Page 1 of 7 Swinburne University of Technology INF10003 – Introduction to Business Information Systems (IBIS) Semester 1, 2016 Assessment Three: Business Report – Individual Due: No later than 11.59pm on Friday 20th May, 2016

Assessment Value = 25% If you have any questions about this assessment please see your tutor in class or email him/her. Also refer to the Blackboard discussion board for this unit. Aim: In the first assessment you created SwimLane diagrams to show the As-Is and the To-Be business processes for the

Indagine Surveyors (IND) and an Excel spreadsheet with graphs to show their statistics for 2015. Your role was to gather information, analyse the information and portray this information in a business report for the General Manager (Martin Krowski) to make strategic decisions regarding IND. In this assessment (assessment three), you will take on a more strategic role for IND. You are expected to demonstrate

skills in analysing and forecasting growth or decline in an Excel spreadsheet created by you for this purpose. You will also be expected to demonstrate research and written skills in responding to specific queries raised by the General Manager and finally, you will be asked to make recommendations combining an analysis of your spreadsheet and your research.

NOTE: you do not need to have successfully completed assessment one in order to undertake assessment three. Like all units you study, incomplete assessments often result in a steeper learning curve for later assessments. Therefore any requests for a solution to assessment one is not necessary and will not be granted. INDAGINE SURVEYORS (IND) – Fictitious case study scenario Background Recap: Indagine Surveyors (IND) is an organisation of private surveyors who issue building permits, sewerage and waste disposal permits and road access permits for building projects in Victoria. The applicants for these permits may be homeowners or builders for the construction of new homes and buildings and for any remodelling projects as well

as the conversion of unoccupied spaces such as garages into living or working space. Three of the departments at IND include Building, Health and Roads. The Building department performs an initial engineering review of all permits and issues permits for cranes, temporary parking and temporary fencing or site sheds. The Health department issues permits for sewerage, waste disposal and water testing. The Roads department

issues permits to provide driveway entrances to government roads, traffic control or temporary road closures The permit process underwent a change in which the permit office clerk receives the application along with appropriate fees then emails scanned versions of the application to each department simultaneously. A processing officer collates and analyses the results from each department's review before notifying the permit office clerk of the

outcome. The permit office clerk notifies the applicant on the success of their application, collects any outstanding fees if the application was approved and issues permit/s. Unfortunately, this new process also had a number of problems. In some cases departments reviewed documents unnecessarily. If, for example, the Roads department rejected an application, then neither the Building nor Health departments needed to continue their reviews. At first, IND responded to this problem by having the processing officer who analysed results cancel the reviews of other departments when he or she received a rejection. However, that

policy was exceedingly unpopular with the permit applicants, because once an application was rejected and the problem corrected, the permit had to go back through the other departments. The permit would go to the end of the queue and work its way back into the departments from which it had been pulled. Sometimes this resulted in a delay of five or six weeks.

Page 2 of 7 Cancelling reviews was unpopular with the departments as well, because permit-review work had to be repeated. An application might have been nearly completed when it was cancelled due to a rejection in another department. When

the application came through again, the partial work results from the earlier review were lost. It has become obvious that the operational information required to run IND is not always documented well with some key information known only to a few senior employees. Furthermore, the occasional query from potential customers/applicants is being received by the permit clerk through IND's website, but again, this is not documented. The website only includes basic information such as contact details and permit types and fees so it is unclear whether this website generates any new business. In fact, IND uses very little

marketing and although they have had some success to date by relying on word of mouth, the General Manager, Martin Krowski wonders if more can be done in this area. In order to maintain a competitive edge and see IND flourish, Martin needs to make strategic decisions based on future projections. He has asked you to provide him with the following information in the form of a business report (with academic references) with the following information:

- one (1) pivot chart/graph created in Microsoft Excel that depicts 2015 revenue by applicant (refer Task A) - three (3) different forecast graphs created in Microsoft Excel that show future projections and growth/loss for 2016 and 2017 (refer Task B) - responses to queries which investigates contemporary issues in technology and business (refer Task C)

NB: Business Report Structure is on Page 4 of this document Task A Requirements: IND Analysis of 2015 Data Recreate the IND Excel spreadsheet (shown on page 5) and produce two (2) Pivot Tables and one (1) Pivot Chart/graph to resemble the examples given. You are required to use the analysis from the spreadsheet in your

business report. Task B Requirements: IND Forecast Data: Continue with the same Excel spreadsheet from Task A. Complete missing data, formulas, totals and two (2) graphs (shown on page 6) by following instructions & hints provided. A third graph will be created for Task C 2.2.

NOTE: Tasks A & B must be on one (1) Excel Spreadsheet i.e. only one Excel file should be created. All four (4) graphs/charts must be included on the Excel file and the business report.

Task C Requirements: Using the above case study and the Excel spreadsheet you create for Task A and Task B, produce a business report as outlined in the submission requirements (below) which responds to the following queries in the main discussion section: NOTE: All responses must relate to IND with appropriate examples. You should include a minimum of five (5) in–text references from credible sources (i.e., books, journal papers, conference papers). 1. Porter's Five Forces Model :

1.1 Write an analysis of buyer power power for IND using Porter's Five Forces Model. Refer to the pivot chart/graph on the 2015 revenue by applicant to support your analysis. 1.2 Based on your analysis in 1.1 and the information in the case study background, is IND potentially putting themselves at risk with their business processes? HINT: Ensure you copy the one (1) pivot chart/graph into the report.

