Problem Based Learning

The Context of the Problem

Large technology projects, whether the development of new technologies or upgrading current systems or software applications, can be costly. In larger organizations, a million-dollar (or more) project is not unusual. Once a project is rolled out to production, it is important to evaluate the performance of the project. This is generally a comparison of the anticipated benefits used in making the decision to move forward with the project versus the actual performance of the systems of software once in use. Various methods may be used to evaluate the performance; however, it is important to develop a broad set of standards for making an assessment of the systems or software.

The Problem

Your organization has made a very large investment in the purchase of infrastructure or development of an in-house software application. As examples, the network infrastructure has had a hardware refresh, business analysis data tools have been implemented, or a new customer resource management software tool has been implemented. Your team must assess the performance of the newly launched technology. You will be providing the various stakeholders (user community, project managers, and senior leadership) with the plan to be used for conducting the performance assessment, including the process of collecting performance data, analysis methods, and an explanation of the appropriateness of the methods to be used (the data may be concocted or gathered from a representative system).

As you work through the problem, be sure to focus on reaching these learning outcomes:

1. Optimize organizational processes using data analysis.
2. Assess the potential of various software to enhance organizational performance.
3. Evaluate applications for the potential to improve collaboration, sharing, and lowering cost.
4. Manage application development to lower cost and improve quality and customer satisfaction.
5. Maximize the return on organizational technology investments.
6. Develop application policies and procedures consistent with the Virtuous Business Model.
7. Assess the challenges, technologies, and system approach issues in developing and deploying applications.

Evaluation Framework

1. As a team, create a final list of measurements that will be used to evaluate the technology investment. These measures are likely to include technical and behavioral attributes.
2. You should also address strategic alignment and business outcomes in your evaluation. These measurement characteristics should be based on the potential list of criteria developed in Step Two. Each team member should be assigned measures that will be observed and reported back to the team as the final analysis of the performance and stakeholder report are developed.
3. One person from the team must submit the deliverable per the schedule outlined in your Team PBL Plan but no later than Workshop Four.

We are team of 2.