Professional Skills for System Analysis Assignment 1 Prepared by  Rahul Goud Vallabhadas 0061097611   Cover Letter Dear Professor, This report has an outline of the project work that I was assigned to do last month. I have included detailed information about the company I chose to research on. I chose Apple Company as it provides services and products that are in line with my career interests therefore, studying Apple organization was a benefit for me as a student and an aspiring software developer. In my report, I have included my work breakdown structure that I used to complete the assignment together with the task sequencing diagram used to efficiently manage and complete my assignment. I have also added detailed information about some of the organizational processes that take place at Apple. I decided to improve the shipping processes at Apple as it is one of the major areas that is a challenge to the company. I have included various means that can be used to improve the corporation’s shipment procedures to improve its business processes and to maintain customer loyalty. Also, I have written a detailed report to the Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Tom Cook on the various techniques that can be incorporated into the business to improve other services and ensure smooth running of operations. The report has a list of suggested recommendations that would be appropriate for Apple Organization. I believe that if the recommendations are implemented, the shipping challenge at Apple will reduce significantly. Thank you TASK 1: Organization Background Apple Corporation Apple Company is one of the leading American companies in software development (Cant, Machado and Seaborne, 2014). The multinational technology organization is based in Cupertino, California and it majors in the design, development and sale of consumer electronic products, software applications and other online services. Founded in 1976 by Steve jobs alongside other co-founders, the organization’s stock price is valued at over 140 products. Some of the products stocked by Apple organization include iPhones, computers, watches, and iPods, Macintosh, operating systems such as the macOS and apple televisions. According to Fitzgerald and Wakabayashi (2014), the organization leads the world of software development in technological inventions and innovations with a profit base valued at $53 billion dollars. The company ranks amongst the top most profitable companies in the globe according to the Fortune’s 500’s most profitable companies in the world. It has broken several records in the technology world when it produced the iPhone 6’s which sold tremendously in a single week of launch. Apple earns its revenue through the sale of software products and other technological devices, and online marketing and advertisements. The company operates within the Information and technology industry focusing on software development and innovations. It also provides technical solutions to major businesses, enterprises and individual through the provision of software products that can meet the needs of the organizations and technological devices that can be used to improve business processes within other companies. Apple provides reliable and competitive services, a factor that has enabled the company to survive in the competitive market of technological inventions. It has recorded major improvements over the years in the value of its services and the company boasts of being the top software developer in the market. Fitzgerald and Wakabayashi (2014) noted that Apple Corporation incorporated over 150 million customer subscriptions in its operations with over two million clients operating small businesses accepting the use of Apple payment system (Apple Pay) that was initiated earlier. The company has an objective of doubling its business services in the incoming four years, which is an achievable goal due to the large number of new subscribers and customers that it welcomes every now and then. Other online technological services provided by apple include; iCloud, iTunes, Apple Music and Apple Care. It also provides App Stores that have generated substantial revenue over the years. The Corporation is co-owned by different shareholders including. It’s co-founders are Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. However, reports from the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission indicate that Tim Cook has the largest shares in Apple. He is the current CEO after his predecessor Steve Jobs. The corporation faces stiff competition from its rival company Microsoft Corporation which also provides almost similar services and products. Even so, Apple has still managed to stay at the top position in software development while providing reliable and satisfactory software products for clients. Despite the company being a top software provider, it has experienced some key issues over the years. For instance, the shipping of the products to customers has been a challenge, the organization stocks reliable goods but there are usually delays in delivering the products to clients. Another key issue in the company is user service experience. It does not provide substantial information on the use of their products. Most Apple software are not user friendly and do not promote effective user experience. TASK 2: Time Management Plan Task 2.1 Work Breakdown Structure This is a detailed structure of the sequence of tasks that I will perform to ensure successful completion of my assignment. Activity No. Activity Name Description Start Date Finish Date Planned Action Activity Status Notes/Comments 1 Initiate project The assignment is initiated and the company identified. it also involves scope definition and outline of objectives 22/03/2017 23/03/2017 Define project scope Identify requirements Roles Identification Revision of the project charter Identify company name Outline goals and objectives Complete 2 Planning Involves developing a work plan that will be used for the assignment together with the work breakdown structure that includes all the milestones and tasks to be completed 23/03/2017 08/04/2017 Create a work plan Develop a work breakdown structure Identify the project budget and feasibility Create a list of tasks, milestones and dependencies between tasks Develop the project approval plan Create a project control plan and gain approval Complete 3 Project execution Define all the stages and frameworks needed for the assignment in a sequential order. Includes all the tools and resources for the project completion 10/04/2017 28/04/2017 Define the project framework Identify tools required for the assignment Create and analyze the content Test the assignment framework and content Revise and review Implement the project Scheduled 4 Assignment submission After completing the assignment and doing review, the assignment will be submitted to the tutor as specified in the guidelines 24/04/2017 24/04/2017 Submit project