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This is a test

Posted on 06 Jul 2021 by | Comments Off on This is a test

Hello World.

This is a test post to see if what gets written to the website, gets copied and posted on Facebook.

Here is a picture

This is a picture.

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Hardware Replacement Options Paper

Posted on 31 May 2015 by | Comments Off on Hardware Replacement Options Paper

The IT department is implementing a new customer relationship management (CRM) solution to its corporate offices. The current hardware is outdated, and cannot support the new CRM application. The hardware must be replaced prior to deployment.  This paper will discuss the issues related to this project.

  • How do the five major variables of project management—scope, time, cost, quality, and risk—relate to this scenario?
    • Scope: All work related to the hardware replacement must be correctly defined prior to purchasing any equipment. With a proper Scope of Work (SOW), each step of the project is clearly defined, and cost overruns can be limited. A SOW. Details out the project scope, that is what items are going to be installed and why, project assumptions, responsibilities for the different people, groups, or departments, criteria for the project completion, and documentation for project Change Control Management (CCM).
    • Time: Businesses must ensure that the procurement timeline is well-defined, and adhered to. If the timeline is rushed, some items may not be configured correctly or fully tested. If time deadlines are not met, the project budget could be wasted needlessly.
    • Cost: Cost analysis must include information beyond just the price of hardware and operating systems. Additional costs may include, but are not limited to: Server rack storage space, additional costs for data center cooling and increased power consumption. Using Microsoft CRM as an example the minimum hardware specifications include five different server platforms. Depending on the size of the company involved the capital expenditures can easily outweigh the benefits of new hardware. Consideration must also be given to secondary software applications like backup solutions and virus protection.
    • Quality: Hardware replacement project needs to identify if the business will benefit from an on premise solution, or if going with a hosted or cloud solution would provide a better quality CRM environment. The project will need to identify if the hardware being purchased meets or exceeds the minimum specifications for the CRM software, and will continue to be a viable platform for an extended period of time (3 to 5 years).
    • Risk: The project plan needs to identify if bringing new hardware systems into the existing environment could adversely affect the existing network infrastructure. For example: if the businesses current network environment is a Windows 2000 active directory domain, how will bringing in new servers (Windows 2008 R2) affect or even work with the existing active directory infrastructure.
  • What considerations must be applied when selecting projects that deliver the best business value?
    • There are many project costs and benefits considerations that must be applied to ensure that business value is enhanced, and not degraded by hardware upgrade project. Are the internal rate of return (IRR), and the return on investment (ROI) values high enough across the short-term and long-term to outweigh the capital investment for new equipment. Costs include: Implementation costs such as networking equipment, operating system licensing, and server chassis costs. Operational costs such as operating staff load with new servers to manage, hardware maintenance contracts, facility cost increases, and administrator and in the user training for the new CRM application. Tangible benefits include: increased productivity due to faster servers and improvements in CRM applications, and reduce costs in maintaining outdated server equipment. Intangible benefits include: Increased organizational flexibility, and improved operations due to the new features included in a modern CRM system.
  • What factors that influence project risk? What strategies would you recommend for minimizing this project’s risks?
    • Project risk is influenced by the structure of the project, the project size, and the technical expertise of the project team and IS staff (Laudon & Laudon, 2009). The larger the project, the higher the risks associated with that project. In turn, a very complex project is also a higher rate of risk than a simple project. For example, the project plan for changing brakes on a car has a much lower risk rate than the project plan for building a kit car. The skill level or technical expertise of the IT staff and project team also affect the risks in a given IT project like a CRM hardware replacement plan.

To help alleviate some of the risks associated with this project. I would recommend assigning a project manager to oversee the entire hardware purchase process. The use of a Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) chart will help ensure that the entire plan remains on task and on time. A PERT chart not only lists out the start and completion dates for assigned activities, but it also lists out the various task dependencies and how each task can be affected by the success or failure of one of the dependencies. The use of an application like Microsoft project includes tools to help automate the creation of a Gantt or PERT chart. Status updates can easily be generated from Microsoft project to help keep all of the teams involved in the hardware replacement plan informed of where the project is at any given time. Early on in the process it should be determined if having the CRM system hosted on premise makes good business sense in comparison to having the CRM hosted in the cloud.

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Just a test post

Posted on 31 May 2015 by | Comments Off on Just a test post

I hope you all enjoy this test post.  Not all post get to be real posts, and sometimes you have to fill space with useless information to make a test post.  I will now fill this post with bits of text that don’t seem to go together.

 

Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom Vet tee just released and we have free shipping available until Tuesday (2 JUN 15).

This paper will cover some of the issues surrounding the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) project, and steps that can be taken to control the risks associated with developing new technology on a national scale. According to the Government Accounting Office (GAO) the cost of collecting the United States Census data has increased by 56% from $8.1 billion in the year 2000 to about $13 billion for the 2010 census (“Decennial Census: Additional Actions Could Improve the Census Bureau’s Ability to Control Costs for the 2020 Census,” 2012) . To help save costs the US Census Bureau contracted with Harris Corporation “to implement handheld devices that make census participation as simple as signing for a package” (Laudon & Laudon, 2009). Numerous issues plagued FDCA, including, but not limited to: inadequate testing procedures, poor communication, lack of executive oversight, and the inexperience of the contractor assigned to implement the mobile technology required. In 2006 when the Harris Corporation was contracted by the US Census Bureau to implement a mobile computing solution, the handheld market was still in its infancy. US Census Bureau did not adequately inform the Harris Corporation of the requirements for the mobile platform, according to this week’s readings, there were 600 initial requirements and the Census Bureau added 814 more. Most if not all of the requirements for the mobile computing platform should have been laid out at the beginning of the program. In this way, the contractor would have adequate information to procure the necessary technology.

To implement a successful mobile platform for the Census Bureau to use the FDCA project should have been assigned an oversight person or committee. By having an executive level oversight issues with the project could have been answered in a timelier manner, thereby alleviating cost overruns. Another spot that could have been improved to help alleviate issues before they arise would have been a detailed Request for Proposal (RFP) from the US Census Bureau two available and reliable US government contractors.

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Posted in Mussings, Uncategorized