for prevention and
mitigation. This is meant to prevent the severity of an
unfortunate occurrence. This involves emergency response,
resource management and systems security.
The final step in developing a business continuity plan involves
testing, exercising and improving the plan routinely. This is to

ensure that appropriate changes are made to the system due to
the ever changing needs of the company’s business
environment.
Bottom of Form
Bottom of Form
Bottom of Form
2/26/2014 1
Case Study: Wobbly Wheels (WW) Distribution Company
Overview
WW is a regional transportation and distribution company in
operation for over 60 years. The company
serves major cities in the Mid-Atlantic region. They are
headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and

have a staff of 400 employees including truck drivers. There are
6 distribution terminals (Philadelphia
PA, Baltimore MD, New York City, Washington DC, Newark
NJ and Wilmington DE) for consolidating
freight, and 100 delivery vehicles including 20 tractor/semi-
trailer units, 40 box trucks and 40 panel
vans.
The company operates in a highly competitive business
environment. Growth has been stagnant
because of a slow economy. John, the president of the company,
would like to see growth at 5% per
year. He would also like to see expenses cut by 5% to help fund
new initiatives. Current revenue is about
$39 million a year with profit running at 4%.
Current Business Operations
WW operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sales personnel
(12 people, two per terminal) visit
prospective customers to outline company capability, services
provided and costs. When a customer
decides to use WW they call the dispatch office with shipment
information. Usually they FAX a copy of
the bill (s) of lading to a terminal with information such as
origin, destination, product description,

weight and number of packages.
A dispatcher at a terminal makes a list of freight pickups and
sends a truck to get the freight. To do this
they use the routing system to determine the sequence of
pickups by zip code. They use local maps
within a zip code to map out the specific order of pickups since
there may be several in a zip code area.
They have a performance goal of 98% of freight picked up
within 24 hours of availability.
A driver follows the dispatch order for pickups. Many of the
drivers complain that the pickup order is not
efficient. When they pick up an order they sign for receipt and
either load the freight or guide the
customer’s forklift operators to arrange it properly in the truck.
After freight is picked up it is brought to the terminal where it
is unloaded and sorted by destination. A
dispatcher then prepares a delivery ticket (again using the
routing system) that is used to load a truck in
the proper sequence for delivery. Some trucks take freight from
one terminal to another while others
make local deliveries. About half of a terminal’s space is used
on any given night. Dispatchers have a
goal to turn freight around in the terminal overnight for next

day delivery.
When freight is sent out for delivery, the driver follows the
delivery ticket order. Often they are held up
at a delivery destination by traffic or by lack of available
unloading space. This can cause the driver to be
late trying to make the day’s deliveries. Sometimes they get to a
destination and the facility is closed
and they bring the freight back to the terminal for delivery the
next day. It is unloaded and re-sorted by
destination. The dispatchers then add it to the next day’s
delivery tickets.
2/26/2014 2
The major freight volumes are between New York, Philadelphia
and Baltimore (about 70% of total
volume). Trucks run at about 70% of capacity between terminals
overall. Local delivery volume is
heaviest in New York, followed by Baltimore and then
Philadelphia. Local delivery trucks operate at
about 80% full while pickups fill about half of the vehicles
space. Some customers pickup and/or drop
freight at a terminal with their own equipment.

Truck drivers communicate with the dispatchers using two-way
commercial radios. Some also carry
personal cell phones and use them if the radio is out of range. A
few drivers also carry GPS devices to
help locate addresses. In general the drivers are content with the
company. Pay and benefits are good
and they get overtime pay when deliveries run late. Complaints
are few and mostly center around either
the sequence of pickup and delivery of shipments or vehicle
maintenance.
The fleet is maintained at the main Wilmington maintenance
shop and at a smaller shop in Washington.
Either one can handle minor maintenance and preventative
work. Only Wilmington can perform major
engine and transmission work. Overall the fleet is in good
operating condition. All vehicles are on a
preventative maintenance schedule which places them out of
service two days a month, usually on
weekends. Maintenance scheduling is a challenge because it can
interfere with the steady flow of
shipments both between terminals and for local delivery. There
are no “extra” vehicles in the fleet.
Administration
The company management team consists of the President, Vice