Scheduled 5 Close project Complete the project and perform a post review of the work activities 25/04/2017 Perform self assessment test Relax Scheduled  TASK 2.2: Task Sequencing Approach Network Diagram Activity Number Predecessor Duration (weeks) 1 - 1 week 2 1 2 weeks 3 2 2 weeks 4 2,3 2 days 5 4 2 days  TASK 3: Fact Finding The solicitation of information will be done using various technique of data collection. The collected data will then be analyzed and used to make informed judgment and decision about ways of improving services at Apple. This report will use interviews, document reviews, questionnaires and research to gather information for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the problem statement. Interviews This will be done on a one to one basis where a selected group of the management team will be asked questions to establish the background and genesis of the problem within the institution. Questions will be both open-ended and close-ended to improve the scope covered and to gather substantial information from the interviewees. The interviewed personnel will also be asked questions on their thoughts about the various improvement strategies that they feel can be used to manage the problem. Using interviews as a research method will help in obtaining more detailed and honest responses from the interviewees. Document Review During the fact finding period, a review on the companies’ documents will be performed, with the permission of the management. Previous documents will be analyzed while avoiding the ones that may be outdated or modified. The research will stick to the most recent documents as the will provide more reliable and consistent information needed to solve the problem. Questionnaires This will include structured questions that are both open and close ended Ariay, Ram and Altman (2014). The questions will be specific and stick to the objective of the project on obtaining solutions. The questionnaires will also be user friendly to allow respondents to give more honest and accurate results needed. Most questions not asked during the interview will be covered in the questionnaire and they will be used to reach out mostly to Apple subscribers and other management personnel that were not interviewed. Research The method will make use of internet sources to gather more information about Apple Company and its processes. It will also involve researching about successful techniques that organizations can implement in their processes to be successful. Also, educational conferences and business meetings will be attended to acquire more knowledge on the various business process models and how to improve them.  TASK 4: Organization Chart Interviewees Tim Cook -Chief Executive Officer Angela Anrendts –Senior Vice President, Retail Tor Myhren – Vice President Marketing Communications Goals Identifying the main objective of the company in terms of sales To gain knowledge about the current shipping process being used by the company To establish the main challenges faced during shipping To understand the various marketing strategies used by the organization To understand the role of the company and its products in the retail industry To gain knowledge of other previous implementations that the company had used in their shipment method were they successful? if not why? To understand the future plans of the organization in improving its shipment processes.  TASK 5: “AS IS” Process Receive Order Check availability Dispatch Order Choose a shipment method Initiate payment Ordered product available? Notify client No Yes The process flow that I want to improve is the shipment process. I need to come up with strategies that will make shipping of apple products to clients faster and more reliable.  TASK 6: Report to Top Management Introduction This is a report that aims to achieve a more workable and reliable means of shipping of Apple’s products. The report provides an overview of the problem statement together with the objectives, scope, and recommendations that should be used. Objectives This report aims at providing detailed research results on how the shipping processes of Apples products can be improved. It also aims at identifying other areas that the company is facing challenges and ways strategies that can be used to improve them. The overall goal of the study is to come up with improvement measures that Apple can use to retain its clients and to shine in the market. Background Apple is one of the most successful software development companies in the world. It prides itself in providing world class software inventions and technological products. However, there are challenges observed in the shipping methodologies used by the organization to deliver goods for customers. In most cases, there are delays in shipments which inconvenience most customers, thus, the urge to improve these services. Processes Identification of problem statement Establishment of a project plan Execution of the project plan Review and revision of the problem statement Establishment of a quality control and assurance method to maintain the operations Scope This project is confined within the boundaries of providing an efficient shipping methodology for Apple products. The methodology should be effective yet, use the least amount of time to deliver products. Recommendations Use effective communication methods to reach out to customers Create a system delivery method Find ways of obtaining feedback after dispatch Effective training of shipping team Use of addressing system software  References Ariav, Y., Ram, R. and Altman, B.Y., Liveu Ltd., 2014. System and method for content solicitation. U.S. Patent Application 14/327,168. Cant, M.C., Machado, R. and Seaborne, H.C., 2014. BRAND ADVOCATES–AN APPLE PHENOMENON? AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON BRAND ADVOCACY AMONGST APPLE CONSUMERS. Corporate Ownership and Control, 11(2 G), pp.535-541. Fitzgerald, D. and Wakabayashi, D., 2014. Apple quietly builds new networks. Wall Street Journal. Golnam, A., Ritala, P. and Wegmann, A., 2014. Coopetition within and between value networks–a typology and a modelling framework. International Journal of Business Environment 5, 6(1), pp.47-68. Highsmith, J., 2013. Adaptive software development: a collaborative approach to managing complex systems. Addison-Wesley. Li, H., 2016. Profitability Assessment of Apple Company. Rachet, B., 2014. Swot Analysis of Apple Inc. Docs. school Publications. Saunders, M.N. and Lewis, P., 2014. Doing research in business and management: An essential guide to planning your project. Pearson Higher Ed. Sökmen, N. and Çebi, F., 2017. Decision-Tree Models for Predicting Time Performance in Software-Intensive Projects. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management (IJITPM), 8(2), pp.64-86. Völter, M., Stahl, T., Bettin, J., Haase, A. and Helsen, S., 2013. Model-driven software development: technology, engineering, management. John Wiley & Sons.