Final Project

Overview

Solve a business problem that involves the analysis and improvement of a process. Implement the process on website or if not feasible, create a website that highlights the unique aspects of the process.

MIS5102: Each project team will take the role of an internal or external consultant tasked with providing a managerial “briefing” regarding the issue and a recommended solution. You will be evaluated on the quality and presentation of the statement of the problem; the key issues; and your recommendations for improving the underlying process. There should be enough detail to enable management to make a decision based on your recommendations.
MIS5109: Design a user experience and digital interface to implement the recommended solution. Implement the experience on a website OR highlight the unique aspects of the experience on a website that will serve to market your solution.

Topic

The group project should focus on a real issue involving process analysis and improvement. Preferably, it should have practical significance based on your own work experience. It can be a problem you’d like to solve within one of your group members’ organizations or industry. It can also be a new opportunity that has not yet been addressed within those organizations. The process you select must also include a need to improve or create a user experience with a digital interface. Possible scenarios include:

Process inefficiency – duplication of work, unnecessary steps, counterproductive actions
Process ineffectiveness – the process doesn’t accomplish what it is supposed to, or there are unintended consequences on the rest of the organization
Radical redesign of a process – rethinking of the way a current process is done in order to change the way the organization operates
New process design – designing a process for a new set of actions within the organization (for example, to support a new initiative)

The more the topic reflects an actual practice within a company or industry, the more likely the experience will be valuable to you and your group. However, we realize that many companies have policies against sharing details about internal operations. You might also simply be uncomfortable about identifying your own organization. So keep in mind several things:

You can change the details and “anonymize” the companies and groups involved in order to ensure confidentiality.
You can select a project that involves less sensitive process information.
If there is an issue common to an industry, you can make your project about the industry and not about a specific company or organization.

Goals

There are two main goals for this project: a presentation and a website. The project should:

Describe the problem or issue and the current state of operations. If an existing business process is involved, describe that process.
Why is it important to the business? How does it involve process analysis and design? What are the opportunities for improvement or transformation?
What are the key findings from your user/process research? What did you learn about what others are doing?
Recommend a user experience solution upon which management can act. Describe the new process (or changes to the existing process), and the underlying rationale, and detail the improved process. How does your solution reflect what you learned through your research?

Project proposal and group work

Form a group of 4-6 people. We recommend forming a team by (a) looking for team members who share complementary skills, and (b) who work in industries/jobs that are relevant to you or the project.
Submit a Word document that contains (a), project title, and (b) full names of team members on the Owlbox folder for your group (see below) by the proposal due date (c) a project proposal with 3 simple paragraphs:
- - Overview: Provide general context of the organization. What is the “As-Is” (2-3 sentences)
  - Problem Statement: What is the problem? (2-3 sentences)
  - Opportunity: How will you approach the problem (2-3 sentences)
  - Note: You only need to submit one proposal for both courses.
Submit all project related documents via Owlbox.
- Create a new folder in OWLbox called MSDIMSUM18_LastName1_Lastname2_Lastname3_Lastname4 (i.e., the last names of each team member) OR a professionally relevant name for the group. All team members plus your instructors should have access to this folder.
- Share all project related material in this folder. As the term progresses you will also post documents and other updates inside this group. The instructor(s) will from time to time visit the group and provide feedback.

Requirements

Summarize the analysis in a set of no more than 12 PowerPoint slides. Use the main slides to communicate the key points in a concise and direct manner. You may use the “notes” section on PowerPoint to add more detail and justification. Do not fill the main slides with text. The slides should minimally include:

Problem statement – Identify the key situation of concern, why is it necessary to fix it?
User study – Pick an method to study the users/process and present a summary of the results
Process model – Model the key tasks and processes and identify the proposed changes
Experience model – Propose the design requirements for the new/changed process
Business model – The model that underlies the revised process and experience model
Technology Specifications – Propose the interaction model, form factor, and system concept
Evaluation strategy and results – Summarize the results of a formal usability test
Pro/con analysis – analysis of the pros and cons of the proposed process/experience
Bibliography

You are not required to follow the order above. Order the slides so that they help make the best possible case. Design the presentation assuming that your ‘clients’ are a team of senior-level managers (CxOs), but not necessarily in the Information Technology function.

Presentation

Each team will submit a presentation and a website.

Your presentation and website demonstration should run no longer than 12 minutes, with 3 minutes at the end for a brief question and answer session.

Key dates

June 19, 2018 Propose team topic
August 8, 2018 Presentation and Website