President of Operations, Chief Financial
Officer (CFO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), Sales Manager,
and a Fleet Manager who is in charge of
maintenance and safety. They meet weekly to discuss
opportunities and issues and to plan for the
future. Except for the CIO, the management team has been in
place for many years
The president of the company just hired its first Chief
Information Officer (CIO), Carol, after the previous
IT Director retired. She comes from a nearby manufacturer who
is also a major customer. At that
company she was Deputy CIO and primarily responsible for
network operations and security.
At a recent meeting the management team decided to change the
strategic plan for the business in
order to meet growth and cost goals. They highlighted three new
strategies they want to employ to
increase profitability and grow the business. First, they desire
to provide warehousing services for
customers who want to reduce delivery time to their customers
by having product available locally.
Second, they want to improve the percent of loaded miles in
their fleet to reduce costs by coordinating
the pickup and delivery of freight at the same time in the same

geographic area. Third, they want to
track the whereabouts of freight both in the terminals and on the
trucks to provide customers with
accurate delivery dates and times.
In addition, the management team wants to ensure that the
company remains in compliance with all
applicable federal and state regulations. The ones they are most
concerned about are: (1) the Sarbanes
Oxley financial audit and reporting requirements; (2) a new
federal requirement to conduct a vehicle
safety check every 10,000; and (3) an FCC reporting
requirement on the number hours per day for each
driver (or max per week, etc.). The CFO has been charged with
the overall project. He has asked Carol to
2/26/2014 3
help with this effort by modernizing information systems to
support the new strategies. She has decided
her first step is to update the IT strategic plan to link to the new
strategies in the corporate plan.
Second, she wants to engage her customers in a proactive way
to first, identify and prioritize IT projects

that will help meet the new goals, and then develop a set of
requirements for each project. Third, she
wants to decide on the best approach to modernize the
information systems that will meet
requirements at a reasonable cost, and for this she will need to
make some changes to the IT
organization.
Technology
WW is using a mix of older technology products for finance and
accounting, route optimization, freight
tracking and fleet maintenance. There are several projects
already in the IT portfolio competing for
resources. The CIO sees a major challenge in balancing
available funding, IT staff workload and project
prioritization. The project nearest completion is the adoption of
the Accurate Financials System to
replace the aging finance and accounting system. It will be
completed in six months. There are two other
projects under way, one for management reporting and one for a
mobile application that sales staff can
use to show potential customers information on the fleet,
distribution services available and freight
rates, including a comparison to the competition.

The route optimization and freight tracking system is very
important to the operations manager and
dispatchers. The current system allows the input of freight
origin and destination information. This is
taken from a bill of lading which contains a plethora of specific
information. When the dispatchers enter
the origins and destinations into the system they are grouped by
zip code. The dispatchers then decide
which zip codes will be loaded in a truck and in what sequence
for delivery. This takes several hours at
night to accomplish and must be done as quickly as possible so
trucks can be loaded and sent out in the
morning for delivery. Arranging shipment sequence within a zip
code is done by locating each address
on a map and entering it into the system in the best order.
Pickups are handled in a similar manner.
The fleet maintenance system contains information on each
vehicle in the fleet. It includes all vehicle
specifications, a summary of all repairs, a preventive
maintenance schedule and an inventory of parts on
hand. This information is entered by accounting clerks,
mechanics, purchasing clerks and anyone else
who has time to do data entry. It is not as time consuming as the
routing system but it contains

information critical to fleet reliability. The greatest challenge is
scheduling preventative maintenance
since it requires vehicles to be down for two days. The
dispatchers do not want the equipment taken out
of service because it causes planning headaches. The
relationship between dispatchers and
maintenance personnel is strained.
IT Organization
When Carol was hired as CIO last month she took a close look
at the current staffing. The IT staff consists
of 22 people, seven of whom are programmers. The
programmers are charged with all systems
development and integration work for the company. They have
three projects in their current portfolio.
Their skill sets include SQL, .Net and C+ programming, and
Web design.
2/26/2014 4
There are six helpdesk personnel who support the six
distribution terminals (one at each terminal). The
remaining staff includes 2 network engineers, a financial
systems specialist (an expert in Accurate

