CIS8100 Assignment 2 Technical Report Assignment You will create a technical report that compares two desktop productivity applications and makes a recommendation based on functionality and ease of use only. This is different from a research report in that you will investigate the functionality and ease of use of two different desktop productivity applications and make a recommendation. In particular, do not consider the cost of the product in your recommendation decision. The true cost is complex and must consider support, implementation, training and other factors. Financial considerations are out of scope for this report. Assignment Requirements Here's the scenario: Your boss has asked you to compare 2 desktop productivity applications that are being considered for adoption by your company. Your boss has asked you to investigate these applications, compare their features only, and make a clear recommendation for adoption. Audience: (technical) IT manager You will choose 2 desktop productivity applications of the same category, and compare their functionality and ease of use. The applications are suitable for a business setting. You will write a technical report, including executive summary, and your recommendation for adoption. You can choose from the Microsoft Office, Open Office, or LibreOffice applications. You can also compare one of these to the appropriate Apple products, but be careful not to make it a Windows vs. Apple OS comparison as well. Here are some examples of products you may choose to compare: • 2 of MS Word, Open Office Writer or LibreOffice Writer • 2 of MS Excel, Open Office Calc, or LibreOffice Calc • 2 of MS PowerPoint, Open Office Presentation, or LibreOffice Impress • 2 of MS Access, Open Office Base, LibreOffice Base • Photoshop vs. Gimp • MS Outlook vs. Thunderbird • comparisons approved by your professor You may NOT compare: • Web browsers • Chat, file sharing software, games, mobile apps • Operating Systems (MS Windows vs Linux) • applications that are too small for comparison (Paint, Notepad)Report Requirements: • 1,200- 1,500 words (with images, the report should be approximately 8 - 10 pages) • Format your document such that headings are obvious (bold, larger font) • Use 1" margins, and page numbers on the bottom of each page • Create an appropriate title page (do not put the page number on this page) • Include the following sections, in this order: o Introduction  Introduce the two products that will be compared including the category of software and brief explanation of the productivity tasks that can be accomplished with the software. o Executive Summary  Briefly summarize your discussion, and recommendation. Do not re-state your conclusion. This section should stand on its own, and can be removed from the full report, to give to an "executive". Include a summary of the discussion and recommendation. This should be 1 page or less and you should write it after you've written the rest of the report. o Discussion  Compare the functionality and ease of use of the two products. Since these products may be robust and complex, focus on 3 - 5 different tasks and compare the method used to perform these tasks in each product. Find the strengths of each application and compare those features. Be sure to include visuals (Figures) showing screen captures of each product and its method for performing the task. Label parts of the visuals where appropriate for the discussion. This is not a step-by-step tutorial. This should be an explanation of how each task is accomplished, in general, contrasting the different methods for each application. When comparing usability, use a concrete measurement such as number of clicks. For instance, one application may have a button available to perform a task, where the other has the task buried in a menu system 3 layers deep.  This should be the bulk of your report, approximately 800 words o Conclusion  Summarize your findings. Briefly, what were the pros and cons of each application with respect to each other. Compare them. Do not just list the features of each application.  Recommend one product and state your reasons why you recommend this one, taking into consideration only functionality and ease of use. Do not consider cost, or platform. o References (if appropriate)  All work in this document should be your original work, and as such you may not need to use any other references. If you do some research and use this information in your report, you must cite thesource. For instance, if you make statements about the sales of the product, its popularity or other factual information, you must cite or footnote the reference and include it in a References section. Technical Report Presentation: You will present your report findings to the class in a 3 minute presentation. You are encouraged to use a PowerPoint presentation. Displaying your report to the audience is distracting and leaves the impression that the presentation is unprepared. Marking Scheme: /15 Spelling/Grammar /15 Sentence structure/flow /5 Introduction /5 Executive Summary /35 Discussion /5 Conclusion /5 Logic (conclusions relate to discussion) /10 Visuals /5 Formatting /100 Total Submitting the Assignment Ensure that your assignment is a single Word document (.doc or .docx). Please submit your assignment file via eLearn. Late assignments will receive a grade of 0.