Page 3 of 7 2. Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence (BI): 2.1 Explain the importance of knowledge management and the purpose of BI. What is currently

happening with some senior employees at IND? 2.2 In your Excel spreadsheet change the percentages in the sensitivity table (i.e. Fee Inflation rate and Application Growth rate) to show the impact these have on the rest of the spreadsheet. Produce a NEW graph of your choice that represents the changes – do not use one of the existing graphs already created for this assessment – be creative! In your report analyse the impact the changes to percentages have had on the forecasts. HINT: Ensure you copy this new forecast graph into the report. 3. Website and Social Media: The use of social media for marketing and to generate new customers can be useful. 3.1 Explain some barriers IND may encounter when trying to use this medium for marketing their

services and receiving payment. Next, consider the difficulties that IND is facing with its current website, 3.2 Explain to IND why measuring web traffic is not always a good indicator of website success and make one (1) recommendation on how IND can improve its website to enhance financial success.

4. Security and mobility: In undertaking its business IND works with data relating to employees, applicants, government regulations, finance etc. 4.1 What are some potential internal and/or external threats to security that may compromise the safety of data within IND?

4.2 Recommend ways IND can secure this data from the threats you have listed. 5. System Customisation : IND use an outdated employee tracking system for monitoring the location of employees responsible for onsite visits i.e. the engineers and surveyors who visit building sites. This tracking system needs to be updated. Time and attendance solution providers are developing high-quality affordable applications that can be purchased off-the-shelf and customised for IND or alternatively a new system could be built in-house.

5.1 Describe some advantages in using IND employees to build the Time and Attendance system? 5.2 Describe some advantages in purchasing an off-the-shelf time and attendance application then outsourcing custom development? 5.3 Based on your answers to 5.1 & 5.2, which option would you recommend for IND? Page 4 of 7 Submission Requirements and Report Structure

You must submit online via Blackboard a maximum of three (3) files: 1. A completed FBL cover page: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/studentadministration/docs/student/Cover_sheet_for_submission_of_work_for_assessment.pdf (please type your name for the signature) 2. One (1) Excel Spreadsheet file created for Task A & B, containing your pivot tables, graphs and all formulas

3. Microsoft Word file containing your business report (with academic references) of 2000-2500 words in the following Report Structure:  An executive summary (not included in word count)  A Table of contents (not included in word count)  Introduction

 Body of the report must include:  Responses to the queries in Task C with in-text references  One (1) Pivot chart/graph representing the requirements in Task A  Three (3) forecast graphs representing the requirements in Task B

 Conclusions and overall recommendations  Reference List (not included in word count)- Minimum of five (5) references  You must ensure this is not a Bibliography and that you use the Swinburne Harvard Referencing

style throughout your report. You can access the correct style from the library: (http://www.swinburne.edu.au/lib/studyhelp/harvard_style.html)  Appendix (if needed) (not included in word count)  Pages of the report should have appropriate headers and footers and should include printed page numbers. Your name and student ID should be visible on every page e.g. in the footer.

NOTE: File names must be in the following format: 'Lastname_Firstname_Assess3' (where Lastname Firstname is YOUR name e.g. Smith_John_Assess3) Please refer to the last page of this document for the marking criteria for this assessment. Late Submissions - Unless an extension has been approved, a submission after the due date will be penalised 10% of

the assessments worth for each calendar day the assessment is late up to a maximum of 5 days. After 5 days a zero result will be recorded. Any request for extension must be directed to the convener via email and must include appropriate supporting documentation such as a doctor's certificate or a letter from your employer.

Warnings!

1. You will not pass if you do not comply with the assessment requirements. 2. Any evidence of plagiarism will result in informal or formal disciplinary action in accordance with Swinburne Policies and Regulations. Discuss the problem with your peers certainly, but don't copy or share your potential

and final solutions that relate directly with this case study with any other students (Collaborative discussion with your peers around concepts and additional examples is highly recommended). 3. Don't forget to keep back ups of your assessments. If your assessment goes astray, whether your fault or ours, you will be required to re-produce it.

Page 5 of 7

Task A Requirements: IND Analysis of 2015 Data Excel Spreadsheet Data for 2015 – Create one Excel Spreadsheet file with separate sheets for Pivot Tables and a Pivot Chart The spreadsheet must look professional in layout and include appropriate headings. It should be designed so that a non-technical user can understand it easily without needing verbal explanations.

Original IND Data for 2015 Create the following Pivot Table showing revenue collected from each Applicant for each

Department Create the following Pivot Table showing each Applicant, their Application code and the

quantity of Permits requested for each Department Create a Pivot Chart from the Pivot Table above Page 6 of 7 Task B Requirements: IND Forecast Data: Excel Forecast Data - Suggested Layout and Hints for Formula – Yellow sections to be completed with appropriate Formulas. Your Excel spreadsheet must demonstrate skill with various SUM, COUNT, VLOOKUP, MATCH formula, Graphs and Pivot Tables Page 7 of 7