Financials), a computer security expert, two shift supervisors
and the CIO and her two personal
assistants.
The IT staff supports multiple locations. At the Wilmington
headquarters/terminal there are 15 servers
(they contain all software and data; one stores a backup copy of
the data) and 30 PCs for accounting,
marketing, IT, administration and management. The terminal
operations office has 5 PCs for dispatchers,
one for the maintenance office, one for parts and one for drivers
in the driver lounge. The other 5
terminals have 10 PCs each and connect to headquarters by a
virtual private network (VPN).
IT Portfolio
Accurate Financials- This new system will replace the current
finance and accounting system. It is an off-
the-shelf product that requires the owner to make modifications
to interface with other systems they
may own. Two programmers are working on the project. One is
setting up the database and loading the
software on servers. The other is learning about the system in
order to write an interface with the
routing system. A representative of Accurate will train the
accounting staff in its use. This will take about

two weeks.
Management Reporting System- Senior management wanted to
know financial information on a daily
basis. Two programmers have been working on a system to
compile the data in a format they can use.
They plan to extract information from Accurate Financials when
it is ready but for now have focused on
the current system. They will be done in two months.
Mobile Marketing App- The marketing manager asked for an
app that sales staff could use to show
potential customers information. This would include things like
fleet photos and specifications; pictures
of the six terminals and information about the distribution
services WW can provide; and a comparison
of their costs using sample shipments with rates from
competitors compared to WW costs. A
programmer and the web designer are working on the project. It
will take two more months to
complete.
The current design and development process is best described
by the way it worked in the selection and
integration of Accurate Financials. The CFO asked the (former)
CIO to develop a new finance and

accounting system . The CIO interviewed large, respected
companies and, after comparing their
capability to the current system, chose Accurate Financials.
Two programmers were assigned and an
Accurate Financials specialist was hired to work between IT and
the finance office. The CIO receives
progress reports every two weeks.
Situation
When Carol was hired she toured each terminal to see the IT
setup and understand local business
operations. It was important to her to know just how each
person used the systems. She spent time with
bookkeepers and accountants, dispatchers, drivers and terminal
management. Since she came from one
2/26/2014 5
of WW’s customers she knew that customers could offer insight
into business improvements that would
be good for both companies. She visited one large customer in
each of the terminal’s area of service to
get feedback on how operations between them and WW could be
improved. Her goal was to see how

she could translate what she learned into systems improvements.
Interestingly the most complaints came from bookkeepers and
accountants. They said the system was
slow and data entry was tedious because accuracy was very
important. If they entered wrong
information, it could cause incorrect billing (rates are based on
weight and size), improper loading (the
wrong zip code could mean sending freight in the wrong
direction unless a dispatcher caught the error),
and more. They estimated current accuracy at about 95% but
they had no way of knowing for sure.
Further, they complained about financial reporting and their
ability to meet compliance requirements.
Reporting was mostly a manual process and data they needed
from the system was not easily accessed.
Most of them had resorted to keeping small ledgers at their desk
to track information they knew they
would need for reporting.
The dispatchers explained that routing wasn’t all that hard, just
time consuming. The routing system
grouped all of the shipments by zip code. They would take all of
the shipments in a zip code and look at
the weight and size (how much cubic space each one needed in a

truck), plot them on a map and then
put them in delivery sequence. They thought most trucks left the
loading dock full and that that the
drivers made adjustments in delivery sequence when needed.
Pickups were a bit more challenging.
Sometimes they sent a truck out just to pick up freight and bring
it back to the terminal. Other times
they contacted a driver to ask them to stop at a customer to pick
up a shipment while they were making
deliveries. Since they didn’t know exactly how much space was
available on the truck this was a hit or
miss situation. Drivers were left to decide if they could make it
work.
Drivers were the most outspoken, probably because no one ever
asked for their opinion. They were also
the happiest of employees (this might explain why they were
non-union). They liked being able to make
decisions on the go and they knew the customers very well. In
fact they could call some of them if they
were running late and the customer would stay open so they
could deliver or pick up a shipment. They
seemed to have favorite customers and often spent extra time
with them talking about common
interests. Generally they were good ambassadors for the

