Posted: March 17th, 2015

This task will require you to identify a discipline / industry / organisation (referred to as the research field) and to investigate an aspect of their decision-making needs as well as the opportunities for computer-based decision support systems development. Generic examples of research fields you may wish to consider could be the health sciences and patient monitoring, or the agricultural sector and the need to predict certain farming operations, or the university as it supports the decisions of international students, or a company as it budgets finances. The texts by Sharda et al (2014), and Web sites dssresources.com http://businessintelligence.ittoolbox.com/ and Australian Information Industry Association http://www.aiia.com.au/ and others provide examples of software tools and research fields where computer-based decision support are being developed. Wikipedia and Google are also good starting points. If you are unable to make a selection, the teaching staff can assist. This first assignment broadly aligns with the intelligence and design phases of Simon’s (1977)[1] decision-making model. The outcome of this assignment will be a business report containing your proposal. For the next stage of the assignment, you will need to develop your proposal into a project prototype which is also an individual assignment. This second phase broadly corresponds with the choice and implementation decision-making phases (Simon 1977). The assessment overall is designed to enable students to develop analytical and inquiry skills, writing, oral and interpersonal communication skills, organisational abilities, a sense of professionalism, as well as acquiring an understanding of the topic

 

Faculty of Business, Government and Law

 

Business Intelligence Systems 7156

 

Assignment 2: Project Proposal

Due Week 5, Friday 20^th March 2015 by 11pm

Value 10%, 1000 Words

 

The purpose of this assignment is for each student individually to develop a proposal

for a computer-based DSS/BI prototype to be built in assignment 2 using software of choice.

 

Project Proposal

 

This task will require you to identify a discipline / industry / organisation (referred to as the research field) and to investigate an aspect of their decision-making needs as well as the opportunities for computer-based decision support systems development.  Generic examples of research fields you may wish to consider could be the health sciences and patient monitoring, or the agricultural sector and the need to predict certain farming operations, or the university as it supports the decisions of international students, or a company as it budgets finances.  The texts by Sharda et al (2014), and Web sites dssresources.com http://businessintelligence.ittoolbox.com/ and Australian Information Industry Association http://www.aiia.com.au/ and others provide examples of software tools and research fields where computer-based decision support are being developed.  Wikipedia and Google are also good starting points.  If you are unable to make a selection, the teaching staff can assist.

 

This first assignment broadly aligns with the intelligence and design phases of Simon’s (1977)[1] decision-making model.  The outcome of this assignment will be a business report containing your proposal.  For the next stage of the assignment, you will need to develop your proposal into a project prototype which is also an individual assignment.  This second phase broadly corresponds with the choice and implementation decision-making phases (Simon 1977).  The assessment overall is designed to enable students to develop analytical and inquiry skills, writing, oral and interpersonal communication skills, organisational abilities, a sense of professionalism, as well as acquiring an understanding of the topic. 

 

Guidance on Report Writing

Guidance on report writing is available from the University of Canberra Web site http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills .  As well, forthcoming classes will discuss the assignment and report writing requirements.

 

It is not acceptable to simply copy and paste from Web sources.  Exact copying is a last resort and should be done only to emphasise a point that is best explained in the words of the original author.  Exact copying should be in italics or between apostrophes (depending on the reference style) and must always be referenced with author, year and page number.  It would be expected that exact copying is no more than 5% of the report.  Even when paraphrasing, by re-writing the ideas of other authors in your own words, you will need to reference.  The use of the Harvard author-date referencing style is mandatory for this assessment.

 

Furthermore, The University of Canberra has available, through LearnOnline (Moodle), text-matching software that helps students and staff reduce plagiarism and improve understandings of academic integrity. Known as URKUND, the software matches submitted text in student assignments against material from various sources: the internet, published books and journals, and previously submitted student texts.

 

Criteria for Proposal Report: 1000 words

 

Section	Words
Executive Summary: Brief overview of the proposal, the purpose of the project, and recommended course of action.   Introduction: Outline of project proposal.   Section 1 Identification: A description of the discipline / industry / organisation and existing information systems (manual and computer-based).   Section 2 Analysis and Design: A statement of the problem; level of managerial control; decision structure (structured, semi-structured or unstructured problem); DSS/BI architecture (users of the existing and proposed system, models, data); and software options proposed for the DSS/BI prototype solution (not too technical). See lecture 1.   Section 3 Feasibility: Evaluate and justify the benefits and limitations of a DSS/BI using SWOT or an alternative evaluation technique.  This exercise will help you identify the solution and its potential for adoption.   Conclusion: Concluding remarks including a plan for the development of the DSS prototype at a later date.	100     100   200     300         200       100
Total	1000

 

Marking Rubric for Project Proposal: worth 10%

 

Awesome

Amazing

Admirable

Attempted

Unacceptable

Grade Mark

HD 9-10

DI 8

CR 7

P 5-6

Fail <5

Proposal Content

All topics are pertinent and covered in depth.  Ability to think critically and to synthesise source material is demonstrated

Topics are relevant and soundly analysed

Generally relevant and well analysed

Some relevance and analysis presented

Little or no understanding of the topic. Missing content. Lacks conviction. Descriptive rather than critical thinking demonstrated

Evaluation of Proposed DSS/BI through SWOT or other method

Logic is clear and easy to follow with strong arguments

Consistently logical and convincing

Mostly consistently logical and convincing

Adequate cohesion and conviction

Argument is confused and disjointed

Proposed Project Plan

Well thought-out plan, do-able within timeframe

Completion within timeframe most likely

Completion possible

Some chance of succeeding

Totally unrealistic plan and timeframe

Proposal Structure (Executive Summary, Introduction Body and Conclusion)

All elements are present and very well integrated. The proposal is the exact length

Components present with good cohesive

Components present and mostly well integrated

Most components present

Proposal lacks structure.  Essay is much too long or too short

Research and Referencing

Excellent use of creditable sources. Accurate referencing.  Obvious that outstanding effort made

Extremely good effort

Good effort made but not outstanding

Made some effort.  For example, Web searches only

Very little attempt to reference. Lazy effort with inaccuracies

Writing Style

Totally clear with excellent English expression and spelling

Clear writing style

Generally clear writing style

Sometimes clear writing style

Lacks clarity with many grammatical and spelling errors

Student Name:   Student Id:   Date Submitted:    ………………/………………/ 2015

Mark Achieved:

Grade Achieved:

 

Submission Instructions:

 

1. The assignment should be organised using the following guidelines:

 

• The assignment must use 12 point font size minimum and at least single line spacing with appropriate section headings.
• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list.
• Up to 5 marks will be lost for poor writing, inadequate structure, careless presentation, and if the report exceeds the word limit by more or less than 10%.

 

1. The assignment must be submitted in soft (electronic) copy under Moodle.  

Extensions:     Requests for an extension, accompanied by supporting documentation, must be received by the convenor in writing before the due date else penalties may apply for late submission without an approved extension.

Penalties:        Academic misconduct such as cheating and plagiarism may incur penalties ranging from a reduced result to program exclusion.

 

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