company.
Terminal managers were under constant pressure. Their main
goal was to get shipments into and out of
the terminal as quickly as possible. Delivery times were
measured and part of their performance plan.
They knew the company had established three new strategies
because they were explained in an email
they just got. Carol asked how they might provide warehousing
services. Most felt they had extra space
and could take on some storage but keeping track of the
shipments might be a problem. They had to do
this manually and the bookkeepers were the ones to keep the
records. They felt more bookkeepers
would be needed but they didn’t know how many.
Carol also met with the maintenance and safety staff at the
Washington terminal. The maintenance
folks had a large workload and complained that they had a hard
time getting equipment in the shop for
preventative work. They did not know when equipment would
be available until the last minute so
2/26/2014 6

scheduling was always a scramble because they needed to make
sure mechanics were available to do
the work. They had a lot of complaints about shifting work
hours and the effect it had on their personal
lives.
The safety manager expressed concerns over driver hours of
service. There are federal regulations that
limit drivers to 10 hours of driving at a time. Then they need to
take an 8 hour break. The problem was
tracking the driver’s hours to make sure they stayed within the
law. Dispatchers tried to help with this
when they scheduled pickups and deliveries but there was no
easy way to do it and the results were
often based on best guess. The safety manager who was
ultimately responsible for compliance had
drivers turn in their hours each day but this was always after the
fact.
Carol’s customer visits were eye-opening. Most of the
customers had automated inventory systems and
could easily track products from raw material to finished goods.
They knew exactly what they would ship
and when, usually several days ahead of time. Some customers
however needed near instantaneous
shipping. They wanted same-day pickup in a lot of cases and

fast delivery. In most cases they were all
able to produce electronic documents such as the bill of lading
and email or FAX it to WW.
During her interview for the CIO position, Carol was told that
the previous IT Director had left a good
foundation and that the staff seemed sufficient in number and
appeared to be very capable. However,
since WW is developing its strategies for the future, the staff
must be able to support the business
strategies as well as the IT strategies that Carol would develop.
One of the first things Carol did was to
interview each member of her staff. She discovered that the
roles and responsibilities tended to overlap
and that morale among her staff was very low. Carol also
interviewed the senior leadership of WW and
learned that her staff was not meeting their expectations for
service. The help desk was perceived as
being only somewhat competent and took much too long to
respond to problems. Application
developers were very slow in delivering systems, and when the
systems were finally delivered, they did
not reflect what the customers needed or wanted. Network
outages occurred too often from the users’
perspective. Finally, the Chief Financial Officer told Carol that

the IT costs need to be reduced.
Carol knew she had many challenges. She was determined to
identify essential projects and then
prioritize them for management review. The outcomes would
affect almost every aspect of the
business. Her IT portfolio was about to grow and her
organization will need to change to meet the
challenges.
3/29/2014 1
IT Decision Paper
Before you begin this assignment, be sure you have read the
“Wobbly Wheels Case Study,” any feedback
on your proposed IT project from your ITSP Part 2 assignment,
and the previously assigned chapters in
the textbook.
Purpose of this Assignment
This assignment gives you the opportunity to apply the course
concepts to develop an IT Decision Paper
to explain and defend an IT project at Wobbly Wheels
Distribution Company (WW). This assignment

specifically addresses the following course outcomes to enable
you to:
and governance to make, defend,
and justify an IT decision.
IT Decision Paper for Your Proposed IT Project
For your ITSP, Part 2, you proposed an IT project for WW.
Carol, the CIO at WW, has asked you to write
an IT Decision Paper to explain your proposed project. She
wants to use the Paper to gain approval from
the Governance Board to move forward with the project. This
assignment uses a format for a Decision
Paper that has been tailored to the course material covered in
this class. You may work for an
organization that has a format for IT decision papers, and it
would be a good idea for you to take a look
at it, but it will likely be structured a little differently from this
one. Each organization develops tools and
techniques that will work for them.
Assignment
You will develop an IT Decision Paper, using the outline below.
Each of the topics to be included in your
outline is covered in the textbook readings assigned thus far;

use the Index to locate specific relevant
portions of the text, and to locate additional ideas that may be
included in chapters not yet assigned. In
addition to the course materials, at least one external resource
(resource other than those provided in
the class) must be used. A separate References page should be
included. Remember to use the APA
formatting rules and correctly cite and reference your sources
with APA format. Use the Grading Rubric
to be sure you have covered everything. Submit your paper as a
Microsoft Word document, or a
document that can be read using Word, with your last name
included in the filename.
Please use this outline to build your IT Decision Paper. Use the
numbering and headings shown below.
1. Project Description – In two or three sentences, describe the
IT project you proposed for WW in
Part 2 of your ITSP. Describe what major function(s) the
system would perform and who would
use it. (Do not provide a technical description with hardware,
software, etc.)
2. Strategic Alignment – In a short paragraph, explain how the
proposed project aligns to the
business strategic objectives in Part 1 of your ITSP, and how
the proposed project aligns to the
IT strategies in Part 2 of your ITSP. Your proposed project

must be aligned directly with at least
one business strategic objective and one IT strategy shown in
your ITSP.
3. IT Portfolio Alignment – Briefly explain where this project
fits into the IT Portfolio roadmap you
included in Part 2 of your ITSP. What functional area does it
support? Where should it be
included in the timeline – i.e., should it take priority or be done
before another project in the IT
Portfolio?
3/29/2014 2
4. IT Architecture – Briefly explain how this project fits in with
other systems in place or in
development at WW. Explain whether it should interface with
(share data of any kind with) other
systems either in place or in development. Explain whether it
replaces another system or
multiple systems in use at WW. Refer to the Inventory of
Current IT Projects in Part 1 of your
ITSP and the IT Portfolio in Part 2 of your ITSP.
5. Benefits: Describe at a high level at least three benefits the

project provides to WW. The
benefits should correspond to the business strategies and the
strategic alignment discussed in
section 2 above. Refer to Chapter 8, section on Value
Attainment.
6. Requirements – List and briefly explain the high level
requirements for the project. First, explain
the primary driver of the project (major need of the business
identified in the Case Study). Refer
to Chapter 15 and use the textbook index for additional
information about requirements.
Develop at least 8 requirements for the project, and include:
a. Business/user requirements
b. IT/system requirements
c. At least one system performance requirement
7. Cost Estimation - During the Assessment Phase, Cost
Estimation consists of estimating the size
and complexity of the project, not the effort required or the
actual projected dollar costs. Copy
the table below and place an X (or other indication) in the box
that most closely describes the
size and complexity of your proposed solution. Use your
judgment and then write a short

paragraph to introduce and explain the assessments in your
table. Refer to Chapter 17, Cost
Estimation, especially the Assessment Phase, described under
Figure 17.2.
Assessment of Project Size and Complexity
Size/Complexity Small Medium Large
Very Complex
Moderately Complex
Straightforward
8. Performance Measures – This section explains how WW will
know whether the project is
achieving the benefits identified above in section 5. Review the
benefits, and take a look at the
requirements you identified, and come up with three
performance measures that will indicate the
extent to which the projected benefits have been achieved. (For
example, if you had identified a
benefit that the project would result in more repeat customers,
then a measurement for that
would be the number of repeat customers with the goal that the
number would increase.) Refer
to Chapter 11, section on Measure Performance and Make it
Visible, just under figure 11.4; also

Chapter 21, section on Performance Measurement. This may be
a good area to do some web
research. The measures should be presented in a table with an
introductory sentence or two:
Benefit to Business Measure
1.(example: increase in repeat customers) (example: number of
repeat customers)
2.
3.
9. System Development - Describe how you will use the System
Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
process to approach this project. Include the 5 stages covered
in the textbook: Plan, Design,
3/29/2014 3
Build, Test, Launch. In two to three sentences each, explain
how each stage would be handled
by Carol’s IT team and who else in WW should be involved in
each stage. Refer to Chapter 13.
The "right" and "wrong" answers have to do with whether or not
you correctly incorporated the course

concepts from the textbook and addressed all parts of the
assignment. You need to do some external
research on at least one aspect of the assignment - your choice -
and incorporate it and cite/reference it
in APA format in your response. The project you propose is not
as important as that it makes sense in
light of the course content and the Case Study. Use the Rubric
below to be sure you have covered all
aspects of the assignment.
GRADING RUBRIC:
Criterion 90-100%
Far Above
Standards
80-89%
Above
Standards
70-79%
Meets
Standards
60-69%
Below
Standards
< 60%

Well Below
Standards
Possible
Points
Project
Description
5 Points
Description of
the project is
clear and
concise, covers
functions and
users, and sets
the stage for the
remainder of the
paper;
demonstrates
understanding
of course
concepts,
analysis and
critical thinking.

4 Points
Description of the
project is clear
and concise,
covers functions
and users, and
sets the stage for
the remainder of
the paper.
3.5 Points
Description of the
IT Project
includes what it
does (functions it
performs) and
who uses it.
3 Points
Description of
the project is

unclear, not
concise,
and/or does
not set the
stage for the
remainder of
the paper.
0-2 Points
Little or no
description of
the proposed
IT project is
included.
5
Strategic
Alignment
9-10 Points
Explanation of
proposed

project includes
clear and well-
supported
alignment to at
least one
business
objective in Part
1 of the ITSP
and one IT
strategy in Part
2 of the ITSP;
explanation is
very appropriate
to the Case
Study and
clearly tied to
the proposed IT
8 Points
Explanation of
proposed project
includes clear

alignment to at
least one business
objective in Part 1
of the ITSP and
one IT strategy in
Part 2 of the ITSP;
explanation is
appropriate to the
Case Study and
tied to the
proposed IT
project.
7 Points
Explanation of
proposed project
includes direct
alignment to at
least one
business strategic
objective in Part
1 of the ITSP and
to at least one IT

strategy in Part 2
of the ITSP.
6 Points
Explanation of
business
objectives
and/or IT
strategies are
incomplete;
and/or are
only partially
appropriate to
the Case
Study or the
proposed IT
project.
0-5 Points
Explanation
of Strategic
Alignment is

minimal or
not included.
10
3/29/2014 4
project.
IT Portfolio
Alignment
9-10 Points
This section
thoroughly
explains the
relationship of
the proposed IT
project to the IT
Portfolio
Roadmap in Part
2 of the ITSP,
including a full
explanation of

the functional
area supported,
and where this
project fits in
the timeline.
8 Points
This section clearly
explains the
relationship of the
proposed IT
project to the IT
Portfolio Roadmap
in Part 2 of the
ITSP, including a
good explanation
of the functional
area supported,
and where this
project fits in the
timeline.
7 Points

This section has
an explanation of
the relationship
of the proposed
IT project to the
IT Portfolio
Roadmap in Part
2 of the ITSP,
including:
where the
proposed project
fits into the IT
Portfolio
roadmap;
identification of
the functional
area it supports;
and where it
should be
included in the
timeline in the
ITSP.

6 Points
This section
includes only
part of the
required
information on
the
relationship.
Of the
proposed IT
project to the
IT Portfolio
Roadmap in
Part 2 of the
ITSP (where it
fits, the
functional area
supported,
and the
timeline);
and/or is not
relevant to

Case Study.
0-5 Points
This section
minimally
covers the
relationship
of the
proposed IT
project to the
IT Portfolio
Roadmap in
Part 2 of the
ITSP, or does
not cover it
at all.
10
IT
Architecture
9-10 Points

A correct and
convincing
explanation of
the IT
Architecture
includes how
the project fits
with, interfaces
with and/or
replaces other
systems;
explanation is
clearly relevant
to the Case
Study and the
proposed
project;
demonstrates
thorough
understanding
of course
concepts,
analysis and

critical thinking.
8 Points
An accurate
explanation of the
IT Architecture
includes how the
project fits with,
interfaces with
and/or replaces
other systems;
explanation is
relevant to the
Case Study and
the proposed
project;
demonstrates
understanding of
course concepts,
analysis and
critical thinking.
7 Points

Explanation of
the IT
Architecture
includes: how the
proposed IT
project fits in
with other
systems in place
or in
development at
the business in
the Case Study;
whether it should
interface with
other systems
either in place or
in development;
and whether it
replaces another
system or
multiple systems
in use at the

business in the
Case Study.
6 Points
IT
Architecture
explanation
partially
covers how
the project fits
with,
interfaces with
and/or
replaces other
systems; is
not relevant to
the Case
Study or the
proposed
project.
0-5 Points
IT

Architecture
explanation is
minimal or
not included.
10
Benefits 9-10 Points 8 Points 7 Points
6 Points
0-5 Points
10
3/29/2014 5
Three or more
business
benefits are
thoroughly and
convincingly
explained; are

clearly aligned
to the business
objectives
above; benefits
are highly
applicable to
and appropriate
for the proposed
solution and the
Case Study.
Three or more
business benefits
are fully
explained; are
aligned to the
business
objectives above;
benefits are clearly
applicable to and
appropriate for the
proposed solution
and the Case

Study.
At least two
business benefits
that the proposed
IT project
provides to the
organization in
the Case Study
are described at
a high level. The
benefits
correspond to the
business
strategies and
the strategic
alignment
discussed in
section 2 above.
Fewer than 2
business
benefits are
shown;

benefits are
not aligned to
business
objectives
above; are not
applicable to
or appropriate
for the
proposed
solution
and/or the
Case Study.
Business
benefits are
minimally
addressed or
not included.
Requirements 9-10 Points
This section
includes an
effective and
well-written
introduction that

is applicable to
the Case Study
and thoroughly
and convincingly
explains the
primary business
driver for the
proposed IT
project. At least
10 unique
requirements
are identified
and are clearly
applicable to the
Case Study;
requirements
cover items a-c
in the
assignment;
demonstrates
thorough
understanding

of course
concepts,
analysis and
critical thinking.
8 Points
This section
includes a well-
written
introduction that is
applicable to the
Case Study and
fully explains the
primary business
driver for the
proposed IT
project. At least 9
unique
requirements are
identified and are
clearly applicable
to the Case Study;
requirements

cover items a-c in
the assignment;
demonstrates
understanding of
course concepts,
analysis and
critical thinking.
7 Points
This section
includes an
introduction that
explains the
primary driver
behind the
system (major
business need).
Then, at least 8
requirements are
listed and briefly
explained, and
include: (a)
business/user

requirements, (b)
IT/system
requirements;
and (c) at least
one system
performance
requirement.
6 Points
This section
does not
include an
introduction
identifying the
primary driver
for the
system; 8 or
fewer
requirements
are identified;
requirements
are not
applicable to

the Case
Study; and/or
items a-c in
the
assignment
are not
covered.
0-5 Points
This section
minimally
addresses
requirements,
or
requirements
are not
included.
10
Cost
Estimation
9-10 Points 8 Points

7 Points
6 Points
0-5 Points
10
3/29/2014 6
This section
includes an
effective and
well-written
introductory
paragraph that
is applicable to
the Case Study
and thoroughly
and convincingly
justifies the
assessments in

the table that
follows. Cost
estimation table
is included, with
appropriate
selection for size
and complexity.
This section
includes an
appropriate
introductory
paragraph that is
applicable to the
Case Study and
provides a good
explanation of the
assessments in
the table that
follows. Cost
estimation table is
included, with
appropriate
selection for size

and complexity.
This section
includes an
introductory
paragraph that
explains the
assessments and
applies to the
Case Study. Cost
estimation table
is included;
selections are
made for size and
complexity.
This section
does not
include an
introductory
paragraph;
and/or cost
estimation
table is
included, but

selection for
size and
complexity are
not
appropriate or
adequately
justified.
This section
provides little
or no
information
on the cost
estimation;
cost
estimation
table is
missing;
and/or
information
presented
does not
apply to the
Case Study.

Performance
Measures
9-10 Points
This section
includes an
effective and
well-written
introductory
paragraph that
is applicable to
the Case Study,
the proposed
solution and the
table that
follows. The
completed table
contains all
required
information,
accurately
reflecting the

Case Study and
the proposed
solution;
demonstrates
thorough
understanding
of course
concepts,
analysis and
critical thinking.
8 Points
This section
includes an
appropriate
introductory
paragraph that is
applicable to the
Case Study, the
proposed solution
and the table that
follows. The
completed table

contains all
required
information,
accurately
reflecting the Case
Study and the
proposed solution;
demonstrates
understanding of
course concepts,
analysis and
critical thinking.
7 Points
This section
includes at least
one or two
sentences that
introduce the
table.
Performance
Measures Table is

included showing
three benefits
and three
measures that
are appropriate
to the proposed
solution and the
Case Study.
6 Points
This section
includes fewer
than three
benefits and
associated
performance
measures;
measures do
not align to
benefits;
benefits and
measures are
not

appropriate to
the Case
Study and the
proposed
solution;
and/or
introduction is
missing.
0-5 Points
This section
provides little
or no
information
on
Performance
Measures;
table is
missing;
and/or
information

presented
does not
apply to the
Case Study.
10
System
Development
9-10 Points
The five stages
of the SDLC are
8 Points
The five stages of
the SDLC are fully
7 Points
The five stages of
the SDLC are
6 Points
The five

stages of the
0-5 Points
The stages of
the SDLC are
10
3/29/2014 7
thoroughly
covered;
explanation is
tied directly to
the project and
to the case
study; includes
IT team
responsibilities
and appropriate
involvement of
others at the

business in the
Case Study;
demonstrates
thorough
understanding
of course
concepts and
vocabulary.
covered;
explanation is
includes discussion
of the project and
the case study;
includes IT team
responsibilities
and appropriate
involvement of
others at the
business in the
Case Study;
demonstrates
understanding of
course concepts

and vocabulary.
covered:
Plan, Design,
Build, Test,
Launch. Two to
three sentences
are used to
explain how each
stage would be
handled by the
team and identify
others who need
to be involved at
the business in
the Case Study.
SDLC are not
all covered;
explanations
are not
appropriate to
the project
and the Case
Study; and/or

do not include
IT team
responsibilities
and/or
appropriate
involvement of
others at the
business in
the Case
Study.
minimally
addressed or
are not
included.
External
Research
5 Points
Two or more
sources other
than the
textbook are
incorporated in

two or more
sections of the
paper and are
used effectively.
Sources used
are relevant and
timely and
contribute to the
analysis.
References are
appropriately
incorporated
and cited using
APA style.
4 Points
At least one
source other than
the textbook is
incorporated and
used effectively.
Source(s) are
relevant and

contribute to the
analysis.
References are
appropriately
incorporated and
cited using APA
style.
3.5 Points
At least one
source other than
the textbook is
used and
properly
incorporated into
the text.
Reference is cited
using APA style.
3 points
A source other
than the
textbook may

be used, but is
not properly
incorporated
or used and/or
is not effective
or appropriate
and/or is not
relevant or
timely; and/or
does not
follow APA
style for
references and
citations.
0-2 Points
No external
research is
incorporated
or reference
listed is not
cited within

text.
5
Report
Format
9-10 Points
Report is very
well organized
and is easy to
read. Very few
or no errors in
sentence
structure,
grammar, and
spelling;
presented in a
8 Points
Report reflects
effective
organization; has
few errors in

sentence
structure,
grammar, and
spelling;
presented in a
professional
7 Points
Report has some
organization;
may have some
errors in
sentence
structure,
grammar and
spelling.
6 Points
Report is not
well
organized,
and/or

contains
several
grammar
and/or spelling
errors.
0-5 Points
Report is
extremely
poorly
written, has
many
grammar
and/or
spelling
errors, or
does not
10
3/29/2014 8
professional
format.

format. convey the
information.
TOTAL
Possible
Points
100

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